Technical Painting a chassis your approach more than welcome

OK so I was chatting with @Tim a bit ago about painting the chassis on his A bone. he mentioned getting the Eastwood chassis paint but applying it with a brush instead of spraying it. And my mind started racing to what I have done over the years, makes me wonder what everyone else has either done or does.

So just to get the color part of it out of the way. Doesn't matter to me highboy body color is cool or contrasting. Powder coating is not something that anyone really does at home so lets leave powder coat out of the equation, no offense intended.

I'll start. My go to paint has always been Rustoleum and a brush. It seems to hold up well for me and it seems like there was always a can or two of Rustoleum around. I have rattle canned a few and sprayed a few with a gun. But as for quick 'n' easy for me a brush and a can of Rustoleum seems less messy and always an option.

Any other ideas? Maybe you have brushed the Eastwood stuff (or a different brand)or used some sort of really cool paint that no one else does?

Come on spill it.

 

Etching primer then
Tremclad (black) in a can and brush it on.
Used it on my 32 chassis. I like it.

 

Going to spray mine with epoxy primer and then body color acrylic urethane.

 

i have painted frames many different ways from a brush to sprayed on the rotisserie .
on the hot rod, because the body and frame have never been separated i rustoleum brushed it like my dad did in the fifties when he built it .

 

Always seemed to hold up well for me. It does have a tendency to dull a bit after a while, so maybe not the perfect paint for a high boy.

I shot a model 40 chassis with wrinkle paint for a guy once. I told him it would be hard to keep clean but he didn't seem to care.

 

My brother just did his trailer frame with POR-15 , self leveling , brushed on, looks great so far.

 

The last frame I painted was an AA truck frame. I used POR15 and brushed it on. I used there prep materials and followed the directions to a T and it turned out looking like it was powder coated. I am very happy with it. Make sure you where latex gloves as that shit won't come off if it gets on your skin.

 

But you'll never rust.

 

Beeno,on Brenda's Ranch Wagon I sand blaster the frame and proceeded to paint the chassis with Rustoleum red primer & Semi-gloss black enamel ~ with a brush.







When it came time to pant the car,the portion of the frame that could be seen before the front sheet metal was installed was wet sanded and then sprayed with a automotive enamel,so far it's worked out well. HRP

 

I used Por15 as well and it worked great but it has no UV protection without using their UV protective topcoat so it may not be the best for a high boy.

 

As has been mentioned POR-15 is not a topcoat. It is a primer. In order for it to survive over the long-haul, you need to fog on a light coat of a top coat while it is drying to get a tie-in, and they top coat it afterwards. Otherwise, sunlight will destroy it.

Likewise, if it was not applied over actual rust, or a very roughened surface it will peel off in sheets.

 

Valspar Farm, Tractor and Implement maintenance enamel. I get it at Tractor Supply in a gallon can and use a brush. it lasts forever and goes on smooth as glass. Really tuff too. Great for frames and chassis parts.

 

We use Valspar tractor paint a lot around here. never thought of brushing it.

 

I'm curious how the tractor supply paint and por 15 is for touching up.

Say you do a motor swap and need to paint the new frame side of the mount to match? Move a steering box or maybe you just dropped something on it and gashed the shit out of it?

lol maybe a raccoon wanted to seenunder neath at speed?

 

I second the Tractor paint.
r

 

Scratches and chips you touch up with a black crayon. I learned that trick from a show car guy.

 

The Tractor paint is great for touching up. I just replaced the front cross member in my 39 sedan and then through a coat on it to keep it clean. Ill touch it all up before I put the front end together for good. The gallon I have is about 2 years old and still as good as the day I bought it. Here are some pics of what it looks like from the thread on my 39. Below is a link to the thread for my 39 as well.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/bringing-my-39-back-to-life.1018747/

 

Sounds like a winner

How is it for dry time/stink?

 

I put my frames on two engine stands and then turn the frame on it's side . that way you don't have to lean over frame to do the inside. when that side is done just turn the frame over to the other side to finish painting

 

I bought a quart of Valspar for my running gear parts, primered my axle housing bells, rear 'bones, and some other stuff.
Buddy Mark Codd came by with his '31 Highboy...wife Joey reveled at his black paint and running board aprons. Car is superb!
Mark said he used 2 stage on the body and aprons...but Valspar on the chassis and V8 wire wheels. (he handed me a quart of the Valspar, said he'd bought too much)
I went to Tractor Supply 3 or 4 days later...the Valspar had been REMOVED by some 'suits' just 2 days before...PAINT CONTAINED OIL!!!
They now have a water based California paint...CRAP! California Dreaming is fading...along with memories of my surf board...
Guess I'll have some 'imported', by my Out-of-State' buds...

 

I put gray primer on one of them, then black paint over it, and quickly discovered that the speckles of primer where the gravel hit it doesn't look very good. So since then I've just used black paint. but there are a few that I never bothered to paint more than the front end of the frame. Usually with a rattle can.

 

Ha! I did this in my shop, too. GREAT idea! (when stands weren't tied up with SBCs and other projects!)
Truth be told, I 'matched' one of my existing stands with another just for the painting trick!

 

I have done powder coat on a few frames. This is an 80% gloss black

I can grind off paint as needed for minor modifications, and just spray from a can to hide it. The other frame was about twenty years old powder coat and still in great condition. Unless it is a show car, powder coating is tough and black underneath it pretty well hidden. ...and it is fairly cheap.

 

Dry time is about 24 hours and its good and hard, if in the garage. I did a 54 f100 frame out in the sun and it was rock hard in about 6 hours. you cant beat this stuff its great and a callon will do about 2 full car frames with a few coats on each. Smell is not bad at all, its all but gone in about an hour and as long as I have the garage door open it never wafts into the house.

 

Rustoleum semi gloss black with a foam roller . No brush marks. Or thin it with acetone and spray it with my $14.00 Tool bin HVLP gun with a 1.8 tip.

 

Cool, I'll try to make it a driveway project on a warm day if possible. That finish and application sounds like just what I need.

 

I rattle canned the suspension pieces on my T build and brushed Rustolem primer and gloss black as a cover coat. 2 coats of each. Looks like powder coat. On a side note, I thought I'd need a gallon, ended up only using a quarter of that.

 

Cheap... use Rustoleum in spray cans or brush, or thin and spray with gun easy to touch up later with brush......

 

I've done everything from Rustolium on drivers to full on prime, block sand, paint and buff on show cars. I usually sandblast, good coat of DP40 then color except the show car crap, always with a gun, I hate brushes myself. I did one with POR15 thinking I could skip the DP40, wasn't happy. Need to strip POR15 off of something? Just put a little brake fluid on it, it'll come right off. Ask me how I know.

 

Wise words indeed!


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