Cleaning up and painting an axle.

[qwerty]

I'm going to be preparing and painting the axle on the Cortina this weekend before I run the new brake lines.

After loads of googling about the best method I'm more confused than ever.

My plan was/is, knot wheel the axle so its fairly rust free, epoxy primer and then hammerite.

Does this sound ok? Or do I need another layer of something else?

[820]

I would say once you have removed all the dirt and any loose corrosion and oil, spend a bit more time on the visible parts then the Hammerite can be painted on without primer.

[omega]

hammerite is for the garden NOT for cars

[retrowrongun]

Actually does a great job mate , can deal it first with an etch coat or just straight on mate

Done whole underside of my fiesta and looked superb pal
From this




To this and used hammerite straight to rust red







Looked good when finished pal

[barty]

why not get it powder coated

[luckyseven]

Hammerite will do fine. Never understood the rabid hatred people seem to have for it . With that said, I'd venture the opinion that POR15 will give a better finish than Hammerite and is overcoatable with other paints should you be so inclined, whereas Hammerite will react horribly with anything else. It really wins cos you can just blort it on with no need for primer (or even really getting rid of all the surface rust if you're super-lazy) whereas POR15 needs a bit more in the way of prep

[composimmonite]

Over the years Hammerite changed the formula so the wonderful paint that first became available (in late 70's) is now quite brittle when cured and I find chips easily. Use on chassis, suspension parts etc might look OK but it's no better than any other paint in those areas where there is the chance of stones flying up. In fact I now find decent polyurethane household paint is far superior to Hammerite for underbody components.
I still use Hammerite - but never on vehicles and now restrict it to things like garden railings, garage machinery, shelving, ramps / axle stands and such.
Over on www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/ people rate the metal paint sold by Aldi & Lidl very highly so last time it was on offer I bought 10 tins

Paul h

[guz]

chassis enamel ?

[ettorebugatti]

Red oxide primer with a nice satin black top coat (or chassis black)

[composimmonite]

I took some digital scales around the various DIY etc stores and found Wiklinsons satin black was the heaviest so therefore assumed more "solids". I've used this on a couple of new Land Rover galv chassis (after proper galv primer) and it lasted very well.

Paul H

[taurus]

I use Ronseal 'No Rust' - I used to use Hammerite on my boat trailers and they needed doing every 12 months. Then I did them with No Rust, thay was 8 years ago and they're still in good nick. I only bought it because B&Q were out of Hammerite, but it's miles better. The only place I can find it now is on Amazon.

If you want a really good primer try Bonda Primer. It's high in zinc and goes on a treat.

[composimmonite]

Rustoleum also has a good reputation but never tried it myself

Paul H

[Richard TR7]

Another vote for POR15



With very little prep and no primer this has lasted very well, only chipping where i have jacked the car up under the diff without a soft pad. Just be careful as it doesnt wash off.