Wheel Paint?

[Agemax]

Powder coat is tough but it's not resistant against chain lube sprays sticking to it - cleaning with soap and water doesn't work nearly as well as a solvent of some type like WD-40.

Bottom line is that I've decided against power coat. I've done almost everything on this bike myself up to this point, including painting the frame and engine and zinc plating a bunch of parts in the garage, so it seems silly to pay someone to powder coat the wheels at this point.

fair comment mate, go with your instincts. judging by the quality work you have done already i am sure what ever route you go down they will turn out perfect. keep us posted with the pics

 

[hampshirehog]

Bottom line is that I've decided against power coat. I've done almost everything on this bike myself up to this point, including painting the frame and engine and zinc plating a bunch of parts in the garage, so it seems silly to pay someone to powder coat the wheels at this point.

Well there's a challenge there somwhere Ed - you'll now need to start your own powder coating! If it's as good as the rest of your stuff it won't be 'arf bad.

Actually it's something I keep thinking about doing myself. Being a skinflint though I've got to find an oven big enough to do a frame for less than the price of a couple of beers. I've already pushed my luck baking paint / boiling carbs in the kitchen so converting the oven we've already got might just lead to the missus shooting me.

 

[Nessism]

Well there's a challenge there somwhere Ed - you'll now need to start your own powder coating! If it's as good as the rest of your stuff it won't be 'arf bad.

Actually it's something I keep thinking about doing myself. Being a skinflint though I've got to find an oven big enough to do a frame for less than the price of a couple of beers. I've already pushed my luck baking paint / boiling carbs in the kitchen so converting the oven we've already got might just lead to the missus shooting me.

Powdercoating is in my future for sure, just need a way to bake the parts. People say an old electric oven works well although that obviously won?t work for a motorcycle frame. As soon as I get settled a little more permanently I?m definitely going to figure this out.

 

[salty_monk]

Ed - the PJ1 I used is pretty resistant. I have spilt gas on it, used Gunk, Cirtus degreaser, WD40, engine oil, chain spray etc around it.

From what Bruce has told me the caliper paint is pretty resistant too.

Stock is not a high gloss anyway & it would be the gloss that would suffer first if any effect...

Dan

 

[Agemax]

Well there's a challenge there somwhere Ed - you'll now need to start your own powder coating! If it's as good as the rest of your stuff it won't be 'arf bad.

Actually it's something I keep thinking about doing myself. Being a skinflint though I've got to find an oven big enough to do a frame for less than the price of a couple of beers. I've already pushed my luck baking paint / boiling carbs in the kitchen so converting the oven we've already got might just lead to the missus shooting me.

powder coating is so cheap in the uk if you look about. ?50 for 2 wheels or a frame sounds good to me. no hassle rubbing down etc they bead blast it for you.
yes you have to remove bearings etc from wheels but the price of replacing them far outways the cost of labour time to rub them down and spray them imo

 

[hampshirehog]

powder coating is so cheap in the uk if you look about. ?50 for 2 wheels or a frame sounds good to me. no hassle rubbing down etc they bead blast it for you.
yes you have to remove bearings etc from wheels but the price of replacing them far outways the cost of labour time to rub them down and spray them imo

You misread my post - look out for the word 'skinflint'.

I'm like Ed I suppose - I want to be able to do as much as possible myself. I doubt I'll ever manage it (I keep looking for cheap Serdi and Comec etc on Ebay) plus I'm always nervous in case the company I hand my parts to cock things up or lose bits - even the guys I've been using for years (you never know about the new apprentice....).

 

[TheCafeKid]

Ed - the PJ1 I used is pretty resistant. I have spilt gas on it, used Gunk, Cirtus degreaser, WD40, engine oil, chain spray etc around it.

From what Bruce has told me the caliper paint is pretty resistant too.

Stock is not a high gloss anyway & it would be the gloss that would suffer first if any effect...

Dan

Caliper paint and Duplicolour Ceramic Motor paint are the same stuff... Same formula, same can different label... They ARE both pretty impervious BTW, Ive spilled BRAKE FLUID on them and it didnt do a darn thing to it. I shot my ES wheels with it, stuff is tough as nails, EXCEPT, its brittle. Flying hard stuff like a stone MIGHT chip it, or changing a tire over a barrel without a towel or something down will chip it too..This I KNOW...lol If you're going for black, get the Duplicolour. Its cheap, effective, and looks good.

 

[Beaver]

Baking rattle can paint doesn't typically make it harder, just cure faster. There there thermal setting paints that require heat, but those are not off the shelf stuff.

Regarding using rattle can paint, I suspect it would be fine since I'm not likely to keep this bike for the next 20 years, but there is something in my inner psyche that chews at my brain when I cheap out or short cut too much. How does the caliper paint hold up to chemicals and does it come in charcoal gray? I'd like the paint to be able to tolerate spray decreasing agents like Gunk. Anyone ever tested any of these rattle can paints against stuff like this?

I figured as much, but my problem is that I can find very few of the products that you guys name, and going all the way in the spraying department just isn't an option. So I am looking for any tricks that I can. I have just had my headers and exhaust sand blasted painted them myself. Even though I broke the cardinal rule of not mixing brands (I used 3 different ones in the end) and the last brand that I used took so long to dry that I had to mount the pipes before it was hard, it turned out really well and I am a little bit impressed with the job. I am looking forward to trying out engine paint other places on my bike

 

[Agemax]

You misread my post - look out for the word 'skinflint'.

I'm like Ed I suppose - I want to be able to do as much as possible myself. I doubt I'll ever manage it (I keep looking for cheap Serdi and Comec etc on Ebay) plus I'm always nervous in case the company I hand my parts to cock things up or lose bits - even the guys I've been using for years (you never know about the new apprentice....).

i use a local powder coater, get them to give you a receipt of the items you give them, simples, if they lose a bit or dont do it to your satisfaction you got proof for recompense.

 

[850 Combat]

My parents had a Vauxhall Victor in the mid 60's in California. They were sold at Buick dealers as I recall. I happen to have a '67 Cortina GT 2 door, and a '68 Cortina GT 4 door. More sporty than the Vauxhall. I don't think Vauxhalls were sold in the US very long.

I wouldn't mind a Vauxhall Carlton Lotus...

Ed - for what it's worth, Vauxhall Charcoal Grey is as exact a colour match that you'll find. I don't know if you've got it over there but Vauxhall is a British car manufacturer bought out by GM back in the 70's.
.

 

[Guest]

How hot did you bake them? and for how long?

Baking rattle can paint doesn't typically make it harder, just cure faster. There there thermal setting paints that require heat, but those are not off the shelf stuff.

Something I noticed on the cans of the VHT stuff:

"After the part is completely dry, it must be cured to substantially increase the durability of the finish and enhance the chemical resistance. Bake at 200 deg. F for 1 hour."

Caliper paint and Duplicolour Ceramic Motor paint are the same stuff... Same formula, same can different label... They ARE both pretty impervious BTW, Ive spilled BRAKE FLUID on them and it didnt do a darn thing to it. I shot my ES wheels with it, stuff is tough as nails, EXCEPT, its brittle. Flying hard stuff like a stone MIGHT chip it, or changing a tire over a barrel without a towel or something down will chip it too..This I KNOW...lol If you're going for black, get the Duplicolour. Its cheap, effective, and looks good.

You are right on the Duplicolor stuff. I noticed also that if I tried hard I could chip it off. The VHT stuff I'm using now seems alot better. It's also rated at a higher temperature (900 deg. as opposed to 500 deg.). I etch-primed and painted some test pieces with the VHT stuff, then baked it like they say, and I can't get it to chip off. If I run a screwdriver over it, it will leave a scratch mark but won't chip or flake. So if you decide to go the rattle can route, I would recommend the VHT over the Duplicolor. It's only about 2 bucks more per can.

 

[doctorgonzo]

I used VHT and baked per instructions (god what a stench) , and it seems pretty durable.

 

[Nessism]

Ok, you guys got me on the engine paint. Yes, it needs heat to reach it's full strength. More common paint, doesn't need heat, but heat speeds up the cure.

Checked the VHT web site and they don’t sell a charcoal gray paint of any type. Closest thing they have is cast iron gray engine paint.

 

[Nessism]

Painted the wheels today. I'll post photos tomorrow after the paint is dry enough to take off the masking. I think they turned out pretty well.

Couldn't find any paint locally that matched the metallic gray of the stock wheels so I mixed my own using Por-15 silver engine paint and ChassisCoat Black. The POR guys recommended against mixing the paints but I decided to chance it. Color turned out well I think, maybe a smig dark but I like it. Shot the POR paint right on top of the metal after bead blasting the wheels. Was going to hit the wheels with epoxy primer first but learned today that So. Calif. outlawed epoxy paints like the PPG primer that works so well. Needless to say, I'm pretty annoyed about that. The POR paint is pretty good stuff so I think it will stick well enough to the metal - better than rattle can stuff at least. At any rate, that project is almost done.

 

[Nessism]

Painted the rotors today so should be able to bolt them on tomorrow.

 

[errorcauser]

Painted the rotors today so should be able to bolt them on tomorrow.

That looks really nice. What's the trick to getting the aluminum lip to shine like that ? Strip it and a buffing wheel ? Mine look like crap.

EDIT: I guess that was kind of a silly question. I'd say it's the same procedure as the engine covers...maybe.

 

[Guest]

Those wheels look awesome!!

 

[Shin-Ken 1074]

Great job with those wheels, thanks for the project update, cheers.

 

[midnightcafe]

Review of self etching primers

Review of self etching primers

excellent polishing job nessism. I'm planning to strip, etch prime and apply POR chassis paint to my wheels in the next week or two, depending on the weather. First I planned to to use acrylic enamel rattle can, but my friend used it on his cb750 frame and it looked like crap. A real shame since he had put so much effort into the prep work. You could tell it didn't adhere well enough and it was easy to damage.

I just etch primed my frame and swingarm last night... that frame was not an easy task. it turned out great but i didn't use a lint-free cloth to wipe it down and there was an abundance of cotton raised from the paint that I'll have to go back and remove, might have to sand the whole thing down:-#.

From my experience with self etching primer, I have to recommend either Rustoleum or duplicolor over SEM. SEM would sputter even with proper use and is expensive. Duplicolor worked fine, but rustoleum lasted longer and was easier to spray (I used a spray trigger on duplicolor, the wide trigger on rustoleum wouldn't allow for it) and could spray at any angle.

 

[Zooks]

Caliper paint. Impervious to chemicals and heat. Top stuff!


Edit: My bad. I hadn't read the whole thread when I posted the above info. It appears I'm a little late.