Spaceframe chassis paint
Discussion
Yazza54 said:
If it's in kit form I'd powder coat it and forget about it.
At least forget about it until the powder coat started flaking off. I've seen it so many times on so many kits I would be wary myself. Personally I'd paint it with Por 15 or whatever else I fancied. And I would do 2 coats, the first coat a different colour to the second.
singlecoil said:
At least forget about it until the powder coat started flaking off. I've seen it so many times on so many kits I would be wary myself.
Personally I'd paint it with Por 15 or whatever else I fancied. And I would do 2 coats, the first coat a different colour to the second.
If powdercoat is flaking and cracking I'd be more worried about unwanted flex in the chassis/wishbones etc. None of the powdercoat looks remotely stressed on my 4 yr old fury.Personally I'd paint it with Por 15 or whatever else I fancied. And I would do 2 coats, the first coat a different colour to the second.
Yazza54 said:
If powdercoat is flaking and cracking I'd be more worried about unwanted flex in the chassis/wishbones etc. None of the powdercoat looks remotely stressed on my 4 yr old fury.
Sounds like your car was done properly, and I'm glad to hear it. Most kits are not done properly, and it isn't flexing that is causing it to come off. Can't mention names due to N&S rule. singlecoil said:
Yazza54 said:
If powdercoat is flaking and cracking I'd be more worried about unwanted flex in the chassis/wishbones etc. None of the powdercoat looks remotely stressed on my 4 yr old fury.
Sounds like your car was done properly, and I'm glad to hear it. Most kits are not done properly, and it isn't flexing that is causing it to come off. Can't mention names due to N&S rule. Lefty said:
What about getting it hot-dip galvanised instead?
hot dip galvanizing is a good method of protecting steel, but it is not without its disadvantages, firstly to galvanize a space frame, each chassis tube has to be drilled to allow the air pressure inside and any liquid hot zinc out, The other problem is that it involves dunking the chassis in molten zinc (at 860 °F (460 °C))and that may distort it.thescamper said:
The other problem is that it involves dunking the chassis in molten zinc (at 860 °F (460 °C))and that may distort it.
some classic Lotus specialists have given up galvanising the replacement backbone frames for this reason.FWIIW, the best chassis coating I ever had in terms of toughness was the stove enamelling on my old Raffo chassis, which was absolutely impenetrable (though conventional wisdom suggests that stove enamelling is more brittle and prone to chipping than powder coating, so maybe that was just a freak one-off).
I think with both stove enamelling and powder coat, the quality is very dependent on preparation, though, so as Singlecoil suggests, selection of a competent company may be the critical factor?
It's got to be said that POR15 is as tough as old boots, but it doesn't look quite as shiny and professional as a decent powder coating job.
I used hydrate 80 by bilt and hamber.
Afew of the mags have done test and liked it. As have a few people on the forums.
So I thiught I'd give it a go.
http://www.bilthamber.com/pro-introduction.php?cna...
Afew of the mags have done test and liked it. As have a few people on the forums.
So I thiught I'd give it a go.
http://www.bilthamber.com/pro-introduction.php?cna...
Thanks for the info so far.
Yes I think powder coating is good and the rules seem to be to blast the frame first to give a good key and an under coat followed by the finish. I have owned a Robin Hood that the powder coating flaked off. As said there are cheap ways of doing all things.
I will not galvanize as pointed out the disadvantages.
POR 15 is something to look into.
I have been told that a zinc based undercoat and followed by ordinary gloss paint is highly durable.
H######te is total rubbish these days and chips off when hit by a ladybird flying into it! Oh for the original 60's which was tough and durable.
Yes I think powder coating is good and the rules seem to be to blast the frame first to give a good key and an under coat followed by the finish. I have owned a Robin Hood that the powder coating flaked off. As said there are cheap ways of doing all things.
I will not galvanize as pointed out the disadvantages.
POR 15 is something to look into.
I have been told that a zinc based undercoat and followed by ordinary gloss paint is highly durable.
H######te is total rubbish these days and chips off when hit by a ladybird flying into it! Oh for the original 60's which was tough and durable.
trackerjack said:
Yes I think powder coating is good and the rules seem to be to blast the frame first to give a good key and an under coat followed by the finish.
This is the key to it. Blast and prime, then whatever takes your fancy really. Zinc rich primers are usually used in marine/offshore paint systems and are very effective.
People on here speak very highly of POR15, not looked into it myself, but it has a good rep.
I suspect typical kit car flaky powder coating is usually down to inadequate blasting.
trackerjack said:
I have been told that a zinc based undercoat and followed by ordinary gloss paint is highly durable.
exactly what i did with mine, zinc etch primer, one undercoat then two gloss, one red, one black, any retouching is easy to do if needed ( not needed after four years road use, been on ten years ) Frankthered said:
People on here speak very highly of POR15, not looked into it myself, but it has a good rep.
It is impressively hard.It's very runny and goes a surprisingly long way, but can be hard to avoid dribbles.
Has a shiny finish, IMO you need to sand it down before overpainting really, I've sprayed over it and had the spray coat rub off quite easily. Thicker stuff should stick ok though.
I also used it to cover some chips in the floor and it's much tougher than the floor paint!
Galvanising is a no-go for a spaceframe as stated - I spoke to a couple of firms and they quickly put me off the whole idea!
Por 15 looks s
t unless you do it properly, and is hard work. I'd personally after nearly 10 years of kitcar ownership, get the best quality powdercoating you can, THEN lightly key the suface and hit the chassis with about 5 aerosol cans of smooth black hammerite spray, building up layers as directed on the tin. Not a lot should penetrate that, and it will also allow you to make totally invisible repairs if you ever need to.
t unless you do it properly, and is hard work. I'd personally after nearly 10 years of kitcar ownership, get the best quality powdercoating you can, THEN lightly key the suface and hit the chassis with about 5 aerosol cans of smooth black hammerite spray, building up layers as directed on the tin. Not a lot should penetrate that, and it will also allow you to make totally invisible repairs if you ever need to. I'm going to try spraying Epoxy Mastic on my Fugitive chassis frame.
I have no experience of it (yet) but it has had some good reviews.
I find Hammerite to be very brittle when fully set and I decided against POR15/Rustseal simply because they are not UV stable in the long term so they need overcoating with some other finish.
I have no experience of it (yet) but it has had some good reviews.
I find Hammerite to be very brittle when fully set and I decided against POR15/Rustseal simply because they are not UV stable in the long term so they need overcoating with some other finish.
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