Wheel Horse Paint Recommendations

[Just getting started 22]

Been reading about all this painting of this color, that color, aerosol vs mixing. My real question is has anybody thought of using or have you used powder paint? My grandson is getting a powder painting set up for Christmas for the restoration he does of the old Tonka trucks instead of aerosol. I understand a person would need a bid oven or IR light to bake it off with, but it would be durable.

[Damien Walker 246]

4 hours ago, Just getting started said:

Been reading about all this painting of this color, that color, aerosol vs mixing. My real question is has anybody thought of using or have you used powder paint? My grandson is getting a powder painting set up for Christmas for the restoration he does of the old Tonka trucks instead of aerosol. I understand a person would need a bid oven or IR light to bake it off with, but it would be durable.

Hello...I use powder coat for most things now...it is tougher than anything but does tend to chip. It is also potentially rather thick. I use an ordinary domestic oven @180c I think and for approx 10-15mins. The best bit about it is that you can go from a bare part to a finished part very quickly. I use zinc loaded undercoat if a more durable finish is required and I usually blast clean too as this also gives a good key for the paint. Bad clean up is disastrous if the item is going to live outside. If water gets underneath the paint, it will eventually flake off the increasingly rusty metal so make sure it is properly clean and keyed before you start.

 

Cleaning time depends on the size of the item but small brackets can be cleaned, undercoated, top coated and cooled down within an hour....I usually apply the top coat to the hot undercoated item (hot flocking) as this helps reduces the high voltage shadowing effects that can  stop the paint getting into corners.

[PetesPonies1 117]

If you use a quality urethane clear, your painted items will be very durable. I paint, I have also done some powder coating. I prefer top paint. 

[oliver2-44 9,785]

@PetesPonies1 do you know if it works to put a urethane clear top cot over a non urethane base. Such as over single stage acrylic or even Rustoleum oil base enamel with hardener 

[PetesPonies1 117]

43 minutes ago, oliver2-44 said:

@PetesPonies1 do you know if it works to put a urethane clear top cot over a non urethane base. Such as over single stage acrylic or even Rustoleum oil base enamel with hardener 

So . . by the book . .definitely a no-no. Have I cheated a few times and seen decent results? Yes, sometimes. But when trying something new, you have to be ready for failure. So .. if the paint has a hardener in it and you let it cure, then your chances are pretty good. You will have to scuff though before the clear. Spraying it wet -on-wet as you would for BC/CC . .then it depends. and I believe it has a lot to do with thickness. I have sprayed some tractor wheels with "tractor" paint, then cleared. Sometimes it worked out well and other times the final finish was not as smooth as it was when first sprayed. So it reacted some with the "base" paint. BC is very, very close to lacquer in it's make-up. Very thin, and the vehicle comes out very fast. That way it is ready to be cleared in a relatively short time,  . .15 minutes to an hour, or the next day, etc. But enamel is slow to cure, has a lot of vehicle in it to come out and that is the major reason for problems when you spray a clear over it that will cure in 5 minutes, 30 minutes or a few hours. You are trapping chemicals that need to come out. Some spray can tractor paint . .let it cure over night,warm days . . then hit it with a coat of clear and it might work out ( I have had  it work ). BUT . .definitely not the way it is supposed to be used 

[Damien Walker 246]

20 hours ago, PetesPonies1 said:

If you use a quality urethane clear, your painted items will be very durable. I paint, I have also done some powder coating. I prefer top paint. 

If you want a show quality finish, then I would agree. Carefully applied multiple coats of 2 pack paint will give you a very durable, uv resistant and beautiful result.....but it takes a lot of time and effort to achieve this. I have to admit to only requiring a durable finish suitable for a working machine, in which case, powder coat wins hands down if you have an oven big enough! I get the big stuff done professionally and the finish is better than anything I can achieve with wet paint. The other disadvantage about powder is the selection of colours that are available...wet paint can be mixed to your specification as can powder, but a batch of bespoke powder is VERY expensive. I'm in the UK so Toro Red (Pantone 186c) is not available as we use RAL and BS colours. I use small surplus quantities of powder (probably excess stock) off ebay which makes powder coating very affordable, but you have to accept the colours that are available. For Wheelhorse parts, I use British Post Office Red which looks OK in daylight but in reality is a little light/orange  compared to Pantone 186c. 

 

Warning: I found a cross reference to RAL3027 but (assuming my coating company got it right) it turned out rather pink. I have nothing against the LGBT community but this was going a bit too far!