Paint Questions

[Mike Jones]

I am about ready to get the body painted. I still don't know if I want to paint the new aluminum panels. If these are painted do they collect a lot of stuff and start looking pretty bad? Any suggestions with specific paint?

Thanks,

Mike

[Bob Coury]

Years ago I painted my Crossle 32F panels first with a zinc-chromate primer, then a standard Imron white. Looked good for the 3 seasons or so I had the car. I have been out of the paint seen for a while, so there may be newer and better products out there.

[Allan T. Chou]

No, don't do it. Polished aluminum looks so much better, plus if you do it right and keep after it, it'll look good for a long time. Depending on the finish of your new aluminum, you may have to do a lot of work to get a mirror finish, but it's worth it. I use Nuvit, a aircraft polishing system with different grades of abrasives. Use a buffing wheel and just keep working at it until your happy with the finish. Then wax the hell out of it. My trick is to put a coat of wax and not buff it off each time I store the car between races. Buff it out the night before and your good to go. After the race, clean the side pods and coat with wax and leave it. Paint has a tendency to chip or flake off if you do not prepare the surface well. Plus aluminum expands and contracts with temperature and any flaws in the surface prep will pop the paint off. Good luck, Allan

[Mike Jones]

Thank you, you just answered my question. It looks like it will be polished. You just made a friend happy who was insistent that it be polished. Thanks for the Lola decals.


Mike

[Allan T. Chou]

Good choice. Here is the Nuvit website at http://www.nuvitechemical.com/ . But I have to warn you, this may lead to obssesive compusive behavior lol. Have fun Allan

[Mike Jones]

Oh Lord what have you done now? Now I get to take a bath polishing this stuff. Actually, it should go pretty well since the panels are new and covered.

Thanks,

Mike