Painting aluminum?

[abs929cbrrr]

How do i go about this. i am not going to powder coat the 400 frame i got but i want do make it a nice black. what prep work do i gotta do.

i know i need primer and paint...just advise me if i need to prep the aluminum before it gets primer.

[haunter]

I did some light sanding with some 220 grit sanding foam already, basically I did a light job everywhere I could get the foam

[abs929cbrrr]

so its all ready to do then or should i scratch her all up some more? then just add primer....its that simple? sorry i dont have any experance painting metal parts.

i do have experance painting walls in houses though!

[haunter]

so its all ready to do then or should i scratch her all up some more? then just add primer....its that simple? sorry i dont have any experance painting metal parts.

i do have experance painting walls in houses though!

ha me either.....

maybe do some more sanding with a finer grit....using the foam I couldnt quite get all the nooks and crannys...........so it could use a lil more work, but I took care of about 3 hrs of the prep for ya

[abs929cbrrr]

i got tons of sand paper. currently finished right now redoing the house so i got mad time to sand her down. id love to go polished but i would need the swingarm chromed out then...and well i dont know if i want to spend that much time sanding a frame haha.

i do love the look of gloss black on these 400 frames.

[joeyraines]

i got tons of sand paper. currently finished right now redoing the house so i got mad time to sand her down. id love to go polished but i would need the swingarm chromed out then...and well i dont know if i want to spend that much time sanding a frame haha.

i do love the look of gloss black on these 400 frames.

If your looking to get a NICE glossy finish with the black, use really high grit sand paper and sand it all the way to bear metal.. THOROUGHLY, Whipe down the frame with a Cotton towel( it removes paint dust and removes the remaining stock paint from the grooves) after you get done there you should have an ALMOST glassy/polished effect on the frame.
FOR THE GLOSSY LOOK- Use White Primer(i wouldnt recommend going cheap with the primer)
FOR THE POWDERED lOOK- Use a Black Primer
When you get it powder coated check for any runs or hairs that may have flew onto your paint(if your not in a paint room) if anything has gotten on it, sand it and paint it again.. I would use High Temp Paint( I live in Texas and Ive seen non professional paint jobs rub off in extreme heat).. after you get it painted clear coat it at least 3 times(unless your lookin for the powdered look)

The transparent paint also looks really good on a sanded frame with no primer...almost a metallic effect..

[Modified96]

Make sure to use an Etch primer before you use the urethane primer. Any bare metal must get a VERY light coat of Etch. Where gloves when you spray it, it's a bit acidic and will bite into the metal.

After that you can prime it. Must color builder primers will tell you not to use just white or black. Use a mixture of white and black to make a light gray. The binders in each primer need to mix together to make proper adhesion. This is only for professional primers that will be sprayed out of a gun, not rattle can. If you are going the Rattle can route you should try RustOleums professional series, pretty good stuff.

Once the primer has dried, usually for 3 hours, you have to sand it. Not sanding the primer will cause the base coat to have "crows feet" and will peel up in a short period of time. Sand it with 320 and above. Any fine scratches will show up when you lay down the black because of shrinkage Use the 320 to get out any runs, dirt or other larger items. Then hit it with 500 - 1000 for a really clean look.

Now you can clean it very good with a low VOC cleaner and start laying down some black! Do three medium wet coats for a good shine! Make sure to use Single Stage if you are not going to use a Clear Coat. Before you know it you will have one badass looking frame!

[abs929cbrrr]

sounds like a ton of work.

[Modified96]

It's really not to bad at all. Make it a weekend project.

Do you have a DA? That would make things 1000000x faster.

IT may seem like a lot of work, but you love the results in the end.

[abs929cbrrr]

whats a DA?

[BILTIT]

DA=dual action sander

[abs929cbrrr]

sounds expensive? whats it do really?

[BILTIT]

http://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/cat ... h=5_60_159

[Modified96]

Dual Action Sander.

You can buy a pneumatic or electric DA. It will cut your sanding times in half. If you buy the type that takes Velcro backed sanding paper you can use a "Soft Pad" for rounded or curved areas. The soft pad is just a pad that goes in between the sand paper and the DA that will keep you from cutting through on edges.

[abs929cbrrr]

ill pass. i dont need to be buying tools i will only use once. ill sand it by hand