I have ordered a complete new chassis and suspension for a model A coupe. All the parts will arrive in bare metal finish. I have s painted a few cars and many motorcycles so I have some experience painting. I want to apply a satin black finish while avoiding the time and expense of powder coating. Eastwood offers a frame paint in quarts and aresol and they say it does not require primer. I would love to know what folks are using for frame paint on a new build.
Tamco Chassis black sounds just the ticket for you https://tamcopaint.com/collections/single-stange-basecoat-paint/products/hb-chassis-black
I used the Eastwood black semi gloss ceramic chassis without primer. Four years and around 35,000 miles, looks just fine.
I did my frame with Magnet Chassis Saver epoxy. I used a HarborFreight $10 gun. I cleaned the gun while I was doing the frame and suspension and then tossed it out. It turned out great. I didn’t wear a respirator at first and got dizzy AF.
Rustoleum enamel - what HRP said. Make sure your metal is clean and use the same color primer. Works well for me. Easy to touch up.
For a frame I go over to the tractor supply store and get tractor paint. It is cheaper and holds up on tractors so................
Whatever you paint it with, take the little bit of extra time and expense to shoot a direct to metal sealer first. I use House of Kolor KD series. KD3001 is black. Stuff bites like crazy and no need for sanding in between sealer and topcoat. Shoot it, let it flash and paint it. Good luck.
Black urethane single stage. I order from tcpglobal with a flattener added, call and request - they add by weight. Eastwood has a urethane chassis paint. Kirker has several gloss levels in black urethane.
Over epoxy, generally. Ill shoot urethane direct to metal if its freshly blasted and has plenty of tooth. Its my stuff, I dont do any paint work for others. I work so slowly, everything I work on gets a coat of epoxy once its clean. Its a good point. An epoxy chassis black with UV would be a good option, if the gloss level is right. Now ya got me thinking. Is there a medium gloss epoxy black with UV protection?
John Deere "Blitz Black". They use it on tractors. A lot of tractors are left outside and the paint holds up very well.
If you paint the pieces separately ,then bolt it together you will break the paint film around the heads of the bolts which will cause the rust to travel. I would suggest wiping the chassis down with rust remover / metal prep ,assembling the chassis and then coating it. There's only one primer that I know of ,that if it's scratched , the rust won't travel beyond the scratch
Brand new metal? Wow Then just clean and paint like normal. Wax and grease remover, sand/clean/epoxy. Use a decent automotive or industrial urethane.semigloss or flat. there are some industrial DTM paints. I would trust those much more than rattle can. PPG has a low cost semi gloss black in their Essentials line. Looks good, easy to shoot.
Hey Glenn- How about a pic of your roadster? Ned 1929 Ford Model A Roadster Prewar style Hotrod. Stock springs and ride height. 6 volt positive ground. Stock mechanical brakes. 1933 Model A factory replacement “Diamond” block. Model A trans & rear axle. Winfield SR B carb and matching Winfield intake manifold, Winfield ‘30s cast iron 6.1 “Yellow” head, Winfield SU1R cam, ‘32 Ford Model B distributor, NOS (‘80’s or earlier) 4 into 1 tube header. ‘32 Ford throttle linkage and spoon pedal. Rex-A-Co water temp gauge mounted in an early ‘30s Motometer column mount. Windshield chopped 5 1/2” and laid back. Steering column dropped with 2 stock Model A lower column clamps inserted. Roof chopped 6” in the back. Seat lowered 6" and moved back 6”, 3/4” plywood bases with memory foam. Repurposed all vinyl and canvas from ‘70's stock restoration. Rumble seat. Air Force surplus seatbelts. ‘35 Ford wire wheels. 6.00 & 7.50 Firestone’s. Guide 903J Headlights with original paint. Chopped and bent Model A headlight bar. Model A brake cross shaft repurposed into a front spreader bar and license plate holder. Model A rear bumper bracket and cross bracket repurposed into a rear nerf bar. Surfboard racks, 1”x1/2” steel tube wrapped in 1/4” cotton cord.
I've had Blitz Black on my '36 frame for about 12 yrs and it still looks good. I blasted my frame, etch primed it and sprayed the paint with hardener. The can says it can be used direct to metal. A lot of the black on the tractors is an E-coat process, or at least it was 35 yrs. ago. Gary
If you don't paint it shiny,it will be messy looking after a short time,shiny cleans up! ,flats an no shine don't. Great for the $,Gloss Black Rust-Oleum has worked well for me for over 60 years an can be fixed with a spraycan if needed.