I recently saw this 54 chevy on ebay. I love the way it is done. Black top with just baremetal finish. Well, i emailed the guy about how he did it. All he said was, he used expensive clear coat, that was all he said. I emailed him back about the brand he never responded. The car is in florida, how in the heck can you keep a finish like bare metal from rusty or turning. What do you use as a bonding agent for the oxidation? Anybody have a clue, because i am thinking about doing something like it on my truck. Below is the pic of the car, not putting a word out for the car, but see what i mean.
It will end up rusting under that clear coat finish no mater what type of clear it is and the only way to keep a bare metal from rusting is elbow grease
"finish like bare metal from rusty or turning. What do you use as a bonding agent for the oxidation?" what do you mean by that ... if your going to clear over bare metal you have to make sure you have a good clear. some clears if you used them a little while later you would have peppering under the clear coat. i would use a goood clear coat and put a more than a few coats on making and make sure you covered it all (having no dry spots) and no thin spots. ask sawsall about his experiance. im pretty sure he has a baremetal cleared car
I asked Jon Kosmoski (HOK Founder) the same question , when I saw candy on bare metal on a '57 wagon at Sema show (Had HotWheels on it ) He said Sure ! use HOK adherto adhesion promoter .metal HAS to be cleaned real good.
the only thing thats bad about the hok adhesion promoter its it gives it a slightly yellow color . the AP is usually used for spraying plastic bumbers that never had paint.
Candy over bare shiny metal sounds cool (better a good metal finisher!), but this bare metal car stuff is kind of silly, I guess its the new flat black....
I've seen this car in person at a Cruise-in in New Smyrna. You can tell it's heavily clear coated, but it looks good and gets a lot of attention. There is a spot on the hood at the front of the peak that looked like it swirled or something. I can't vouch for how long it will last, but it's lasted a few months already.
I will admit, I had to try the whole "bare metal" thing too!,,it was cool....for about a week! Then painted the roof to match the car...Of coarse I didnt have it cleared either... Candy over bare metal does look cool...heres one from Viva...
I used a POR 15 clear on some mags on an O/T car. Its been on for about a year, and is showing no signs of deterioration. Its not as good of a finish as a regular top coat clear, but fuck its tough.
Personally I would not do it. Clear coat is not designed to bond to bare metal. Its designed to bond to basecoat. I've seen a few bikes here in Washington with cleared bare metal and they're all rusting. If you really want to do it use a high end clear and a VERY good water separator on your airline. You don't want any moisture getting in that clear.
thanks for all the info guys. I never thought about candy over bare metal, not sure what to do still, but i have awhile to think about it. thanks again.
There are several bicycle companies that have cleared over steel and it held up well. Haro bicycles did a BMX bike a few years back (CroMoly steel I think)....Fireman Texas Cruizers has done it. I don't know what they used but it was a cool industrial look on those frames, held up well too. Someone did one with a flat clear coat that looked good too. I could be wrong, but for some reason I remember the "Green Grenade" having a flat clear coat....maybe do a search and see if and what he used.
i live in kentucky were humidty is always an issue... i have a MAC tool box that is baremetal clearcoated over,,not sure if its actual clearcoat or a clear powder coat,,but i have had it over 4 years and havent seen any signs of rusting,,, and a couple months ago,i bought a ot/ import for a work commuter,,the paint on the hood was flaking off real bad and the hood was dented up,,,i didnt want to put any money into this ride by buying a hood,,,so i stripped the paint off the hood down to bare metal,,metal conditioned it,,cleaned with a red scuff pad untill it looked like brushed aluminum,,then adhesion promoted and clearcoated,...it's been cleared for about 2 months and havent seen any sign of rusting yet,,
I had good luck out of the adherto from HOK and Lesonal Glamour clear. It didn't have a yellow tint at all and was done about a year in heavy Kentucky humidity. I did not like the wet look of the clear so I would use a flatener next time.
It's called poor mans chrome. We used to shine tube bumpers and such then just clear them. I thought it was different and easy>>>>.
Made a overhead console for My old Merc from coldroll. D.A.d it and REALLY CLEANED it well. Sprayed both sides with DU 82 clear. After the first winter it started getting a spiderweb like small rust lines under the clear. It actually looked kinda cool. This was inside the car so I would say no, it wont last atleast up here in the NW. Maybe Arizona in the desert. FEDER
I would wager that the bike frames were clear POWDER coated, as they are small enough to justify baking them.
ya those frames are clear powdercoated, along with alot of other stuff. its a cool effect, but the longevity isnt good. clear likes to stick better to base then adhesion promoter, so shooting sg100(if using hok) or another intercoat before clear would be good.