Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I have a 10 year old single stage snowblower that's undergoing a full restoration this winter. I got the snowblower bucket disassembled from the chassis and engine. The bucket has been completely stripped down to bare metal. I want good adhesion and abrasion resistance and I'm willing to put in the time and money to get the best paint job that I can do myself without sending out.

What do you guys recommend for primer and paint? Any preparation techniques in addition to stripping down to bare metal and roughing up the surface?

Dare I ask....why go all out when it will just get chipped anyway ? The bottom does scrape no. I would prime, paint, paint and then clear. Maybe wetsand and add some Weatherpruf just to top things off. When the season is over, the bottom where there is minor scrapes, just scuff, sand, prime and touch up spray. I get the whole resto. thing but the duty of a SB will inevitably get chips. FWIW, a decent powdercoater will be able to mask what you want...

The old girl is going into retirement as a garage queen, only to come out on nice warm days to blow powder snow.  No salt, no sand, no slush, just fresh fallen pure snow. 

There will be a younger, better, and faster one to take on her duty.   I just couldn't bear to let the old girl rust, she's going to age gracefully.

That's my story and sticking with it. 

Hey There

Imron is an epoxy paint made by Dupont and is what airplanes are painted with.

The stuff  is tough as nails as long as you prep correctly and is readily available at pretty much any automotive paint supply.

The only caviat is once you mix it you have to use it up in about an hour because it dries exactly like a two part epoxy.

Also you need a mask that takes in outside air. You can't inhale this stuff  when you are spraying. It will kill ya. 

Starwarrior

How is this applied?  Brush or spray?

I am also looking at a tough product to use to repaint my bucket, but this stuff sounds real nasty and not to be used casually unless you take a lot of precautions. Read what this fellow has to say.

http://www.bronkalla.com/upkeep/spray_imron.htm

A quick look at the MSDS for Imron on the Dupont site reinforces what he says.

Cheers

OK, I specifically stated spray in my comment so I am getting  the impression that you did not read the entire message.

Imron is serious stuff and definately not for the novice painter. The safety precautions are extremely important.

If you accidentally  breathe the overspray it will epoxy your lungs.

My suggestion is to take your item to a local auto body shop and have it painted.

A good shop will have know how to apply Imron and you will not hurt yourself or anyone else in the process.

They don't have too many colors to choose from because it is very special purpose paint but it will wear like iron.

 

starwarrior wrote:
Yes, read the entire message.  I was in a hurry and just glossed through that one word about spray. 

I just asking if it can be applied by other method in addition to spray.

Anyways, this stuff sounds serious, I'm not going to attempt to do it at home.  Not worth all the risk.  Thanks for the info though.

Imron is polyurethane not epoxy. itisnot quite as hard but equally as hazardoues. it contains isocynates which are a form of cynanide. You need a full suit with an air supply t oprotect yourself.

I would agree, that powder coating is not a good solution for snow blower buckets. It is an extremely durable coating. But power will not get into the corners and seams due to what is called the Faraday Cage Effect. I recently restored the bucket on my Ariens 1032. I used automotive Seam Sealer where ever there was any type of joint or seam. This stuff gives you a very well sealed and water tight joint. You then prime and paint over it. Unless all the sheet metal joints are water tight it doesn't matter what type of coating you apply. Eventually rust will start in the joint and spread underneath the coating popping it off. That can happen in just one season. And salt can accelerate that process.

I'm getting impatient with paint stripping process.  The snowblower auger housing is 95% stripped down to bare metal.  There are a few areas and tight corners that needs some manual sanding.  Last night, I was thinking I should start with the primer coat.  Upon reading last post about sealing the seams, I'm reconsidering doing that before laying down first coat of primer.   The problem now is with the metal exposed and nicely sanded, it looks too beautiful to cover it up with paint again, I'm thinking just to clear coat it.  :)  Of course, this nice and clear coat is not hold up well. 

Anyone ever gone with the bare metal look on their snowblower?  Protected metal of course.