paint or powder?

[ttocs]

I needed to get to some wiring under my air ride air tank to see if its causing my voltage problem. While it is out and its not rolling it gives me the opportunity to take care of finally take care of making it look a little nicer then a raw tank.

At the time I installed it I was in too much of a hurry to get it working and didn't care, over the years its bugged me more and more. I had originally just planned on getting it powdered either gloss or probably satin black and then put a decal on it, now that I have the chance to take care of it I am not sure what to do with it. I like the durability of powder of course but also enjoy the custom options that are available with paint. I know my powder shop has a $75 minimum and I don't think getting it done a single color would cost too much more than that but then when I think that I could put a black base on it and have an airbrush artist maybe have $75 fun with the decals to make them 3d or something I am not sure what way to go.

The tank is mounted to the base of the back seat behind the drivers seat. I will eventually be making a cover to go over it like I did on the pass side but it will be seen from time to time. Would you keep it simple/durable and go satin black and slap the decal on it and call it a day or go a little custom/fun?

 

[OLD H2S]

I do powder coating in nylon, good finish, durable, long lasting, get to do your QA before cureing, holds up to autoclaving daily for years, BUT if you scratch it or want to change it, paint over it, your SOL. I tell people to use Krylon first, even on their AR-15, then if you really want to go permeant we can work on that. I end up removing a lot of Cericoat the hard way..

 

[ttocs]

I thought about it all afternoon and its location is in a place that I really do not have to worry too much about it getting scratched up even with out the cover on it now. The only time I am really afraid of scratching it is during install and layer of tape on it while installing it would fix most of that problem, to paint it is. I decided this last night and realized I already have the primer so I got started by scuffing it with 320 grit and then a coat of primer since I already had it

There is an airbrush artist around the corner I could go talk too but after a little thought I realized using the decals as stencils means its not all that hard to do what I am thinking about and I think I can do it myself. If I hate it I can just put another base coat over it and then give it to him, just need to figure out what colors to use now but so far I have a few picked out.

 

[white95]

Paint!! oh wait.... Good choice!

 

[ttocs]

yes just need to decide on colors now. All opinions are welcome

 

[white95]

Silver and gray colors always pair well with green IMO

 

[ttocs]

I am leaning towards a satin black base, and then gloss/metallic graphite/DFG and a little red

 

[97stanger]

I’ve always been a big fan of powder coating due to the durability

 

[ttocs]

I’ve always been a big fan of powder coating due to the durability

I could not agree more and on the flip side I have always been a fan of all the amazing things you can do with paint. Under the hood if I can't get it anodized then its powdered but like I said above this spot should not be too bad for scratching and will eventually have a cover to protect it.

 

[ttocs]

after a lot of thought of different designs and logos, colors and patterns I decided to go a different rout this time. Abstract baby...

At some point an artist just has to stand back, take a good long look and realize that it just CAN'T get any better! So it was time to hit the clear.

I am just getting tired of all the same old stuff ya know? If you guys want me to do this to any of your pieces or to your car pm me.

 

[evilcw311]

Clean and simple!!!! I like it!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ttocs]

well I had some issues in the layers that made me make some changes to it, made things simpler really. I used paint/primer I already had but had no idea how old it was. I realized last night I really needed an etching primer for aluminum but the last layer for some reason wrinkled up in some areas and then part of the green paint pulled off with the decal on the final coat. So I am not afraid to take a mulligan, its already being stripped and off to get fresh paint/primer.

 

[97stanger]

That’s going to come out awesome

 

[ttocs]

That’s going to come out awesome

If I can correct the issues I had before there will be a couple more details that should make it look even better.

 

[RedTwilight]

To help keep the paint from lifting when removing the decal masks; try sticking them to your shirt or pants to help remove some of the stickiness.

 

[96blak54]

Its good to see you challenge a small project, taking a step back to regroup, regain your thoughts about getting the car running.

 

[driftin]

after a lot of thought of different designs and logos, colors and patterns I decided to go a different rout this time. Abstract baby...

At some point an artist just has to stand back, take a good long look and realize that it just CAN'T get any better! So it was time to hit the clear.

I am just getting tired of all the same old stuff ya know? If you guys want me to do this to any of your pieces or to your car pm me.

Looking good man, nice!

 

[ttocs]

oh heck I forgot the finished pics.

[/URL]IMG_20180131_234331123 by Scott Sorensen, on Flickr[/IMG]

It didn't come out bad but didn't come out perfect like I hoped either, but it looks a lot better then the raw tank did and I learned some painting lessons along the way. It also got my head out of the car for a few, so I can call it a successful project.