Summary for painting stainless steel Discussion
painting stainless steel is discussed as a surface-finishing problem with two related questions: how to make paint stick to stainless trim, and how to color stainless without hiding the underlying finish. For the trim-restoration question, Ronald Zeeman says stainless steel does not corrode, so a pretreatment is not really required; in his shop, stainless is simply washed and painted, though he notes that a dry-in-place treatment such as a chromate with a silicated binder is sometimes used. In the later question, Johnson Huang asks for a translucent, bendable, outdoor coating that preserves mirror or hairline patterns. The reply suggests trying a colored or dyed lacquer, since such lacquers are usually fairly translucent and may fit those requirements. The thread does not give a full process or guarantee durability, but it points toward simple cleaning plus paint for basic adhesion and translucent lacquer for decorative coloring.
Q. I have several pieces of stainless steel trim that I want to paint. What prep can I do to ensure that the paint will “stick”? These are aircraft and automotive pieces that are trim to restoration projects.
Thanks for the help.
– Mission Viejo, California, USA
A. Since stainless steel does not corrode a pretreatment is not really required. When we paint stainless steel it is just washed and painted. Occasionally a dry in place treatment (chromate with a silicated binder in used).
Ronald Zeeman
– Brampton, Ontario Canada
2003
Coloring of Stainless Steel — Painting/Spray
August 25, 2016
Q. I would like to get full details on the painting/spray process of coloring stainless steel.
To clarify my requirement, please refer to following items:
* Could applied on stainless steel without covering the pattern(mirror finished, hair line…) of the sheet.(translucent painting)
* Painted sheet would be bended so I need the coating being bendable.
* The SS would be placed outside so the coating should be permanent and maybe corrosion resistant.
Please kindly note that I’m not looking for other process like PVD or so.
If anyone can give me details or suggest me the direction to obtain this information, I would be very much obliged.
Thank you very much!
Johnson Huang
– Ilan, Taiwan
A. Hi Johnson,
Perhaps you could try a colored/dyed lacquer. Usually colored lacquers are fairly translucent and may work within your requirements.
Blake Kneedler
Feather Hollow Eng. – Stockton, California
January 1, 2017