OK.... this clears things up now. My apologies to drfjr for working under the assumption that it was his picture in the album of which we were all speaking of. By the way..... sound advice coming from Drfjr.
Scline, yes, that is a Caswell product and yes, those results are a realistic value to what you should expect from such. If you look in the post that you highlighted.... even Caswell states (and I totally back him up on this one) it is not a "true" replacement for chrome. Moreover.... a "chrome" paint (powder in this case
) that is a reasonable solution to a whole plating process. Let me state CLEARLY that.... powdercoating will never be a substitute for actual chrome. Nor is plating a substitute for liquid coatings.... liquid not a substitute for powders.....etc and so on. The point is this. Any one particular coating is not the pinnacle of the industry or hobby. Yes, I even freely admit that powder has it's losses in quite a few areas as well. Take for example your "chrome" dilemma. At BEST it is still just a plastic coating. So... with that in mind, let's try to resolve your problem now,ok?
Chrome or ANY other heavily pigmented powder should be treated with extra caution. This holds true for bright reds, lime greens, and the like. If my post from long ago was read (even I forget where it is by now) any coating is comprised of 100% making a whole. Sometimes we need to make slight concessions when we want something unique in the formulation. If you want abrasion resistance more than anything else, we must give up other characteristics in that "100%" formulae. It's a known fact that anything chemically resistive is a very soft coating and not very pretty. You may find one or two suitable hues out there that you like, but traditionally they are basic colours. Likewise with anything really pretty. Aesthetic colours have no abrasion resistance and are difficult to work with do to the fact with heavy pigmentation such as your "chrome". Chip resistance? Sure, you can have that.... but you'll lose ground on UV abilities and possibly application technique. Do you catch my drift now? THIS is the "why" of the situation. Very few people remember why things are the way they are and it's a basic fundamental of your hobby. Learn "why" things are the way they are and the how takes care of itself.
For your particular dilemma. Strip the part. Get all of that old coating off and start from scratch. We've all done it (and I still do, truth be known) when there's been a dilemma. It's the nature of the beast that you join us in this "club" of learning. Call it your initiation if you will,lol.
Good... we have a nice solid foundation now. I'm going to focus on the re-application of powder now as opposed to the nuances of prep as I'm just going to assume you have that process under control by now (read other threads here just to be sure you don't miss any steps,k?). Good.....
In my experience, I've found it best to stand a good distance away from my part when coating. The goal here is to get all of that "very fine" particulate onto the part as opposed to what one would normally do in the case of say, a standard matte black. I'm talking a good 14-16 inches away from tip of gun to substrate at least. What this will do for you is assure application of only the "best" part of the powder. The goal here is to have it all look very uniform and much like a fresh "white metal" sandblast. Smooth, even,no lumps, no discoloration,etc. You get the idea now. Keep going until it's completely coated and you can see no metal shining back at you from under the coating. Yes, I know that's extremely tough to do with a coating that looks like fresh sandblast metal... but as stated before, special coatings, special circumstances. Now.... bake your part on the LOW cure cycle specifications to get a nice good flow. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong here, but my experience tells me 375 for 20-25 minutes PMT is appropriate. At that time.... you'll want to turn your heat down to approx 150F and "crack" the oven door. The goal here is to cool the part down, but not "shock" the coating itself. Let it set there for a good half hour, don't rush! After that time frame.... turn the oven off and take your part out. Let it cool for a while. Again.... stunning results take more intricate measures. This is going to last for years, so the application time is but a mere blink of the eye.
When the part is cooled, wipe it down with a brand new lint free soft cloth with denatured alcohol on it. The goal here is to eliminate any outside element of oxidation and give you the best surface available for the clear to adhere to. It is at this point that you will apply your clear topcoat and bake yet once again at 375F for 20-25 minutes. Repeat the same cool down process. Let it "settle" as a coating. I have no doubt you will get some "minor" dulling but nothing to get in a twist about. What you should have at this point is a good cross-link of both coatings and an appealing finish that you can be happy with. Again... I need to be very clear about this. Once you start this process, you must finish it! No bake of initial coat and then wait 3 days before the wipedown or some such. It will take a little longer than usual than most coatings but I'll repeat myself yet once again. Special coatings take special procedures! Take your time, don't rush, but have resolve in the matter once you start. IT WILL happen for you, I assure you. If you (or any of you for that fact) have any problems that you can't overcome and you either A) don't see the answer here, or B) find it unbearable to deal with it and you want a mor personalized answer.... I have a little e-mail button there for a reason! Use it! That's sort-of what I'm here for. I've spoken with many, if not most of you on the phone and have no doubt answered a ton of questions before. I'll no doubt do it again and don't mind it one bit. (call me at 3 in the morning and I'm gonna scream at you though,lol).
I hope this helps get you "back on track" with things and solves your problems. If it doesn't, we go back to the proverbial drawing board and take it step by step until you get it right. There's no question in that. We're here for each other and will never abandon one of our own in this manner. Aftar all.... we're in it together as a group, aren't we? Scline's dilemma today may just be your learning tool for tomorrow and vice versa. Learn from us as we learn from you and we all advance in out abilities. Thank you for clearing up things as to what you were referring to as it helped the confusion greatly. I anticipate and look forard to your results. Hope that helped...... Russ
12-11-2003, 10:31 PM
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