Painting the engine, gas tank, etc..

[Hot Dog Piggy Tails]

Krylon

Enamel Clear coat worked ok but to get it a harder seal I have to change its drying Environment temp from hot (75 - 85 deg Farenheit to cold 45 deg 5 hrs to 70 deg for 4 hrs then I uasually let it set in the shop an hr or two to naturalize. I have had gas on many weeks and no problem.. Fact of the matter I used Acrylic in these same steps of curing Temp and Its pretty good also. I use two coats(at least ) over primer then two to 4 coats of Clear and do the 1 hr and 24 hrs between as I have more than one bike usually or something Im doing and this works. the Enamel is WAY Shinier than the Acrylic. I think the Top coat Hardens the Lower coat every time it gets thinned. The Enamel is Superior as it goes on thicker. Don't test its curing time..this eliminated Poarse Surfaces.

 

[mikem]

Scale?

__Do you have access to a hobby airbrush pen? If you do, this is how I get around the gas eating the paint problem.
Ive painted all of my mini chopper projects. Believe it or not here's what I do...
__Smallest pint can of Gloss Rustoleum. 1/3 part Gloss Rustoleum to 2/3 parts of acetone. Yup, the acetone is 4 times more plosive than the gas and it evaporates 10 times faster. Gas dosent effect the paint because the paint isnt as potent as the acetone. The acetone seems to harden the paint, or chemically changes its base? 6 thin coats and the finish has plenty of gloss. Dries to the touch in 10 minutes. 3 coats of wax after 5 days.
__I havent dumped gas on it for hrs, but ive wipped it off after 3-4 minutes with no problems.
Im sure automotive paint may be better, but I dont want to pay $45.00 for a quart of paint. $40.00 for thinner and resins/hardners. Im just cheap! $12.00 and I paint the whole mini chopper. I only use about 8 tbl spoons of paint for the entire chopper. Good luck on whatever you do. graucho

Graucho ... thanks for the paint tip.

Beautiful bikes! Don't mean to get off topic here but I wonder if you have a picture of one of the bikes with someone one on it or beside it ... for scale. They look like full size bikes but I see they're called "mini".?

 

[fastboy9]

Anodized jug would look awesome, maybe anodized cobalt blue for the jug and head and high temperature matt black for the rest? mmmmmmmmmm

 

[Flapdoodle]

I used Krylon indoor/outdoor paint on my gas tank. It was a disaster! First drop of gas the paint came off. I tried NAPA brand engine enamel. Works great and polished easily to a mirror finish, but you are limited to colors. Any spillage just wipes off.

Anyone else know a good gas tank paint?

 

[graucho]

Graucho ... thanks for the paint tip.

Beautiful bikes! Don't mean to get off topic here but I wonder if you have a picture of one of the bikes with someone one on it or beside it ... for scale. They look like full size bikes but I see they're called "mini".?

Mike, Photo...as per your request.

Don't mean to get off topic here also, but im still talking paint. If you want a good paint job
you need a medium quality airbuush pen. Im talking hobby shop/artstore quality kit.
Under 70.00 graucho

****blick.com/products/paasche-model-h-single-action-airbrush/
It wouldn't let me type in the web site due to the first 4 characters **** being it started with d i c k. type this in on your url to get the site.

 

[mikem]

Very Cool!

Thanks Graucho ... very cool bikes, to say the least! (I'll shut up and let this thread get back on track.)

 

[Phil Gustafson]

well you have inspired me.Your bikes are very top shelf.Fixin to get a pipe bender so i can join in all the fun.keep up the great work.

 

[oldpot]

talking about painting the tank ,can you just paint over the tank without sanding ,ruffing up the paint that's on now etc ,i thinking about hand painting a union jack (i am from england)as the tanks are not that big but i dont want to spend a lot of money on primer and other stuff just for a tank , would modal paint work or what sort of paint would i need , or better with a few stickers instead.

 

[Scootmeister]

I have done a lot of projects with whatever paint was on sale and paid a high price in low durability. I have used Rustoleum and Krylon with mixed results. Krylon was a disaster, uneven application, clogged nozzles, and as has been stated, it came off if I sneezed on it. Rustoleum was much more durable if you let it "cure" for a week or so. Gasoline breaks both down over time, cured Rustoleum seems to hold up if you wipe the gas off quickly. Now I read the label on the can. If it says "oil and gas resistent" it has additives for better durability. On a recent project I used Dupli-Color and I will never go back. Even though it is a little pricey it goes on smoothly and evenly, the nozzle is light years better than others, and it is oil and gas resistent. I applied two coats of primer, 4 coats of base color and 2 coats of clear. The paint is a little thinner than Krylon or Rustoleum so you have to be careful to avoid runs. On the other hand, it fills pits, scratches and other imperfections better, and a can seems to go much further than cheaper brands. Here is a sample (I know, it's not an MB, but it's close).

 

[V 35]

The secret to a fuel proof finish is ** Long ** curing times. Since tanks are so cheap, why not buy a couple ahead to ' blueprint ' so when your inspired, you can take a cured, primed, tank out for painting. Prep is the keynote, * Thanks to Graucho for the paint tip * I like Valspar Spray bomb paint, I give tanks all winter to cure . I tried the Ceramic paints, not all that durable, fade + chip. BBQ Grille paint is ace for exhaust, heads, jugs, the origional heat proof finish is Galaxy Stove Polish , extremely tough = equally messy !