Does anyone know if Hammerite paint is available in Taiwan, or if not is there a similar brand here (Rust-Oleum maybe)? I’m looking for something I can paint directly onto bare metal, which includes some trace amounts of rust.
Thanks.
EDIT: I found a distributor for Rust-Oleum (rustoleum.ca/cbgcorporate.asp?sn=in&ci=38), but I’d still like to know if anyone has seen it in any shops in the Taipei City area (or have other suggestions).
I bought Hammerite off a Ruten seller years ago at a bargain price.
Sadly the reason for it’s cheapness was that he was no longer going to import it and was clearing stock.
B&Q used to have Rustoleum.
[quote=“alphabetman”]I bought Hammerite off a Ruten seller years ago at a bargain price.
Sadly the reason for it’s cheapness was that he was no longer going to import it and was clearing stock.
B&Q used to have Rustoleum.[/quote]
Thanks alphabetman. I’ll give (what used to be) B&Q a check.
Depending on the application, you could consider ‘red lead’ paint which is what they use(d) on ships and in other high-corrosion environments. It’s available at any paint shop here for way less than fancy imported paint. The name in Chinese is 紅丹 (hong dan). Painting it on with a brush won’t pose much danger to you, but if you need to sand/scrape it off, then yes, it’s toxic.
Thanks, TM. Good to know. It’s for painting a bicycle frame that’s not 100% rust free. What I’d really like is a spray-on solution, but I’m willing to brush it on if that’s the only option.
Try looking around in scooter- or auto-goods shops. They might have something more suitable.
I think red lead is generally used as a primer. You are supposed to spray another color coat over it.
They have iron oxide primers too that aren’t as toxic…
Don’t be afraid to use the brush on Hammerite on a bicycle frame if you find it.
I’ve done the same frame, 2 times with excellent results due to the paint’s texture.
I’ve also sprayed my Vespa with the cans which worked out fine, but if I was doing it again I’d use a brush as it’s much easier to control and much less waste.
Hammerite did have a sort of electrostatic spray kit which would be awesome on a bike frame, if you could find it.
Preparation is really as easy as they say on the can {I totally stripped it to bare metal the first time which was unnecessary work}, but do be sure to degrease properly maybe using alcohol as a final step after spray degreaser {Sellery’s Degummy is good and cheap at the local hardware store.}
Thanks again.
I ended up finding a Japanese equivalent to Rustoleum at (formerly) B&Q. High zinc content primer specifically made for the job. I stripped the forks all the way back to the metal (Cro-Mo, btw) using one of those rotating brass brush type things on the end of a drill, since I really wanted to get rid of the rust without sanding away any metal and I’ve found that that’s a great tool for the job. The primer worked a treat and the overcoat looks great. I have quite a bit of experience with rattle cans, so I’m pretty confident using them now. I’ll put up some pics at some stage. The frame’'s about half stripped at the moment.
I was planning on using mineral spirits (turpentine) to get rid of any residual oils after stripping. Can anyone see any reason why that wouldn’t be a good idea?
i wash mine with propanol (or just ethanol if I can’t find it). Much less toxic, easy to dispose of by evaporation.
How about naptha, uro? I don’t mean Zippo lighter fluid with the added bits, but actual naptha.
Yeah, if you can find it. (it’s Taiwan, of course you’ll find it somewhere, like those chemical shops in Camera Street…)
The more non-polar the better for dissolving oils, but be careful that the solvent doesn’t strip the paint back off!
Yes, the Zippo fuel will probably have other added oils that won’t evaporate.
I have used turps for cleaning bare frames, and propanol for de-oiling a primer coat. Remember to re-oil the frame inside once you have panted it. Boeshield T-9 is the go-to product from the USA, but you’d be able to use car rust coat in Taiwan perhaps. I’m not sure you’d get Boeshield or Framesaver shipped to taiwan.
Anyway, here’s what we’re dealing with:
And here it is after the rotating brass brush of death:
Here’s the Japanese Rustoleum primer equivalent:
And the colour I’m going with, as chosen by my wife:
Here’s how the forks turned out:
Not bad.
Pretty bloody good, actually.
I love the name Puff Dino.
It’s better if you can get some 2K automotive paints… those are impervious to any known solvents except maybe Methylene Chloride. The paint also lasts forever too.
The only downside is they have to be sprayed with a spray gun, because it comes in 2 parts that must be mixed right before use. Also it contains isocyanates which is very bad for you, so personal protection is a must.
I have another question for you fine folks. I’d like to polish up the aluminium (which polishes up great, btw), but I know it will dull and even get a sort of rough surface after a while. Any recommendations to stop this? Spray a layer of clear coat on it? I’m not convinced that will stick well.
You should anodize it.
And how does one go about doing that?
You can google it, it involves electricity and sulfuric acid solutions