one step chassis paint (again)
Last week, or maybe 2 weeks ago, I was on this site, asking about a good, one step black chassis paint that didn't need a primer beforehand, nor a top coat afterwards. I had a few responses, some people suggesting epoxies, some pushing POR15. I talked to the saled rep at POR15, and this stuff requires that the frame be first sprayed with a zink phosphate conditioner, then sprayed with POR15, then topcoated with something for a finish coat to prevent it from "chalking" if exposed to direct sunlight. I spoke to various paint reps about epoxies, but the general concensus was that you either have to live with a "flat" no shine finish to get an epoxy with good paint adhesion, or else spray a primer first, then topcoat with a gloss finish epoxy. It seems that whatever it is that makes an epoxy shiny, screws up its paint adhesion. After many phone calls and much web searching, it seems that the hot ticket for what I want is the Eastwood Companies "Black rust encapsulator". This stuff is not billed as being an epoxy, however it says that it can be applied directly over bare metal (rusted or new), it dries to a gloss, it doesn't need a topcoat, and supposedly doesn't fade or "chalk" in sunlight. I am going to try it, the only thing I'm not crazy about is its price---$49 per quart in Canada. The good thing is, you can buy it by the quart. I will post a picture after I have my roadster pickup chassis painted with this stuff.
