Weather Resistant Coating

[JonRiley56]

Hi All,

I decided to start a separate thread on this in case we find something that works. I have som stuff from these folks on order.

http://www.everbrite.net/index.html

jon

[DetroiTug]

Jon,

Thanks for the link. I just ordered some too. Hopefully it works good on the brass.

-Ron

[Bob Cleek]

Jon,

Thanks for the link. I just ordered some too. Hopefully it works good on the brass.

-Ron

I'd strongly suggest you try a test piece before slathering the product on all your freshly polished bare brass. After nearly half a century polishing bright metal in the marine environment, sometimes professionally, I've yet to have found anything that does what this product claims to do. There are any number of metal coatings that have been marketed for this purpose for many, many years. The problem is, the more effective and tenacious they are, the more grief they give you. Some are, of course, better than others, but what inevitably happens with all of them is that in any number of ways, the coating is breached. Sometimes the coating degrades somewhat and loses its impermiable qualties. Sometimes protruding features of the piece simply wear more quickly. Sometimes it's just a scratch. But, once moisture gets beyond the coating, particularly on brass, corrosion begins immediately and you have a black spot, and then another, and then the spots become blotches, and in short order the piece looks like hell. But it's only then that the real grief starts. It's impossible to polish out just the black spots and recoat. The coating has to be removed entirely and the whole piece polished and recoated. If you use "the really good stuff," whatever that may be, removing it can be a nightmare. (Sorry, "Just use paint stripper/lacquer solvent/etc. etc." is the wrong answer. Don't ask me how I know.) Most of these coatings are immune to any sort of solvent stripper. They must be wire brushed off, and then the surface polished completely on a buffing wheel. first with emery, then rouge, to get the wire wheel scratches out. It's a huge amount of work. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to restore a beautiful brass lamp or clock case which came from the factory coated with a really tough sealer. (Fortunately, it's rarely seen on cast bells because the coatings dull their tone.)

These coatings work quite well on items which are going to remain indoors, but not on anything exposed to the elements or installed in damp environments like a bathroom. (If you've ever had any coated brass bathroom fixtures, you'll know what I mean.)

If it works, by all means let us know, but so far, regular hand polishing with Nev-R-Dull or whatever's your favorite polish really ends up being the easiest way to keep yellow metal on a boat bright.

[JonRiley56]

Point well made Bob ! I guess my concern about trying to do anything by hand on this pump is that it has so many bolt heads, studs etc. that polishing it by hand seems almost impossible. Take a look at the pictures in the "Southworth Pump" thread. These little pumps are really neat, Ron did a great job of putting them together. Remember when you are looking at them, they are only about 12 inches tall !

Jon

[Oilking]

I remember when clear coating cars was all the rage? I bought a use car that looked great until the coat started to peel! It ended up looking like skin peeling after a sunburn. The cure would have been to strip the whole car, and then repaint since the stripping would likely damage the paint below$$$$$ Frugality outweighed image, so I just lived with it.

Dave

[DetroiTug]

Jon,

Thanks for the compliment. Hoping this coating will work for the brass/bronze on our pumps - and engine parts too, almost impossible to polish some of it. I'm going to try it on a handrail. At 65 bucks a quart, I doubt its the cheap stuff. Anyways, as far as removing it or having to re-do a piece, not an issue. It should take the heat, they claim it will work on a grill. The brass letters on the front of the wheelhouse have a clear coat - after two years they still look like new.

Almost all new cars have a clear coat on them. Clear coating that fails was probably not put on by the manufacturer.

-Ron

[Mike Rometer]

Jon,


Almost all new cars have a clear coat on them. Clear coating that fails was probably not put on by the manufacturer.

-Ron

This much is true, it is part of the paint process and essential, particularly on metallic paints to maintain the surface. Problems occur with after market finishes when preparation was not thorough enough.

I have to say I wonder about a hard-coat finish on something like brass that has been previously polished with a proprietary product that may have left behind a chemical to extend the life of the shine, and which may not allow the coating to attach directly to the metal surface. Tricky one!

[DetroiTug]

The surface has to be prepared with Xylene solvent.

-Ron

[Mike Rometer]

Well we wont be sure 'til one of you tries it, will we.


Get polishing! We are of baited breath.




Would xylene shift silicon?

[Lopez Mike]

Use really good ventilation and gloves. Xylene got thrown out of print studios years ago due to a significant number of people getting liver cancer from it.
Mike