Another dumb ass question

[ninjagreg]

Hi, putting a new galv chassis on my 90 over the winter and want to know what is the best paint to use on my axles, basically to make 'em look a bit better and give a little corossion protection - I'm looking for a paint that will adhere well and wont flake. What's the best way to prep the axles for painting? I don't have a sand blaster Also are there any other parts worth painting whilst I have the body off? I was thinking of perhaps painting the underside of the tub, wheelarches etc for chip protection. Any help would be very much appreciated

[Quagmire]

I used a rotary wire brush to clean my rear axle off- just make sure you wear a mask and eye protection as it makes a lot of dust and when a wire bristle flies off they are like flying needles!

I painted the axle with a couple of coats of red oxide, and then with black "Tractol" - great stuff, covers pretty well and resists chipping, flaking etc. Only problem is that I dont think its very easy to get hold of, you might need to check paint suppliers and/or agricultural equipment people.

Heres a random link for free:

Smith&Allan (not affliated with, worked for ever, etc)

The ribs that support the tub floor might be worth checking- they can get pretty bad.

I'd give your bulkhead a good once over to check for rust before you put it back on as well.

Good luck!

[ninjagreg]

Thanks quagmire, I live in Ireland and there are loads of agricultural shops so I will start going into a few to see if I can find Tractol

[adam300Tdi90]

I have heard that the best paint for axles is any type of enamel paint due to the hard finish?

Wiki Enamel Paints

[jbs]

If you're putting a galv'd chassis on your 90-then why don't you do what I did and get hold of a pair of galv'd axle casing's and put them on-I found some on e-bay for £100 each in the end, or you could get them done yourself -make sure you drill out and re-tap all of the bolt holes for reattaching them as your ancillaries won't fit again without doing this

HTH

John

[Les Henson]

The majority of paints are only as good as the surface they are applied to, so wire brush (preferably in an angle grinder), sand papering, grit blasting - all of which give an excellent surface for the paint to adhere to. I've always shied away from paints that claim you need no primer or undercoat (seems not right to me), so I have always gone for rough surface, primer/undercoat, then top coat. (just seems right and the proper way to do it).

My axle case was cleaned with a wire brush in an angle grinder, de-greased with celly, then primed and painted with engine enamel - which in my experience has always been a good quality paint.

Shiny pics

Les

[ninjagreg]

Thank you folks, Les the pics look great, JBS I hadn't actually thought about galvanising the casings but then I quite like my axles looking black - still it's food for thought.

[plasticbadger]

I agree with Les and Quagmire, good prep followed by spray primer, follwed by agricultural enamel (I used factory spec Masey grey). It's hard wearing, resistant to chips, abrasion, oils etc and pretty cheap. Thus -

And after two years hard off roading, not too much degradation:

[ninjagreg]

wow they actually look great in Masey grey, thanks for the pics.

[Les Henson]

Yes, but mine is definitely shinier

Les

[ninjagreg]

yes... yes they are Les

[wanderlust4ever]

Yer cant beat a poly 2 pack system, hard as rock.

[plasticbadger]

Yes, but mine is definitely shinier

Les

Excess of shiney bits = Metrosexuality

[ninjagreg]

Excess of shiney bits = Metrosexuality

lmao

[ninjagreg]

I used a rotary wire brush to clean my rear axle off- just make sure you wear a mask and eye protection as it makes a lot of dust and when a wire bristle flies off they are like flying needles!

I painted the axle with a couple of coats of red oxide, and then with black "Tractol" - great stuff, covers pretty well and resists chipping, flaking etc. Only problem is that I dont think its very easy to get hold of, you might need to check paint suppliers and/or agricultural equipment people.

Heres a random link for free:

Smith&Allan (not affliated with, worked for ever, etc)

The ribs that support the tub floor might be worth checking- they can get pretty bad.

I'd give your bulkhead a good once over to check for rust before you put it back on as well.

Good luck!

Thanks Quagmire, I went to my local agri shop and they will have some Tractol black for me by tomorrow, I already have some oxi paint. Now I just need a spare few days to do the chassis swap!!!