Chassis preservation options?

Chassis preservation options?

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Discussion

Moto

Original Poster:

1,261 posts

260 months

Sunday 17th April 2016
quotequote all
The chassis on the Vixen is very good. I understand it was stripped, repaired and painted in the 80's by a previous owner and I think they did a good job. However, it's now looking a bit shabby with some flaking paint and odd bits of light surface rust. I don't use it Nov - Mar, and it's always put away dry, therefore it's not going to deteriorate quickly. However I'd quite like to strip, check, repair if necessary and repaint it with POR15.

Has anyone got experience of doing this and have some tips.

Thx

Moto

Dollyman1850

6,319 posts

257 months

Sunday 17th April 2016
quotequote all
Take the body off over the winter.
Day to take it off, Couple of weeks to refurb the chassis, Day to put it back on, another couple of days to connect up the wiring etc..

N.

Astacus

3,488 posts

241 months

Sunday 17th April 2016
quotequote all
POR15 is very good stuff, I have used it a fair bit, but you have to follow the instructions properly.
It does need a good "key " for it to adhere though. If you are going to use it I would clean the chassis with petrol or some sort of solvent, then blast it clean and then paint it immediately with POR. A good trick is to do three coats, first black, second grey and third black again so you can see where you have painted. Also, don't use an old tin. Open it and use it immediately. A fresh tin flows much better and gives a better finish.
All that said, I don't think POR gives the best finish.
I prefer the ideas of either powder coating or 2-pack epoxy spraying after a zinc spray coat.

magpies

5,145 posts

189 months

Sunday 17th April 2016
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after re-painting I would cover all of the parts you will not see with Denso Tape - grease impregnated cloth used by utility companies when the put steel pipes in the ground.

anonymous-user

61 months

Sunday 17th April 2016
quotequote all
Dollyman1850 said:
Take the body off over the winter.
Day to take it off, Couple of weeks to refurb the chassis, Day to put it back on, another couple of days to connect up the wiring etc..

N.
Nice programming but optimistic as with all the faffing of parts replacement at the same time I would double the timings at least!

Moto

Original Poster:

1,261 posts

260 months

Monday 18th April 2016
quotequote all
Thx for the comments.

The reason for choosing POR15 is I experimented with it by painting our kitchen sink which is a very old galvanized animal feeding trough. The galvanise had worn off the inside lower area years ago, so I tried painting it with various products. Nothing lasted more than a couple of months due to the constant water and bashing from cutlery and crockery. Then about 18 months ago I tried POR15 and job done. Still not even a chip, crack or any sign of damage. I did follow the instructions to the letter though. I also painted the surface of a sheet of paper. Once dry you could scrunch it into a ball then let go and the paint would flex back to a perfect unbroken surface as before it was scrunched up. I found that quite incredible.

However as it is not UV stable it will need another top coat. Could this be done by powder coating or does that have to be applied to a metal surface?

simonpa

379 posts

290 months

Monday 18th April 2016
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The POR15 people have a top coat called hardnose, that is not broken down by UV.