Durable Clearcoat

[RES]

I spent a lot of them painting a couple of old Stihl 020av saws. I thought I could seal in the paint with a clearcoat. Unfortunately the one I used made by Rustoleum doesn't hold up to gasoline. Does anyone have a suggestion for a clearcoat that can withstand gasoline?

 

[RaisedByWolves]

You would most likely want to first use automotive touchup paint for the color, then auto clear to cover and seal the decals.


If you just cover the spray paints with the auto clear, any chip or scratch will begin to peel if it comes in contact with gas.

 

[Dan Forsh]

Whilst I'm not sure on the petroleum resistance, if you want hard wearing, I would think that you should look for a polyurethane top coat. I'm pretty sure that PU is the one for abrasion resistance.

 

[Lakeside53]

Use the Stihl paint they supply in spray cans - it's polyurathane. I bake it for 45 minutes at 225F in a CONVECTION oven (don't do it in a radient heated oven) - when cool, it's hard and "factory" looking.

 

[RES]

Andy:
On one of your previous posts you recommended using a clearcoat on top of the stihl paint. The one I purchased from Home Depot (Rustoleom) washed right off with gasoline. Do you know of a brand that is durable (polyurethane)?

 

[SouthernLA]

The toughest paint I know of is Duralux but after looking through the books they dont seem to make it in clear. We do have a clear epoxy coating that is really tough from Envriotex I doubt gas would have any effect on it. It's expensive though.

 

[Lakeside53]

Andy:
On one of your previous posts you recommended using a clearcoat on top of the stihl paint. The one I purchased from Home Depot (Rustoleom) washed right off with gasoline. Do you know of a brand that is durable (polyurethane)?

I did? I've never used clear coat ever, so... was it the same Andy, or was I having a brain fart? I did say there was a Rustoleum Orange that was close to the Stihl color, and it sure doesn't wash off, but it's not polyurathane.

 

[ray benson]

I tried several brands of spray paint. The high temp engine enamels and an epoxy VHT paint worked worked ok. But every paint i tried had to cure a long time to be gas resistant. A week wasn't long enough, paint needed more like a month to be gas resistant.

 

[Lakeside53]

I tried several brands of spray paint. The high temp engine enamels and an epoxy VHT paint worked worked ok. But every paint i tried had to cure a long time to be gas resistant. A week wasn't long enough, paint needed more like a month to be gas resistant.

That's why I bake the parts - not so much for gas durability, but to harden the paint so it more durable when I'm assembling the saw. The stihl polyurathane paint is very nice to use, and, it's exacty the right color (for Stihl).

 

[RES]

Andy:
You are right, it wasn't you that recommended the clear top coat it was FishHuntCutWood. You previously recommended the baking cycle.

 

[Lakeside53]

Andy:
You are right, it wasn't you that recommended the clear top coat it was FishHuntCutWood. You previously recommended the baking cycle.

Ha! that Jeff guy misleading people... He'll get his...

 

[rbmopar]

Tough clearcoat

Hello guys. I'm a bodyman so I figured I would give you my 2 cents worth.
The majority of automotive clears will stand up to gas after they have cured properly. The problem is the solvents are not completely out of the clear for about 6 months. This is why you should not wax your car for a while after it has been painted, as it will seal the solvents in and cause problems. During this period it will not stand up to sustained contact to gas. Baking the product does help speed the intial cure, but does not help much as far as solvent resistance. Also, like stated above, if you use a poor quality paint as a basecoat any chip in the clear will allow the gas to creep under and attack the base, and it will lift off in sheets. The best clear I know of for this application would be PPG's anti-grafitti clear, I cannot remember the product number off the top of my head. The railroad uses this stuff on thier engines so they can scrub the grafitti off of them. It is very chemical resistant, and gets hard as a rock. It is nearly impossible to sand and buff. Use this over the top of a compatible basecoat like PPG's DBC or DBU, and you will have a very durable finish. Hope this helps.

 

[RES]

Thanks guys for all the information. This has been quite an education for me on the use of paints. I always wondered why you were not supposed to wax a car right away.