rust proofing

[Scott :P]

hi all in the spring or when it warms up I've got the task of painting inside my gas locker becuse the rust is starting to show its face . can anyone suggest what i can use to do this job and what should i do along the lines of preperation for the painting?

[n.b.Goldie]

Hi

 

Get rid of loose rust with a twisted wire cup brush attached to an angle grinder. Then cover liberally with Vactan to kill any remaining rust and provide a primer for the top coat. Top coat with bog-standard blacking and re-black each time you do the bottom. Touch up any scratches as soon as you can and use a plastic deck-mat to ensure the gas bottle does not damage the floor.

 

You do not mention if your locker is of the wet or dry variety. If of the wet persuasion do not neglect it as it is effectively part of the hull and might well be of only 3mm or so thickness whereas the hull sides are probably about 6mm. So, if your we locker rusts through your boat might well sink. If of the dry variety this is not an issue but even so should not be neglected

 

Should then be o.k.

 

Regards

Ditchdabbler

[David Schweizer]

I would do the same as Ditchdabbler suggests, except that I would paint it with two good coats of Hammerite rather than blacking which never really goes off and tends to come off onto anything you put into the locker.

 

I have painted the locker on our boat with Hammerite Red Oxide mainly because that is what was there originally and I have half a dozen tins of the stuff in my workshop, but Hammerite Smooth may give a longer lasting finish.

[The Pipe]

I would do the same as Ditchdabbler suggests, except that I would paint it with two good coats of Hammerite rather than blacking which never really goes off and tends to come off onto anything you put into the locker.

 

I have painted the locker on our boat with Hammerite Red Oxide mainly because that is what was there originally and I have half a dozen tins of the stuff in my workshop, but Hammerite Smooth may give a longer lasting finish.

I have never seen 2 pack coal/tar epoxy come off on anything once its gone off! tough stuff far better than Hammerite.

[dor]

I have never seen 2 pack coal/tar epoxy come off on anything once its gone off! tough stuff far better than Hammerite.

 

 

But the suggestion was to use standard blacking.

 

I'm a hammerite smooth fan and that's what I use.

[n.b.Goldie]

The reason I suggested standard blacking is that it is cheap, easy to obtain and easy to apply and that if done at the same time as the hull, the gas-locker is less likely to be neglected. I agree that Hammerite is a superior product as is two-pack epoxy and might be the better choice.

 

Slightly off-topic, would it be a good idea, if one could afford it to coat the bare hull with Hammerite before blacking? Would this give extra protection or is Hammerite not a good product for immersion in water albeit under blacking?

 

Regards

Ditchdabbler

[The Pipe]

The reason I suggested standard blacking is that it is cheap, easy to obtain and easy to apply and that if done at the same time as the hull, the gas-locker is less likely to be neglected. I agree that Hammerite is a superior product as is two-pack epoxy and might be the better choice.

 

Slightly off-topic, would it be a good idea, if one could afford it to coat the bare hull with Hammerite before blacking? Would this give extra protection or is Hammerite not a good product for immersion in water albeit under blacking?

 

Regards

Ditchdabbler

I have used Hammerite on a rudder and it did not like being immersed so just fell off!

Could be other reasons why it decided to fall off, never bothered studying it just noted "well that did not last long"

As for gas lockers they do seem to corrode quick. On my own boat which has 2 gas lockers the one that has the cylinder in use has corroded more than the storage locker. I may look up sometime if propane is corrosive to steel or does it attack paint, does anyone allready know?

Edited December 27, 2011 by Jim Evans

[davey b]

I have generally not had good results with smooth Hammerite over the years and then only on cars. The epoxy blacking has got to be better. The use of blacking will make the interior of the hold/locker very dark, which may not be good. The epoxy paints are available in colours other than black, though.

[BEngo]

I have generally not had good results with smooth Hammerite over the years and then only on cars. The epoxy blacking has got to be better. The use of blacking will make the interior of the hold/locker very dark, which may not be good. The epoxy paints are available in colours other than black, though.

 

 

But Epoxy will only stick properly to bright metal. If you can't shot blast it or use sanding discs to get all the rust and millscale off you are wasting money on expensive paint. If you can get it bright then several coats of epoxy is the canine's cojones.

 

Smooth rite/Hammerite are cr@p generally, and I've tried both in their original formulation where the thinners were special. The smooth stuff is brittle, so it chips easily, and doesn't stick that well to smooth steel whilst the glass loaded hammer finish stuff is only a bit tougher, looks like a bodge and doesn't stop any rust under it so it eventually bulges and flakes.

 

N

[greywolf]

I have used Hammerite on a rudder and it did not like being immersed so just fell off!

Could be other reasons why it decided to fall off, never bothered studying it just noted "well that did not last long"

As for gas lockers they do seem to corrode quick. On my own boat which has 2 gas lockers the one that has the cylinder in use has corroded more than the storage locker. I may look up sometime if propane is corrosive to steel or does it attack paint, does anyone allready know?

 

 

I know nothing about this subject but could it be that the difference in the metals of the cylinder and the hull has some effect on the rusting?

[davey b]

Both the hull (usually and the gas bottle (usually) are steel, possibly of different grades, but steel. There is probably a fretting issue that abrades the paint in addition to any damage allowing moisture in to start the rusting then the paint lifts... also there is always moisture in the gas locker. Condensation from the bottle and the hull will always be present and some gas lockers are wet by design

[Scott :P]

thanks for all the help guys i think im going to have a go at grinding/ sanding back the rust and then painting with that thick hammerite in red oxide to match the rest of the decks. on another note does anyone know a good place to match the exterior paint on the boat the previous owner didn't give us the paint code in any of the paperwork and didn't leave a spare tin.

 

and im not sure what type of locker ive got its right up in the bow of the boat though if that helps

[Grace and Favour]

[quote name=Scott ' timestamp='1325086114' post='801973]

thanks for all the help guys i think im going to have a go at grinding/ sanding back the rust and then painting with that thick hammerite in red oxide to match the rest of the decks. on another note does anyone know a good place to match the exterior paint on the boat the previous owner didn't give us the paint code in any of the paperwork and didn't leave a spare tin.

 

and im not sure what type of locker ive got its right up in the bow of the boat though if that helps

 

The one company that I would recommend for colour-matching is Craftmaster paints - great results for me, and ace quality paint

[bizzard]

I last painted my gas bottle locker about 8 years ago with motor trade oil based synthetic enamel,Valentines ''Valflash''Vauxhall wavecrest blue and its still as good as new.

[Scott :P]

I last painted my gas bottle locker about 8 years ago with motor trade oil based synthetic enamel,Valentines ''Valflash''Vauxhall wavecrest blue and its still as good as new.

 

was it easy to paint with?

[bizzard]

[quote name=Scott ' timestamp='1325089027' post='802003]

was it easy to paint with?

Its quite viscous and is meant to be heated for spraying. But brushes and flows out nicely if used heated and on a cool surface working quickly.

[blackrose]

But the suggestion was to use standard blacking.

 

I'm a hammerite smooth fan and that's what I use.

 

I've used Hammerite before but it always seems to eventually flake and peel off. I've never used it over Vactan because it says "straight to rust" so I just wire brushed and painted it on. I suspect it's not flexible enough to cope with the expansion & contraction of steel in direct sunlight, but perhaps inside a gas locker would be ok. I'm sure there are better solutions though. This is my favourite primer which I've used over Vactan. Excellent stuff and it doesn't necessarily need a topcoat because it's not a porus primer.

 

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/bonda-anti-rust-fast-drying-zinc-primer-25l-126-p.asp

[smileypete]

Anyone tried zinc phosphate primer (on to steel) plus a topcoat?

 

cheers,

Pete.

[David Schweizer]

I have ben using Hammerite smooth (Smoothrite) and Red Oxide for years and have never had any problems wth it flaking off. I know it does not like even the slightest trace of oil or grease, so perhaps it has something to do with preparation. I always wash the whole surface with Industrial cellulose thinners, and allow it to dry before applying the paint.

 

I painted the cast iron bench in our garden with black Smoothrite more than twenty years ago, It has gone very dull, but it hasn't started flaking yet.

[blackrose]

I have ben using Hammerite smooth (Smoothrite) and Red Oxide for years and have never had any problems wth it flaking off. I know it does not like even the slightest trace of oil or grease, so perhaps it has something to do with preparation. I always wash the whole surface with Industrial cellulose thinners, and allow it to dry before applying the paint.

 

I painted the cast iron bench in our garden with black Smoothrite more than twenty years ago, It has gone very dull, but it hasn't started flaking yet.

 

I tried it for years too and eventually decided it doesn't do what it says on the tin. There are much better paints around these days.

[Scott :P]

I've used Hammerite before but it always seems to eventually flake and peel off. I've never used it over Vactan because it says "straight to rust" so I just wire brushed and painted it on. I suspect it's not flexible enough to cope with the expansion & contraction of steel in direct sunlight, but perhaps inside a gas locker would be ok. I'm sure there are better solutions though. This is my favourite primer which I've used over Vactan. Excellent stuff and it doesn't necessarily need a topcoat because it's not a porus primer.

 

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/bonda-anti-rust-fast-drying-zinc-primer-25l-126-p.asp

 

looks like good stuff i might give it a try and then just give it a top coat just to be safe