any suggestions on painting the skidplate? I've never painted aluminum before, and don't want it to come off in the wind. i know it will get banged up from some of the stuff i do (already has some nice scrapes on the bottom), but my airbrush is collecting dust. i was thinking of sandblasting to rough it up some, with real fine garnet, but not sure if that's the right thing or not. now that i can post pics, i'll post it once i'm done, if i can find a way to do it right.

 

I'm not a body guy or pro painter but I would think that if you cleaned it up real good and applied a good primer the paint will hold well. I painted a few engine pieces a couple years ago with some "engine paint" which has ceramic in it and resists high temps. It has held up very well.
just a suggestion!

 

thanks, i think the cleaning part will be key. i used that engine paint on the cooling tin for my 72 kharmann ghia, it held up well. hope the guy driving it now appreciates it. i painted the ghia myself, and was surprised with how it came out. i won't quit my day job, but at least I know i have some ability to do it right.

 

So what is your day job, Shortbus? You seem to be very mechanically inclined, seem to know a lot about you H2, and do a lot of work on it yourself.

 

i'm in the RF engineering dept. for cingular. i've never gotten into the radio thing outside of work, and find other areas to spend my time in. i learned a lot rebuilding the ghia, and try to put that to use when i can. spent a lot of time making sure my old 4runner held up when i took it offroad, so that helped as well. i painted that skid plate, airbrushed some flames on it. didn't look all that great, but being bright yellow on a dark blue truck made it stand out. i try to learn as much as i can from as many sources as possible, the techs at the local dealer groan when they see me, i tend to follow them around asking questions. since i have a desk job these days, i also get to spend time here and learn stuff.

 

sometimes aluminum items are coated..like aluminum wheels, and to get paint to stick, you have to sand that coating off first

 

i know it's coated, looks like some sort of plastic film. i tore some of it off slamming into the ground, so that's why i was wondering what sandblasting would do to aluminum. seems easier than sanding it, and don't feel like dragging it along the ground anymore than i have to.

[IMG]local://upfiles/69/A5C44578A7FC4967B159AEAF4F0F7E5F.jpg[/IMG]

 

i had a set of wheels on my old track car that were aluminum, and i wanted to shine them up...and i used steel wool..it was alot of work, but it got the job done

most newer AL items are either coated in a thin layer or plastic, or clear coated...i think that you could sandblast it if you were Very careful...

do you have an angle grinding wheel? or even a rough scuffing pad on a drill?

 

i've got the scotchbrite pads for the air grinder/drill/whatever the heck that thing is. i've got some really fine garnet for the sandblaster that my wife uses in her stained glass stuff, so i won't be hitting it with rocks if i go that route[&:] i'm wondering now whether or not this thing will fit in the cabinet of the blaster or not oh well, i'll figure something out, and post the results when i'm done or have purchased a new one . . .

 

i think that the scotchbrite pads would work...in my experiences, those things would practically take the stink off a skunk..