Shop time!

Carol Reed

In Memoriam
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5,533
Location
Coolidge, AZ
Well, today I got started rehabbing the old Timberline saw. I got the arbor back a couple of weeks ago, but life intervened. New bears and repaired shaft. Looks and spins sweet! So today, I began cleaning up the parts. The 'box' is aluminum and the outside had some sort of paint on it. Under the corrosion it looked galvanized, or a mottled machine grey. You can see the contrast after I drilled out the pop rivets and removed the name and angle number plates.

2014-10-02 09.47.07.jpg

I cleaned it all off. It got a Simple Green bath and sanding. I think I want to paint it again. Main reason is I could not get a nice cleaned around the rivets that hold the base ring on or the back strap braces the provide the opening for the motor belt. You can see the rivets near the bottom pf the picture. Painting it would make it look nice and the cost is only one rattle can of something. But what? Do I need a special paint. I was thinking hammered machine grey.

FWIW, this is not a antique restoration. This is clean it up, make it look nice and then use it! Not all the original parts were there to begin with, so no point trying to go there. And I plan some mods to make it a super slick, multi-featured accurate tablesaw to use building the house. Then, who knows. I don't yet.

Your thoughts about and for paint?
 
When I paint aluminum I use a special primer first, then the paint, this makes the paint really stick to the aluminum, for me I have found that if I don't do this step, the paint will flake off the aluminium.

I don't know if regular metal paint that etches into the metal will work with aluminum as well. The paint I get for steel here in Japan does NOT mention anything about aluminum on the label, so I just buy the can of aluminium primer and it has worked well for me so far.

Cheers!
 
Probably more a commentary on my painting skills than anything but my one experience trying to get the hammered paint to look good didn't go extremely well :eek:

I haven't tried the Rustoleum, or any other brand, but I've used at least half a dozen cans of the original Hammerite® brand with consistently good results.
 
I haven't tried the Rustoleum, or any other brand, but I've used at least half a dozen cans of the original Hammerite® brand with consistently good results.

This was with rustoleum. I think I might have been trying to put it on to heavy to fast but it didn't look very good when I was done either way so I ended up sanding it out and just put some low gloss on and called it a day.
 
Carol,

In my experience in painting aluminum signs, and welding it too, you can't get it TOO clean, but you have to clean it correctly. You said you washed it off with Simple Green? That stuff actually leaves a residue film on the aluminum, contaminating the surface. Perhaps you should have instead used a solution of TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) and rinse and dry it well.

I would further suggest that you wash the areas to be painted with Acetone, and dry it off with a clean cloth. It is best to not allow the acetone dry on the surface as then you have only moved the contaminates around, and not removed them. Try this, I think you will like it.

Aloha.
 
Thanks Carol, (and Darrin).

One more tip, don't clean the aluminum sheet too far in advance of painting. A bare, cleaned aluminum surface will begin to oxidize rather quickly, and you don't want that under your paint either. Just plan to clean the surfaces the day you are going to prime and paint. That should be good.

Waiting for your results.
 
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