TOPIC:

I'm stripping my tank and having the steel powdercoated with clear. I created some large (13"x6") vector art for decals today for the tank, and I know that I can't apply them underneath the powdercoat since it gets baked on and the vinyl would melt.

I'm wondering if there's a way I can seal the decals after applying them on top of the powdercoat? If i spill a drop of gas on the decals they will be ruined, but I'm not sure if there's any clear coat paint I can apply over powder.

I opted to powder coat the tank vs. clear coat paint because research i've done shows more benefit from the powder with regards to durability and rust formation.

Oh and here's the decals I created. I'm going to trim to fit the contours of the tank since vinyl doesnt go around sharp corners lol. This is the left side, right side is mirrored except for the text.

I am not a paint guy but why would you not be able to powder coat , place the decal, clear coat? is there something that prevents powder coating and clear coat from bonding to each other? I have seen people do that before with normal paint and put vinyl inbetween that and the clear. just my .02
Andrew

Spray it with Urethane clear coat. base coat / clear coat.
Car stuff! Euro clear. 2 part2K you know, 4:1 catalyst system. Good old poly isocyanate clear coat PPG, Dupont, trans star. You know, the stuff I have sprayed for 20 years, since I gave up Dupont 3708 Lacquer Clear

Yes you can clear it!

z1kzonly wrote: Yes you can clear it!

Ha! High School Body shop wasn't a waste of time see mom!!

Cool design.

Ok awesome, good to know. I hate to solely rely on the opinion of a painter.

Just a tip on placing the graphics, big area like that can be difficult and I have screwed a few up in the past.

I do it different to the usual instructuions, I spray the surface with a mist of water with a drop of washing up liquid in, then place the graphic in place removing the backing paper complete. It sort of floats and it is easy to peel it back off when an air bubble gets trapped, or the grapihic is positioned wrong. The excess water can be squeezed out afterwards with a cloth. Also don't pull hard on the graphic as the vinyl discolours when stretched.

Clear coat over keyed powdercoat and graphics is the way to go. If your tank was less than perfect, and without the usual light skims of filler that most need, you might go for a satin clear. A glassy polished finish looks grat but will accentuate any bumps or ripples in the tank.

Just wanted to add that if it is going on a tank make sure you use a solvent resistant clear coat like 2K or spilled gas will undo all of you hard work.

Tyrell Corp, thanks for the heads up! I have some decal slide solution in the garage that I bought and never used, so I'll give that a shot. I know, ya gotta be gentle with the vinyl, it doesnt like being manipulated too much!

Kaw-A-Holic I think i'm gonna get it professionally sprayed. I'll just screw it up lol

If you put clear powder directly on the raw steel rust will form under the clear and crawl in a spiderweb pattern. It will last for a while though, just not sure how long.

Urethane on top of the powder/graphics will work. The bicycle guys do that and it works out well.