time for some more chassis "pron"

[Ozmira]

After finding out the chim had some rusty outriggers and some chassis rust/holes i decided to take the car down to Southways Automotive in fareham to have them do a full body off refurb. really nice guys down there and a decent cup of tea as well.

i've attached a link with a picture blog as i dont really know how to add photos myself. theres over 100 pictures on there at the moment.

i hope you all enjoy looking.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.357476781...

[chris1972]

Excellent! An education in itself!!! Roll on Part II.

[Kitchski]

It's not porn yet

[EGB]

Expensive cup of tea. Well worth it. Ask them about galvanizing the new outriggers. No rust porn ever more!

[Ozmira]

The chassis is going to be hot zinc coated before being powder coated.

[EGB]

Complete solution.

[portzi]

Ozmira said:

The chassis is going to be hot zinc coated before being powder coated.

great work, good powder coating should last for years.

Mark

[EGB]

portzi said:

Ozmira said:

The chassis is going to be hot zinc coated before being powder coated.

great work, good powder coating should last for years.

Mark

With a flexing chassis and outriggers, the brittle powder coat eventually crack flakes and allows the ingress of moisture to cause rusting on the steel tubing. A zinc galvanised dip is the answer, and IMO, then preferably painted with a good enamel paint which is more flexible and resistant to flaking.
A chassis needs to be grit blasted first to remove any old paint and rust to provide a clean key for the hot zinc.

Edited by EGB on Friday 23 November 00:26

[ChimpofDarkness]

EGB said:

With a flexing chassis and outriggers, the brittle powder coat eventually crack flakes and allows the ingress of moisture to cause rusting on the steel tubing. A zinc galvanised dip is the answer, and IMO, then preferably painted with a good enamel paint which is more flexible and resistant to flaking.

I've got to say I'm a paint man too

Powder coat always looks amazing at first but at the end of the day it's just a wrapping.

One chip and the water gets in, a frosty night & that water freezes & expands, your little chip is now a small blister, the blister creeps & more water comes in.

Before you know it your peeling the thing like a banana, I appreciate not all powder coat jobs are created equal, some are very good for what they are.

But I'm still a paint man, period!

Only a good acid etch will bond on a molecular level to a metal surface, and a good 2k pant will bond to that like something nasty to a blanket.

You then have a flexible & sometimes partially self healing (if you use the right product) finish, that will flex, expand & contract with the metal surface it's adhered to.

That expansion & contraction thing should not be overlooked, you'd be surprised how much movement there is in steel over relatively small ambient temperature changes.

Now take a bit of your peeling powder coat and flex it between your fingers, there is no flex, it just snaps, now consider all that expansion, contraction & flexing going on in the chassis, Hmmmmm

Now get a flake of set 2k paint & flex it, you'll find it's very malleable, it will bend not snap in half like that flake of powdercoat.

2k paint is after all using the same technology as the two part epoxy glue we've all used at home, mixed correctly it's tough as old boots but it's also got some give in it too.

Galv the steel hot or spray, then use the appropriate acid etch, then apply a paintable epoxy stone chip followed by your 2k top colour coat with some extra plasticiser in it and it'll outlast even the best powder coat job by years.

Have a look what they use on oil rigs & fishing trawlers, not much powder coating there I bet?

I've got to say though, these guys at Southways are doing an excellent job.

Powder coat or not, I'd say they are adding a good 20 years of service life to the chassis minimum.

And that's about double what TVR gave those white chassis from new.

All hail the silver/grey earlier chassis, it don't last for ever by any stretch of the imagination but at least the silver/grey ones got a flash of etch prime before the powder.

Edited by ChimpofDarkness on Friday 23 November 00:51

[GTRene]

good story.

[EGB]

Well explained Dave. Glad we paint men think alike. What is this 2K paint. Probably better than Weathershield ho, ho. Glad we have also impressed Rene our Dutch friend. EU agreement there. Hope our Cameron get's his way!

Edited by EGB on Friday 23 November 13:01

[Jasper Gilder]

There's a school of thought that says that hot dip can potentially warp a chassis - I had my 3000m Chassis zinc sprayed in 1998 and there is not a spot of rust on it!

[nawarne]

I'm ex oil-industry/refining.

Our inspection gurus are heavily in favour of "Thermally Sprayed Aluminium" coatings for all new vessels/exchangers/pipework. Usually specified at time of purchase, many of the coating specialists guarantee a TSA coating for 25 years +.

The surface prep is standard blasting as for a paint application. Then the aluminium is heated electically/by propane and sprayed onto the surface. The technique can be used on existing steelwork provided the surface prep is adequate.
Nick

[ExplosiveTrail]

I am a big fan of Southways - They did mine and I have recently picked it up, it runs smoother than before. I went for the full Zink and Powdercoat and then clear POR15 all over. Hopefully she will not rust again soon. V happy, jut need some good weather.........

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.270760293...


|http://thumbsnap.com/cdIr7XVv[/url]

[portzi]

A very nice chassis indeed. The modern powder coating will last twice as long as the rubbish TVR put on. There was a member on here who has a powder coating company and he was hitting his powder coated surface with hammers, with no effect .

[TJC46]

ChimpofDarkness said:

I've got to say I'm a paint man too

Powder coat always looks amazing at first but at the end of the day it's just a wrapping.

One chip and the water gets in, a frosty night & that water freezes & expands, your little chip is now a small blister, the blister creeps & more water comes in.

Before you know it your peeling the thing like a banana, I appreciate not all powder coat jobs are created equal, some are very good for what they are.

But I'm still a paint man, period!

Only a good acid etch will bond on a molecular level to a metal surface, and a good 2k pant will bond to that like something nasty to a blanket.

You then have a flexible & sometimes partially self healing (if you use the right product) finish, that will flex, expand & contract with the metal surface it's adhered to.

That expansion & contraction thing should not be overlooked, you'd be surprised how much movement there is in steel over relatively small ambient temperature changes.

Now take a bit of your peeling powder coat and flex it between your fingers, there is no flex, it just snaps, now consider all that expansion, contraction & flexing going on in the chassis, Hmmmmm

Now get a flake of set 2k paint & flex it, you'll find it's very malleable, it will bend not snap in half like that flake of powdercoat.

2k paint is after all using the same technology as the two part epoxy glue we've all used at home, mixed correctly it's tough as old boots but it's also got some give in it too.

Galv the steel hot or spray, then use the appropriate acid etch, then apply a paintable epoxy stone chip followed by your 2k top colour coat with some extra plasticiser in it and it'll outlast even the best powder coat job by years.

Have a look what they use on oil rigs & fishing trawlers, not much powder coating there I bet?

I've got to say though, these guys at Southways are doing an excellent job.

Powder coat or not, I'd say they are adding a good 20 years of service life to the chassis minimum.

And that's about double what TVR gave those white chassis from new.

All hail the silver/grey earlier chassis, it don't last for ever by any stretch of the imagination but at least the silver/grey ones got a flash of etch prime before the powder.

Edited by ChimpofDarkness on Friday 23 November 00:51

All of the above. Paint all the way!
I work in providing maintenace contract solutions for the oil/chemical industry, and industrial painting with 2k paint such as that supplied from international marine coatings is as good as it gets. This stuff isnt "paint" its chemical engineering and it sticks to metal like sht to a blanket. It works best straight after bead/shot blasting as this provides the perfect "key" for the paint to adhere.

New outriggers welded in place, then bead blast and 2 pack epoxy sprayed on straight after. 5 more coats of epoxy primer in alternate colours to ensure full coverage. Top coat of red machine enamel, and finally finish coat of polyurethane laquer.
Now that should outlast me!

[ExplosiveTrail]

portzi said:

A very nice chassis indeed. The modern powder coating will last twice as long as the rubbish TVR put on. There was a member on here who has a powder coating company and he was hitting his powder coated surface with hammers, with no effect .

Thanks, I am very happy with the outcome. Much heart ache caused and time wasted writing strongly worded letters to assist in relieving the pain. Good to hear about the powdercoating but I will not be hitting it with a hammer.

[Ozmira]

So just to update the thread, the chassis back from the powder coaters.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=38264765515...

[TJC46]

Very nice! and in the very best colour too!

[portzi]

I am sure its red, and lovely, but it looks pinky on my laptop