beepre top plate

[mozarti]

Dear Bottleheads,

If one does not want to change the color of the top plate of Beepre, is there any advantage (either in terms of looks or durability) to cover it with a clear coat of paint? If so, which kind of paint would you recommend?  Thanks.

[Paul Birkeland]

The aluminum will indeed oxidize, but it will do so in a way that isn't particularly noticeable. 

When you clear coat, on the other hand, if the clear coat rubs off in places, you'll be able to see that pretty clearly. 

[galyons]

PB is spot on.  Traditionally aluminum is chromate coated, (Alodine, Iridite) prior to painting. This process prevents oxidation and will allow the paint to adhere.  For a clear coat I just anodize, but there are gloss clear coats especially  designed to do the job. 

I have used this product quite successfully directly on highly polished parts and wheels for old sports cars.  Por 15 Glisten PC, http://www.por15.com/GLISTEN-PC_p_45.html. It is an extremely tough clear finish, but needs a few days to set up.  Not generally a problem with the top plates.  I have never known it to chip, peel or yellow and that is in challenging automotive applications.  Not cheap, but a proven product.

Cheers,
Geary

[mcandmar]

If the rest of the POR15 range is anything to go by it should last forever, when POR15 say permanent they mean it.

[mozarti]

Thank you all for your very helpful input. Geary, am I correct that the glisten stuff will give a glossier look to the top plate? Also, do you recommend extensive sanding of the top plate before applying the glisten material?

[galyons]

The Glisten provides a glossy clear finish.  Whatever surface to which it is applied will show through. It will adhere to highly polished aluminum so you can get a "double glossy" look. You can also apply it over Doc's "artisan finish" after following the prep directions.

Cheers,
Geary

[Paul Birkeland]

I have to caution a bit against using epoxy on the top plate of the BeePre.  The chassis plate will get very warm in certain spots, and this may produce yellowing in an epoxy.  Also, since epoxy tends to be fairly thick, there will be some concern about through holes on the chassis plate getting somewhat filled in.

Also, if there's any flaw in the coating (looks like a 3-4 day wait time for curing), you will probably find it easiest to replace the panel entirely. 

-PB

[Doc B.]

If you guys would like I can tell the story of spending a day cleaning POR off a frame with acetone and a scotch brite pad because it looked like garbage. Not saying that it's bad stuff in terms of it's durability - PB had good luck with the stuff - just that it is not a "cure all" - pardon the pun.

I can't offer an absolute suggestion for what to shoot the panels with because I leave the new brushed finish nekked myself. Keep in mind that the finish effect is from reflection of light in the fine scratches, and that putting a clear coat -which will have a different index of refraction than air - might kind of neutralize the effect. A really thin coating might be best. Anodizing might be a way to go. A thin coat of lacquer might look pretty nice. Rattle can 2K urethane is awesome stuff, very rugged, but it's spendy, goes on pretty thick and I'm not sure what effect it might have on the reflective qualities of the brushmarks.

At some point I intent to try shooting a panel with a tinted clear coat, maybe the red I've been using on my motorcycle project. Might not work out, but might look very cool.

[galyons]

If you guys would like I can tell the story of spending a day cleaning POR off a frame with acetone and a scotch brite pad because it looked like garbage.

Be careful "painting with too broad a brush"!  Por  has many products. The original Por15 sealant is for rust containment and rust prevention, it was never meant to be a finish coat.  It does not hold up to UV, so Por15 needs to be out of sunlight or properly prepped for a final finish over coat. 

The Por products meant to provide finish coats are easy to apply and of very high quality.  Like any other quality finish work, the real results come from the prep, not the top coat!

Cheers,
Geary

[Doc B.]

I was merely adding one data point and actually the brush I used was only 1-1/2" wide. ;^)>  I was using a POR satin black finish coat on a frame that had been soda blasted and prepped with lacquer thinner and a Scotch Brite pad. Adhesion was not an issue, I have prepped for and brushed, rolled and sprayed plenty of paint in my day. The problem for me was that POR says no problem painting on with a brush, and actually recommends against thinning it for spraying. They also claim that when brushed it looks like a spray finish. I used the recommended foam brush and IMO it came out looking like warmed over s**t. IMO also the stuff has too short a pot life for brushing a large scale project with lots of nooks and crannies like a sportbike frame. By the end of the first coat, which took about three frustrating hours, it was like spreading glue on the frame. Perhaps if it could have been sprayed I would have been happy with it.

When you read between the lines, POR is not intended for clean metal. It's not really intended for alu and thus is probably not in the running for coating one of our panels. It's designed to seal rusty steel, plain and simple. When I learned about prep one of the lessons was if you still have rust, your prep is incomplete. After that experience I decided not to seal my gas tank with their sealer either. I ended up electrolytically and then chemically removing the rust and parkerizing the inside.

I stripped it off the frame with Scotchbrite, acetone a wire brush and a lot of elbow grease, then sprayed it with VHT black satin frame and rollbar paint. Three coats, each taking maybe five minutes to shoot. The VHT looks like a million bucks and scratching during reassembly has been a non-issue.

First shot is the POR finish. Too shiny for satin, lumpy and gluey. Second shot is the VHT. Smooooth satin and quite rugged. It is also UV resistant like the POR topcoat.

[Paul Birkeland]

Yeah, to get the POR finish coat to look good, I had to do 4 or 5 layers with a fair amount of sanding between.  It took about 2 weeks to get my frame parts looking right.

For the frame I'm working on now, I used Duplicolor truck bed coating, which I reckon saved me 13 days of work!

[Doc B.]

The Bubba-bike?