Body filler before powdercoat.

[Bucky685]

I am going to have my tank/fender powder coated (the picture attached is the color I'm planning).
Can anyone recommend a filler I can use prior to powder-coat to smooth some imperfections?
Thanks in advance!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[madmatt1]

Hey Bucky. I have been in your predicament before. Did a lot of studying. Now, from what I have learned, regular body filler
will NOT work. Powder coating requires the parts to be heated to 450 degrees, if my memory serves. Body filler cannot withstand
that type of heat. I think it shrinks. I had a tank powdercoated one time, and it turned out awesome. However, it was straight as an
arrow. I think that is really the only way to go. Try scouring Ebay for a tank. Try to find one advertised as no dents, and make sure it
has the original paint on it, so your chances of finding bondo underneath are greatly decreased. That's your best bet. Now, one time I
also had a frame powder coated, that had some bad imperfections in it. I filled them JB Weld, and smoothed them out. The powder coating
guy said he would make no guarantees that it would hold up, but it did. It worked great. So for small imperfections, I would do that again
with confidence. As a last ditch option, upon searching the internet for fillers that would hold up to the heat, I did find one that claimed it
could do so. Don't remember the name, sorry. But if you do a google search for powdercoat body filler, or something, you might find one
that will work. Hope that helps!

 

[madmatt1]

By the way, that color is sick. Do you know the color name, or how that is done?

 

[Bucky685]

Thanks for the info. It is a brand new raw metal tank, just has a few imperfections.And the rear fender is a portion of '37 ford spare tire cover, that has a few pitted areas. But I might be able to sand those out.

The color is a two step powder call moondust orange
http://www.prismaticpowders.com/colors/PPB-4601/

I found a aluminum based filler called metal 2 metal and lab metal.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[madmatt1]

Nice build you have going there! And yeah, that color is awesome. Good find. I can't wait to see how that turns out!

 

[AlphaDogChoppers]

You can use Hi-Temp LabMetal.
http://www.alvinproducts.com/Products/Products.asp?id=1

Warning. It is a pain in the ass. You have to apply it in thin coats, let it dry, block sand a little, heat cure, repeat, repeat, repeat. On something like a tank, it is very, very difficult to make the margin of your repair invisible. You pretty much have to do multiple coats of powdercoat, block sanding between coats, until the repairs are perfectly feathered. Lab Metal just doesn't feather out nicely the way body filler does.

 

[Bucky685]

You can use Hi-Temp LabMetal.
http://www.alvinproducts.com/Products/Products.asp?id=1

Warning. It is a pain in the ass. You have to apply it in thin coats, let it dry, block sand a little, heat cure, repeat, repeat, repeat. On something like a tank, it is very, very difficult to make the margin of your repair invisible. You pretty much have to do multiple coats of powdercoat, block sanding between coats, until the repairs are perfectly feathered. Lab Metal just doesn't feather out nicely the way body filler does.

Thank you for the first hand experience! I'm starting to second guess if the effort would be worth it. My goal was to make them as smooth as possible. But i think with a little sanding it can get it looking pretty good. The tank is in really good condition. The fender has a bit of pitting that i was wanting to smooth out.
I'm curious how much of the pitting would be covered by powdercoat that I wouldn't see it?

 

[AlphaDogChoppers]

Pitting that isn't too deep can be buried with about 3 coats. Sand before first coat, and between coats.

 

[Bucky685]

Pitting that isn't too deep can be buried with about 3 coats. Sand before first coat, and between coats.

Good to know.
I'm not doing the powdercoat so i'll have to talk to powdercoater about him sanding it between coats.

 

[AlphaDogChoppers]

Go to a custom powdercoater. They are more inclined to put craftsmanship in the job. An industrial powdercoater is not likely to do a decent job.

Guys like these:
http://boneheadperformance.com/
This is a shop local to me that I use for stuff I can't handle myself due to size limitations of my oven. (Soon to be resolved.) You can tell by his website that he does a lot of custom work, like for auto enthusiasts, and he is proud of the quality of his work. Nothing at all like production industrial powdercoaters.

There is a note on his opening page that implies that he is a bit backed up. He lost his dad to cancer recently, and fell behind in his work. My experience with him has been turn-around of a few days at most.

There are a couple custom powdercoaters on this forum, too.
http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=43233.0

 

[Powderfinger]

I have used lab metal on small pits but never a dent in sheet metal.

Has anyone ever used lead filler and powdered over it?

 

[Bucky685]

I did some searching online. Another product that has been recommended is JB weld. Anyone have any experience using that under powdercoat.

 

[AlphaDogChoppers]

The melting point of 30/70 body solder is about 360F. It will likely melt when you cure the powdercoat. (Been there, done that.)

 

[o1marc]

JB Weld will work for small imperfections (don't use the quick setting one). High Temp Lab Metal is good if using more than one coat of powder as the regular lab metal does not like multiple cure cycles. I use Tiger-Drylac EpoStrong, it's an epoxy filler designed for powder use. No filler should be used in anything more than 1/8" thickness's for fear of shrinkage in the heat. It is best to find someone with a stud gun to pull the dents out as best as you can before filling.

 

[o1marc]

Hey Bucky. I have been in your predicament before. Did a lot of studying. Now, from what I have learned, regular body filler
will NOT work. Powder coating requires the parts to be heated to 450 degrees, if my memory serves. Body filler cannot withstand
that type of heat. I think it shrinks. I had a tank powdercoated one time, and it turned out awesome. However, it was straight as an
arrow. I think that is really the only way to go. Try scouring Ebay for a tank. Try to find one advertised as no dents, and make sure it
has the original paint on it, so your chances of finding bondo underneath are greatly decreased. That's your best bet. Now, one time I
also had a frame powder coated, that had some bad imperfections in it. I filled them JB Weld, and smoothed them out. The powder coating
guy said he would make no guarantees that it would hold up, but it did. It worked great. So for small imperfections, I would do that again
with confidence. As a last ditch option, upon searching the internet for fillers that would hold up to the heat, I did find one that claimed it
could do so. Don't remember the name, sorry. But if you do a google search for powdercoat body filler, or something, you might find one
that will work. Hope that helps!

Powder coated parts need to maintain 400* PMT (part metal temp), or lower. You should not be heating anything to 450* for coating, with the exception of High Temp powder which is a very limited selection.

 

[JRK5892]

personally we almost NEVER use metal lab, it is a one shot use, and to be honest on tanks they are never 1 coat. We will weld and body work the area, then coat... here are some pics of some of the damage we have repaired for customers... we are actually doing a tank right now that is just full of dents for a HD customer

after the dent is pulled we then block it

 

[madmatt1]

Holy shit. Your average powdercoat shop definitely isn't capable of doing metal work like that. Pretty amazing stuff there, really!

 

[cgadaleta]

JAK, do you have a name or paint code for that blue? Girlfriend won't let me paint her kh100 until I find that color

Sent from my SM-P605 using Tapatalk