Stepping Up From Rattlecans

In In the Garage, Steering, Suspension, Wheels by George1 Comment

Painting is effing hard! To do it right anyway. I’ve rattle canned my fair share and I can shake a can with the best of ’em. This time I thought I would invest in a spray gun and all the gear that goes along with it to get a hard wearing and lasting finish on the suspension gear.

Upfront costs equate to paying someone else to do it but it’s an investment in my skills and it’ll pay for itself the second time I use it. The diff, axles, and fuel tank are all in need of a similar durable finish. I’ve used KBS Coatings RustSeal in satin black. I can tell this stuff is going to last because it ain’t coming off my fingers and toes! Don’t ask about the toes.

Being my first time spray painting I scheduled no less than a full day to do the 4 strut assemblies, front brake dust covers, steering rack, and the engine crossmember. Everything was sandblasted and covered in a Balchan etch primer. I prepped well and did my testing on the dust covers.

All was going well until after the first coat was finished. A few drops of rain sent me in a mad panic. I called my lovely wife to help and I was furiously grabbing the strut assemblies off our clothes line when I dropped one of the heavy rear ones! The few drops of rain were just that, a few drops that wouldn’t have caused any issues but the grass certainly did. Lesson learned.

The rest of the day went smoothly and after my third cost I started cleaning the gun. The sun and my parts were shining in the backyard and what better way to finish the day than with a sun shower. Son of a… Not a few drops but a proper sun shower on my wet paint. Aargh!

Back in panic mode, madly bringing everything inside and cursing my laziness for not organising a painting area under cover. The damage is superficial, isolated to a few small areas, and only noticeable if you look really closely. Kind of like pixel peeping for photographers.

I don’t mind making mistakes. Without mistakes we don’t learn and today I did both.

Comments

  1. Pingback: Summer 2019 | twofortyZ

Leave a Comment

Security Question * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.