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I've been quoted a considerable sum for having a wrinkle finish powder coat application so I'm considering DIY. Part is aluminium alloy and has been vapour blasted. How achievable is this with an aerosol product ?. One reason I want to do this now is I'm having a new kitchen fitted soon so I can use the oven as it is being scrapped anyway. Any advice would be appreciated.

VHT pain in rattle cans works really well if you follow the instructions. 3 decent coats (in different directions) with a gentle warm in between with a heat gun, then heat with the gun after the 3rd until the wrinkles form

You can get it in red and black (not sure about other colours)

I use primer on steel parts, none on Alloy, just a good clean and scuff first.

Worth a try, certainly. Here's one I did earlier....
Al

Did a Minifin Alloy Rocker Cover last year. First blasted the cover, degreased it, sprayed, wrinkled with the heat Gun, then put in the oven for 20min on 200 degrees C and let it cool down.

I used a rattle can and the paint is quite resistant

Thanks, I wasn't sure about the heat gun/oven side of things. Is it best to apply the three coats then use the heat gun or use it between coats ?. I'm not sure if it will fit in the oven so will probably be using the gun.

What colour are you painting It? I might have some pertinent information unless you know better (you appear to of done excellent research), my brother and I built his new elan sprint (kit form) in 1972, the engine was supplied with the wrong cam cover the sprint was supposed to have the black ribbed cover.
The std cover supplied with his engine was red.

Don’t worry about your oven, just do it when the wife’s out, with the doors and windows open. Then prepare yourself for a bollocking when the next three meals taste of paint fumes. Don’t ask how I know this

Ronnie wrote: ↑Mon Jan 17, 2022 8:29 pm What colour are you painting It? I might have some pertinent information unless you know better (you appear to of done excellent research), my brother and I built his new elan sprint (kit form) in 1972, the engine was supplied with the wrong cam cover the sprint was supposed to have the black ribbed cover.
The std cover supplied with his engine was red.

It's red which is correct for the year/engine type.

Stopped-again wrote: ↑Mon Jan 17, 2022 8:30 pm Don’t worry about your oven, just do it when the wife’s out, with the doors and windows open. Then prepare yourself for a bollocking when the next three meals taste of paint fumes. Don’t ask how I know this

Oops

111Robin wrote: ↑Mon Jan 17, 2022 8:27 pm Thanks, I wasn't sure about the heat gun/oven side of things. Is it best to apply the three coats then use the heat gun or use it between coats ?. I'm not sure if it will fit in the oven so will probably be using the gun.

I give it a blast with the gun between coats, but not enough that it wrinkles, just enough to take the sheen of the layer, then give it a proper blast at the end until the wrinkles form. Think it recommends about 15 minutes between coats

Al

Thanks Al. For the price of a couple of cans it's worth a try.

Definitely.

I've bought mine from these folks on Ebay before. The only other thing I do is pre warm the part with the gun, especially in the winter, as the heavier coat might sag.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381650928961 ... Swprte6hE6

Al

I can heat the shed up to around 21C so should be ok for painting. If it fits in the oven I'll possibly try that for the final cure. If I had somewhere to put the oven I'd keep it for jobs like this but it takes up too much space.

I’ve always had good results with VHT wrinkle plus and a heat gun for a bit of heat when necessary.

Most of the time it’s about 25C here which is hot enough for the magic to happen

Looks good, conditions here are far from ideal but I can heat my small shed up sufficiently and pretend I'm in Oz!

Stopped-again wrote: ↑Mon Jan 17, 2022 8:30 pm Don’t worry about your oven, just do it when the wife’s out, with the doors and windows open. Then prepare yourself for a bollocking when the next three meals taste of paint fumes. Don’t ask how I know this

I suspect that it's the same way as I do

Al's suggestions are spot on. I have had variable results over the years. Hycote was rubbish, whether you followed the instructions or not, VHT much more reliable. Be very careful of sagging though!

I'm lucky my powder coating man does crackle & it's cheap & excellent.

I was quoted £140 for the cam cover, not what I expected at all. I presume that IS expensive ?. From memory I had two subframes done for less than that. Is it the product that's more expensive ?.

For a twink cam cover, my man would charge maybe £20 or so.

mk1 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 2:56 pm For a twink cam cover, my man would charge maybe £20 or so.

I'm annoyed about that, I've given him loads of work, mainly wheels to vapour blast, he knows he'll be getting my business with all of the Lotus parts, I thought he might give me a better deal. Anyway, £24 for a couple of VHT cans seems a better bet, as long as I follow the advice given.

Did this aluminum piece with wrinkle black VHT. Let it air dry in the sun and turned out awesome. I don’t have a heat gun so never tried it with one before.