the whole front end is painted, chassis is white, I-beam and tie-rods hammerite grey, car's gonna be green, I'd like to keep my monoleaf within those colours, but what paint is the most resistent to the flexing?
I think the gray would probably look the best...but not sure how it would hold up to flexing. The geen on the car...what kind of paint are you using? Probably could add some flex agent like used for plastic bumpers, but not sure if that would work either.... Brian
that would mean going there and having it coated in one of their paints right? probably white or grey and not my hammerite grey or mettalic green?
[ QUOTE ] i always just use acrylic enamel and it seems to hold up just fine on a leaf spring [/ QUOTE ] Ditto on the Enamel. Basically, you have two kinds of "paint". (not counting tuely water base poster paint) Ther is Lacquer type, which is acetone/thinner soluable and it dries from the inside out. This includes nitro-celulose, acrylic lacquer and the urethane base coats that say right on the can "if you don't have the specified "reducer"* can be thinned with lacquer thinner". They tend to be (more) brittle and may crack and lift off the spring. The other family of "paint" is Enamel. It is thinned with some formula of mineral spirits or "reducer" and dries from the outside in. That means it "skins" a dry surface while remaining "wet" underneath, sometimes for years. Because it rmains "wet" it can flex without cracking, for a long time. Of course, catylist hardeners make it "dry" all the way through so you probab;ly don't want the hardener. The hardener makes Enamel more like lacquer, because people want t color sand and polish and "natural Enamel is soft uder the skin and doesn't take well to sanding and polishing. I generally decide which of the above a rattle can really is by reading the cleanup instructions. if it says clean up or unclog the nozzle with mineral spirits, it's probably enamel and if it says clean up with lacquer thinner then it's lacquer. Many times, "fast drying enamel" is actually lacquer. "Hammertone" paint is a mixture of lacquer and enamel, designed to make lots of "fish eyes" on purpose so it should be ok. I just put some gray hammertone on wife's bathroom cabinet...that's what she wanted..."Industrial" look.. * Base coat '"reducer", I believe, is some formula of lacquer thinner that is called "reducer" by the paint industry because the EPA banned "paints" that are called "lacquer", from use on auto refinishing, here in California first, but now in all but three of the connected states.
so Doc, am I reading you right regarding lacquer thinner as being OK for thinning catalyzed paint, e.g. DP90, etc.?
[ QUOTE ] so Doc, am I reading you right regarding lacquer thinner as being OK for thinning catalyzed paint, e.g. DP90, etc.? [/ QUOTE ] NO. That is not a blanket statement regarding catalyzed paints. Always follow the manufactures recommendation on catalysts, additives and reducers/thinners for the paint systems your using. DP Epoxy primers can be thinned using DT or DTV thinners. You can clean your spray equipment with lacquer thinner, however. For more information go to www.ppg.com and follow your way to North American automotive refinish products. \ -Mike.
Do a test piece in Hammerite.Use something thin,and bend the shit out of it.See what happens.If the surface is prepared properly,it should work.If that fails,consider some of the flex additive they use on plastic bumpers.
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