Raw steel frame advice

[contador]

Hi,
This is going to be my next build.
Steel frame.And after stripping all the paint I want to keep it raw.
I live in a rainy place near the ocean so some kind of clear finish is a must.


Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[gestalt]

Eastwood diamond clear is about the best stuff you can get for bare metal. I would suggest putting on as many coats as possible and prepping the surface with something to get rid of any residual oils and fingerprints.

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-diamond-clear-gloss-bare-metal-aero-11-oz.html

 

[bowlofsalad]

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=100 This maybe? Be sure to wear a respirator : )

 

[dogman dan]

Biggest issue with clear coats is the sun eats em up fast due to the lack of solid pigments to protect against the UV. So it would depend on how sunny your place is. Laquers don't last, so be sure to get a good polyurathane. Best would be an automotive two part epoxy type. Not anything in a spray can. But then you gotta have a sprayer. Touch up guns work good for bikes.

 

[migueralliart]

Paint it with the clear then plasti-DIP the thing. It will last forever and you can pressure wash the plastidip and then apply a new coat when you're tired of it.

 

[aroundqube]

Here is what the hot rodders use to protect their bare metal " Rat Rod " old cars. They swear by it,year round, left outside. And you can paint directly over it. Gibbs brand lubricant. http://www.gibbsbrandlubricant.com

 

[contador]

Thank you all guys.

Well we dont see the sun very often in winter Dogman.
But whatever top coat I use I guess I will have to use a good clear primer either...
Plasti Dip sounds good if it works as a sealant keeping air and moisten out.

Any one have used ceramic coat?it seems perfect :strong,thin and lihgter
than powder coat,but you need a owen big enough and too much heat to cristalize.

 

[AussieJester]

if you're going to all the trouble, don't forget the inside of the tubes, CRC sell just the thing, as do most auto motive stores and hardware stores do... best of luck..

KiM

 

[dogman dan]

Something like the enamel they use to make pins and cheap jewelry? I believe that stuff is a true ceramic glaze, but very low fire. The clear glazes I worked with on handmade tile melted at 1200 F or so, but they tended to craze a lot when run through a diswhasher if used for dishes. Too inflexible when there is lots of expanding and contracting.

Are there other types of glaze used on cars and motorcycles? I was unaware of them. If there is such a thing as clear powdercoat, that should kick ass.

What works good here in the desert, is the catalysed enamels. Give you similar hardness to factory baked on car paint, and is wet sandable for the real buffed paint mirror look. For the look, nothing beats old school laquer, but laquer just won't last in the high desert sun.

Have you thought about gun blueing? I always thought a steel bike would look cool in gun blue.

 

[Drunkskunk]

I would let it get a good layer of surface rust, then oil it with gun oil. That's a technique called browning, and is used on rifles and antiqued iron work.

 

[contador]

Thanks AussieJester I will work the inside tubes..

The ceramic Im talking about is this
http://www.ceramikoat.com/pics/products/stdcolors/colors.html

And yes I thougt about gun blueing but that will need to reaply very often .

I really dont care a litle bit of rust,but I dont want it to completely corrode the frame.
Anyway at the end I will go the route most likely to do it myself and affordable.

Thanks again for the replies

 

[gestalt]

Those ceramic coatings are killer! I've been wondering about what way to clear coat raw steel and was thinking powder coat was the way to go, but after doing some research on ceramic coating I have serious doubts about powder.

Would make a nice cottage industry to start up as there are soooo many powdercoaters out there and ceramic seems to be competitive in price.

 

[contador]

Those ceramic coatings are killer! I've been wondering about what way to clear coat raw steel and was thinking powder coat was the way to go, but after doing some research on ceramic coating I have serious doubts about powder.

Would make a nice cottage industry to start up as there are soooo many powdercoaters out there and ceramic seems to be competitive in price.

Well I think they have clear coat ceramic , I dont know the pros and cons of the process nor the results in the long run
But I do know clear powder does not seal the frame completely.

Maybe I will give blue gun a try as Drunkskunk and Dogman suggested The only problem with that is I wanted a durable finish
in case I want to sell the bike to someone ,and Im not sure about blue gun for that purpouse...


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