After a bit of research, here's how you do it: 1. Get your panel/tank/fenders or whatever media blasted. Plastic media or soda blasting are generally the best for not tearing your shit up, warping it, or taking off too much metal. 2. After the part(s) have been blasted, DA whatever you're working on to a nice, polished and swirled state w/ a little light grit paper. 3. Dust your victim off really well. Now throw on some latex gloves and use a fresh, clean rag to wipe down the part(s) w/ PPG DX579. 579 is a phosphate wash that neutralizes microscopic rust. You may think that you've gotten all of the rust off w/ the DA...but you haven't. Use the phosphate wash or plan on doing this again in a month. 4. Here's where things get dicey. If you're brave and don't mind occasional failure, you can now spray on some spray bomb clear or shoot the good stuff out of a gun. If you're smart though, you'll take your parts to a powdercoater and have everything powdercoated in clear. You're done. Now about that clear vs. powdercoat thing: Clear coat used for paint actually is porous and allows small amounts of water to penetrate the teeny-tiny little airways that formed when the paint was curing/drying. Powdercoat isn't porous and moisture doesn't get to your precious metal. **This info. came from a tech. rep. at PPG. Hell, I'd gotten ten different answers on the subject from ten different people, so I figured I'd go to the source. I thought it was cool of the PPG rep. to tell me to use powdercoat rather than his product. Shows that it's not always about a buck in big corp. America**
That's good to know man. I didn't know that many clears are actuallly porous. Anybody ever get clear powdercoat before? Is it as 'clear' as painted clear coat? Big Daddy Eric
This is a good thread. Thanks for sharing. "Powdercoat isn't porous and moisture doesn't get to your precious metal." While that statement is basically true, it doesn't take into account the fact that it's uncommon for the powdercoating to cover the entire surface of something. Moisture can still creep in from an untreated area, or even a small scratch, and do its damage both in those areas and underneath the coating. And porous cast parts can still rot from the inside. This is what I use to solve the problem: http://www.roadsters.com/gibbs/ I've mentioned it on here before. Please go to the Search feature at the top of the page, select the Hokey Ass Message Board forum, and do a search for the word Gibbs and author Roadsters.com If this stuff wasn't amazing, I wouldn't sell it or keep talking about it. Dave davemann@roadsters.com/ (602) 233-8400 http://www.roadsters.com/
[ QUOTE ] That's good to know man. I didn't know that many clears are actuallly porous. Anybody ever get clear powdercoat before? Is it as 'clear' as painted clear coat? Big Daddy Eric [/ QUOTE ] I have seen the clear powdercoat shot on over a mirror finished piece and it is clear as water, and will not yellow. Well unless you want it to yellow. That is, you can buy tinted clears and 'coat over a chrome finish and it is the prettiest candy looking stuff you've ever seen. And tough as hell to boot. It is good for bicycle parts anyways - that's where I saw it used. Made the bike look like a million dollars.
Good question, but just post a pic of that NEW bad boy so we can see what you are taking down to bare metal. My vote would be to ride it, as is, all summer long and redo it in the winter. If you would just post a pic, I think it looks pretty traditional now. Come on, you know you want to. I would if I could find a pic of it.
Shit K, I have been bugging him for pictures of this thing for days!!!! maybe he'll listen to you haha.....
I just shot some bicycle fenders and chainguard, in a similar fashion. All i did was remove the paint and add the finish i wanted with a DA, and used an adhesion promoter, and PPG flexed and flat clear because I didn't want them shiny. So far it's holding up and it has seen some use in heavy rain with now sign of rust yet.
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