# painting angle iron



## tomcameron (Sep 24, 2011)

Hi


I'm having a motor bracket made up. Before I put it in the car I want to paint it. so it can stand agents the elements.


It’s bolted to the motor of course. The motor has an aluminium case. For you who don't know, if you put steel and aluminium together, the steel will start to corrode. This is because of the aluminium’s oxidizing skin.


I don’t want to choose the wrong type of paint. What paint should I use?


Thanks


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## TigerNut (Dec 18, 2009)

tomcameron said:


> Hi
> 
> 
> I'm having a motor bracket made up. Before I put it in the car I want to paint it. so it can stand agents the elements.
> ...


If you want to do a really high quality finish, then have it powdercoated. This can be done at home if you have an oven that is not otherwise used for food . If you get it done, then that company should do any required pre-finish sandblasting and degreasing, but it doesn't hurt to do that yourself.

As far as regular paint finishes go, do good surface prep (file off all sharp inside and outside corners, descale with a wire brush, then wipe down with lacquer thinner or acetone to remove dust and oil), then spray or brush on a good metal compatible paint such as Tremclad or an automotive engine paint.

Tremclad had a really good light grey color called Argent; but last time I looked it was not available. Black is a good all purpose color but it's more difficult to tell if you have any cracks developing or any dirt building up where it shouldn't.


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## tomcameron (Sep 24, 2011)

Ok thanks I will look out for that sort of paint.
Good that’s one question. 
I have another problem. I have some aluminium sheet metal; I drilled some holes in the wrong place. I need to fill these holes? Is there a type of paste that I can use? maybe somesort of Gasket silent glue, something weather prove.








It’s very, very hard to weld aluminium so I can’t really weld up the holes.
Can anybody help?


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## evmetro (Apr 9, 2012)

Jb weld 2 part epoxy


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## TigerNut (Dec 18, 2009)

Good idea on the JB weld (or any other metal-filled epoxy).

Details: 
- Chamfer both sides of the hole.
- Make sure the edges of the hole are flat - no raised lip to either side.
- Degrease the surfaces of the sheetmetal.
- Put some 2" wide tape on the side of the hole opposite to where you're going to fill from.
- Mix your epoxy; then use a putty knife to work it into the hole, so that some is extruded to the other side and makes a button head on that side.
- Finish the near side of the hole so that there is also just a small lip of material over the edge of the hole. If you're working on a vertical surface, cap this side with tape also to keep the epoxy from sagging while it cures.

Now wait until the next day and then pull the tape.


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## Salty9 (Jul 13, 2009)

tomcameron said:


> For you who don't know, if you put steel and aluminium together, the steel will start to corrode. This is because of the aluminium’s oxidizing skin.
> 
> Thanks


Aluminum is used as a sacrificial anode on steel structures. I learned this the hard way by using an aluminum bar as a battery hold down strap. An electrochemical reaction between iron and aluminum results in the formation of Al2O3.


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## Caps18 (Jun 8, 2008)

Salty9 said:


> Aluminum is used as a sacrificial anode on steel structures. I learned this the hard way by using an aluminum bar as a battery hold down strap. An electrochemical reaction between iron and aluminum results in the formation of Al2O3.


I learned the same lesson, except I used it as a muffler strap.

As for paint, get some POR-15 (por15.com) and forget about it.


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