DIYbanter - View Single Post

In article ,
says...
On Wed, 11 May 2005 23:18:38 +0100, "Suz" wrote:

Gates are handmade and aren't thin

If you can move the weight, they're thin! Hammerite is _rubbish_ stuff,
that has never worked anything like as well as its reputation claimed.
Smoothrite is little better. One particular defect in it is that it's
very stiff and has poor adhesion - so any bending of the substrate
(which is pretty inevitable on a gate) encourages it to crack off.

Any ideas on the dulling?

I hate powder coat - I've never seen it look good when it's more than a
year or two old. This crappy "matt" finish is even worse - it's just not
leaving it in the fuser for long enough. Unless you've done the
ironwork carefully and either broken all the sharp edges or made it from
hot-rolled, you can see problems with splitting along the edges too.
Then you get the usual powder-coat problem, which is rusting underneath.

But you could try silicone oil pervert polish - as used on rubberwear.

I think you may be confusing powder coating and dipping. Dipping will
show this characteristic de-lamination along arrises etc.

Powder doesn't really differ from ordinary paint with the exception of
the use of an electrostatic charge to assist the particles adhere to the
surface prior to stove enamelling. Its adhesion is generally very good.

I tend to agree with you about Hammerite. It is greatly over-hyped and
ludicrously expensive. The hammered effect is no more than a re-action
similar to that of fish eye found when varnishes are used on a surface
contaminated with silicone (sp?). Its sole advantage to me is its
availability in small tins. Similarily fast drying synthetic enamels are
usually available in trade sized tins only. I've never got a good finish
with it.

To revert to the o.p.s quandary.

I would be inclined to try 'T' cut in a small area before rushing to
overcoat the entire set of gates
--
Paul Mc Cann