Chromex Help

[m67bd70x]

Hello group. Anybody having a difficult time achieving good finish with the chromex product? I'm trying to coat my friend's exhaust for his quad. Three pieces.....canister, pipe and small elbow. Followed the instructions to the "T".

Blast parts....pre-heat....cool....paint with hvlp....20min dry....cook at 500 for 1 hour....steel wool-0000.....buff.

I have now done all three pieces at least 3 times each trying to get a smooth finish. The finish is alwalys texturized no matter what I do unless I put a heavy enough coat of chromex on and then DA or hand sand part with 500-1000 grit paper before buffing.

A few times durring the cure cycle, the cromex displayed cracks in the coating and then peeled away durring buff. Of course, I had to start all over.....again!

Well, I give up! I've done the parts so many times, there is very little chromex left out of the 1 quart container. Wondering If this is a bad batch or something.

I may try to convince him to go with high temp powder instead.
Right now, I have too much time invested with poor results to use this product.

Any ideas is appreciated. Thanks group.

[Popeye]

I think you want a fairly smooth finish to start with.. Liquid paint doesn't "fill" like powder.
How are you removing the coating between reworking it?

[m67bd70x]

Popeye. Thanks for the reply.

I re-blast down to bare metal. At first I was using a medium grade sand and then tried just using glass bead. Got the same results after the cure cycle.

[pickleboy]

when doing any of the cromex or exotic coatings you should be blasting with aluminum oxide.

[Popeye]

As usual, Pickle is correct!
Try a test piece of pipe, just make sure it's clean and smooth...

[m67bd70x]

Thanks guys. I will give it another shot using pickle's suggestion on blast media.

Thanks again.

[bzer1]

Are the pipes new? If they're used...could it be possible that you might be getting some oil or carbon contamination?

[m67bd70x]

Thanks for all your help guys! Here is a link to some pics of the exhaust in the caswell forum. My friend says he is pleased with the finish. I guess I shouldn't beat myself up too bad......just striving for perfection..... ya know?

The next set will turn out better! There is room for improvement.
Anyway, thanks again Popeye, pickleboy and bzer1.


http://forum.caswellplating.com/phot...g&ppuser=22047

[pickleboy]

hey bro i would be happy to put my name on it if you are displeased with the turnout. i think it looks great

[SHAWN93]

That exhaust system turned out awesome. Stop beating yourself up.