Do you pressure lamp restorers bother with fuel proof lacquer as a final coat when you re paint a tank or not ?
I use fuel proof paint mostly (automobile enamel). If I need to use another kind of paint I cover it with a clear coat resistant to fuel. Tony
You really want a fuel resistant paint on a working lamp, it only takes one drop of alcohol to ruin hours of work.
I didn’t think about this before and have spent hours on two Bialaddin tanks. I used Craftmaster enamel paint sprayed on so hopefully I’ll be ok. I’ve just looked at the fuel proof lacquer rattle can I bought and the instructions tell me to flat the surface before use so all my efforts to get a beautiful finish will be wasted if I go ahead and use the stuff. Do you guys think I’ll be ok just leaving the tank as is with the Craftmaster paint and no extra fuel proofing ? More to this game than I thought it seems.
I'd say you need to 'flat' the tank so the clear lacquer gets a good bond to the substrate. Don't worry, all your previous efforts won't be wasted because the clear lacquer will have the same gloss finish as the paint you applied previously. In fact, it's difficult/impossible to get a good final finish if you've skimped the preparation on the underlying layers...
One coat of Upol etch primer then three of Craftmaster sprayed on with large airbrush rubbed down between coats. The result a perfect gloss finish. I’ll flat it down then and use the fuel proofer I suppose.
Well if you don't, all your hard work may well be lost anyway with a fuel spill. If I ever respray anything, which is unlikely, I use car body aerosol (rattle) cans. These have got to be fuel-proof...
This is assuming that the fuel resistant lacquer is compatible with the base colour coat, if not it will lift the gloss and the undercoat and you will be left with a mess. My advice would be try it first in a scrap piece of metal. I have used Halfords acrylic lacquer on a number of lamps where it has been required eg metallic finished or to bring a matt finish up to satin and it has been ok, I have never used their fuel resistant lacquer but ironically it is polyurethane based so you have to be careful. What I have found out with using automotive rattles cans is that just because it’s dry doesn’t mean the paint is fully hardened and resistant to meths and paraffin, in particular meths, if your not careful you end up with white smear on your newly painted tank.......some people try forcing the issue with ovens and lamps but I find that time is what you need, it may sound crazy but you can see a significant difference in the paint, it’s hardness in particular the longer you leave it, 4 / 6 weeks at least... Good luck and look forward to seeing the end result.
Go with acrylic based paints and all will be well. I used Rustoleum on my first lamp. The paint fell off at the first whiff of meths or paraffin.
I used rustoleum on my first restoration which didn’t fare well. Since then I’ve used automotive paints finished with an EHT lacquer. I know the fount doesn’t really need EHT for the heat but I use it for the fuel resistance.
If they can make an extremely high temperature clear lacquer with a gloss finish, why can't they make an extremely high temperature coloured lacquer with a gloss finish? Any paint technologists about?
I use Rustoleum or Krylon rattle cans, whichever has the color I want and finish coat with Duplicolor engine clear gloss.
I always use automobile rattle can paints using a top or final coat of automobile clear. I learnt from bitter experience when using a non automobile paint from when I was fuelling a perfectly painted fount, well in my eyes anyway, and watched the paint blister ........ some choice words were said, uttered and muttered .... So now, always the automobile paint rattle cans, and to date I’ve had no fuel related issues ... Cheers Pete
