Board logo

painting chassis
zxrlocost - 2/1/07 at 03:18 PM

hi whats the best way to do the above

my st chassis is new but has little surface browning

so preping and painting

ideas please

used hammerite on bits of my last car prepared as good as I could and it still flakes off

thanks chris

PS I have no spray gun


DaveFJ - 2/1/07 at 03:24 PM

Been covered many times. some will say powder coat. Personally I would recommend POR15 (available from Frosts).

A quick serach should bring up loads of info on this.

Cheers


Bluemoon - 2/1/07 at 03:26 PM

I used acid etch primer (Acid 8) after a good degrease with cellie thiners on mine, seems to have stuck well, but it's not been on the road yet.

Dan


zxrlocost - 2/1/07 at 03:31 PM

hi dave did a search read some posts like you say lot of sitting on the fence decisions

blue moon what did you overcoat with?

ta chris


nick205 - 2/1/07 at 04:03 PM

I gave my chassis a good going over with the tool, then wiped it clean with white spirit (lots of paper towel required). 2 base coats of red oxide primer and 2 top coats of chassis black (from halfords, ut can't remember the exact brand).

**** Somebody will pipe up now and say that white spirit isn't a good idea as it leaves a residue ****

The red oxide has stuck like poo to a blanket and seems very durable (hasn't been on the road yet). The chassis black is somewhat brittle, but easily touched up and doesn't look to brush strokey either.

At the end of the day whatever you do it will have it's good and bad points - powder coating is OK if don very well, but once it's cracked or damaged it doesn't last any better and is difficult to touch up neatly and effectively.

Brush painting a chassis is a sould destroying task though. It takes for ever and just when you think you've finished, you look at it from another angle and realise you missed one face of a tube


zxrlocost - 2/1/07 at 04:07 PM

so isnt there any spray cans I could use

its funny because Ive spray stuff hasnt always been the best results scratch of easily etc

and the once in my car I drover over a spray can COULD I GET IT OFF NOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!


James - 2/1/07 at 04:38 PM

Two coats of Red Oxide from Screwfix and then two coats from a large tin of Homebase Exterior Black Gloss did my chassis fine.

I didn't even find it as tedious as some are suggesting either.

I have to say areas I felt were critical (and particularly exposed) I put a *lot* more paint on. Entrance corners of the tunnel for example porbably got 6/7 coats in places.


The wishbones and visible objects I did with Plastikote primer and top coat.

All have survived 2000miles (including 3 weeks in a very wet November) very well.

Cheers,
James

[Edited on 2/1/07 by James]


Bluemoon - 2/1/07 at 05:33 PM

Hi again,

Top coat is a flexible chassis black, rolled on (simple way to get it smooth!).. It is possible to get it smooth with practice and a brush mind.. No so happy with the chassis black, in that it does seem to chip (but only powder coat/two pack would probably withstand me dropping big spanners and I didn't fancy ether), but the under coat stays put even under the chips... Time will tell if this is a problem on the road, I figure keeping an eye on this in the first year/ 6 months, and then re-touch/rubber coat problem areas..

I would recommend the acid 8 under coat though..

And it is simple to touch up with a small brush.. Some people say external gloss is o.k believe it or not..

Dan


mark.s - 2/1/07 at 07:14 PM

as mentioned POR 15 is the nuts, got mine from frosts to, i think you have to buy a tie coat primer if you go over painted surfaces, hammerite seems brittle, if you do go the POR 15 route, try not to get any on your skin (like me).....it dont come off for a long time

cheers mark


Mark Allanson - 2/1/07 at 07:56 PM

Chassis black is made for the job, cheap, easy to repair if scratched


locoboy - 2/1/07 at 11:08 PM

Chris,

Re-jenolite coach enamel from halfords on top of 2 coats of red oxide, rubbed down on the areas you will see.

You should get 2 coats from one tin of coach enamel and its only about 7 quid a tin.

i applied it with a cut down gloss radiator roller, worked a treat!


zxrlocost - 3/1/07 at 12:37 PM

ok mate cheers


steve m - 6/1/07 at 08:47 AM

red oxide, then "house hold black gloss paint"

and a couple of days "mind boggling boreing job"


zxrlocost - 6/1/07 at 10:17 AM

seeing how bad your making it sound me thinks I might just get it powder coated

[Edited on 6/1/07 by zxrlocost]


G.Man - 6/1/07 at 10:46 AM

quote:
Originally posted by zxrlocost
seeing how bad your making it sound me thinks I might just get it powder coated




Mine is powder coated and there are still 1 or 2 thin areas...

Dont forget paint is lighter tho


MikeR - 21/4/08 at 12:31 PM

I've been looking into this & am now trying to remember what i've read. Found a great site in America, its a commercial forum and their answers are interesting.

There are three basic protective paints you can use, each one is grouped by its zinc content / use / chemical reaction.

Basically red lead / zinc oxide paints work on the idea that zinc in the paint has to corrode before the metal (as zinc corrodes easily). Once the zinc is sacrificed .... the metal is next. This is the least effective solution.

The next solution uses Zinc Chromate. Its not nice stuff but it bonds to the metal. It provides a total covering to the metal so is better than the solution above. I couldn't quite figure out the legality of applying this in the uk.

The third solution uses some special chemical reaction i can't quite remember (sorry for the helpful post). In theory it chemically alters the steel and is damned effective - and expensive. I'm now hunting the web for the site. Its like hot dip galv but isn't (and isn't galvafroid - which it does a comparison to and explains why its 10x better).

Reading other forums people are really keen on por-15. From what little i've read this takes a different approach, it works on the assumption of complete coverage of the metal with an impenetrable barrier. I'm tempted to por-15 then red lead then paint.


wilkingj - 21/4/08 at 01:47 PM

quote:
Originally posted by zxrlocost
seeing how bad your making it sound me thinks I might just get it powder coated

[Edited on 6/1/07 by zxrlocost]

Powder Coating is only good if you sand / shot blast the chassis first.

Dont waste your money powder coating it, without blasting the chassis FIRST.
It needs a good surface to key onto.
Same for any finish really - The key to a good finish is all in the prep work.

Nowt wrong with Tractor Chassis Black either


MikeR - 21/4/08 at 10:25 PM

part two.

the third idea is something called Zinga. They make lots of claims about how good it is. If its that good .... well its good enough for us.

http://www.zinga-uk.com/

(also has a number of testimonials)