Clear spray bomb on roll cage?

On my Hot Rod, the interior is all natural metal finish, no paint. That's the way I want it to stay. But the cage is starting to get some surface rust. Is there anything wrong with spraying it with flat or semi-gloss clear out of a rattle can? THis cage is NHRA certified to 8.50


THanks, Joel

Yes there's something wrong with that, it will chip off.

I use red scotch bright pads and wd 40 or the like for 17 years now. None of my dragsters were ever painted.

This car is 11 years old.

What material? I would think clear would be your best protection, for a number of reasons, IMO

chrome moly

I wonder if that rpm finish protector would do the job?

Id use clear possibly, yes it might chip but if your car is finished id think your not going to do alot of heavy banging around.

I painted my cage black 23 years ago and have not scuffed it up yet other then the drivers entry point but just a few light scuffs.

One thing to keep in mind is that once you use the WD-40 don't plan on painting it. A guy I know had a rat rod that he did the WD -40 thing to the body. Looked good for a rat rod finish 1/2 paint half rust for a few years. Then took it to a professional for paint removal [ blaster ] The main flat panels cleaned up but the WD-40 kept weeping out of the seams even after extreme solvent cleaning. On the clear paint look , I would think a flat or semi gloss would look better than gloss.

RPM made by ECS should be fine for that. Call and ask them.

Interesting.

How time consuming is it to apply? How hot does the metal have to be to melt it?

Thanks for all the replys.

You don't have to get the metal hot so much as warm enough to get the stuff to bond. I have a can and used it to do the metal parts on a heater box and a hair dryer worked fine for me. A heat gun would have made it even faster.

A whole roll cage might take a few hours, but you don't have to do it all in one swipe. You could do one tube at a time in your spare time over a few weekends and next thing you know it's done.

To buy the stuff you have to call and order it over the phone so I would tell them what you want to do with it and they can answer your questions. I can't see why it wouldn't work great for that. No masking the whole inside of the car off, if it gets bumped you can touch it up. etc.

I have a 6 point bar coming to my street car soon so I'm subscribing to this thread.

Got any pics of your hot rod Joel?

I'd use the clear. If it scratches or chips..easy touch up

Go with a 2-component clear urethane, and it'll never chip off. I sell paint in the Seattle area, but I'm sure if you go to any reputable industrial paint store, they should be able to set you up. If you were near me, I'd put this in your hands:

http://www.roddapaint.com/industrial/product-search/product-detail/299/armourshield-urethane

We only make it in a gloss, but it can be flattened with OK412 powder. Since it's a 2-component product, you'd have to use a paint gun, but it would stand up to just about anything you throw at it (as would most any 2k urethane product).

It's not done yet, still a work in progress. I'm planning on Drag Week this year. Hopefully I don't have any more big setbacks, and will be ready. 31 Plymouth, 392 early Hemi, T56 Magunum 6 speed.

Nice ride

Very cool hot rod!

That thing is sweet. I couldn't see the cage any color other than clear. It would look killer.

They use this on aircraft, https://boeshield.com/about/

So much for keeping progress a secret...

Better get busy, HUGE bet on the line...

Well, I ordered a can of RPM. I'll see how it goes. Thanks for the help!

I would be careful around the headliner if you use a heat gun so you don't ruin it. Other than that it should be easy.

I just did this. I used POR 15 top coat. I went with black but its available in clear spray can. Won't rust or chip.

I used Penetrol on mine. Works pretty well. Do a search for coating bare metal with penetrol.

Joel, do a search on Gibbs penetrant. Just spray or wipe it on and it'll keep the metal from rusting. You can apply a little to a rag and clean off fingerprints,etc. It will darken the metal some. If in the end you don't like it you can use it as a primer and paint right over it. I used it on some old painted headers that I stripped and repainted. Worked beautifully.
BTW - I am no way involved with Gibbs, but the stuff works amazingly!

Unreal, we just painted them with appliance epoxy black. To me clear would look like unfinished water pipe.

Looks great Joel! 2 questions; Where are the holes for spark plugs in the valve covers?

How are you going to mount the mermaid hood ornament?

I hope to see you and the other competitors at DW.
Don

Very cool car!!

The holes are there for the plugs, Joel has white rags stuffed in them, and they are just not showing up.

"Flipper" AKA Joel's mascot will probably get to sit in the front seat, and his trunk Monkey, well in the trunk...

Some nostalgia dragster folks use Remington Oil (gun oil) on the bare chassis metal.

Do any of you have pics of a roll bar done with the ECS rpm product?
I want my roll bar to be satin black, on the youtube videos it looks like the ECS RPM is a dark gray color.

My car isn't done yet. Every time I add another bar or bracket, the last one is already surface rusting. I guess that's what I get for living in NC. I'm going with the opposite thoughts: I know the cage is going to get nicked and scratched, so I'm painting it with Rustoleum purple. If I have to touch up an area or sand down to add something, it's nothing more than a trip to Walmart for some touch up.

I started with the rpm coating. It is pretty easy to apply. First I used a Scotch-Brite pad to remove the surface rust in a few areas where it had formed. Then wiped the whole cage down with wax and grease remover, then started heating it with a heat gun and brushed on the RPM coating. It does not change the way the bar looks. I can't tell were I stopped using it.
This kind of work is hard on my back, so I'm just going to do about a half hour at a time till it's done. I estimate the whole job is going to be about 2 - 3 hours

Sounds good, I might have to try the RPM if I don't do the satin black.

it's clear.

Ok thanks, looked like a gray color in the vids.

After I applied RPM coating, it looked exactly the same as before I applied it.