Bare frame painting

[bil1024]

My frame is coming bare and powder coat is not an option here as there is no one local, I did the rustoluem on the last roadster but want something better this time. Any one try the eastwood chassis paint ? Or any other suggestions ? Thanks.

Bill

[Someday I Suppose]

Bill, I know some guys went with POR15 on a bare frame. I used it on the pumpkin on my car and a few other places, the stuff sticks to steel very well, almost as good as it does bare skin.

_Scott

[Bob Cowan]

spray paint is spray paint; doesn't matter who's name is on the label.

[Hankl]

Bill,

There actually several good options, POR like Scott said, another option would be automotive Urethane paint. With the urethane paint, you have more of a color selection, so if you wanted the frame to match the body color, you can do it. The POR and Urethane have the advantage over Power Coating, in that either one can be touched up, where once the power coating is scratched off, you have to use paint or POR to repair it.

Hank :cool:

[3kcarbon]

I went a little overboard on mine with about 2 days of cleanup and spatter removal and primed it with aviation grade Mil Spec metal primer. I then paint it with PPG Concept balck. Whatever paint you use get a paint that uses a hardner

[RooRocks]

Do you want it to last forever? Then use POR-15. A gallon will cost you $120 but it's worth it's weight in gold IMO. I painted my frame, pumpkin, aluminum panels, and just about everything else I could with it. I wish I could paint my house with it! If you order it spend the little extra and get the Metal Etch and Marine Clean, it'll make prep much easier.

Before:
http://www.upitall.com/Private/u/3/465/6027

After:
http://www.upitall.com/Private/u/3/465/6156

http://www.upitall.com/Private/u/3/465/6157

http://www.upitall.com/Private/u/3/465/6159

[RooRocks]

Ohh and please, for the love of God, do not wear plastic gloves. Buy elbow length welder gloves and wear a mask along with plastic over your entire body. If you do not you will spend the next 2-3 weeks with this stuff on your body. I tried to scrub it off so bad that I took my skin off with a Scotchbrite pad before the paint came off.

http://www.upitall.com/Private/u/3/393/6162

http://www.upitall.com/Private/u/3/393/6163

[riptide motorsport]

por 15 ...period.

[snakebit31]

I did my coupe frame with POR-15. I did the metal prep, and it only used 1 quart to do the frame and all the support structures. That said, it's definitely tough and will withstand anything. But, I used foam brushes as suggested, and could not get a good coat without seeing brush marks. Part of the problem, I used silver on the frame. The small parts which I used black, look very smooth and great. I also used their engine paint on my block and it has held up very well. It really goes a long way, I think a roadster could be done with 1 quart, certainly with two.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/snakebit31/coupe%20photos/coupe14.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/snakebit31/coupe%20photos/CoupeEngine89.jpg

Rob

[CRAZYBOB]

I was doing a little internet searching on POR 15... So what are the advantages / disadvantages of this to powder coat? In those pics the black aluminium panels look great. Can you spray this with a standard HPLV gun? Or do you have to brush on? Does it scratch easily? OK with the temp in the engine bay? Thanks. Bob

[RooRocks]

I couldn't answer that, I didn't have the option of powder coating since my panels were already installed. While you can spray it they suggest you don't since you have to water it down, it's very thick. As far as scratching I can tell you it doesn't, I banged my firewall with the trans multiple times while installed the motor/tranny and it didn't affect the panels at all. I also forgot to tape off the bellhousing for the engine ground so I had to grind down the POR-15 paint to the bare metal and I went through 2 grinding wheels to get through all the paint.

[Bob Cowan]

Products like POR-15 and Extend are not so much a paint or a coating; it's a chemical treatment that happens to turn black. POR stands for Paint Over Rust. The coating causes a chemical reaction in the surface layers of the steel to convert rust (iron oxid) into something else, and to seal the surface to prevent further rusting. It's pretty tough stuff, but can be damaged or scratched. In my experiance it's a lot tougher than paint, and a little bit tougher than powder coating.

It works best on rusty surfaces that have been wire brushed well; that's what it is designed for.

As they instructions say, it's not UV resistant. Anything with regular sun exposure needs to be painted or PC'ed. For absolute best protection, use PC over POR-15 or Extend.

[DamnYankee]

I just ordered Rust Bullet "automotive" for my chassis. It can be sprayed with an HVLP gun, and seems to require less prep than POR-15. Its UV resistant too.
http://www.rustbullet.com/Products/Automotive/Automotive.asp
Ron