Painting stainless???

[AnchorageGuy]

Anyone had any success in painting stainless steel and getting the paint to stay????

[delmarrey]

You have to rough it up real good with course sand paper or sand blast it for paint to stick. Thats why they make frying pans from the stuff. also you'll have to clean it with a dry solvent like acetone and give it a primer coat.

But why would you want to paint stainless

[AnchorageGuy]

delmarry, Never seen a painted stainless steel frying pan We are painting the spars and want to also paint the mast steps. All the pros tell us the paint will not adhere to good quality stainless. It will take much more than sanding. If you have made this work before maybe you could give me some info on what primer, paint and additional prep work you used. And did it hold up for any length of time. Thanks. Chuck

[delmarrey]

I don't know who your pros are but I work here for the fleets department of the city and their painters asure me sandblasting works. The rougher the surface the better.

If you could remove the mast steps and get them sand blasted with a 30 grit or courser a 2-part epoxy paint would stick pretty good. As for the spars, well that's up tp you. If you don't want to remove them then course sandpaper is your only option. Do a test piece. Get a piece of scrape metal and do a test run. Sandblast one side and course sand the other. Paint it with the epoxy, let cure for about a week then try to scrape it off.

A quality stainless would be a 322 or 316 and I dought that any production stuff is made of that. It's too expensive. Its probably a 304 series.

Have fun!

[GordMay]

Are you certain that your Spars & Steps are Stainless - and not, perhaps Aluminum?
If Aluminum - you can prime with Zinc Chromate (avail as Outboard Motor Primer))
Regards,
Gord

[AnchorageGuy]

Of course the spars are aluminum and not stainless. The mast steps are 316 stainless. I know because I had them made. The spars are off the boat and being prepped for painting. The pros are the folks doing the painting who have been doing this for over 20 years. And the folks from US Paints that make the Awl Grip paint we are using for both. Even they will not guarantee the painting with sand blasting, sanding or anything else. I think you didn't mean to sandblast the aluminum since this would severely pit the aluminum. I am trying to contact other paint companies to get their input. May have to leave them as is. US paints assures me that using them on a land based unit and using them in a salt environment at sea will present totally different results. Thanks

[GordMay]

Chuck
Don't forget to isolate the S/S Step Fastenings from the Aluminum Mast when you mount them.
Could use a thread dope like "Never-Sieze" etc.
Good luck,
Gord

[AnchorageGuy]

Thanks Gord, Got some stuff from Brian Toss's web site that is supposed to be great for this. Guess time will tell

[irwinsailor]

If your parts are not to big, maybe powder coat paint would do the job. I am going to have my CQR anchor welded and have it powder coated grey.

[AnchorageGuy]

Thanks, Have considered the powder coating route. I need to find someone here in the Chesapeake that does it. Then see what the cost will be.

[irwinsailor]

We have a couple of places here that do it. If you can't find anyone there let me know and I will get their phone numbers for you.

[AnchorageGuy]

IS, Thanks. I will keep that in mind.

[CaptJason]

Please don't get mad at me When I first read this mesage I was rolling on the floor laughing. My wife wondered what was so funny then I had her read it and we both started in.. BTW I think it is totally innocentand I just have a dirty mind.


If your parts are not to big, maybe powder coat paint would do the jobs....Jim

[tenknots]

If you paint stainless steel it WILL eventually begin to rust because it will be unable to form it's corrosion resistant coating on the surface. Stainless should never be painted.

[GordMay]

Tenknots is on the right track - S/S requires "passivating", normally accomplished through oxidation from air.
Could also form a passive coat through pickleing (nitric acid etc). If you don't passivate first, coating /w paint (or immersing in water) will be a VERY bad idea.

Once it's passive, you could paint it. As long as the surface finish remains pristine, it should not corrode. When the surface finish is scratched, the paint (which isoltates the S/S from air) is removed, allowing air oxidation.

I still wonder why you'd want to paint stainless.

OMO
Gord

tenknots once whispered in the wind:
If you paint stainless steel it WILL eventually begin to rust because it will be unable to form it's corrosion resistant coating on the surface. Stainless should never be painted.