need help clearcoating steel

There are clear powdercoats available, but you would need to bring the sculpture to a powdercoater or buy the equipment and do it yourself. A much easier solution is Johnson's Paste wax for floors. Apply a coat or two of wax, then buff it off and you will be surprised how well it holds up. I've got a couple of braces under a counter in my kitchen which are bare steel that has been waxed, and they don't show any signs of rust after several years.

Yes there is a clear powder coat, but large items are not real cheap to coat. For what you are doing I would think a catalyzed clear coat would work just fine. It is the same that is used on automobiles. You would need a paint gun and a compressor and a good respirator. Not really hard to do.

Eastwood has several good products:

I've used their Diamond Coat on a few motorcycle parts that I polished and coated instead of chrome plating. They have held up well for the past two years.

Terry

clearcoating

Clear epoxy varnish topcoated with varathane. Clean metal with 50/50 xylol/acetone before coating.

Ted

After a real world test of aerosol can solutions I performed 5 years ago at school: Out of a field of 7 products sprayed onto bare steel tube and left exposed outside for 4 months of winter in Seattle.

Best : Rustoleum Clear Enamel (High Gloss or Semi-Gloss) Good : Plasticote Clear Lacquer Bad : Polyurethane, or Varathane. Worst : Krylon Clear Acrylic

Out of a field of heaps of products sprayed onto bare steel tube and left exposed outside mounted on the iron and steel pump frame next to the well on the farm for 14 years of summer in Queensland.

They are all rusty!

Hope this helps, Peter

I'm going to take a wild stance and say go with Gary's recommendation of Johnsons paste wax. Think of the ease of replacing any dings or scratches the weekly (monthly) dusting would take care of that. Just my .02 and I'm stickin too it. granpaw

An automotive clearcoat is the best protective coating if the surface doesn't get any abrasion. Just use regular car wax over it to maintain a nice shine. The clearcoat is expensive, and you will need a decent sprayer and protective equipment, . .. or .... you could buddy up to an auto body shop to work it in with some scheduled spraying for a minimal fee. Bugs

Thanks everybody for your suggestions! Gonna dump the krylon & try some of the others.

-Tom

clearcoating

You'll have to choose between best and most economical.

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This stuff is not cheap, but neither is automotive clearcoat. Everbrite is extremely easy to apply: just wipe it on with a rag. If the workpiece is clean, it levels out better than most spray coatings.

It will adhere well to bare steel? I'll have to try it, I always thought of it only as a component of a system. When you use a flapdisc on steel it often comes up to a chrome-like finish.