Hey everyone! So I've stripped my cars interior of all the parts needed to make it light enough to detach the body from the frame for my single stage paint I bought. And thanks to everyone's suggestions I'm confident the paint will look good! But now I'm worried about the bare metal panels that are to go over my painted car. My buddy at Bear Metal Kustoms punched about 700 louvers on the hood, roof, decklid and lower decklid panel... my question is to you... how do I get my bare metal panels to stay like that??? I want something permanent, WD-40 and scotch Brite is not something I want to keep doing and I don't want clear coats. It doesn't work. I read wax works as a permanent solution... and I'm going to go for it! Only question now is... how? Anyone got any tips?? The look of 'voodoo psychosis' is what I'm going for. Painted body, bare metal louvered panels. Not as kustom as this at all, since my policy is function iver form... but you get the point. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I haven't heard of wax treatment for bare metal but it wouldn't take much to do a test panel and see how it holds up. " Gibbs" brand lasts quite a while but it's not permanent. It's not high mainainence either. There's some pretty cool artsy multi step paint treatments that look a lot like bare metal. There also Some powdered metal and resin stuff that you can actually polish, I've done copper and brass with good results but they have a bunch of others metals too.
The permanent solution is paint. And even that needs maintenance. As far as I know your best bet is Gibbs. Or swap your panels out for aluminum ones.
I have NOT found ANYTHING that will LAST more than 4 months ... nothing without reapplication. Subscribed here for the REAL answer.
Agreed with HOK. I have an OT VW bus that has quite a bit of bare metal where the OG paint has disappeared. I have tried every type of wax and oil to keep the bare metal looking clean and fresh but nothing is maintenance free. My current treatment is Colonite fleet wax which seems to hold up pretty well against the elements. But once mother nature breaks the wax down there's always a little freshening up to do. I keep the bus under a cover but once the moisture has evaporated from the wax I have to reapply. Just the cost of bare metal. And since the OP is in Long Beach, the salt content in the air will accelerate rusting even faster. Let us know what you find, NAES
You might try to hunt up a can of Sheila Shine. It's made mostly for stainless and chrome but seems to be usable on any metal surface. http://www.sheilashineinc.com/professional-advice/ It's not a permanent coating, but a protectant. But it's very easy to apply and a little goes a long way.
each to their own on looks - sample pic dying to be finish painted - will be watching for the non-paint/high maintenance solution
I hate to beat a dead pony, but bare metal is not nearly as trad as paint. Paint helps keep the panels from rusting too. Its a sweet car and its not mine but if it was mine I would consider painting it.
Falcongeorge would give you a scolding for not painting it. Paint it. Just like they did back in the 50's and 60's. ..
Bare metal is soooo Y2K. Once your hands are all chewed up from putting some kind of protectant around all those louvers, you'll wish you only had to do it once.
Actually if a man were willing to spend an hour or so with google there is a way to chemically pickle the metal that will last quite a while. it changes the color of the metal a bit, but if bare metal is a must it is a good enough trade off. yes pretty new millennium
Let him scold all he wants. The guys who raced these in the 30s and 40s must've cringed at 50s and 60s builds. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Which I love all hot rod builds, btw. Not bashing on anyone's taste. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
New Millennium or not, I'm trying to go more for the way lakesters had bare aluminum panels, except I can't afford all of those panels in aluminum so bare steel will do for now Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Why not go down and talk to your local powder coater. They make gloss, semi gloss, and flat clear. Just tell them you want it clean metal and not sandblasted before the powder clear gos on.
http://www.nyalic.com/Automobiles-_c_21.html I have a buddy who has a bare metal 34 coupe and a bare metal custom merc and uses nyalic rattle cans on both cars. Not cheap but super durable. I think it was designed for commercial kitchen applications.
We have tried that experiment before. Our result was that the metal turns grey during the curing process, and the end result didn't really look like bare metal anymore. We had a customer who was interested in doing it to a roadster body. But, it's still worth asking, maybe someone else has had success.
DUDE THIS STUFF IS AWESOME!!! Your answer is what I've been waiting for, NOT people's opinions on finishes! This stuff looks like it should do the trick. I'll post pictures of the progress as I move into it. Thanks again!! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The Sunday Morning car show guys (not to the prime time car dramas) have been using Sharkhide on bare metal. I saw Stacey David use it on brake lines as I recall.
Ahh yes... "Shiela" has a little different meaning in Oz, doesn't it. Luckily, I can procure mine locally.
These are the two cars i was talking about. The 34 is not patchy like it appears. Both covered in Nyalic rattle can. Both with superb bare metal finished bodies. Thanks to Jimmy and Kerry Keeys of Ace patterns NZ.