TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:42 am

[quote="webwalker"] Westfabulous wrote: busdaddy wrote: And how does your house smell now? Was the hotel room for Mrs, Westfabulous expensive? :P
Looks great from here!

Funny things is, and I swear this is the truth, there was no smell whatsoever with the range fan on low. I suspect that there have been advancements in this technology; mind you, the disc is pretty small. Throw a couple heat exchangers and a pair of underwear in the oven, and that could all change pretty quickly.

quote]

Let me follow this question up: Did you use your kitchen oven to cure the CAT? I'd love to be able to cure VHT without having to get 220 all the way out to my detatched garage.

M

I can't remember if curing my exhaust paint in the oven smelled, but when I cured my VHT caliper paint in the oven if definitely stank while curing. I'm getting a new range once this project is done... Timing worked out well there! I also have a kiln so that'll be my future curing oven.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:44 am

Merlin, do you use any gasket sealer on your exhaust system, if so what is it? I detected a slight red color in the pics you posted. That is some awesome looking exhaust you have there. I am in the process of restoring my 72 campmobile and re-sealing the exhaust is currently going on. Thanks for the photos. Peace

Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:00 am

nodrenim wrote: Merlin, do you use any gasket sealer on your exhaust system, if so what is it? I detected a slight red color in the pics you posted. That is some awesome looking exhaust you have there. I am in the process of restoring my 72 campmobile and re-sealing the exhaust is currently going on. Thanks for the photos. Peace

I'm pretty sure it's the same stuff I use. Permatex, high heat copper; comes in a tube.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 8:07 am

nodrenim wrote: Merlin, do you use any gasket sealer on your exhaust system, if so what is it? I detected a slight red color in the pics you posted. That is some awesome looking exhaust you have there. I am in the process of restoring my 72 campmobile and re-sealing the exhaust is currently going on. Thanks for the photos. Peace

I initially tried the high heat copper but it was gooey from the heat when I took it apart later. I didn't consider that acceptable as gooey means liquid and exhaust is under pressure. Instead I use red high temp RTV and that dries harder so it can't flow under pressure. Use the same between the cylinders and case. Copper firmed up there but didn't stick as well as red RTV. Maybe I got a bad tube but it just wasn't as firm as red. Back in the late 1970's / early 1980's I discovered that red RTV would seal up T1 exhaust donuts and hold for 50,000 miles, so that is what I tend to use. Just don't think the copper is as good although some people here like it.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:28 am

webwalker wrote: Let me follow this question up: Did you use your kitchen oven to cure the CAT? I'd love to be able to cure VHT without having to get 220 all the way out to my detatched garage.

M

Yup, the kitchen oven. No muss, no fuss. I was pleasantly surprised. Next week I am going to be serving up roasted heat exchanger, with a nice tailpipe garnish.....mmmm, so good, and high in natural elements.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:31 am

Westfabulous wrote: webwalker wrote: Let me follow this question up: Did you use your kitchen oven to cure the CAT? I'd love to be able to cure VHT without having to get 220 all the way out to my detatched garage.

M

Yup, the kitchen oven. No muss, no fuss. I was pleasantly surprised. Next week I am going to be serving up roasted heat exchanger, with a nice tailpipe garnish.....mmmm, so good, and high in natural elements.

Be sure to baste with a Castrol glaze, yummy.
Colin

Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:47 am

Amskeptic wrote: Westfabulous wrote: webwalker wrote: Let me follow this question up: Did you use your kitchen oven to cure the CAT? I'd love to be able to cure VHT without having to get 220 all the way out to my detatched garage.

M

Yup, the kitchen oven. No muss, no fuss. I was pleasantly surprised. Next week I am going to be serving up roasted heat exchanger, with a nice tailpipe garnish.....mmmm, so good, and high in natural elements.

Be sure to baste with a Castrol glaze, yummy.
Colin

Yes, that is wonderful isn't it? Although I have become very partial to Mobil 1 TDT 5w40 synthetic glaze, with just a hint of Gray Poupon.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:15 am

Westfabulous wrote: Amskeptic wrote: Westfabulous wrote: webwalker wrote: Let me follow this question up: Did you use your kitchen oven to cure the CAT? I'd love to be able to cure VHT without having to get 220 all the way out to my detatched garage.

M

Yup, the kitchen oven. No muss, no fuss. I was pleasantly surprised. Next week I am going to be serving up roasted heat exchanger, with a nice tailpipe garnish.....mmmm, so good, and high in natural elements.

Be sure to baste with a Castrol glaze, yummy.
Colin

Yes, that is wonderful isn't it? Although I have become very partial to Mobil 1 TDT 5w40 synthetic glaze, with just a hint of Gray Poupon.

Now is that flat grey or primer grey?

Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:25 am

Wondering if my oven goes to 600. :-k

Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:49 am

Manfreds78bay wrote: Wondering if my oven goes to 600. :-k
Is it self cleaning? Self cleaning ovens are a wonderful invention for the home mechanic.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:56 am

You guys are hilarious.

Dan, I LOVE your attention to detail. Seriously. And seeing all these parts really helps me put my exhaust refresh into perspective a bit. Job well done! Can't wait to see what it looks like on the bus!

Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:00 pm

Wildthings wrote: Manfreds78bay wrote: Wondering if my oven goes to 600. :-k
Is it self cleaning? Self cleaning ovens are a wonderful invention for the home mechanic.

I've got a discarded oven from a refinish job. I think the smartest thing would be to back it up to the kitchen window, run the 220v out to it and let'er rip. But the mere thought of bringing 'car parts' into my the kitchen would cause my Mrs. to have the vapors. And I don't mean the off-gassing.

M

Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:14 pm

I tossed our old oven. it would have been good for curing things. But because it's rated for 30A @ 240V and was hardwired into the house. I downrated that circuit and installed power points so the gas oven could be fitted.

I used the old oven to cure epoxy enamel which I use on bits and pieces. Otherwise it can literally take weeks to months to cure.

Anyway the reason I am here is to ask a question. It's probably self explanatory because of the greys being used. Is there a black? I lost a decent chunk of the original black off the heat exchangers wire wheeling fossilized oil/dirt off them. I rattlecanned them which I know is a terrible solution.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:36 pm

Yes, there is black, yellow, red, silver, metallic cast iron, blue. Check out the VHT website.

I took a page outta DBM's idea book, and I taped a can of flat grey to a can of primer grey, side by side. I pointed the nozzles so that the spray converged at about 16" out. After a coat of primer, I shot with the double can method, and got a pretty decent hybrid color. It is cooking right now, but I think this is going to be a very decent compromise, and a fairly NOS-ish color. I dropped the steel test plate onto a pile of gravel today, and it wasn't phased.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:38 pm

Quote: with just a hint of Gray Poupon

you'd think that being a Canadian you'd know how to spell in proper English instead of American Slang. It is GREY Poupon.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:45 pm

webwalker wrote: the mere thought of bringing 'car parts' into my the kitchen would cause my Mrs. to have the vapors. And I don't mean the off-gassing.

M

My wife gave up out gassing years ago, found it didn't work. She now expects to find stuff like freshly painted wheels in her oven. :)

Thu Apr 12, 2012 4:10 pm

SGKent wrote: Quote: with just a hint of Gray Poupon

you'd think that being a Canadian you'd know how to spell in proper English instead of American Slang. It is GREY Poupon.

Very true, every time I typed "grey" I went back and changed it to "gray".
Very thoughtful of me indeed. :wink:

Thu Apr 12, 2012 4:22 pm

Westfabulous wrote: SGKent wrote: Quote: with just a hint of Gray Poupon

you'd think that being a Canadian you'd know how to spell in proper English instead of American Slang. It is GREY Poupon.

Very true, every time I typed "grey" I went back and changed it to "gray".
Very thoughtful of me indeed. :wink:

We spell it gray - you spell it grey
We spell it color - you spell it colour
We spell it curb - you spell it kerb

It is indeed considerate of you but it you aren't careful you'll end up being labeled as an ex-pat. :)

BTW - please give me a list of the shows you will be going to so that I don't waste my time putting my bus up against yours. It is really a fine bus. Between you, Curt and Dave (77 restoration down-under) I don't think mine could get an honorable mention. There are some really nice restorations here.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:35 pm

You spell it jail, we spell it gaol ... sometimes. Just feels wrong to me.

Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:48 pm

SGKent wrote: It is really a fine bus. Between you, Curt and Dave (77 restoration down-under) I don't think mine could get an honorable mention. There are some really nice restorations here.

Thank-you Steve; very kind words. Your bus doesn't play second fiddle though. It is beautiful, and once you get that Unleaded sticker on there, it will be unstoppable.

UPDATE:

So, I took DBM's advice, with a little encouragement from Busdaddy, and I made a hybrid color of the 2 grays. Now I have a color that I quite like, and the protection of a proper topcoat as well. This color is about as close as I am going to get to VW blue / gray in 2000 F* protection, whether from a can or from a local ceramic coater. This is as good as it gets for me.

As mentioned earlier, I took the two cans; taped them side by side; angled the spray nozzles to converge at about 14 "; and hung my parts at about 20". I pressed both nozzles, and sprayed like I was shooting a pistol two handed. The streams converged and the paint floated on to the parts, and I am very happy with the final product. I have the muffler and the tailpipe painted and ready to bake, and I will repaint the heat exchangers, the cat, and the other bits next week. After that everything goes in the oven.

This VHT ceramic is super durable as well. I met up with Busdaddy today, and I dropped my steel test plate into a pile of gravel. As he can attest, the finish was unaffected. Here are some photos of the unbaked hybrid color compared and contrasted with the two grays that I started with:

Primer gray on the cat...unbaked:

Flat gray on the cat; notice how blue it is....unbaked:

The new hybrid flat gray and primer gray combined....unbaked. The disc on top is very close to what it will look like baked. The disc was my first formulation attempt, and the color was slightly different from the final product on the muffler and tailpipe. If anything, the color on the muffler and tailpipe will bake slightly darker:

It is hard to tell from this picture, but the two pieces on the left are the new hybrid color, the cat on the right is the primer gray. When my wife came home from work she said "I like it. It has more blue in it, kinda like you combined the two colors." Little did she know. Then she said, "Why the hell does it stink so bad in here? Why's the light on in the oven?"

Fortunately, I vacuumed and Swiftered today, so I was quickly able to point out my finer attributes....whew.

I also heard back from VHT regarding using the grey primer as a top coat. They give the green light; hope this is useful. Here is the email that I received:

Dan,

Thank you for contacting VHT. We appreciate your response.

The FlameProof Primer will retain the color it had when it was applied after it has been heated and cooled. It does have the same protective and heat resistant properties as the FlameProof Top Coats it just does not look as nice and uniform in color as the FlameProof Top Coats.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you have any additional questions please email me back.

Sincerely,

Jill
VHT Product Support