Clear over bluing...

D

davydoo

Has anyone ever done this and was it successful? The specifics are that a customer wants his steel bicycle frame partially painted and the rest left in a state where you can see some of the raw frame. We've sprayed clear over raw steel for this purpose for bicycle shows, but it never lasts very long before it starts rusting and flaking. The idea here is to use the bluing as a rust preventive but I doubt that we can get good adhesion with the clear. Any other ideas to have some areas semi-transparent yet with durable clear protection?

Thanks.
 
The only thing I know of is Sharkhide. I've never personally used it, but I know a few who do, and they say it is effective, though it needs to be removed and reapplied periodically.
 
davydoo;30237 said:
Has anyone ever done this and was it successful? The specifics are that a customer wants his steel bicycle frame partially painted and the rest left in a state where you can see some of the raw frame. We've sprayed clear over raw steel for this purpose for bicycle shows, but it never lasts very long before it starts rusting and flaking. The idea here is to use the bluing as a rust preventive but I doubt that we can get good adhesion with the clear. Any other ideas to have some areas semi-transparent yet with durable clear protection?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

If you don't want to shoot clear, you may be able to degrease and have a clear powder applied first, then paint the areas you want to cover. If your customer would agree to skip the bluing and let you DA the frame with 80 grit first, you'd get more than enough bite for the powder. If you decided to go that route, I would test your paints directly over the cured powder. If you see any reaction (I seriously doubt you will), try sealing the painted areas with epoxy first, as I know the polyester powders can be affected by many different chemicals. My basis for these suggestions is because we have a product that gets a gray powder coat and sometimes we'll have someone scratch the finish, etc. I had Home Depot match the color for me in an alkyd and I sometimes shoot touch ups with a .6 mini gun. The alkyd is generally very mild compared to most urethanes/polyurethanes. I have successfully painted over gloss black polyester powder coat with a SS urethane for touch ups but I don't want to tell you that you 100% wont have an issue. Test first. If you have any doubts, epoxy as a sealer is always a safe bet.
 
I just noticed you're in Dallas, I'm in the DFW as well. I deal with 3 great places for powder, let me know if I can steer ya.
 
the clearcoat will work just fine BUT the metal needs to be prepped so it has a tooth and its clean. dont sand, clean and clear it on a humid day and you must wear gloves so your hands dont touch the metal. a grinded metal look which i have done a bunch of times always looks cool. i have seen others sand the metal to get it nice and clean then give it a brushed look by sanding in one direction with 180-220 grit paper then clearing it. powdercoat as turbo said is fine and durable but the metal will still rust if trapped. it no different than urethanes in that aspect. powdercoats tend to have a cloudiness to them as well. they arent crystal clear like an automotive clearcoat. just something to consider if that matters to you.
 
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