Paint strength and other characteristics

Strngth of paint is governed by the thickness of the paint applied. A simple single coat of paint is usually only 0.003" thick. So, if you are using acrylics and lacquer paints, you will need at least 10 coats of paint min to have any real protection.

Your best protection will be to have it powder coated with a flat black, or satin finish. And yes, with a flat/ satin finish, it will only be according to how much rub will be applied to the surface before it starts to pollish up and gloss on you.

My suggestion is to powder coat it, clear coat it, and then apply 5 more coats of flat black. This will give you base coat a chance to protect your surfaces and the 5 coats of flat will help give the appearence you desire. 8-)

Maximo

I have never heard of anything being sprayed with 10 layers for strength! The paint will have a strength of its own and multiple coats are done for coverage I have been told.

The guy that is going to do my bike is a professional painter in my place of work and that is all he does all day long. The fact that it is on scientific equipment parts is neither here nor there, spraying paint is spraying paint.

Powder coating is good for frames and that sort of thing. Wouldn't do my tank, fenders and side covers with it. Some items are fibreglass so conventional powder coat would not work.

That matt finish is a property of the surface of the paint.

Your painter friend is right that rubbing will effect the appearance unevenly.

Matt finishes will also really hold dirt & grime.

You're buying yourself a maintenance headache.

I think so too and I have made up my mind to go high gloss with a clear varnish.

Thanks

Hmm, I've seen something on painted matt black surfaces from Alsa Corp's paint line. They've got quite the variety as well. The mirror finish looks pretty good as well.

Check it out at http://alsacorp.com/paints.htm

FYI, I don't work for their company. Just glanced at it as a viable alternative for my ride back in the day.

Simply love the cobweb stuff, wow wish I could do that more cost effectively. $89 for a quart??? That is steep. Also will have to ship with insurance and than end up paying import duty and tax. I doubt if they have a seller here in the UK unfortunately.

Thanks for the link though, much appreciated.

Hi heathe71,

Changed my mind about the price when I figured out that a quart (US) is actually bigger than I thought it was so the price is actually ok.

Contacted them for more pricing info and shipping details or local dealers.

If it works out I will go with the blue cobweb stuff.

Thanks again for your link, I had never seen anything like it before so if it works out, I owe you some credit.

Have it rhino coated

There are tools to compare thickness and adhesions on coatings - you might try to find someone in your area who has them. (many medium size Fiberglass shops have access to this stuff - it is important to be sure to get good adhesion of gel coat to resin matrix and to evaluate the resin/filler relationships for glassing on high ticket items)

To compare the paint adhesion of one to the other, look for someone in your area who has a device like an 'Elcometer' -

http://www.elcometer.com/international%20index%20pages/international/Coatings/index.htm

This is a device that in combination with cross scratching is glued to a test area and then a known amount of force is applied to pull the paint apart from the substrate. The additional thicknesses as mentioned elsewhere are a good idea (as long as the correct prep is done to insure adhesion between layers) for a thicker protective coating, and yes, Matte depends on the surface not truly being flat - aka the peaks and valleys are what trap and keep the light from bouncing back (and will trap and hold dust and dirt as well. The gloss will improve as you polish off the peaks and make the surface flatter -

Unfortuneately, you'll have other issues as well, light scratchs can make scratched areas "glossier" - as they flatten peaks as well. As you polish out scratches, you polish out peaks and add flattness.

The Powder Coated idea wasn't bad - there are some 'fence posts' that are put up around swimming pools that have a low gloss matte finish that aren't bad to get an idea of what is possible -

good luck

Jim

I am spraying not gelcoating.

I understand. My answer was for any others lurking this thread who might have an interest in how to determine whether one coating (could be paint, could be gel coat, could be powder coating, etc) adhered better than another on materials.

Sounds like you are coating something previously painted, and something that was gel coated - The paint is likely to adhere about the same to the primer if it is use on all -

good luck

Jim

Hi Case,

If money is no object (although I doubt it, being a DIY project), you could give a glance at laser-ing it for a real true black effect. No light reflection from this puppy...

Wow, yeah baby loves that! Money, as you already said, sadly is a factor.

Will probably go for neutral base primer on the existing coat after 600 sand paper treatment.

2 or 3 coats high gloss black with 1 or 2 coats of clear varnish. Job done and Bob is my uncle.

I know I just mentioned it above as I was just running my butt off at the time.

However Rhinocoat is quickly becoming an alternative to paint in some areas when you want it to be durable as well as maintaining its state.

I am not sure of the compound and yes it would be more expensive than paint but when its finished you cant get it to come off without a hammer and chisel.

It also comes in a matte finish that won't polish up from wear for a very long time and to dress it back you can simply lay a fine grit of sand paper on it and rub against the sandpaper with a block of wood to restore the matte finish.

Virtually indestructible after its applied and has been tested thoroughly and is considered to be bomb proof when applied to brick on both sides.

Now that might be a little extreme but its still cheaper than laser

Plus which, I have seen Rhino (or a near equivalent, could have been a different name, but looked the same) in colors other than black. A friend had the sides of his pickup done in a blue that closely matched the factory color so he wouldn't have to worry about scratching his paint when he drove the truck out in pastures watering/feeding stock or hunting.

Case491

PPG paint at one time had an additive called flatting agent (spelling??) you could add to automotive paint, depending on how you mixed it, you would end up with, eggshell, flat, semi flat, and flat or anything in between. you would have to check, but I don't remember ever being able to buff to a high shine.

One thing about matt is that it is as much appearance as surface characteristics. Depending on the strength of the polymer in the body of the paint, you will always get the scuffing to some degree.

Thanks anyway, my painter told me the best matt is obtained with an additive. I have however decided to go with gloss for convienience.