It's lock-down I guess, but the number of new members asking about painting hoods with Acme Miracle Heat Resistant Paint has certainly risen over the last few weeks and months. I have a very well used Tilley hood with virtually no enamel left and I was considering stripping it back to bare metal and repainting it with a range of different products to show what the extreme heat lanterns generate does to each one. It's not like we don't know what will happen but would this be useful for new members so they can see the futility of the excercise? Maybe it's something we can point them to when they suggest removing the enamel and respraying with high temperature engine paint? I think I'd need some help, as buying as many different types of high temperature paint as I can find could set me back hundreds! I could do it if any of you guys had any such paint left in a can they were willing to donate. Thoughts? If someone else wants to do it I'd be very happy to assist. Jeremy, your handy with your video cam?
If someone insists on painting a hood by ignoring all the advice on here about paint not adhering... Why Colin, would you go to such trouble effort and cost on showing it does not work? Why not do some video tutorials on subjects that do work, I for instance would love to see a video tutorial on brazing brass, silbrazing I think its called and all the kit needed to do it.
I agree about brazing and silbrazing, I'd watch that! As for the HT paint, I just thought it might be useful.
@ColinG I have to agree with @plantpot statement. High heat paint will never work on a hood due to the extreme heat that is produced by the burner. The only way to do it right is to use Porcelain Enamel. There are some do it yourself kits but in general these don't work much better then high heat paint due to the extreme heat needed to bake the Porcelain Enamel onto the hood. The guys on the Coleman Collectors Forum recommend Independence Porcelain Enamel for redoing hoods. Independence Porcelain Enamel The gent that runs IPE is a member of the Coleman Collectors Forum In the UK there must be a foundry that does Porcelain Enamel for appliances such as cooking stoves. Most electric and gas appliances have different colors to choose from and these colors are Porcelain Enamel which take a tremendous amount of heat and are also chip resistant. Cheers, Norman
You'd think so but the last time I looked into this (about 10 years ago at a guess) there wasn't. Well, there was but they weren't interested in doing one-offs the size of a lantern hood. They'd do something the size of a bath, no problem, but anything much smaller, not a chance...
I guess when you start talking about re-enameling a hood, you have to weigh up the cost of it vs the overall value of the lamp. What would you guess at the cost of re-enamling a hood?
IPE is a good place to start. He's done work for me in the past. Turned out pretty good. I believe IPE did the tops on one of the ICCC commemorative lanterns sometime ago but I'm not sure which lantern...
By way of explanation, my only reason for even suggesting a comparative spray paint session was to prove that it doesn't work! We all know it won't work but I thought it might be useful to actually show newcomers what a dreadful idea it actually is... with pictures! However I probably won't because its a lot of work, and it's destined to fail - obviously!
Back in 2018 I think it was around $35 USD for a 242 vent, more if you wanted a second colour like the white underside on a 228. Once Jeff Gaylord (the owner of Independence Porcelain & Enamel), has enough vents, he runs a batch so understandably it can sometimes take awhile. He fits them in between other large jobs. His repair work on vents is excellent. The final result is outstanding! I purchased one of the ICCC Anniversary 639's and the red vent was flawless. I'm not 100% positive on this, but I think red is a colour that is no longer available. Well worth the wait and cash for that special lantern. Mike.
Yes, good idea @ColinG It could be a definitive link that any newbies or oldbies, that have related question that will inevitably be asked in the future, can be pointed too. Pictures with definitions will be very useful. If I can help, just ask. Just my 2 pennith worth. Cheers Pete
Well.... OK then, challenge accepted. I'll sand down my dreadful Tilley hood and use standard paint first and take it from there. If anyone wants to send me 'special' high temperature paints for me to test, feel free. I'll document the results and record how long each one last - probably in minutes or even seconds! It'll most likely be a long term, rolling test, adding new paint treatments as an when I get them. This could be fun!
@ColinG Great idea. Dirty minds think alike. I've been playing with the same idea for some time now. The consensus here is that high temp paint will burn off the hood in minutes. Being an ignorant new collector/fettler myself I did try to paint a tilley hood, and the results are way better than I expected after reading all the comments on using paint. I have a P350 with a bare steel hood and was planning to paint this with some VHT paint and use the lamp regularly and keep track on the paint finish. So tonight I spraypainted the thing and it is curing now (in action, so on the lamp). Maybe we can make it a group effort and report the results.
I think it’s a good idea Colin, I know it won’t work and haven’t tried it. So unfortunately I don’t have any paint I could send you, sorry. But I look forward to the results
@Emiel I don’t join that “consensus” you talk about. Some lanterns/lamps will take longer than “minutes”, maybe even a few hours of running. The lantern’s configuration will have a lot to do with it. Tilley X246 hoods are quite vulnerable to early burning off; FL6’s less so, but the paint on the hood above the FL6 burner eventually gives way after a few light ups or extended burning. I’ve not imported any USA rifle paint because it is so expensive, and is not rated for continuous heat. But in saying that, I’ve tried just about every VHT brand and rating in Australia with, at best, mediocre results. Tony
Thanks @Tony Press. Maybe "consensus" was not the correct terminology. Also "it will burn away in minutes" was not exactly what I meant. (I'm not a native English speaker and Dutch people are typically pretty "direct" in their communication by nature. So no offence ;-))What I was trying to say is that the general opinion on this forum towards the use of VHT paint on hoods is that it will give poor results (often sooner than later). Lots of experience here and a lot of folks, like yourself, have tried it. As a beginner-fettler I thought it was a good idea to help ColinG in providing some visual reports on the results in time as he shared the same ideas I have on this subject. BR, Emiel
So... if anyone wants to do their own tests and post the results with mine, that's great. ***Update*** The rusty hood I've found is actually from a Bialaddin 305 not a Tilley as I'd first thought.
I like where this is going, I would sent you paint but I don't think Australia post would like that idea, also it would be to expensive.
I like the idea, Colin. Although its current understanding that no paint could withstand the hood temperatures, no statements hold true forever. Pictures would tell countless words. They are usually more readily 'digestible' by most.
