Quote:
Originally Posted by LT7A
Looks like excellent craftsmanship. You have the steadiness and perseverance to do nice custom paintwork. What do you use to seal/protect the bare metal?
|
thanks LT7A, you are too kind, really lol. As for your question about the bare metal. That isn't exactly a quick, simple answer, be ready.... I started with this stuff called Sharkhide. A clear, wipe on product, similar to clear coat, used on pontoon boats and such. At 1st it was great, however, after a few months I discovered that unless the metal surface is ABSOLUTEY 100% clean, any kind of moister will get under it and begin to flash rust. When I say 100% clean that includes any type of lint, fuzz, or debris left behind from trying to clean the metal and apply the coating. For example the 1st time I used this stuff I applied it with the recommended cloth diaper, which left big pieces of fuzz in a few places, those were the spots that began to flash rust 1st. And when I say any moister that includes humidity in the air. 2 years ago this July I sanded it down and recoated it to clean it up for my 1st planned event. It was VERY humid that day and despite all of my efforts to clean, clean, clean, within a few weeks it was even more flashy than it was before the previous recoat.
It's been quite the process mostly involving trial and error. Over the past couple of years I have had to sand down and recoat the bare metal at least 5 times. Not that ALL of the bare metal had flash rusted, just that it got bad enough to bug me and I wanted to clean it up for an event. With each time that I re-applied the coating I have tried several different types of cleaning methods, different types of cloth for cleaning, and different types of cloth for applying the coating.
Fast forward to this past May/June when it needed to be cleaned up AGAIN. I decided to try something in addition to the Sharkhide and new type of cloth that I stumbled upon. This time I tried a wipe on clear that I bought from ViseGripGarage under the Sharkhide. To clean and apply both coatings I used a super fine microfiber cloth that is really stiff when new, and leaves behind almost no lint if any at all. I semi soaked the cloth with rubbing alcohol to clean the metal after sanding off the previous coating. Then I used a new piece of the same type of cloth to apply the 2 different coatings. The visegrip stuff 1st, then the Sharkhide. With all of that I may have it figured out....the use of a new type of cloth to clean the metal and apply the coating(s), applying the coating(s) in low humidity, combined with a very limited exposure to precipitation over the winter (I started storing it in the pole barn along with not driving it "just cuz" if it's raining) This most recent coating has worked out the best so far.