rust and paint, recommendations?

[jape]

Lots of good ideas there, thanks everyone. I shall have to get some bedliner and try it, never used it and it looks like fun. The main problem is the rust conversion I think, I have used a couple of brands and both let rust through on well prepared bare metal after less than a year so I don't know why. I spent literally ten hours or more on sanding and brushing the trailer and more and was very disappointed. Not jut in nooks and crannies, on flat sections and also the top coat flaked off it in places without rust, something incompatible or else just harsh Aussie sun and vibrations from dirt roads?
The bike has to last me until lights out, maybe ten years if I am lucky but probably only 30,000 km so probably worth the effort. Shall get some small pots and experiment!
I had forgotten about hammerite - I painted a metal trunk in it thirty years ago and apart from a few small chips it has survived the trip to Aus and daily usage. However it is indoors.

[david3921]

Jape, as with any paint product, pay close attention to the coat times. Some say to put on light coats with a specific flash time between. Heat and humidity are other things to be aware of especially where you live. Too much of either really effect when and how many coats of paint are needed. If it's too hot and the paint too thick, it's sure to bubble. Higher humidity causes bad things to happen as the paint gets contaminated with moisture and you are trying to get two different solvents to escape the paint. Check the label for the best temp and humidity. I was never one to use a primer too often but swear by them now. They really do go a long way in helping seal everything up so that your top coat lasts.

As with most things in life, patience is the key, grasshopper.

[jape]

Thanks David as always - i agree as patience is not my strongest suite but I must say I did everything right with that trailer according to instructions! Not too hot, nor humid, hours of hard work on the sanding and wire-brushing. The three-step brand included a rust-proofer, a good primer and a top coat yet the rust is come through, the other areas (where I tried a different rust-proofer, primer and a different top coat) the rust is OK but the top coat has flaked off the primer. So I was pretty pissed off, enough to drive into the auto-suppliers where I got it all and show the lads. They didn't have any real idea of what could have happened but say I probably put the rust-proofer on too thick ...
This paint isn't cheap, cost me over a hundred bucks to do it. Hence this thread! Can't get redlead or the other red primers any more over here, they used to work ownders.
The bedliner sounds good but is a bit expensive for now at nearly $80 a liter locally (small town prices), I might let it all go through this winter coming now and have a good go in the spring. or just fish-oil it all and sod the looks!
I have definitely decided this weekend to be an outlaw unlicensed biker as my back is too bad to take the test on time and the Authorities have decided I cannot get any extension for injury, have to re-sit from the beginning 100 km away twice over three months and pay top dollar for that too - means another $500 + expenses, so I will not be riding as much as I had intended. Fuckem. The bike will be in the spare bedroom and I will be watching MX dvds instead of riding off on it to archery competitions, another dream falls ... turning into quite a grumpy bastard lately with this crap, anyway I will ride when I want where I want and take my chances but I will not push it and expose myself to unecessary risk. I should get a Harley and colours and a .357 magnum instead of a chinabike if I am going this route! Now where did I leave that crystal meth and the rum bottle?

[euphonius]

I'm in Shanghai so writing a bit out of school, but google shows a number of rattlecan bedliners in the neighborhood of US$12 a can or less. Common brands at this price include Plasti-Kote and Dupli-Color. There's a U-POL "tintable" kit for $112 that includes enough base and topcoat (4l of each) for a whole truckbed. At AutoZone, a US chain, a quart of Herculiner is $30. I reckon the stuff you've found at $80 a liter in your community is premium stuff, but is it all that's available?

I'd hate to think that getting sh*t done is as hard in Australia as it is here in China, but, hey, misery loves company. Hang in there.

[jape]

Hi mate, it is just that transport costs this year or two have increased everything by a good few percent, and if you are outside of main capital cities then they have expensive price bands for 'country' areas where, especially in small towns these days, competition has died as only one franchise usually survives. But it isn't all bad, another hundred km (in my case more for most) and you get all the discount stores and competition. Usually you can find and order something onlne as long as you are careful of shipping costs. Australia has a tenth of the population of USA and a fraction of China but still a huge landmass and suffers from that. I have noticed that the appreciable savings you could once get from large chain warehouse type stores has got smaller as they have smashed much competition out of the way. Most poor folk like me save up, write lists and take a trip to a city every few months for all the hobby and pastime gear, hardware, electrical goods, even much foodstuff and essentials. The savings cover the fuel if you get enough gear! I haven't looked on Ebay yet, I always check out locally first because I know if we don't do that then we lose all the shops. Strangely though, most stuff locally takes three times as long if not in stock and costs more than much you get online even from abroad.
Getting off the topic slightly (but hey it is my thread and I always ramble) for example I can purchase exactly the same archery gear, same brand quality and so on, abroad, ship it here and save often 20% to 50% and also get it much, much faster. This seems to apply to all sorts of stuff. Someone is making a good buck but killing the local towns and country markets, it isn't the transport guys I know a few and they are struggling.
I will probably save up and get the good gear such as 'speedliner' in the end - but as usual the suppliers and dealers haven't answered any emails yet. So many people just don't seem to care about business practices either in quality of goods supplied, speed of delivery, customer response and back up. It took seventeen phone calls, a couple of faxes and a few emails to get a non-functioning battery replaced on the Kinlon after just a week of owning it! And two replacements were fucked as well so I gave up and paid for an expensive local one, yup, $120 sod it.
Good day for grumbling! I need to get out on the 'bike and stop complaining.