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Clear Finish for Bare Metal

2006

A couple of years ago I welded a cart for my computer monitor etc. I stripped all the metal before I put it together with a wire brush with my angle grinder [on eBay or Amazon] . I wanted to keep it natural metal so I decided to lacquer it. What has happened over the years is that the metal has darkened and in some places there are traces of rust. And the rust seems to be below the lacquer. What I wanted to find out is if I could have the whole cart dipped and stripped down the clean bare metal. And instead of using lacquer this time maybe try some sort of clear coat.
Is this even feasible?
I'm finding that locally (Columbus, Ohio) the dipping would be about $100 but I don't know where to begin researching any clear coat options or what to ask for.

Thank you.

John Wilson
Welding Hobbyist - Columbus, Ohio USA

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January 11, 2011

Good for you that you have such an excellent Computer cart...I need one..

I recommend you take it to an auto body shop. They have clear coat and other prep operations. Odds are the preparation was not good enough for the coating you used.

Next time consider using either boiled linseed oil or a tung oil [affil links] product. Both are Mineral oil based and cover many prep mistakes.

Paul Barnhart
- lake in the Hills, il USA