I've been painting suspension arms, running gear and the chassis on my O/T car. The body was resprayed at a mate's body shop and I could have done the chassis bits there but didn't want them to leave the workshop so that I could have more control over what stage in the refurbishment they were done. I decided to paint them myself using a satin tekaloid paint. I could have sprayed them using the simple set up I have here but decided to brush paint them as that's what the product is intended for. I prepped the parts up as if I was having them sprayed - there's no short cut because you're brushing the paint on. You have to be just as careful to provide a dust free painting area. I spent a lot of time hoovering and wet the floor down while I was painting. You must use a top quality brush. I used uPol Easy One to fill the seams in the suspension arms and uPol Acid 8 to etch prime. Two coats of undercoat and I'm on the second top coat now. The under car bits will just get a third coat and be done. The visible parts will get a light sanding with 600 w&d and then a third coat. I'm very pleased with the finish - the degree of "satin" is just right, the brush marks drop out after ten minutes, it's touch dry in 2 hours and overcoatable in 24 hours. The advantages are no masking and no overspray. Amount of paint used is much less - I think that I will have used about 350ml of the 1 litre I bought. Cost of the paint was £25 per litre for the top coat and £18 per litre for the undercoat. A Purdey brush is about £12 for a 1" brush. Here's a few pictures - difficult to get images that show it properly but I'm very pleased with it. The grey is called "Raddle" and tones nicely with the lighter Morgan Sports Grey I've used for the body. Came from Craftsmaster Paints. I'm going to use the gloss version to paint my steel 1921 T Model Ford Modified but will set up a temporary booth to get dust to an absolute minimium. I think it has shown me that it is possible to get a good finish using a brush - subject to the right prep, good paint, good brushes and careful technique. Someone who came to look at the bits yesterday thought they had been powdercoated - I agree with that, but they cost a fraction of the price to do and can be touched up easily. Also the bearings didn't have to come out (as they would with powdercoating) and, being Citroen, that's an expensive job because you usually end up having to destroy the large retaining nuts and seals to remove them
That is really interesting and looks like it did a great job. Not familiar with the brand, is that a UK product ? Don
I got it from these guys - they specialise in paints for vintage commercial vehicles, steam engines and canal boats; http://www.craftmasterpaints.co.uk/ It is a tekaloid type of paint and I'm sure there must be a similar product in the USA.
In another thread on brush or roller painting, paint designed for boats was recommended because it is designed to flow better than paints designed to be sprayed. Can anyone else verify this and where is paint designed for watercraft available?
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