The Propanel stiffeners I have are about 8 years old now, and all are starting to rust and the paint is buckling and peeling, with some looking pretty bad. Has anyone had luck repainting these?
I've found hammertone gray spray paint from Krylon and I believe Rustoleum has it also. I would imagine the way to do it is strip or wirebrush the paint down to bare metal, give a couple coats of primer with a day or two in between, and then several light coats of the hammertone finish, then finish up with clear acrylic over it. I've got 10 stiffeners, and the paint would cost a lot less than new stiffeners.
Replies
there's probably a company near you that can powder coat them. powder coat is very durable and they can match colors very well, although I haven't seen a hammer look in powder coat though. Once powder coated you could add a few layers of low lustre varnish or polyurethane for extra durability.
It won't be as cheap as DIY but from what I remember not horribly expensive.
This would apply only to the stiffeners and other loose parts, not something permanently attached to carpet - the parts are stripped and dipped before coating.
We have done a LOT of painting as a part of our work and have found the products from Dupli-Color to be far and away superior to other products for both ease of use and quality of finished work. Their sandable filled primer will give you a superior finished product even if you use Krylon or Rustoleum as a pigment coat. We also use thier clear lacquer as a final coat over everything. Your proposed process is just what we would do, except for sanding with some 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper between coats.
As far as powder coating, it's the classic "make or buy" decision we face on all the products we source. We very often find that by the time we learn a new skill enough to produce the quality result we want, we are finished. We would have been better off to pay someone who already has the tools and skills needed to do the project while we co ahead and do what we know how to do and make money at.
Robert, the procedure that you described is what you need to do. Make sure the finish coats are light coats and do as many as needed, follow directions on can, usually 10 minutes between coats and 30 minutes before clear coat. The times may vary depending on temperature and you need to spray in ventilated area or outdoors as fumes are toxic.
The stiffeners are these metal U clips that slide over the spot where two panels are strapped together and keep the panels in a straight line. Here's what they look like:
The new ones are powder coated, but I'm not sure about the old ones. They cost $9 each, but ten of them add up to $90 plus shipping. Spray primer and paint should be under $12. Cheap enough if it works.
Powder coating would be much more!
Absolutely Robert,
I am pretty sure they are using either the same product or similar when they make them. I do not see why your idea shouldn't work