column painter?

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KramerSwinger70

KramerSwinger70

70 Dart Swinger360
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so i should be coming into the ownership of a new steering column for my 70 dart (current one has major electrical issues) and i the one im looking into is...GREEN!. i have black so the greens gotta go. is there anyone here, local of course, whom i could give the column to for a good prime and paint job, to make it look like it was originally black? i dont trust my one handy-work and i know the best way would be to take it apart and paint each peice then put it together....NO THANKS!

so if anyone local could help me, id be willing to pony up some cash, but i dont have much in reserve :toothy10:
 
Agreed. And Leanna would do a great job for you on powder coating it! If you do decide to paint it.... Why not just take it to your local paint shop if you don't have the skill to do it yourself? Shouldn't be to expensive I wouldn't think..... Then again .. I would do it myself

Sent from iPod.
 
Just go get some Krylon, semi-flat black for $4.00. Clean the surface that is to be painted with good cleaner (I wipe things down with 3M wax and grease remover).

Then paint using multiple light coats (for example…. Your first coat will not cover all the old color).


Try this. You need to learn how and you really can't mess anything up.
 
I wouldn't sand or primer but you must get it clean. By not sanding you maintain the factory textured finish.

Others will probably disagree but I have had great, long lasting results using this method.

I'm not saying you never sand and primer but on this I wouldn't.
 
Primer isn't a must.... But it's not a bad idea. If I were painting it this is what I would do.
If the existing paint is good, take a scotch bright pad and scuff the paint
until it all has a dull powdery looking finish, this is a good step to take and it will guarantee good paint adhesion to the surface to be painted!.then use wax and grease remover as mentioned above, then if you plan on primer ( rattle can is fine) hold the can about 6-8" away and with even sweeping motion you want to start at one end and spray to the other your first coat ( the dust coat I call it) you just want it to partially cover the color. Let it dry for 5 minutes or so, then repeat with one more coat.... Let dry a few minutes. Then repeat with one last coat( full coverage coat) .... Let dry.... Let dry about 15 minutes and if you want a smooth and clean finish ...LIGHTLY scuff the primer with a scotch bright pad to smooth it off. Then move onto your painting (rattle can satin or semi gloss should do the job just fine) ( I like krylon rattle paint) repeat painting steps as you did with primer minus the scotch bright scuffing and you should end up with a clean factory looking peace at a price all for under $20.00.
Hope this helps!

Sent from iPod
 
can someone give me pics of painted and powdercoating so i can get an idea of whats better for me?

is powdercoasting expensive? would paint be the cheaper way?
 
5-8$ on spray paint is way cheaper than powder coating... but powder coating would be more durable.....

I would scuff the surface with some scotch bright as DusterDude72 said. As 68FormulaS340 said above, use a semi-gloss or matte finish spray paint. You can also find a textured paint but don't use the hammered paint for that as it is glossy and not the look you want.

Put the can in a bucket of HOT HOT water for 5-10 minutes before you use it. That gives the can a bit more pressure and makes the paint spray a lot nicer.
 
Paint would FOR SURE be cheaper than powder coat.....for one,you will most likely have to pay to ship the column off to have it powder coated because not many places do that stuff locally.

BUT powder coating has a very tough finish that can withstand scratchs pretty good and chips aswell.... powder coating is basically like this (from what I know....Im no expert on it) powder coat is a dusty like powder that is poured into what looks like a futuristic ray gun (kind of like a spray gun for painting cars) you plug an inlet air house into the gun fro man air compressor which propels the powered....the gun is connected to a power box which plugs into an electrical outlet and positively charges the powder as it is released from the gun. ...there is a ground clamp also coming from this box that you clamp to the part you are coating....when you spray the powder coat the grounded part attracts the positively charged powder and sticks it to it......you then take that part and put it in a "oven" to bake the power onto the part ....( I believe its a plastic based material ? but not positive) it melts down and adheres to the part and gives a very stong long lasting finish.

you pay the higher dollar for the longer lasting results.

BUT if you want to only spend $20.00 and paint it...you will get just as clean of a looking finish out of it...it just wont be as strong but the question you need to ask yourself is ....how much abuse do you plan on putting your column through where you think it needs to have such a strong finish?

paint came factory on them and held up well so I would say save the money and paint.

But if you have the extra cash and want a very long lasting finish than look into powder coating and if you do decide to go that route than look up leanna ( cudachick1968 ) she will get you one heck of a job.

if she chimes in she will be able to answer any questions you have about powder coating.

sorry for the long messages jsut trying to help you out with as much info as i can think of
 
69B-Cuda said:
5-8$ on spray paint is way cheaper than powder coating... but powder coating would be more durable.....

I would scuff the surface with some scotch bright as DusterDude72 said. As 68FormulaS340 said above, use a semi-gloss or matte finish spray paint. You can also find a textured paint but don't use the hammered paint for that as it is glossy and not the look you want.

Put the can in a bucket of HOT HOT water for 5-10 minutes before you use it. That gives the can a bit more pressure and makes the paint spray a lot nicer.
Click to expand...


good tip on the hot water ....I never thought of that lol....learn something new every day!
 
Wow, I think the Metal Mistress Society has a new Vice President. Thanks DD72! Your explanation was actually really good and quite accurate.

73Charger, if you want to know what the basics are check out the Powder Coating Institute's home page. If you'd like to see what can really be done with it, then look at my website (especially the Before & After Slideshow).

Since I'm a healthy distance from you and your budget is limited, you may be able to find a good coater close to you at CustomCoaters.com. It's all organized by state. Of course, I'd love to earn your business!
 
VP DD72 LOL..... jeez Leanna LOL

I dabbled a little in the cheap harbor freight set up a couple years ago but did not like using the house oven to cook parts lol so I figured If I needed it done I would pay a professional.

That's the only reason I know what little I know.
 
I didn't even take mine out of the car. I just scuffed it with 220 grit, wiped it down with blue shop towells, masked off what I didn't want painted and it came out great. About a half a can of rattle can red. It did help that the dash was out at the time though. I maybe spent 5 bucks on materials.8)

Powdercoating would be nice but I can't afford that kind of thing right now as cash is tighter than it's ever been in my life.

Before
column.JPG


After
column3.JPG
 
Cheapest: Rattlecan. Use a semi-gloss or matte black

An automotive paint finish will give you the best results - right up there with powdercoat. The potential issue with powdercoat is the fact that most of the column pieces are die-cast (pot metal). Powdercoating pot metal is iffy - even with a powder primer coat. Either it will work or it will bubble like crazy, ruining your finish. The impurities in the metal cause it.

finishedcolumnimg.jpg
 
DusterDude72 said:
But if you have the extra cash and want a very long lasting finish than look into powder coating and if you do decide to go that route than look up leanna ( cudachick1968 ) she will get you one heck of a job.
Click to expand...

I decided to splurge so Leanna is doing an early A column for me. I did disassemble it into it's 3 components (tube, collar and turn signal case) for ease of powder coating.
 
looks to me light semi-gloss paint with a primer undercoat is the way to go. there no way i have any "extra" money in my budget, especially for such a minor part. the extra money goes to the engine that i will eventually start building soooo.. ya

Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice!
 
If it is a '66 Dart, the black column is gloss. Not clear coat gloss, but gloss.
 
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