So what's the toughest/easiest finish for a tub chassis?

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Got the itch for a tubber, but I'd really like to restore the tub 100% myself. Aside from anodizing or powder coating what is the toughest material you can spray on without sending it off? Also the most versatile and easily available with wide color choices? Not that I'm asking too much...

[scr8p]

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Are you serious Clark?

Cause if you can do a whole tub then...

[LTO_Dave]

Check out YouTube to see what things people a plasti-dipping. Car wheels seems to be popular and durable. I thought about doing a tub myself but haven't gotten around to it.

[scr8p]

yes i'm serious, but i haven't tried it..... yet.

we have a small canister of it in the garage for use on our restorations. nothing big, just things like the metal stops at the base of the windshield, the guides on the side glass, and misc. clips. a lot of those reproduction parts aren't close to the originals, so they have to be redone.

i have always thought of dipping a tub and nose plate, but never bought a big enough container to actually do it. they do make it in aerosol cans too, though. you could paint the tops, tape it up, and just pasti-dip the bottom.

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Anyone?



What other options are there?

And yes, I clearly found a new .gif treasury tonight.

[Lowgear]

How about roll on bed liner? That should yield some interesting results.

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

This certainly wouldn't be as much fun as the suggestions above, but I've read a lot of good things about it. Anyone tried it? It comes in a fairly wide variety of colors.

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/janitorial-maintenance/paint/aerosol/krylon-industrial-rust-tough-acrylic-enamel-flat-black?utm_source=shopping&utm_medium=shp&utm_campaign=Aerosol-Paint-shop&infoParam.campaignId=WP

[jwscab]

your toughest coating that can be applied by anyone is going to have to be something like a high performance epoxy or urethane coating, probably done through a spray gun, ie, it's a multi-part system(hardener/catalyst, etc).

that rubber coating looks cool but I think it would be really tough to get a thin consistent finish.

really, hard anodizing with teflon is really the top of the line as far as toughest finish because it's a chemical reaction and not a mechanical adhesion.

the only other thing I can think of (which is unrealistic) would be some kind of porcelain coating. THAT is hard to GRIND off with a grinding wheel.

[illshou]

Just paint the thing with whatever spraypaint you want and then use a lexan undertray tto keep it in good shape

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

I didn't really want to start a new thread over this, but has anyone used this product for r/c or otherwise? It kinda seems close to the stuff they spray on those Traxxas bodies that are supposed to be indestructible. Just curious.

http://www.getflexseal.com/

[justinspeed79]

I was thinking about doing a spray on bed liner. You can get a really nice finish with duplicolor rattle can liner, it almost looks like Teflon coating if you do it right. I don't know if it comes in colors though.

[kaiser]

does POR15 stick to aluminum? that stuff is hard.

duplicolor spray on bed liner works great on everything, i've used it on crappy fiberglass rifle stocks, rocker panels for baja's, outdoor furniture....

between "the jesus" and the guinea pigs i'm a bit worked up right now.

[Coelacanth]

does POR15 stick to aluminum? that stuff is hard.

I don't know about POR-15 with aluminum; it's great for steel but depending on the surface (rusty, clean but rough, smooth), it can be real finicky about what it'll adhere to.

Rust Bullet is an identical product that's a lot less fickle about surface preparation, and according to their FAQ, can be applied to aluminum--but the aluminum surface must be etched first with their etcher.

http://www.rustbullet.com/faq/FAQmarine.asp#10

I've used both POR-15 & Rust Bullet, both are great products...but POR-15 is a lot more picky about how you prep a surface before applying it, if you want best results.

[klavy69]

How about roll on bed liner? That should yield some interesting results.

X2. you can get some interesting colors also now a days in DIY bedliner materials.

Todd