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Re: To paint, or NOT to paint

To: Chris Heerschap <Heerschap@eng.kns.com>
Subject: Re: To paint, or NOT to paint
From: Scott Hall <sch8489@garnet.acns.fsu.edu>
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 1999 14:23:21 -0400 (EDT)
On Mon, 25 Oct 1999, Chris Heerschap wrote:

> Powder coating?  Correct me if I'm wrong but powder coating applies a
> coat of *plastic powder* to the piece... which is then "cured" by
> melting it onto the piece.

yep, that's it.

> I've blackened high temperature Ford Red engine paint on my calipers
> when they get hot... I've actually had both brakes and paint smoking. 
> Under these circumstances, I can imagine powder coated calipers would
> either melt off or catch fire.

wow...  dunno at exactly what temp they melt the coating, but I know
eastwood sells a kit to do it at home.  I do not know if pros use a
different system that uses different temperatures.  I _do_ know that it is
_possible_ to re-melt the coating, 'cause that's how some shops get it
off, but again, I don't know exact temps.  I seem to remember that you
have to heat it higher to 'burn' it off, but the memory is fuzzy. 

I guess I don't drive my car hard enough, 'cause I've never had a problem.
I was going more for resistance to brake fluid and durability.  I do know
that I've seen powdercoated m/c frames that showed no signs of a problem
even on the downtubes next to the headers.

> White or black... why limit yourself?  If you look at high temp engine
> paints, there are many choices, and if you don't go with a high-temp
> paint, the possibilities are limitless.  It's a matter of how much
> temp you expect the brakes to be seeing.  If it's a track car or
> you're hard on brakes, go with at least high-temp paint.  I've had
> really bad results with the Plasti-kote ultra-high-temp paint, skip
> that.

like somebody else corrected me on: white absorbs less heat, black
radiates it better.  brain fade.  but I still doubt color will make a huge
difference.  the material might, but it is thin enough not to make a
difference, I believe.  if anyone wants the exact specs, let me know, I'll
look up the thickness and temp. specs, etc.

chris, have you not had the brake fluid mess up the paint?  painting would
have been much easier...

scott


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