Cignificant

In my opinion, it would look bad. The p/c is thick and rubbery, so it would be noticable under the paint.

BTW - I painted mine afterwards. I'll never have another p/c piece of hardware on a boat.

Mr Gadgets

Wally,
Let me know if I can be of help on that drive.. anytime.

Cig, how long did the EM coating last. I have had mine since 2000 and it worries me that some day I will find in falling off, like my Dana tabs??
I dont realish the idea of having to strip it.. but I aggree.. no more PC for me..

Dick

Cignificant

As some have indicated, as soon as you get a nick that goes down to bare metal it's all over. Corrosion gets underneath and lifts the PC. Mine lasted 2-3 years (I run 50/50 in salt water vs fresh). Now I can simply touch up the paint without worrying about it.

The photo at the top of this page is my boat with some "photoshopping" work. I repainted the SP purple after stripping it.

http://www.xmpinc.com/Scripts/Swim_Platforms.asp

jmackin

iTrader: (1)

Sandblaster guy called and he got it off, but it wasnt cheap- $350!!! Oh well, what kind of primer/paint should I use? Thinking of going w/ a metalic silver to match my Cig. emblem.

Cignificant

Use a good zinc chromate primer to prevent corrosion. I used House of Kolors metallic purple paint on mine, but they have a silver.

rich allen

Well, now you have me confused as well. I have been putting off for two years my winter project of removing my windshield, which was originally painted, and stripping it down, sending to a shop, and getting it powdercoated. The current paint on it starting to look its age, with flaking around the snaps for the mooring cover, from the salt water. Thought powdercoating was the way to go, but many of you are complaining about durability when it gets scratched. Now , I have to re-think this.

Chris Sunkin

IMRON

Nothing better for boat parts. PC has nothing more than a mechanical bond to it's substrate, that's why leaving it rough allows it to hold better. With a paint system, a good epoxy etching primer will chemically bond to the metal substrate as well as be tough enough to resist corrosion creep if you do get a scratch. I top the imron off with AFS Evershield. Virtually impermeable when you're done.

Don't attempt to use Imron at home- you need a booth and a fresh air mask system- I wouldn't trust any respirator. It's full of cyanoacrylates- bad stuff.

Chris Sunkin

There's alot of mystery that surrounds powdercoat- it's actually a pretty basic process. It really isn't anything more than very finely ground plastic that's blown onto an electrically charged part, then melted to flow out and have the particles adhere to each other and the substrate. There are different combinations and formulations of chemicals (plastics & other additives) that go into the process. None of the plastics used have much resistance to methylene chloride, which is the base for most epoxy systems. If it will cut epoxy, it will cut urethanes and alkyds. Try this-

http://www.eldoradochem.com/methylen...-strippers.htm

Hang Time 27

Don't attempt to use Imron at home- you need a booth and a fresh air mask system- I wouldn't trust any respirator. It's full of cyanoacrylates- bad stuff.[/QUOTE]

Shoot it outside?? For small parts and motors??

Chris Sunkin

Shoot it outside?? For small parts and motors??[/QUOTE]

You need to treat Imron with a great deal of respect- it's very nasty- at a bare minimum, I would wear a hood and mask and the best activated carbon filter when shooting it outside. They make some new low-VOC versions but they're not nearly as tough- despite what DuPont will tell you. Also, if you're painting parts for protection and not necessarily appearance, find an industrial distributor or jobber. Their industrial line is substantially less expensive. It doesn't have the "depth" and attractiveness as their automotive line but it's affordable. It is the world's stickiest paint and tough to work with. There is an unbelievably fine line between getting it to flow and getting runs in it. You want good build and that takes several coats. If you're the impatient type, Imron isn't for you. It takes forever to dry so it will pick up more crap than you'd like. You can accellerate it but the accelerator only comes in quarts and it's like $200/qt. That would accellerate about 20 0r 30 gallons. You can sand it (about as easily as sanding a granite slab) but you can't buff it to shine. They make a great clear also.

Hang Time 27 - you have the XEX 27, right?