Painting polished stainless

[Fordguy1964]

I am in the process of a rotisserie restoration of a 64 Fairlane. In the center of the side trim is a painted stripe. Mine happens to be white but red, black and blue were also used from the factory. Once I polish the stainless what is the suggestion of what to put on the stainless to allow the paint to adhere to it? I hate taking all that time to polish it out only to scuff it back up in the center but if that is what it takes... I don't want the paint flaking or rubbing off in 6 months.

Thanks!

 

[rlitman]

How about a vinyl strip?

 

[Kevin54]

Contact CudaChick1968 and see what she says about powdercoating

 

[CudaChick1968]

Thanks for the mention Kevin but he's planning on painting it. I have never been a painter and would be hesitant to recommend metal prep for it.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Clean any polishing compound off with acetone. I have not tried this on stainless, but they make self etching primer that work well on bare aluminum. Rustoleum sells it in a rattle can. Send them an email and see what they have to say.

 

[kazlx]

No expert, but I would guess you would have to etch it somehow. Either chemically or sandblast or something. Otherwise, it won't last.

 

[don long]

Stainless is like any other steel You should only polish what you want polished and prep the rest of the molding like you would the fender

 

[Stuart in MN]

Like Don said just polish the edges, don't polish the center section.

 

[Fordguy1964]

OK. Thanks for the tips. Polishing just the edges is easier said than done. It was originally painted. I think a vinyl strip might work but that is not how it was done originally. I know from the factory they are painted. When the paint wore off it does look shiny underneath which is why I originally asked what to use to make it stick. The paint from the factory didn't have a heavy "tape" edge. I'm sure that due to production speed these probably dropped into a fixture that masked the edges loosely. I will of course be going with tape to mask the polished edges. I am most worried about paint flaking.

 

[countryroad82]

I've painted such parts, here is my method.
1. Scuff polished area to be painted
2. Mask
3. Etch prime (I use the stuff from a gun)
4. Seal with sealer
5. Spray color
6. This is where it gets tricky, not really, oh I might add this is all to be done at once now days apart, while the paint is still wet pull the tape. It will lay down with a very slight edge just like it was originally.

 

[Fordguy1964]

Thanks Countryroad82! I see you live in KY. I'm located in Cincinnati. Care to come up and show me first hand? LOL!

Are you saying steps 3, 4, and 5 are all done one right after the other? Or the paint still wet when pulling the last step? Seems like you would have to have time for at least the etching primer to set up.

 

[toplessHO]

get an air eraser and mask off the polished part you dont want painted.
blast away,remove masking,clean ,remask ,paint

 

[countryroad82]

To answer your question, yes.

Step 3. Etch primer depending on what brand normally has a 15-20 minute flash time, and is to be coated within a certain window (usually 1-5 hours) before you have to scuff it once again. In the world of car painting I'll never understand why some guys feel that EVEN THOUGH the manufacture CLEARLY STATES on the tech sheet you don't have to let a product fully cure, they let it cure anyway. This would be the start of a hard tape line that can never be fixed.

Step 4. Sealer. Depending on the type of sealer you use either single part or 2 part it has a flash time of 15-45 minutes. Single stage sealer is the faster drying type of a flash time of 15-20 minutes. You don't need to get a full wet coat of sealer on, just enough to color it. Once again you don't have to let it dry completely, the manufacture recommends not to in most cases.

Step 5. Color. Spray it pink for all I care!! Follow the manufacture's recommended procedure, I'll just assume you're doing a single stage color so you do your 2-3 coats of color and you get it all nice and shiny. This is where you follow to step 6.

Step 6. Give the paint enough time to tack up but not run, normally this is about 10-15 minutes if you haven't gotten it so wet it will run, pull the tape. The paint will 'roll' down enough to give a nice gentle transition from the painted area to the stainless.


If you're bored with nothing to do, US23 works both ways as it goes up north to Cinci as it does go south to BFE eastern Kentucky!! Swing down and I would be more than happy to show you on one........ Then you get to do the other one!!!!

 

[toplessHO]

and this might just be a job for a beugler striper
http://www.beugler.com/

 

[countryroad82]

I forgot to sum up my post and figure I'll just make a new one in case you read it already, but lets assume your etch primer takes 20 minutes to flash, the sealer 30, and your color 15 minutes per coat. If everything goes peachy king you should have it all done in about 2 hours that's giving you also pulling your tape.

 

[Fordguy1964]

*******,
I have one of these. The area I am looking to paint is 2" wide and FAR beyond the capabilities of a Beugler.

Thanks Country. I understand what you are saying now and will give it a shot. I'm not beyond the use of a paint gun and will try to tackle this. My primary concern is longevity after application. This is all depending on the preparation.

 

[countryroad82]

It will last pretty much as l

 

[countryroad82]

It will last pretty much as it did originally as long as it was prepped correctly. So far I've not had any of the cars I have done in the past come back to me.