# clear coat over raw steel



## Packard (May 2, 2018)

I want to put a clear coat over raw steel weldment. I want to show the original look of the steel, but I want to prevent corrosion. 

I was thinking of Sealcoat shellac + a clear acrylic. Any suggestions?


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Is this interior or exterior.? I'm curious as to how this falls under interior wood finishing, but...I'm not sure how good shellac would do as a rust inhibitor. Wouldnt an oil or 2 part urathane be better? I'm no industrial expert though. .

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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

Find a hotrod forum. They do that kind of thing all the time.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

I have used 2K urethanes, home made paste wax's, dalys ship'n'shore and sculptnouveau... Depends on what the use case is and what the final product should look like.


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## Packard (May 2, 2018)

Sorry, I should have put this thread in the general forums. I will post the question again there.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

SW Opex acrylic lacquer. Used to sell it for re-furbishing rims. Worked great and held up pretty well. If they still have it that is. Good luck finding someone who knows.


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## Packard (May 2, 2018)

I posted this question in the wrong forum earlier. 

I am making a welded base for a wood bench. The finish is supposed to be clear over the natural steel. With the weld areas ground smooth. 

I posted this question at a welding website and was told "lots of luck" that even clear powder coat will rust under the finish. That does not sound right to me. We paint welded steel and it will last a long time indoors.

I was thinking Sealcoat + clear coat. I am guessing I don't want to apply a water based finish against the steel directly. 

Any suggestions? This is an indoor bench for a mudroom. The bench seat will be 6/4" red oak which I have a good handle on how to finish. 

Packard


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## Packard (May 2, 2018)

PACman said:


> SW Opex acrylic lacquer. Used to sell it for re-furbishing rims. Worked great and held up pretty well. If they still have it that is. Good luck finding someone who knows.


I am 50 feet from a SW store. I will check that out. But that was for aluminum alloy rims, yes? This is steel. I will ask at the SW store.

Thanks.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

I've used a couple different clears from a rattle can. The mild steel I welded and shined up seemed to hold up just fine. Hwever, it has been largely exposed in an interior environment. I'd be inclined to build a thicker clear barrier coat if it lived in an exterior environment.


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## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

I’d look into Automotive coatings. Recently, I asked the guy that fabricated all the steel handrails on a project and he said he uses automotive finishes. He didn’t say what brand.


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

I've merged the threads here in the General painting discussion sub forum.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Packard said:


> I am 50 feet from a SW store. I will check that out. But that was for aluminum alloy rims, yes? This is steel. I will ask at the SW store.
> 
> Thanks.


any metal actually.


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

I think I would go to an automotive paint supply store and ask what they recommend. The auto guys are always clear coating over raw/rusted steel. Anything they recommend would probably work better than any architectural coating.


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## NACE (May 16, 2008)

The cleanliness of the steel will determine the success of the clear cost. I’d use aliphatic urethane clear, two or three coats.


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## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

Go to your local auto parts chain store. Dupli-Color makes a clear engine enamel that when dry is tough as nails. Depending on the size of the base - one can is under $10. You're going to pay through the nose at a paint supply store.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

NACE said:


> The cleanliness of the steel will determine the success of the clear cost. I’d use aliphatic urethane clear, two or three coats.


we had problems with aliphatic urethanes on rims. It would for some reason start to crack prematurely. The Acrylic lacquer actually worked much better for us. That might have been exclusive to the SW CC product though.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

PACman said:


> we had problems with aliphatic urethanes on rims. It would for some reason start to crack prematurely. The Acrylic lacquer actually worked much better for us. That might have been exclusive to the SW CC product though.



https://sculptnouveau.com/products/clear-guard


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## Packard (May 2, 2018)

Wolfgang said:


> Go to your local auto parts chain store. Dupli-Color makes a clear engine enamel that when dry is tough as nails. Depending on the size of the base - one can is under $10. You're going to pay through the nose at a paint supply store.


Advance Auto Parts is advertizing this for $7.89 per can and I can pick up a can today. I will give this a try. And taking the other advice, I will try to make this as clean as possible prior to coating.


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## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

Get a small can of Acetone to clean.


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## Epoxy Pro (Oct 7, 2012)

Most 2 part clear epoxy's will work on metal. Plus it will be darn near bullet proof. If you use a house quality product it will fail much sooner than a 2 part epoxy.


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## Peanut (Nov 19, 2015)

I used Sharkhide on a bunch of stainless steal on my Impala. The gas tank looks amazing still. It's super easy to apply.

sharkhide.com/sharkhide_metal_protectant.htm


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