Test - Painting Stainless Steel

[Richard in NS]

Got a local shop to fabricate some Z bars for me. Decided to test painting stainless steel to see if I was satisfied with it. Applied four coats of Rustoleum self etching primer and the next day baked at 275 for an hour. The next day applied three coats of Krylon Dual super bond and the next day baked at 275 for an hour. Two days later I tried scrapping it with my jackknife. The paint scraped but not down to the primer or the stainless. I aggressively gouged it with a screwdriver and it went through to the stainless like any paint on metal would. I am satisfied enough that I plan on painting my SS Z bars.

 

[Jon Tofte]

That is the way to go. I flubbed up once and tried to paint galvanized steel on my crazy Sunbeam "The Judge" project. That was a flop, but when I used similar primer to what you are showing it worked great.

Some people like showing off the stainless steel. I personally think it depends on the application but more often the z-bars look better as matching black with the frame. Good luck on it!

 

[Steve Hoch]

This sounds pretty promising. I'm definitely interested in seeing the final product.

 

[Steve Hoch]

That is the way to go. I flubbed up once and tried to paint galvanized steel on my crazy Sunbeam "The Judge" project. That was a flop, but when I used similar primer to what you are showing it worked great.

Some people like showing off the stainless steel. I personally think it depends on the application but more often the z-bars look better as matching black with the frame. Good luck on it!

I like the way the stainless looks, but there is something to be said for making it look "factory "

 

[Richard in NS]

From the pics I have seen I am not sure I like the stainless look. I will assemble one without painting it and see. If I like it, they stay shiny. If not, I now know I can happily paint them.