Preparing steel frame for painting
Use a 99% Isopropyl Alcohol and a paper towell to wipe the bare metal before applying the sealer or primer. Do not touch the metal with bare hands after wiping down with the alcohol. Use rubber gloves to eliminate oil residue that can be transfered from your skin on to the bare metal. I have been using 99% alcohol for years now instead of the grease and wax remover. It cleans and works so much better and eliminates any chance of fisheyes from contaminates or oil residue.
I use a DuPont type PrepSol cleaner on bare steel. All paint systems have this type of professional cleaner. SEM makes a great self etching, non sanding primer in grey. Good for small jobs like a mini bike frame when you don't want to clean a gun up. tack cloths are cheap insurance and a no brainer.
I have known folks to use an aerosol window cleaner like Sprayway to clean surfaces for painting.
I have known folks to use an aerosol window cleaner like Sprayway to clean surfaces for painting.
I also use Zinc Chromate on bare metal to seal it before primer. The Ole' Boys call it " vinyl wash "
Almost clear with a light green or yellow tint to it. Do not spray lots so that you can see it, it is to be sprayed very light.
I have some bare metal bars out in a none heated or moisture protected shop, they were sprayed with this over a year ago.
They are still bare, no primer or paint, just the Zinc. An all this time still no sign of rust.
Without it they would have been rusty in 24hrs.
Its just a good way to treat bare metal, you don't have to use this, if you don't want to.
PS, ware a breather, nasty stuff for the lungs
Almost clear with a light green or yellow tint to it. Do not spray lots so that you can see it, it is to be sprayed very light.
I have some bare metal bars out in a none heated or moisture protected shop, they were sprayed with this over a year ago.
They are still bare, no primer or paint, just the Zinc. An all this time still no sign of rust.
Without it they would have been rusty in 24hrs.
Its just a good way to treat bare metal, you don't have to use this, if you don't want to.
PS, ware a breather, nasty stuff for the lungs
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What has worked well for me as an amateur painter is to wipe down with mineral spirits. Then I use Rustoleum's self etching primer (like another, I can't find Duplicolor's self etching primer locally), then I use Rustoleum's 2-in-1 sanding primer which is a primer surfacer, it builds up the primer so that you can sand it smooth and get a smooth finish in the paint. Now, I switch over to Duplicolor's products, I use their Primer Sealer which mentioned earlier seals the primer coats to keep the top coats from mixing with the primer coats affecting the final color and shininess of the paint coats. I then continue with the Duplicolor paints. Pretty much all of the spray primers (self etching primers and primer surfacers) are lacquer based, so I am not too concerned about mixing manufacturers products at that level, despite all the warnings not to do so. I figure lacquer is lacquer and to date it has not been an issue for me yet. What I found to be most important while painting is curing temperature. I tend to paint more in the summer, since I have not had AC in my shop until this past summer, and let the workshop naturally heat up. That works pretty well for getting good results. My workshop easily gets into the high '80's in the summer. If you can get ahold of some inexpensive IR space heaters that should help, maybe put the frame and heater(s) into an insulated box for a few hours so that only a small portion of your workspace is heated into the 80 degree range, the heater should turn on and off to maintain the temperature as needed.
One thing I noticed in your photos is what looks to be fresh welds. Make sure you get rid of all the carbon and slag from those areas because they will affect how well the paint sticks. I hate wire wheels on an angle grinder, but that works about the best on cleaning up welds for painting, IMHO.
One thing I noticed in your photos is what looks to be fresh welds. Make sure you get rid of all the carbon and slag from those areas because they will affect how well the paint sticks. I hate wire wheels on an angle grinder, but that works about the best on cleaning up welds for painting, IMHO.
One more thing. A good book to learn about paint and painting metal is AutoBody Repair Technology. Its information may be a little dated when it comes to products, but it does have a lot of good information in it. For ex. the books says that Lacquer based primers are compatible with most types of topcoats and is very likely the reason that Duplicolor and Rustoleum primers are lacquer based.
Anyway, it's an expensive book because it is a textbook for autobody courses, but if you can find it at your library or used book shop, its worth picking up. You can get it cheaper if you use the Nook Study app. to "borrow" the electronic version of the textbook for 3 or 6 months, after that the DRM kicks in and you can't access the book anymore, even if the file is still on your computer (although there are supposedly ways to remove the DRM).
Anyway, it's an expensive book because it is a textbook for autobody courses, but if you can find it at your library or used book shop, its worth picking up. You can get it cheaper if you use the Nook Study app. to "borrow" the electronic version of the textbook for 3 or 6 months, after that the DRM kicks in and you can't access the book anymore, even if the file is still on your computer (although there are supposedly ways to remove the DRM).
This thread is very helpful as I am at the same place with my Bonanza frame. Really terrific information.
One other question. What is best color match to the Bonanza 1300 blue paint? I have been told 1966 Chev Marina Blue. What has everyone been using and how happy are you with the match?
Thanks.
Tom
One other question. What is best color match to the Bonanza 1300 blue paint? I have been told 1966 Chev Marina Blue. What has everyone been using and how happy are you with the match?
Thanks.
Tom
