VHT Epoxy Paint -- an unexpected discovery

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Last year, I used a bunch of rattle can VHT Epoxy Paint to coat the chassis parts of my wife's 1967 Sportster. I had about a half can of it left over when a really crusty/rusty mouse trap booster fell into my mitts.

The mouse trap had been chromed and the chrome was in poor shape. So, I decided to simply black out the parts for now. I tossed them in a vibratory tumbler with coal slag for 24 hours. That removed the rust, the majority of chrome, and roughened the nickle layer very nicely.

I washed the parts in simple green and hot water, hung them up, and hit them with three very thin coats of the VHT Epoxy.

At the same time, I dipped other parts in Rustoleum Aluminium paint -- which from two feet away looks a lot like cad plating. The trick to using the rustoleum is to bake it for an hour or so at 200 degrees F.

Well, while Mrs. Chuck was out running errands and I had the stove to myself . . .I figured I might as well speed up the VHT curing. A few hours after they were no longer tacky -- I put the parts in the oven.

What happened next was totally unexpected. I've used the VHT Epoxy a few times and it is a run happy paint. I had three runs on one flat surface and normally they level only a little bit. Well, after an hour in the oven the runs were almost totally flat. More importantly the parts were HARD. I mean really, really hard. Again, I've used the VHT before and never had the parts come out this chip resistant. Normally, they aren't that much tougher than enamels or single stage acrylic.

The baking totally transformed the finish. It's at least twice as hard and chip resistant as air dried. It also didn't smell at all in the oven -- which is weird too.

Anyways -- I didn't expect anything other than a fast cure. The extra gloss, leveling, and hardness was a bonus.

Speed Safely.

[gitguy]

Very interesting that your technique produced this favorable result. Something to put in the gray matter archive!

[craig (DE)]

Very cool surprise and results. That is also weird about the no odor while baking.

[projectstarter]

VHT epoxy black paint is one of the better rattle can paints I have used for gloss finish.

[govmule84]

Sneaking parts into the oven...I learned that was a recipe for an explosion. I learned that the first year I was married.

In addition to this tip, I'll offer another that is not exactly the same, but in the same vein.

I learned a while back that when painting exhausts with hi-temp paint I could combine dry and cure times by torching the paint.

I've dinged soft paint when installing exhausts that were not cured. I've also ridden bikes that stank for a long time if the pipes weren't very hot. (Looking at you, two-stroke junk.) Further, if a set of pipes is long enough, the back end may never really get hot enough to cure in a reasonable time frame.

Enter the torch. You can spray and heat almost immediately. Paint cures very evenly, and then you also get rid of the stink in one shot, and you can put up an exhaust with glass-hard paint, reducing the possibility of unsightly nicks.

Has worked wonders for me over the years; maybe it will help one of you other guys.

[larry]

I wonder if oven curing makes the finish fuel resistant.

[T. Cotten]

I wonder if oven curing makes the finish fuel resistant.

It improves resistance, of course, Larry!

But that doesn't mean it will be fuel-proof in the ever-changing and infinite variety of fuels, and combinations thereof.

Even powdercoating proved that.

....Cotten

[gitguy]

Thinking maybe rather than use the oven in the kitchen, why not set the parts in a gas grill outdoors?

Also, rather than use a torch on exhaust components has anyone try to "cure" the paint with a heat gun?

Has anyone tried these techniques?

[T. Cotten]

I like the convenience of kerosene, GitGuy!

baked perfection.JPG

.....Cotten
PS: I am producing fuel gauge floats for Perfection heaters.
PPS: I hate paint.

[chuckthebeatertruck]

The challenge with bbq grills is controlling the temperature. They often get too hot for all but exhaust paints.

I prefer to use the grill for parkerizing.

It sorta all comes down to what you are comfortable with and what your experiments yield.

[T. Cotten]

Don't forget toaster ovens and heat lamps, Folks!

CHEMSOAK.jpg

(Especially when it comes to removing botched paint.)

..Cotten

[gitguy]

The challenge with bbq grills is controlling the temperature. They often get too hot for all but exhaust paints.

I prefer to use the grill for parkerizing.

It sorta all comes down to what you are comfortable with and what your experiments yield.

I was thinking of putting in a piece of sheet metal over the grill grate to diffuse the heat more evenly. My grill has a thermometer and I also have one of those laser temperature gauges that I can use to check the temp. I may try this and see if I can control the temperature this way.

I can't wait to try some parkerized burgers, Chuck! Thanks for the tip

[T. Cotten]

Toaster oven warning, Folks!

Got a large one in the paint pit for cylinders and cases, etc. Or what's left of it.

A partner ignored shop procedure of warming rattlecans in a Nalgene beaker of hot water at the adjacent sink.
I ran down the steps into the dark after the big bang, to find him picking glass out of his face. And he left a big chunk o' hair in the garbage can.

I hate paint.

....Cotten

[chuckthebeatertruck]

I can't wait to try some parkerized burgers, Chuck! Thanks for the tip

The trick is to use a big old stainless steel warming tray. They are dirt cheap from Amazon at roughly $18 -- or you can dumpster dive behind catering and food service places. They toss out dozens of these trays. I use the 18" versions which hold just over two gallons/8 liters of solution and are long enough to do axles, etc.

I have a grill with four burners and then the side burner. I put a bucket of boiling water on the side burner to preheat and degrease parts -- then right into the park solution. No contact with the grill itself. nice part is that the most dangerous chemical is the phosphoric acid; which is pretty low grade in park solutions. I wouldn't drink the maganese solution . . .but doing some stuff outside is not much of an issue.

Here's a photo from when I was doing it indoors on hot plates -- but same concept.

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Cotten -- it looks like you and I are dumpster diving at the same places . . . I often find a lot of my favorite "tools" behind businesses and scattered at second hand stores.