14.5 R2D2 paint job?


 
So I've just acquired a lightly used, but put away wet (mold/mildew inside) 14.5" WSM. I am already finding myself overwhelmed with a need to get this thing a custom paint job, as the dimensions are almost exactly those of the classic R2 unit, and the overall resemblance is undeniable.

Question then becomes: where to find high temp paints that are in more colors than just black, brown, or red? I'm certainly not the only one to notice this, or desire to do it... I found a "plum" engine paint on Amazon, but not much else, and I'm not sure how nontoxic that stuff is.

Any thoughts or links?
 
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Kinda old thread, but if you're going all out you can try Cerakote C coatings. It's an air cure ceramic coating that has a very high temperature rating (it's typically used on gun barrels and suppressors). Price is a bit high, but a little goes a long way, so you could use their sample sizes and get a lot done. They have a lot of colors available, but the prep is a bit of a pain. You would need to take it down to bare metal, spray it, then let it cure for about a week. I painted an AR-15 with it and the coating on the barrel has stood up to quite a few mag dumps.
 
I looked into Cerakote a few years ago for a colored WSM project. Some colors like Bright White and Stoplight Red are only good to 300*F. Flame Blue is good up to 800*F. Jet Black and Stainless are good to 1200*F. Titanium is good to 1800*F. Some (all?) of the colors are rather flat, with little gloss.

If you're going to cook in R2D2 and you really want it to last, I think you need paints or coatings that can withstand up to 800*F. I've measured hot charcoal directly on the bottom of the charcoal bowl and it was 760*F.

I've thought about having someone paint an R2D2 WSM many times, even as just an art object.
 
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If you're going to cook in R2D2 and you really want it to last, I think you need paints or coatings that can withstand up to 800*F. I've measured hot charcoal directly on the bottom of the charcoal bowl and it was 760*F.

I would concur. The IR temp measurements I've taken of a full charcoal chimney with the coals all red hot show up to 800 F 1" below the top edge, rapidly going off scale below, where the charcoal was burning. Out of direct contact, my measurements fairly closely match yours.
 
You might try to find a place that does the porcelain finishing like this place does.


They do really good work

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