Klasik-69 Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 I'm about to repaint my 04 Caterham and was wondering if anyone out there has used either the Dupont Imron paint or the marine type Awlgrip. We used to fabricate small fire trucks and quick attack rescue pumpers made of aluminum, and I would paint them with the Dupont Imron. Very expensive paint but extremely durable to weather and impact resistant. The guy who has a shop across from my car garage paints vehicles and last year painted his neighbor's boat with the Awlgrip. I was impressed with the finish and since it's a marine paint, should be great for wear and impact resistance. I'm trying to reduce the amount of little gravel chips that basically ruined my original paint finish. Well, actually the Tail of the Dragon race really did a number on the entire car, trashed the paint on the rear wings. The only pristine parts left on the car is the bonnet and rear. The car is stripped complete of hardware including engine, tranny, suspension,etc since I wanted a complete and perfect job. Let me know what you guys may have used in the past. I have to let the painter know in the next day or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 No opinion but what abt applying 3M clear plastic, once paint cures? I did that on my Birkin, it got chewed up, not the paint. New cars come with "clear coat". Is that an option on small jobs like this? And, color choice-black, or something new? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automoda Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Dont use epoxy. It'll be slightly better with the rock chips but good luck to the guy that has to paint it next time! Paint on these cars is going to need to be redone every 25,000 miles. Due to rock chips, the old paint is going to have to be mostly stripped. Now, on my car I made the leading edges black. When the nose and fenders get too chipped I just sand much of the clear off the whole piece, strip down the bad areas to primer, spray a little black basecoat and re-clear the whole thing. I can get away with that 2 or 3 times before having to start over. I use clear-bra on the back fenders' leading edge and also have the usual aluminum plate. Imron is for trailers, oil rigs and such. It'd be great for the frame but I'd leave it off of the bodywork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 No opinion but what abt applying 3M clear plastic, once paint cures? I did that on my Birkin, it got chewed up, not the paint. New cars come with "clear coat". Is that an option on small jobs like this? And, color choice-black, or something new? Yes, clear coat either with the Imron or the Awlgrip is available. The previous owner had the 3M clear pastic on the rear wings and after the stones hit that, it looked worse than the paint so I previously stripped the clear plastic and repainted the rear and front wings last year. This car's design makes it prone to stone/chip damage. I also thought about the clear plastic spray that comes in a spray can but can be pulled off without much fanfare. Not cheap, $20/can and it does about 2 to 3 square feet. Epoxy............tough but as you said, it's a pain to remove it. But for that matter, so is Imron. I've done several re-paints with Imron and the nice thing about that is the finish is even nicer the second time around but it takes a lot of sanding effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimrankin Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I've used Imron for several projects over the years and it's some really bulletproof stuff. Did all of the original exterior aluminum on my house boat with it and it still looked good after nearly 20 years in a marine environment. On the advice of my paint supplier I used a 3 part automotive finish right on top of the old Imron (really sand it well) for the repaint. Since I was doing the boat in a work yard and didn't have access to clean air for a supplied air respirator he advised getting away from the Imron, dangerous stuff. His comment was that even though Imron has been reformatted the newer multi-component stuff is even better. I'll try to find the name of the product but was in the Imron price category and was MUCH easier to shoot, fan overspray melts right in and no runs/sags even on complex angles and pieces coming together in deep "V's". If your not doing it yourself (no one should do Imron themselves in less than ideal spray booth conditions) ask you body shop guy what he thinks is best. He'll probably give you good advice and do it cheaper if he's not shooting something he isn't comfortable with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 I'm not shooting it myself. I've considered Matrix paints as well as Sherwinn Williams commercial Polane paints. Most speed boats & almost all aircraft use Imron. Most yachts use Awlgrip. You're right about Imron being bad for the lungs. I painted over 50 vehicles with it in my younger days & will likely pay the price eventually. I'll let the painter decide but I'm leaning towards the Imron. It's more money but since I track the car it may work best. Thanks for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboWood Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I'm not sure if this will help, but a quick google search of Imron turned up this thread: http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/du-pont-imron-159934.html If you can trust the information it sounds like the imron you buy today is not the same stuff it used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 I'm not sure if this will help, but a quick google search of Imron turned up this thread: http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/du-pont-imron-159934.html If you can trust the information it sounds like the imron you buy today is not the same stuff it used to be. Thanks for the link. Some of the confusion is the number of types of Imron Dupont produces. They have an industrial line of Imron which is 3:1 just like the automotive finish but the formulation is somewhat different. All are Poly-isocyanate based urethanes but vary in the amount of "solids". Imron has and is still the choice of the aircraft industry. I just checked with Ti-Co Warbird Museum in Titusville, Fl to see what they were using on their aircraft restorations and they also use the Imron but don't clearcoat. When I used to paint the fire trucks, we would clear coat over the base. I have painted vehicles without the clear coat and it still comes out with the wet look but not as good as the clear coat. The two biggest problems with Imron is your health if you're the one spraying it, and the cost since it pretty well sits at around a $400/gallon paint plus a few other costs like reducers, retarders, etc. However, when compared to the cost of the total paint job, the cost of paint becomes a smaller item. Having to re-paint two years later becomes more of an issue which I am trying to avoid. Perhaps I'm just kidding myself and will have to do it anyway since I do track the car. I like my cars to look good........and be fast. Some of my buddies are telling me the newer paints like the Matrix are as good if not better than Imron. None have much experience with Awlgrip. I never saw it applied before Chris across from my building painted a boat with it. I was impressed with its gloss and hardness, and the cost is similar to Imron for a complete job, maybe a little less. I wish I had more experience or knowledge of the newer paints, even the water borne paints from PPG. However, today is judgement day and I have to decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderbrake Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I put some very heavy clear film on my fenders and it has held up very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 Imron went on today and it's looking good. Also thinking about adding clear film on the nose & wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Imron went on today and it's looking good. Also thinking about adding clear film on the nose & wings. Go for the clear film. Will you be able to make NJMP July 4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 Oh, yes. NJMP is no problem now that I hired out the paint job vs. me doing it. I'm getting the tranny back next week and will be puting the 7 back together accordingly. The hardest part is dropping the engine/tranny back in the frame with new paint and having to be slow and careful. However, I have car lifts and engine hoists to make it easier. I'm thinking of modifying the frame under the car which requires the removal of the rear end to access the axle. I'm thinking of making a removable set of cross members to allow that and yet maintain strength and torsional integrity. I know they designed this to be as still as possible but maintenance still has to be given consideration. I'm also converting all the coolant hoses over to the silicone type and have even made some aluminum piping to incorporate the drop in size from 1-1/4" to 1-3/8". I'm not sure if Caterham does it this way or if the original owner/builder did it that way but I don't like the looks of hoses all puckered up, and don't trust it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Oh, yes. NJMP is no problem now that I hired out the paint job vs. me doing it. I'm getting the tranny back next week and will be puting the 7 back together accordingly. The hardest part is dropping the engine/tranny back in the frame with new paint and having to be slow and careful. However, I have car lifts and engine hoists to make it easier. I'm thinking of modifying the frame under the car which requires the removal of the rear end to access the axle. I'm thinking of making a removable set of cross members to allow that and yet maintain strength and torsional integrity. I know they designed this to be as still as possible but maintenance still has to be given consideration. I'm also converting all the coolant hoses over to the silicone type and have even made some aluminum piping to incorporate the drop in size from 1-1/4" to 1-3/8". I'm not sure if Caterham does it this way or if the original owner/builder did it that way but I don't like the looks of hoses all puckered up, and don't trust it either. Glad to hear all is going well with the car. And very glad to hear you will make NJMP. I look forward to putting faces and names together in July. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 Yes, me too. It'll be a lot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carsport Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 (edited) My car has a rear wing protector like a thin bed liner. It has been very durable and shows no chipping. It can be seen here - http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=21850 They make it in different colors now and they may be able to match your paint if you have the paint number code. Dale StalkerV6 3.4 Birkin S3 Europa Edited April 12, 2014 by carsport Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 My car has a rear wing protector like a thin bed liner. It has been very durable and shows no chipping. It can be seen here - http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=21850 They make it in different colors now and they may be able to match your paint if you have the paint number code. Dale StalkerV6 3.4 Birkin S3 Europa Similiar to what I'm using. Works great: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=24379 http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=22727 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 All of your suggestions are very good. The molded wing protector appears to made for the Stalker wings, mine is a Caterham. May fit as well, not sure. I was considering making a right & left mold to make CF pieces. Nice thing about having the mold is you can making new pieces to replace the old ones as they get trashed. I like the spray can applicator version of the bed liner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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