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clearcoat over bare metal?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by coopdevill65, Sep 16, 2008.

  1. coopdevill65
    Joined: Aug 5, 2007
    Posts: 292

    coopdevill65
    Member
    from tac ,wa

    im no painter but i got my truck downto bare metal and it looks so good i want to leave it like that. what i really want is to flake the whole thing and leave it. will this work?
     
  2. Gerg
    Joined: Feb 27, 2006
    Posts: 1,828

    Gerg
    Member

    from what i have read in about a year or so you will start to see spider webbings of rust under the clear coat.
     
  3. coopdevill65
    Joined: Aug 5, 2007
    Posts: 292

    coopdevill65
    Member
    from tac ,wa

    i did a quick search but didnt find anything. is there any posts on this?
     
  4. lostforawhile
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 4,160

    lostforawhile
    Member

    I saw somewhere where someone was making an epoxy clear for this,but i can't remember where. it was just like regular top coat but you could see through it.
     

  5. Frank
    Joined: Jul 30, 2004
    Posts: 2,325

    Frank
    Member

    Do a search on "Gibbs". I remember seeing a thread about it and folks spoke very favorably.
     
  6. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,390

    Squablow
    Member

    At the resto shop I used to work at, when a part was supposed to be bare metal, we'd blast it and wire wheel it shiney, then clearcoat it, but I can tell you that no matter how clean you get it, it will always rust underneath the clear after a while.

    Bare metal is really only going to be maintainable with a product like Gibbs, and even then it's a ton of upkeep, from what I've heard.
     
  7. jagfxr1949
    Joined: Jun 27, 2008
    Posts: 277

    jagfxr1949
    Member

    POR -15 clear CLAIMS to be able to do this. Don't know. Never had much luck clearing bare metal, steel, alloy, brass etc always seem to corrode eventually under the clear or it just comes off. Maybe some really modern material works, but I gave up even thinking about it. Especially in the 'moist' NW
     
  8. Harley has been doing this for years on their CVO bikes. Pay a visit to yer local H-D dealer.
     
  9. iamspencer
    Joined: Aug 3, 2008
    Posts: 349

    iamspencer
    Member

    por 15 should do am awsoem job fighting corosion but it is uv sensitive
    and needs to be topcoated, which kinda defeats the purose of beign clear :p
     
  10. the goodguys give a way car this year had bare metal stripes that had clearcoat over them you can check that out
     
  11. toddc
    Joined: Nov 25, 2007
    Posts: 976

    toddc
    Member


    I put POR15 clear on the mags on my O/T daily. It was great - for 6 months. Its been on there about 10 months now and is starting to get white fluffy bits underneath it. It'll be an absolute bitch to get off.:mad:
     
  12. youngrodder1929
    Joined: May 28, 2006
    Posts: 435

    youngrodder1929
    Member

    yep its good stuff
     
  13. Conder
    Joined: Jan 16, 2005
    Posts: 982

    Conder

    I put clear over bare metal on a bike we built in '96. I did some research and a paint rep told me clear Imron had etching properties and was super hard. We ground the metal in 80 grit and sprayed 5 coats of Imron over it. I didn't chemical etch it because that kills the raw metal's shine. The first night the bike sat outside, it rusted under the clear. We handled the metal with our bare hands during prep and the oily salt from them rusted when condensation hit. Perfect FBI quality fingerprints under the paint! (We barely waxed and greased it, because the sharp metal cuts tore the towels and covered the tank in fuzzies that were a bitch to get off.)

    So we repainted the bike, this time wearing rubber gloves throughout the prep. That was in '97 and it still looks great...BUT, it does NOT see rain and is dried immediately after washing it. It is true about the spider webbing too. The bike has an old '70s frame, and the tubing is rusted inside. Everywhere there's a pinhole from an old weld or a hole in the frame, rusty spider webs are growing.

    There's my experience with it, for that bike it was worth it. That Gibbs is pretty neato, rub your rig down with that once in a while, kind of like the old timers used to stand outside the drive-in "oiling" there primer with a shop rag and some 30 weight!
     
  14. Mopar Mama
    Joined: Nov 19, 2007
    Posts: 234

    Mopar Mama
    Member
    from Boise, ID

    The quality of a paint job is absolutely determined by the primer and the way the surface is prepped. If you put clear on bare metal, it's not going to be good, as it's not designed to adhere to that surface. I've heard great things about Gibbs, and also something called "Caddilac Wax." Not sure where to get that, but might be worth a shot. :eek:) Let's see this thing!
     
  15. Grunion
    Joined: Apr 13, 2007
    Posts: 171

    Grunion
    Member

    I was also told that it will always rust underneath the clear.
     
  16. dana barlow
    Joined: May 30, 2006
    Posts: 5,115

    dana barlow
    Member
    from Miami Fla.
    1. Y-blocks

    Well bare metal looks cool at first and can show off your metal work nice at the start of a build,but being old my self ,I still look at it as being only the start of getting to some great looking shiny paint. It's not a finish in my view,anymore then perimer is a finish. Rust never sleeps,and way to many are doing bare metal or flat perimer that's going to lay wast to the metal.
    I guess some even think it is there off beat idea of old school,but no rodders I knew ever called that a finish for any rod,at lest not in the east were I was .
    Love it as your building and take some photos,but put some real shiny paint on it to make it last,nothing seals like shiny paint.
    After all these years,much of our old cool steel that is still around is being sent to rust to crap even faster then ever,by what seems to be trendy,even more so with these rat traps that will not or can not fix there body work.
    Rodding is still doing it your way,but some times other ideas help your ideas,I was just saying how it looks from old eyes.:cool:
     
  17. SinisterCustom
    Joined: Feb 18, 2004
    Posts: 8,277

    SinisterCustom
    Member

    I'm having a hard time seeing why clearCOATED metal will rust.....isn't it sealed? So EVERY car running around in primer is rusted underneath too then? Quality clearcoat is a much better SEALER than primer....
    But you GOT to get the metal clean.
    I believe Goodguys had a '70 Chevelle built as a giveaway and the SS stripes running up the hood were clearcoated bare metal....and there was an article on how it was done.

    Coop....were ya thinking of spraying flake right over the bare metal? Having the metal show through between flakes?
    If ya need any help......just ask. I drive by the exhaust shop everyday.:D
     
  18. denis4x4
    Joined: Apr 23, 2005
    Posts: 4,198

    denis4x4
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Colorado

    Airstream Trailers are clear coated with a bullet proof material. Might work on steel. Checkout www.airforums.com. Good tech section there.
     
  19. zman
    Joined: Apr 2, 2001
    Posts: 16,731

    zman
    Member
    from Garner, NC

    Actually a lot of them are.... depends on the primer used.

    Aren't they aluminum?
     
  20. mottsrods
    Joined: Jul 9, 2008
    Posts: 742

    mottsrods
    Member

    Airstream trailers are covered in aluminum. Clear enamel breathes with the outside temps. It relies on a good primer to hold it down to the metal. A good clear epoxy will adhere to bare metal only if it has been cleaned properly, and I sugjest using an etching solution on it to promote adhesion. There are several companies who offer clear epoxy, you just need to see what's available in your area.
     
  21. SinisterCustom
    Joined: Feb 18, 2004
    Posts: 8,277

    SinisterCustom
    Member

    Yep....but they also aren't oxidizing under the clear are they?;)
     
  22. zman
    Joined: Apr 2, 2001
    Posts: 16,731

    zman
    Member
    from Garner, NC

    I didn't say they weren't... :p
    though I can put a piece of aluminum and a piece of steel outside for a few days, come back and the steel is rusted, the aluminum is fine. Not saying that damage isn't down, but aluminum seems to be a little more forgiving.
    but like was pointed out there is clear epoxy
     
  23. americanautomoving
    Joined: Sep 8, 2008
    Posts: 16

    americanautomoving
    Member
    from Miami, Fl.

    The clear epoxy is the way to go, I would assume you thin and spray like regular paint?
     
  24. lehr
    Joined: May 13, 2004
    Posts: 602

    lehr
    Member

    DUPONT makes the clear that was used on the goodguys give away car it's made for bare metal. Pat
     
  25. I guess you didn't get the memo. The bare metal fad is over. All the Kool Kids have switched to paint. Get with it.
     
  26. TimDavis
    Joined: Sep 4, 2005
    Posts: 718

    TimDavis
    Member

    David Turner in Chatanooga painted the bare Honest Charley roadster....two trips to Vegas and it is looking pretty good.
     
  27. studenut48
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 330

    studenut48
    Member
    from Hanson, Ky


    hey, if someone wants to do there rod in bare metal, let them do it in bare metal. It's there ride!

    Also, if anyone has the name of that dupont clear for this bare metal finish, list it. I am curious about it.
     
  28. zman
    Joined: Apr 2, 2001
    Posts: 16,731

    zman
    Member
    from Garner, NC


    1. get a sense of humor. :eek:

    2. Quit acting like someone's mama. :D
     
  29. 3. Spell check can be your friend.

    4. If you ain't solving the problem of rat rods, you're contributing to it.
     
  30. If my physics class memories are still intact, the way aluminum oxidizes, it creates an oxygen-impermeable layer at the surface. Ferrous metals oxidize in a way that flakes the top layer off, allowing more oxidation to occur on the metal below it, creating a nasty downward spiral.
     

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