Painting A-arms

JenElio

JenElio

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Anyone recommend a decent spray paint to use for the A-arms? I was thinking of using caliper paint but can't seem to find the right "red". Any thoughts?

Thanks!
 
Vikes79

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Anyone recommend a decent spray paint to use for the A-arms? I was thinking of using caliper paint but can't seem to find the right "red". Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Honestly I have done some pretty good stuff on my tractor restorations using a good rustoleum paint for outdoor furniture on odd items like rear tractor rims.

on the factory a-rms that appear to be powder coated....it will be important to scuff up the surface so the paint can bite into something. Green scotch brite should be enough.

unfortunately the spray paint won’t be so durable and will show the under color in short order.
 
JenElio

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Honestly I have done some pretty good stuff on my tractor restorations using a good rustoleum paint for outdoor furniture on odd items like rear tractor rims.

on the factory a-rms that appear to be powder coated....it will be important to scuff up the surface so the paint can bite into something. Green scotch brite should be enough.

unfortunately the spray paint won’t be so durable and will show the under color in short order.
SATV arms don't appear to be powder coated. I know they will get wore out underneath, that's y I figured a spray paint and I can touch up if needed.
20210207 184538
20210207 184542

Im taking them down to the metal where I can as much as I can and hand sanding the rest. Thinking a good primer and a decent rattle can would do ok.

I've used the caliper paint on quite a few things before and it holds up to abuse good, but the closest red I've found is a bit or a dark orange next to the honda red
 
Remington

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@Plumber32 painted his. They seam to have held up well last time we rode together. Maybe he can pipe in as to what he used.
 
toddvdh

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If you can bring to to all bare metal, A cold galvanizing primer would be a great “primer”. You might have to touch up the top coat of red every so often, but the zinc in the cold galvaning compound really stops rust.

I’ve painted a few plows I’ve made from scratch with it, and they don’t have any rust. The color sprayed on top wears off but you can just scuff it lightly and re top coat it.
 
JenElio

JenElio

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Also, heat them in an oven to about 100 degrees f before you spray the cold galvanizing compound. It opens up the pores of the metal and lets the zinc soak in.
And spray them while hot?

Originally I wanted to powder coat them but unless I media blast them I don't think I can get them clean enough
 
toddvdh

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Yup. Cold galvanizing is a rough finish anyway and you have to sand lightly (like 240 grit) the little dust off. Not more that 100 degrees though, it will bubble too much and make more work sanding.

The heat makes it almost as durable as powder coating. But unlike powder coating, the scratches won’t rust unless they are very deep.

The downfall is that it only comes in gray.
 
Last edited:
JenElio

JenElio

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Yup. Cold galvanizing is a rough finish anyway and you have to sand lightly (like 240 grit) the little dust off. Not more that 100 degrees though, it will bubble too much and make more work sanding.

The heat makes it almost as durable as powder coating. But unlike powder coating, the scratches won’t rust unless they are very deep.

The downfall is that it only comes in gray.
Thanks! I'll look into that
 
Robobrainiac

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View attachment 253427
Try this primer. Supposed to bond to bare metal better than normal primer. There are a few good videos on YouTube about it


I used this on my DIY bumper for my truck. Then used raptor liner over the top of it. Works great. I think you can color the raptor liner as well.

This is the only photo I could find currently. It is the brown truck.

Polish 20211009 083058527
 
Robobrainiac

Robobrainiac

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https://amazon.com/Raptor-Tintable-Urethane-Spray-Liters/dp/B09F4J4T7Q/?tag=sxsweb24-20


You can pay extra for pre mixed colors otherwise you can get clear and have a local shop add color.
 

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