painting metal braces

[dilbert firestorm]

I'm gonna paint the metal braces black, I brought a paint spray can, and a primer spray can. do I need anything else for finish?

[deadgoose]

Make sure they are good and clean... no grease. A trip through the dishwasher would do the trick nicely. Spray multiple thin coats, let dry well between coats. Since there are holes, painting is easier -- use pieces of thin wire and hang them up to spray.

[dilbert firestorm]

or stick them on a pole?

[dilbert firestorm]

how many layers of primer and paint coating?

[RicodJour]

Before you push the button on the primer, Google Hammerite paint. It goes on bare steel and it's good stuff. Easy to repair, textured gives such things a nice look, hard. It's good.

R

[aemeijers]

If they are the usual 'bright' anodized finish, scuff them up with a brown scotchbrite pad, and degrease well. Paint often doesn't stick real well to plated parts, so don't be disappointed if it flakes off in a couple of months.

Once you are done, post pictures someplace, with a link back here. At this point, lots of us are curious.

[dilbert firestorm]

they are zinc plated

[dilbert firestorm]

that's an interesting brand of paint spray. does this play well with zinc plates that home depot sells? I know they also sell steel angles of the same type (they are a little bigger) in the lumber section.

[Kyle]

While this tangent doesn't necessarily apply to dilbert firestorm's situation, if anyone does try to paint over those brass-like finishes on many household brackets (and more), be advised they often have a plastic-like protective finish coat that will cause the paint to come loose down the road. Use fine-grade steel wool to gently remove that finish and get down to the true metal before you paint.

[RicodJour]

Zinc has to be primed with Hammerite. I thought you had bare steel. I didn't see the part where you said they were plated. Hammerite's good stuff, but it's probably not worth stripping the zinc. ;)

R

[Joe]

The directions are printed on the spray cans. Did you bother to read them? Manufacturers generally have good instructions with their products. Deviation from them can be a disaster on occasion. If the products are zinc plated, try a real paint store for something that will work best. The dishwasher trick for cleaning above is a good one, too.

Joe

[dilbert firestorm]

I haven't bought the black spray can yet. I do have the primer spray can, which I bought last year, for another project which I've not started on.

I didn't know painting over zinc is a bit of an issue with paints. which is why I didn't read the cans.

[dilbert firestorm]

btw, L/T steel strap at Home Depot are galvanized, I''d problems painting that too.

bare steel, as in cold steel?

[DerbyDad03]

Be careful with mixing brands of primer vs. paint.

I know of cases where they didn't play well together.

Certain primers contain certain materials that might not mix well with other-brand finish paints.

I know a guy who primed a large object with Rustoleum spray primer. He then took it to an automotive shop to have it painted and the paint wouldn't stick.

Something about fish-oils in the Rustoleum primer requiring Rustoleum finish paint. The facts could be off, but the auto shop basically said that they could not paint it without sanding, sealing, sanding and re- priming.

[Tony Miklos]

What the heck am I missing? Painting metal braces? What kind of metal braces, the ones they put on to make your teeth straight?

[dilbert firestorm]

ugh, no, they go by a number of different names.. braces, brackets, plates, straps.

the one I have is a zinc plated steel L and T Brace or flat plate.

hope this is clear as mud. :)

[dilbert firestorm]

ok, thanx for the tip.

I did have a generic white spray can from a different manufacturer, but that was for another purpose.

I'll be sure to get the same kind of manufacturer the primer is with.

as for the primer, I have a Krylon primer

I have the zinc rich primer kind.

I read the directions, but I didn't see anything on there that mentions zinc. it says paints all metals.

[dilbert firestorm]

stripping zinc seems like alot of work.

do you know where I can bare steel plates with or without holes? I'm sure they are shops that sell this stufff at a reasonable price.