How much paint to buy for tongue

[dznf0g]

For you folks who have painted the tongue of you AS with a spray gun and mixed automotive paint. I want to do the tongue, and all the parts of a Hensley hitch.

How much paint is needed to buy? 1 pint (reduced to a quart) of color and the same amount of clear?

I was thinking a urethane primer, basecoat and clearcoat. Sound right?

[Lance M]

Dzn,
I'd say that would be enough, but it seems that every time I think I have enough paint, I usually run out when I'm 3/4ths done. This is one instance where excess is warranted in my opinion.
Are you overcoating or sandblasting/stripping/removing the original paint?

[dznf0g]

Thanks, Top.
A friend has a small manufacturing business with all air powered machinery and, obviously has a massive compressor. He has graciously invited me to use his sandblaster for the tongue and his glass bead parts blaster for the hitch parts.

[Lance M]

Cool! Big equipment calls for lots of pictures, ya know.

[dznf0g]

So I took Top's advice and ordered 2 sets of quart (reduced) primer, base, and clear. They sure are proud of it!

So...question. Are Hensleys powder coated? 7 hours with the parts blaster WITH Black Beauty boiler slag medium. That stuff is really aggressive and it still took forever! And I AM beat tonight.

But...here's the result.



That orange paint that everyone complains about apparently comes off, unless you want it off.

Now for the tongue tomorrow. I gotta believe that automotive paint will come off easier.

[Lance M]

Originally Posted by dznf0g

They sure are proud of it!

Attachment 166578

For sure! Paint is very expensive these days. Well, quality paint is anyway.

Looks great!

[dznf0g]

...and after 4 more hours with the blaster.

[Wazbro]

Check inside the couple for cracks before you paint.

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by Wazbro

Check inside the couple for cracks before you paint.

Thanks, I'm checking everything on the tongue and the hitch. When they're neckid' you can see everything!

[purman]

1 can of good rattle can will take care of that. i think you should be fine with a pint. I used 2 quarts of por15 to do my whole frame.. With a low pressure air spray gun..

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by purman

1 can of good rattle can will take care of that. i think you should be fine with a pint. I used 2 quarts of por15 to do my whole frame.. With a low pressure air spray gun..

Well, late, but thanks. I thought I'd be close with a pint (unreduced) for the tongue AND the thousands of hensley parts. No rattle cans for me. I don't want to do this for a long time, so I'm using urethane primer, base coat, and a urethane clear coat. If I don't get into the second set of paints, I'll save them for some other projects, like the lower ends of the segment protector, which are all chipped up. I also need to paint my scooter ('86 Yamaha Riva)....was thinking about matching it to the AS...but that gray is kinda boring....we'll see.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Have you purchased said urethane primer yet? Urethane is generally used on plastic parts. With the sand blasting, you now have a bare metal situation. I cannot think of the specific name of the PPG primer I use for that application, but I think you need to switch that one. Why not blast your rims and bumper at the same time? One quart should give you two coats on all that stuff. I wouldn't waste your money on a two stage system since the stuff you are painting is going to take a great deal of abuse even if you treat it gently. One stage should be more than fine.

[dznf0g]

Actually urethane is used on a lot of OEM cars now...including primer. Rims are aluminum and new last year. Bumper is...um...rubber, fiberglass, and plastic all mixed up (classic with bumper drawer). I'll recheck the order, but it's a bare metal set, kit thingy.

Edit: Just went back to the instructions. They say just make sure bare metal is scuffed. I'd say blasted is scuffed. Of course, a liberal amount of prep solvent will be used.

[dznf0g]

Almost done!





This was a lot more work than I thought. The stripping to bare metal was a big job.

BTW, it took 1 quart of primer plus its 1/2 pint of hardener; about 4 and 1/2 pints of basecoat (no hardener required); and 1 quart of clear, plus its 1/2 pint of hardener.

Look, you can see my reflection in the coupler!

[Lance M]

Looks great!

[dznf0g]

Thanks, Top. Those paint amounts are AFTER reducing. Actually I had the supplier pre-reduce for me, so I'm really not sure what the unreduced paint quantities are.

[vswingfield]

The final result looks great!

Really improved the looks of the Hensley.

[slowmover]

Wow, great results!!

[Stormalong]

Your tongue and Henley look great. I too want to do this. What brand and color code did you use to match original pewter color?

[dznf0g]

I'll have to find my records. It's not an exact match, but pretty close. As I recall it is a pretty old dodge code. BTW, the paint has held up really well. No flaking, cracking nor peeling.