Duplicolor Metalcast question

[9LIVEZ]

Hi gang,

I'm going to be doing some painting mods on the Spec V once the weather warms up and need some help from those of you who have used this product already. I have cans of both the paint and the basecoat waiting patiently in my garage. :D

1) If being used to paint metal, do you have to prime or prepare the surface in any way? What if the surface is already painted?
2) Can it be used to paint plastic?
3) Should you clearcoat afterwards or is it not necessary when using this product?

Thanks,
Dom

[rastaman]

I can only imagine the smile on drew's face after reading the title of this thread :tongue: Me and Drew probably have more duplicolor on our cars than anyone besides crispy ;), so I'm sure he'll chime in here as well, but here are the answers to your questions to best of my memory:

i) To prep it for the base coat, I think all you need to do is give it a light sanding. Then you can start with the groundcoat (which should be silver), and then go with the metalcast colour of your choice. Same deal if it's already painted.

ii) YES! it can be used to paint plastic (and it looks damn good too)! For plastic, we basically prepped it with lacquer thinner which stripped most of the old paint (if any) off. Again, you can lightly sand if necessary before you apply the groundcoat, and then metalcast the beyotch.

iii) No, do not clearcoat it! Clearcoat will actually ruin it. There is a clearcoat specifcally designed for metalcast paint, but only crispy knows where to get this magical stuff :)

p.s. There is also a duplicolor "adhesion promoter" which can be used to prime the surface BEFORE the groundcoat goes on. It is a high build primer i think but very expensive though (like $15 a can). I can't remember if it was to be used on metal or plastic, or both, but i don't think drew or i have ever used it, and all our stuff has turned out fine.

p.p.s. let me know if you would like to use "Ajay's Paint Shop" during the summer, we can give you a helping hand to get you started, and show you the ways of the duplicolor :)

[9LIVEZ]

Awesome! Thanks man! I'll let you know if I need any "facilities" come spring/summer to get this done.

In terms of plastic, if it's not painted already should laquer thinner still be used or can I just use a degreaser (ex. Simple Green) and then wash it with soap/water before applying the ground coat?

[rastaman]

Even if it's not painted, I would still go at it with the lacquer thinner. The reason being, even a black piece of plastic that "looks" clean can have tons of impurities/contaminents on it. The lacquer thinner really cleans it up good, and takes literally no time at all. Just take a clean shop towel, pour some laquer thinner on it, and wipe down the plastic. Make sure you wear latex gloves cuz it's strong stuff :)

edit: a degreaser may do the same job...but i've never tried...

[MTDrew]

the only thing not menitioned in the above is the drying time of this stuff, it takes days if you want to do it by the book, and a word to the wise, very small light coats at first, then you can pile it on.

[9LIVEZ]

How many coats of each would be best (basecoat and finish)?

[rastaman]

i'd say minimum three of each to make it look super duper :)

[9LIVEZ]

Where the hell did you guys find the basecoat stuff? I've looked everywhere and no one has it! Walmart and Crappy Tire have the Metalcast paint but no basecoat......it's driving me nuts!!

[MTDrew]

young grahopper, sit down i will teach you

they made a mistake when labelling the stuff, the silver is actually the base coat, they usually have a small white sticker on the back that says ground coat in plain english with a bar code or something above it, all else fails go to the kenedy and steeles location crappie tire or just go to ajays house and give him the $7, if memory serves we should have a couple cans left

[9LIVEZ]

Ah so!

I bought the silver stuff but since it didn't say "ground coat" I thought it was the wrong stuff. Now that it's warming up, I wanna start getting things done........calipers, fstb and maybe engine cover.

I may enlist you guys to help with the mission. :D

[rastaman]

Originally posted by: 9LIVEZ
Ah so!

I bought the silver stuff but since it didn't say "ground coat" I thought it was the wrong stuff. Now that it's warming up, I wanna start getting things done........calipers, fstb and maybe engine cover.

I may enlist you guys to help with the mission. :D

ah yes, spring is indeed in the air...and the itch to start modding needs to be scratched....

[MTDrew]

ajay what do you have left to do, other than the black interior conversion,

i am fighting the urge to call my insurance company and get the cougar insured, i'm sure we are going to get one more downfall

[9LIVEZ]

Originally posted by: MTDrew
i'm sure we are going to get one more downfall

I have the same feeling. That's why I wanna get this stuff painted, keep the snows on for another couple of weeks and then switch back to my summers.

[rastaman]

yeah, i'm reallly tempted to put on the 18's, but i have a feeling as soon as i do, we are gonna get a blizzard...

p.s. drew, i also have to get my front and side skirt repainted....i got a little carried away while having fun in the snow and curbed her a couple times :( oh and i have to put in my blue LED's and neons too...

[MTDrew]

i say if this sunday is nice weather we have a get together at amc

i looked at the long term forcast and all this week is kinda crappie rainy weather, fingers crossed it starts to look better for the weekend

[ShadowCat]

I know Mike is planning to post about having a meet soon....I think its a little short notice for this weekend though :shrug:

I need some of that Metalcast paint and base to do my foglights.....if I have any trouble I'll ask you guys ;)

[rastaman]

Originally posted by: MTDrew
i say if this sunday is nice weather we have a get together at amc

i looked at the long term forcast and all this week is kinda crappie rainy weather, fingers crossed it starts to look better for the weekend

i'm game for this sunday if it's nice out...i'm goin stir crazy sittin at home all the time ;)

[prrn4u]

I hope i dont sound like an idiot but what is this metalcast paint used for

[ShadowCat]

hehehe :)

just normal painting....stuff like (engine covers, headlights, strut bars.....etc)

[SpreeGuy]

Originally posted by: prrn4u
I hope i dont sound like an idiot but what is this metalcast paint used for
the paint is suppose to give the anodized look.
here is a "metalcast" gallery.

[prrn4u]

oh, i see, i have never seen or heard about this before, i would like to see how this stuff looks.

[SpreeGuy]

Originally posted by: prrn4u
i would like to see how this stuff looks.

i'm sorry, I completely forgot to add the link

Click here for Metal cast Gallery (http://www.duplicolor.com/gallery/metalcast_gallery.html)

[hamill]

for some reason I'm not urprised Spruce isn't on there.....and all mine dried out :(

[prrn4u]

oh, i would really like to see someones car with this, maybe there will be a meet soon