Clear coating polished aluminum

[spectras only]

Just got my CNC machined P/S pulley to replace the crappy plastic one in my Viper. many owners of these cars had issues with cracking pulleys throwing acc belt off letting them stranded. I've also got the billet bracket with it to replace the also crappy OEM cast aluminum one:rolleyes.
My question is, what's the best clear coat that would stay on the pulley [ my OEM wheels are polished and clear coated and still shine after 15 yrs ] after cleaning with acetone to remove all grease or residue. Here's the pulley, nice and shiny [ picture taken with cell, no flash so it looks yellowish ] ready to install.

 

[Guest]

I think I can help....We have an automatic wheel sanding/polishing machine that makes our alcoa bus rims look like new....I clear coat a few dozen every month....(without clear, the alkali soap in the bus wash will turn a nicely polished wheel white...)

Here's what I do...Obviously it would be counter productive to sand them to give the clear some bite, so I clean and degrease, and apply 2 medium coats of bulldog adhesion promoter from kleen strip..http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/kle...p-12810.aspx?gclid=CM3DibC2kL0CFbBj7Aodcy8A7A''

After that is dry I carefully (because painting a slick, polished surface is easy to run) apply 2 coats of polyurethane clear...We use axon products clear....That's the toughest, best adhering clear I have found....Imron clear will work as well, but will not hold up as well or as long....and in a pinch automotive acrylic urethane clear will work for a while too...

 

[Guest]

Here are some waiting to be clearcoated

 

[spectras only]

Thanks Brian. Hope I'll find the Bulldog promoter locally.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Brian. Hope I'll find the Bulldog promoter locally.

If you cant find anything locally, send that pulley to me, and I will coat it for you.

 

[spectras only]

Thanks for the offer JBB, there's a company locally that does refinish aluminum wheels and they could do it at a reasonable price if I can't tackle it.

 

[Sleek-Jet]

If you cant find anything locally, send that pulley to me, and I will coat it for you.

People helping people...

 

[HOOTER SLED-]

Did you check out the Nantech shit in the Non-paid advertising section? That shit looks legit. Looks super clear.....................to me, clearcoat never looks really clear on polish parts. the Nantech stuff looks solid. I'll be checking them out when I can for my stuff. Here's a link.... http://www.riverdavesplace.com/foru...ying-to-keep-your-polished-parts-looking-good

 

[spectras only]

I made a stainless steel radar arch about 30 yrs ago and took it to a local shop that specialized in chrome plating and electro polishing. I still have that arch in my garage and still shines like it did originally. Maybe that's what this nano tech guy was about. I have also used a product from Germany called Metalon
to coat aluminum components on classic motorcycles but can't find the stuff anymore.

Electro polishing.> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electropolishing

 

[El Rojo]

I think I can help....We have an automatic wheel sanding/polishing machine that makes our alcoa bus rims look like new....I clear coat a few dozen every month....(without clear, the alkali soap in the bus wash will turn a nicely polished wheel white...)

Here's what I do...Obviously it would be counter productive to sand them to give the clear some bite, so I clean and degrease, and apply 2 medium coats of bulldog adhesion promoter from kleen strip..http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/kle...p-12810.aspx?gclid=CM3DibC2kL0CFbBj7Aodcy8A7A''

After that is dry I carefully (because painting a slick, polished surface is easy to run) apply 2 coats of polyurethane clear...We use axon products clear....That's the toughest, best adhering clear I have found....Imron clear will work as well, but will not hold up as well or as long....and in a pinch automotive acrylic urethane clear will work for a while too...

Bulldog is an adhesion promoter made for theromplastics, such as bare plastic bumpers made of polyethelyene, polyproplyene etc...In order to make polyurethane clearcoat to stick to polished aluminum you first need to treat the substrate with a conversion coating, like PPG's DX 533, follewed by PPG's DAU 82 clearcoat (if it's still available in your area)...PPG certified refinish technician with over 20yrs experience

 

[Rickybobby]

Powder Coat clear, forget about it. Wipe water spots off with a towel!!!

 

[Guest]

Bulldog is an adhesion promoter made for theromplastics, such as bare plastic bumpers made of polyethelyene, polyproplyene etc...In order to make polyurethane clearcoat to stick to polished aluminum you first need to treat the substrate with a conversion coating, like PPG's DX 533, follewed by PPG's DAU 82 clearcoat (if it's still available in your area)...PPG certified refinish technician with over 20yrs experience

Hmmm...While Bulldog is made primarily for plastic adhesion, and flexibility. Painters have been using it for ground metal, and polished stainless and aluminum for years. Lazy painters have also used it in door jambs to insure adhesion where they have not done the best prep work for years as well.. I have sprayed hundreds of gallons of DAU 82..back in the early to mid 1990's when it was still on the shelf. It has not been a relevent clear around here for decades. When I offer people advice on refinishing something, it's typically based on practical techniques, that I actually use myself ...ones that I have tested and found to work, in a repetitive use, fleet environment, and not something read off the P sheets. When you are talking about durability, automotive clear, IE Modified acrylic urethane, Dau 82, for example, is pretty low on the scale, when compared to a true polyurethane such as Axon, Dexter,Crown Metro, Amerflint, ect. In terms of durability, gloss retention, chemical resistance ect. for use in industrial applications, modified acrylics aren't usually even considered. The only paint PPG makes that would be comparable, in my opinion, would be their Delta line. We tested it a few years ago, and I liked it, but it was too expensive to be a contender. I have been to all the training centers, offered by all the major automotive, fleet, and industrial paint suppliers in the short time (35 yrs) that I have been breathing paint fumes...My favorite had to be Dupont ( now Axalta)....Know why....?.. Because they took us to the Tilted Kilt every day for lunch....

 

[footer]

What?s the long term maintenance of the wheels once coated? In a commercial environment how often do they need recoating? Does the old coating need to be stripped first?

 

[Guest]

What?s the long term maintenance of the wheels once coated? In a commercial environment how often do they need recoating? Does the old coating need to be stripped first?

Inner city transit bus environment is a pretty harsh one. They go through a wash rack every night, and residual soap is always on them, because the cleaners drive them through the rinse section kinda fast. The aim was for 2 years service, but they repolish as needed, typically better than a year of service, every day....The polishing machine we have sands them smooth first, removing any coating. and uses progressively finer grit until fully polished .

 

[rivergames]

Did you check out the Nantech shit in the Non-paid advertising section? That shit looks legit. Looks super clear.....................to me, clearcoat never looks really clear on polish parts. the Nantech stuff looks solid. I'll be checking them out when I can for my stuff. Here's a link.... http://www.riverdavesplace.com/foru...ying-to-keep-your-polished-parts-looking-good

Unfortunately, I don't think nanotech is around anymore. I had all the parts nanteched in the old new Crackerbox that I did last year..... I wish It was still around so I could coat the parts in the new cracker I am currently building.

I am going to get a can of Diamond Clear from Eastwood...I'll report back on what I think about it. I see mixed reviews online. I will have to lay down some test samples