As I posted a while back, I have re-finished my restored 300X with the Rustoleum Claret which is not fuel resistant. Could anyone recommend a suitable protection lacquer to mitigate the problem. I am not keen to just apply the first type I find as some lacquers also attack some paints. Any suggestions for a product available in the UK?
If there is a paint shop near you or you drive past one, stop in and ask them, get it straight from the pro's.
You need a lacquer that is compatible with base paint used and (I believe) you really need to do it before it fully hardens. I have used Halfords clear lacquer before and that is okay, but I have always used it in conjunction with other Halfords paint. If you have some of the claret left I would be tempted to test the lacquer with it first on a knackered tank or metal strip.
Thanks for the replies. I may give the Halfords lacquer a try as I have plenty of the paint left for testing.
Sorry if this might seem a little condescending but try a small test patch on something scrap first to see if there is any reaction between the paint and lacquer.
I had the same problem protecting my Tilley fettle job. After four attempts with various I asked a guy at an auto crash shop. He pointed me to this stuff from bay of evil. It's basically a two pack coating in an aerosol Can.
Auto paint is tough, generally fuel and heat resistant to a high degree. Trouble is I am a tight wad, I don't like paying £5 for one rattle can, so I look on the local sale sites for anything cheap. Last week I picked up 24 small rattle cans, a Kia silver, gloss white, generic satin black and a Ford colour called sea grey which I have just used on my Vapalux Halifax 300 Navy. These were 4 for £1.00 lol..yeah, definite tight wad..I'll post a pick when reassembled.
Rubbish, there is nothing wrong about looking for bargains. Great find. I'd spray something, and old flat piece of steel, let it cure for a week then dribble some petrol and or kerosene over it to see what happens. You should keep an eye out for some good auto clear coat.
Not completely dry yet so put together loosely..colour is a little darker than original but suits IMHO. 1944 Vapalux Halifax steel tank Navy. Another lamp returned from Germany to the UK
Some of the “rattle can” automobile paint can deteriorate if it’s old. It can spray lumps of very sticky paint. I always (now) give the can a very good shake and then test it on scrap first. Cheers Tony Edit: That paint job looks good.
@paparazi Very nice paint job, very nice indeed, well done your lantern looks great. I tend to use automobile rattle can spray paint. The stuff I use is acrylic and it’s relatively easy to use and it’s fuel resistant. I generally apply a finishing clear coat of automobile acrylic spray paint, especially over shiny brass bits. It has to be remembered that we are applying finishes to our fettled lamps far superior to the majority of the original factory paint jobs. Nothing wrong with that at all, and our restorative paint jobs should last and protect longer than the original. Cheers Pete
All paint was bankrupt stock, the guy had a whole room racked out and literally hundreds of spray cans, automotive fluids, polish, antifreeze, screen wash and similar items all new. Thanks, I'm normally happy to leave my lamps in an authentic state of aged patina, but these steel tanks deteriorate when rusty so this was as much about preservation. I don't mind the odd shiny lamp, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.
Love your paint job, nice colour and finish. I have to say I do not get the whole "patina" thing on old stuff, not just lamps. but what you see on these trendy tv shows, yes Drew Pritchard I am addressing you! I have even seen rust and flaking paint layers clear coated over on classic cars. I simply do not appeciate it at all Who wants something that looks like its fresh out of a skip or straight from the rubbish dump in their house? And as for turning things into desk lamps such as blowlamps, old test gear and the like it should be made illegal!
Yeah mate, we experience a similar thing as part of the VW sceen. There is a whole genre called 'rat look' the punters literally droul over these rusty heaps, they look at them as automotive art, in my opinion it's just a cheap and lazy excuse for a restoration.
right, if you are restoring, restore it to beauty again and not just paint clear over rust and call it art. rust is rust.
The primer coat for auto work are usually 2-pack epoxy with fillers and corrosion inhibitive pigments while the base coats for most automotive re-finishing are usually solvent-based acrylic paints. The final clear top coats in many cases, are 2-pack iso-cyanate catalysed polyurethane. Sometimes, the type of solvent/reducer used could significantly affect the finish. It should not be so powerful that it'll re-dissolve the dried based coat too much while you're applying the top coat.
I think the faded, surface rusted look cars develop in the US desert states can look fantastic. Just because (as with the lamps here) the outside looks weatherbeaten doesn’t mean that the underlying restoration is any less extensive and once you’ve painted over that patina with the usual factory colour you’ve replaced something unique with something that looks like everyone else’s and often a bit mutton dressed as lamb. And, personally, I don’t find things that are new or look it very interesting. But there is a balance. In the case of pressure lamps they do seem to often be in a hurry to get skipped. There’s no doubt that more people will see value in a shiny restoration than a charming aged renovation and that is at least one reason to get the spray cans out. But I think it is sad that so many people need things to be blingy before they can appreciate them. Re two pack; read on a car forum (so must be true!) of someone who did some diy two pack spraying at home once and ended up with fairly debilitating and permanent lung damage. It was down to mis-use but I wouldn’t take the chance.
I understand what you are saying only some of these 'rat looks' are so rotten is: outer door skins separated, holes in the floor pan..On the flip side, my good friend owns a Bay Windowed VW California that was imported from California..it had stood for many years in a desert, minus engine and box. That van is absolutely solid and possess that old vintage faded look you talk about. In his case, it would be almost criminal to have it repainted. Like I said earlier in the post, I see beauty in both and a necessity, with my lamp, to paint an exposed steel tank.
I’ve often regretted that UK cars equivalent to faded US style patina is a soggy pile of crumbling rust! Your lamp looks like a “retro” car; the colour doesn’t (to me) look at all like it could be original but it still looks great! If it had been available in 1946 and I’d have been looking to buy, it may have been the one I took of the shelf!
For those who prefer patina-finish, there are some 'parts-aging' products out there which would artificially create just that on brass and copper. Well, its an option whereby you could restore everything to working conditions first, followed by the final patina-treatment. This way, you may be able to get a more uniform patina on a solid base, without having to wait for decades to get that aged look. ***Sometimes the raw naturally-tarnished speciments might have uneven blotches and heavy scaling on certain spots while the other areas look relatively 'new' or 'insufficiently-aged', which might make them rather unsightly overall.
The degree US cars deteriorate is based on where the car spent most of its life. Cars here near the coast tend to fall apart faster because of dampness and salt sea air; it plays hell with metals. On the other hand, desert areas here in the US southwest for example, have a better chance of surviving since the climate is dryer, hotter, and way less humid. Same for lanterns.
My two bobs worth ..... I think that a restoration is a personal thing, a personal choice dictated by “what floats your boat”. I believe the main or prime objective of a restoration is to bring back the subject to a safe working condition as close as possible to the manufacturer’s original design. The actual final finish is subjective and to the restorers needs and fancies. Some like the aged patina only obtained over decades, some like the new “out of the box” look and some like the “bling”. All restoration finishes are right, to that individual, as they all comply with the prime objective mentioned in the paragraph above. I equally dribble with lust over items that have been brought back as looking brand new, items that retain their patina of age and the blingy (is there such a word?). Just my thoughts. Cheers Pete
