V1 Goblin frame prep for paint?

[newbtrying]

Hey all, I'm not much of a painter, but I just got my goblin frame and am curious about how much work I will need to put into prep before actually painting. Do you all suggest sandblasting the whole frame? Do I need to wash it down with soap/water before I can paint? What did you who have already painted do, and did you have good results?

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Sandblasting would be best to remove all rust, etc. Wipe down with acetone prior to primer coating. Unless you are using a 'paint system', such as POR15, then follow those instructions for prep before painting.

 

[Gtstorey]

If rattle can paint and you don’t want to have it blasted.

wipe down with degreaser (mineral spirits, paint thinner, etc)

sand completely with 320 grit sand paper

degrease again

prime with direct to metal primer (DTM)

paint with top coat color. Chose something common because it will take several cans and more than you think. You will also want something easy to find when you have to touch up.

follow the instructions for recoat times

wait a week or two before starting work on it to allow it to harden to minimize damage

 

[Ross]

What Gtstorey said. The raw metal is coated with oil, so you will go thru a bit of mineral spirits. I had to degrease it 2 or 3 times.
If you have rust that the mineral spirits doesn't wash off, then you might have to sand or sand blast it. Most people get their goblin built before it rusts.

 

[Gtstorey]

I probably should have said to use self etching primer since I don’t know that you can find DTM primer in rattle can.

 

[Rttoys]

Most people get their goblin built before it rusts.

some people just drill the rust out.

 

[Chubbs]

I did really minimal prep work, and mine turned out great (it adhered great, anyway). Wipe down with mineral spirits a couple times, using clean rags every minute or so. Hit it with some sandpaper to scuff, and shoot it. I used a direct-to-metal primer. HVLP gun for everything.

A word of caution though....painting this frame SUCKS. there are soooo many nooks and crannies, and round tubes have infinite sides. Did you get all the way around it? What about that that thin spot that you didn't see before? Oops, too much, now it's running. It's just really, really hard to paint a tube frame and do a good job with it. Plus the overspray. Oh god, the overspray! It gets everywhere.

If I were to do one thing differently about my build, I would have powder coated the frame and let someone else mess with it.

 

[newbtrying]

I did really minimal prep work, and mine turned out great (it adhered great, anyway). Wipe down with mineral spirits a couple times, using clean rags every minute or so. Hit it with some sandpaper to scuff, and shoot it. I used a direct-to-metal primer. HVLP gun for everything.

A word of caution though....painting this frame SUCKS. there are soooo many nooks and crannies, and round tubes have infinite sides. Did you get all the way around it? What about that that thin spot that you didn't see before? Oops, too much, now it's running. It's just really, really hard to paint a tube frame and do a good job with it. Plus the overspray. Oh god, the overspray! It gets everywhere.

If I were to do one thing differently about my build, I would have powder coated the frame and let someone else mess with it.

Now this is the type of input I love to hear. Glad to know that someone who painted would rather have it powder coated if going through this again. I might just save myself the headache and go that route at the beginning. Going to parade it around town this upcoming week and ask for quotes. I've got a number in my head that I'm expecting it to cost, but we'll see how in-touch with reality I am. If I'm going to have to sell kidney to have it done, i'll deal with the issues you mentioned myself lmao.


What abouts does painting it yourself cost a guy?

 

[Chubbs]

I had some stuff laying around, so I don't have an exact budget for painting. I'll try though.

I used this primer

Epoxy Fast Dry 2.1 low voc DTM Primer & Sealer White Gallon Kit, SMR-260W/261 682821550133| eBay

The SMR-260 is 2.1 lbs/gallon voc and compliant everywhere. One to two coats is enough to achieve the desired dry film thickness. - Lays down super smooth at 4:1 or with optional 5-10% 0 voc reducer (SMR-0075).

www.ebay.com

I had some mil-spec Blue Angels yellow single stage polyurethane laying around from a previous job that I used for my frame. So I don't have a budget for that. I would guess you're probably looking around $150-$200 for a gallon of quality paint. It could be argued that you don't need a whole gallon, as there isn't actually that much surface area. But like I said before, there is so much overspray trying to paint skinny little tubes, it's a very inefficient process.

I purposely used a single stage so that I didn't have to clear coat it. Clear coat will double your labor and your cost, and in my opinion doesn't add much to a roll cage. A good gloss single stage looks just fine.

After all the supplies, I would probably budget $500 for doing it yourself.

 

[Gtstorey]

Do you already have a compressor capable of running a paint gun?

The only two reasons that I’m aware of to paint over powder is to save money and allow structural changes as you build or later.

 

[newbtrying]

Do you already have a compressor capable of running a paint gun?

The only two reasons that I’m aware of tho paint over powder is to save money and allow structural changes as you build or later.

No, I do not, but only because I'm recently out of college, just bought a house, and am in the process of filling my garage. The air compressor, hoses, and gun are inevitable so buying them now is of little concern. I do like the idea of being able to touch up down the line... I may weld some metal tabs onto the frame for installing aluminum paneling between tubes.

You guys keep flip-flopping my decision. My mind obviously isn't set. I never thought this would be a hard decision.

What is the shelf life for a gallon of paint?

 

[Chubbs]

What is the shelf life for a gallon of paint?

Most places will probably say a year. In reality, it's probably a lot longer than that for 2 part paints that are stored well. The parts shouldn't react until mixed, so they should be fine just sitting on the shelf a long time. You'll be taking a risk though....it would sure suck to ruin a paint job with old paint that doesn't set right. Use a test piece first.

I added a harness bar to mine the year after it was completed, and it was sure nice to be able to touch it up with paint. You could probably find a paint that matched your powder coat well enough though if you decided to go to the powder coat route and needed to do some touch up.

Both paint and powder coat are valid options. I would personally choose powder coat if I did it again though. Paint is just so much work, and I think the end result will be better quality with powder coat. There are definitely runs and thin spots on my frame if you look hard enough (if I'm honest, you don't need to look that hard).

 

[Gtstorey]

Most places will probably say a year. In reality, it's probably a lot longer than that for 2 part paints that are stored well. The parts shouldn't react until mixed, so they should be fine just sitting on the shelf a long time. You'll be taking a risk though....it would sure suck to ruin a paint job with old paint that doesn't set right. Use a test piece first.

I added a harness bar to mine the year after it was completed, and it was sure nice to be able to touch it up with paint. You could probably find a paint that matched your powder coat well enough though if you decided to go to the powder coat route and needed to do some touch up.

Both paint and powder coat are valid options. I would personally choose powder coat if I did it again though. Paint is just so much work, and I think the end result will be better quality with powder coat. There are definitely runs and thin spots on my frame if you look hard enough (if I'm honest, you don't need to look that hard).

I agree. I’m not sure that I would go powder coat if I did it again because I knew that I would continue to make changes. But I will likely repaint large portion of the frame every few years as the tubes take a beating. Especially the main cage tubes.

 

[Ross]

I am not finished welding on my frame... probably never will be, so I was cheap, and painted my frame.
I brushed on 2 coats of Rustoleum white, which is about $30 a gallon. Chips happen, so I touch up the paint about once a year, and use Rustoleum white rattle can. Never worry about matching the color, as it i sold everywhere, and as long as I buy the same brand, it matches.

 

[newbtrying]

Has anyone heard of somebody using Cerakote C series coatings on their goblin frame? would be sort of pricey and prep would take more work, but I think it would result in an extremely tough coating that I can touch up myself. I've used both Cerakote H and C quite extensively on firearms so I'm pretty comfortable with the application process.

 

[Ross]

Lots of hits on "Cerakote" if I put that in the forum Search function. Im not sure about C series...

 

[newbtrying]

Going to explore that search. this parakeet green is exactly what I want.

 

[devianteng]

I originally planned to paint mine, primarily so I could modify frame as needed in the future. But the level of work to paint, and the reality is I won’t weld much on the frame.
I welded roof bars on before powder. That’s it so far.
I thought about welding on a harness bar, but decided I’d rather fab one that bolts to the factory seatbelt mount holes. Any thing I mount up (h/e, intercooler, tanks, whatever) I will just use bar clamps and fab brackets if need be.

I’m 1000% happy with my decision to go with powder coat though, and I’d do it again if I had the reason to.
Cost wise, my guy charged me $1000 to cost the frame, A-Arms, tunnel cap, trans mounts, steering linkage tube(?), and sub-frame. This is a guy in central KY, for what it’s worth.

I had some other stuff coated after the fact (LCAs, wheels, valve cover, springs, etc). Everything else was rattle can. Floor pans/bulkhead/firewall is covered in truck bed liner, so easy to touch up. Little things like battery hold down, and misc brackets…just flat black. Engine was done in matte black engine enamel, and I plan to do the exhaust in matte black high heat paint.

 

[Chubbs]

I brushed on 2 coats of Rustoleum white,

After I welded on my harness bar, I brushed on the paint to make it match. I had not considered brushing before then, but it actually turned out really, really well. Not perfect, but then my spray job wasn't perfect either. You can see some slight brush marks on mine upon close inspection, but it's hardly noticeable unless you're looking for it.

If you were really on a budget, or didn't want to deal with the overspray, brushing on your paint would definitely be a good option. I bet you'd use half the paint vs spraying. It might even take less time, since you wouldn't have nearly the prep time to set up a paint booth.

 

[Metal Mech]

Now this is the type of input I love to hear. Glad to know that someone who painted would rather have it powder coated if going through this again. I might just save myself the headache and go that route at the beginning. Going to parade it around town this upcoming week and ask for quotes. I've got a number in my head that I'm expecting it to cost, but we'll see how in-touch with reality I am. If I'm going to have to sell kidney to have it done, i'll deal with the issues you mentioned myself lmao.


What abouts does painting it yourself cost a guy?

Just in case your curious. I dropped off my frame and all the stage one parts. No stage two or anything off the donor. They didn't know the exact cost yet because they had to order the one color I choose, the black color I choose for some parts they already had. My quote was $600-$800. I will know exactly when they finish. This should at least give you an idea of where you could be on cost.