Vht Wrinkle Paint Rocker Cover. info required

Dino · Post by **Dino** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 1:17 pm

I need to paint my rocker cover with VHT Wrinkle Paint.

Now Ive done this a few times before but it has been ages since I last did one.

I want to see what the best method people have used to obtain an OEM like wrinkle finish. And how to sort the lettering.

Steps I can remember with questions:

1)       Nitromors paint remover to remove old paint and rinse off.

2)       Remove any surface oxidisation (sanding?? What grade paper)

3)       Scotch brite the surface of the rocker cover.

4)       If I want the lettering to be shiny, what grade sand papers shall I use?

5)       Degrease the surface of the rocker cover.

6)       Mask any holes parts etc I don’t want painted.

7)       Cover the polished lettering with Vaseline applied with a cotton bud.

       PAINTING: Apply a very fine coat of VHT wrinkle paint to the cover and leave for 15 minutes (To allow thicker layers of paint to bond to the base coat)

9)       Apply 2-3 thicker coats of paint (how long do I leave between each coat?)

10)   Apply a gentle heat from a hair dryer evenly across the surface of the paint to increase the wrinkle effect. (I understand the more coats you apply the thicker the wrinkle effect)

11)   Allow the rocker cover to cure naturally (12 hrs)

12)   Wipe off paint from Raised lettering by wiping off due to Vaseline application.

Have I missed out any steps or is there any advice anyone can give?

If anyone has any pictures of their work and did anything that differs from what I have suggested, it may be able to give me an idea of the type of finish I’m trying to achieve

Ie: More/less layers of paint, paint curing process/time…

Cheers,

marc

Post by **Thebusofwoe** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 1:54 pm

All of that id say is correct. Iv also done a few and i painted the lettering then sand it off with fine afterwards. Apply no more than 3-4 coats of paint at the same thickness. Allow min 15-20 mins of time between coats and alternate the direction of the way you apply the paint. If it goes on too thick it will rise up into high spots. You will need to to allow 24-48 hrs to dry after last coat then, it will need curing. Now there's two ways, either in an oven or fit it to the car, run the engine and shut the bonnet. Allow the engine heat to cook it for an hour or so. Hey presto, mine came out lovely. A little too thick in a few spots but great results.

judderod · Post by **judderod** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 2:00 pm

Only one thing to add, consider using a metal primer. The VHT doesn't bond especially well to bare metal and chips very easily, even after curing.

Post by **Merlin** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 2:06 pm

This is how I do my ones:

1. Nitromors
2. Sand with 240 grit
3. Sand letters with 240 and work up to finer grade
4. Mask off bits (1p's for holes)
5. Vaseline letters
6. Heat with gun
7. Two layers of acid etch primer
8. Heat with gun
9. Two layers of paint
10. Heat with gun
11. While paint is still soft use razor blade to shave the letters
12. Polish letters once paint has hardened.

106pete · Post by **106pete** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 2:21 pm

If you have any major corrosion areas then sand blasting is prob the best way to get it fully clean but it will also require a lot of cleaning after to stop any sand getting into the oil.

As mentioned a etch primer maybe better for the first coat??

Dino · Post by **Dino** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 2:52 pm

Cheers guys... +rep for you all.

Post by **Lude-dude** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 3:08 pm

although nitromors is rubbish these days..

and I would do acid etch primer on bare metal

Post by **Merlin** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 3:16 pm

Lude-dude wrote:although nitromors is rubbish these days..

That it is

I used loads on a cover I did at the weekend. It took about two hours of constantly applying the gel to get the paint off.

bb1boy · Post by **bb1boy** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 3:21 pm

Nitromors used to be viscious, luckily I had a super old tin of the stuff in the shed, it whipped the old paint off my spare rocker cover in minutes (even thought the Nitromors was a nasty brown colour)..

So, my advice - go to an old people's mobile caravan site and go door to door asking if they have any old tins in their sheds

Shiny · Post by **Shiny** » Mon Sep 23, 2013 3:46 pm

Personally I wouldn't bother with vaseline on the letters, it is messy.

Sand and polish up the letters with wet & dry before you paint with acid etch primer and then VHT.

When fully dry, mask off around the letters, scrape them with a blade and then sand them with a sanding block, finishing off again with wet & dry to get them polished up.