As a follow up, I jumped in and bought some base coat/clear coat urethane paint and tried the DIY refinish using standard automotive-type spray equipment that I already own. I do not have any spray booth/ventilation equipment, so this was an outdoor venture, and is definately NOT something I intend to do on a regular basis. Since I have a contact in the auto paint supply world, they provided me what we saw as the best match for the TM 300 series heads - it's actually a Honda color from the mid 90s. He sold me a pre-reduced (ready to spray) pint of paint and a matching clear coat 2-part system. Total cost was ~$50. This is very high quality paint made by Akzo Nobel (Sikkens paint and Lesonal clear), which may really cost more than I paid.
I stripped the driver head with a scotchbrite wheel, and wet-sanded it with 400 grit until the scotch brite marks were gone. I had to fill a small gouge on the top of the head with some skim coat putty. The head was taped, primed with a self-etching primer, then painted and cleared. It took me about 3 hours, start to finish. These paints are great in that respect - the primer flashes in 5 minutes (I used 2 coats), and the paint flashes in 20 min. (again 2 coats). The clear flashes in 15 min. (2 coats used). The base-clear combo works best when it's sprayed just like that - you apply the base coat as fast as possible (~20 min between coats), then apply the clear as soon as the base flashes, no sanding, fussing, etc. I guess these coatings bleed into each other a bit. I do know that the urethane is a super hard coating, probably what every manufacturer is using. According to Akzo Nobel, this will survive ~350 F as long as it's heated slowly, which again is consistant ! with OEM finishes. It looks real good - it needs to sit a few days to fully cure before I reshaft it and let it go. Pat Kelley > > From: "Ed Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 2002/10/17 Thu AM 10:18:55 EDT > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: ShopTalk: Powder coating at home > > Harbor Freight has one for $99! > Ed J. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: " robert smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2002 9:59 AM > Subject: Re: ShopTalk: Powder coating at home > > > > I actually saw this system demonstrated on one of those automotive cable > > channels. The great thing I learned was that you can use a standard oven > to > > cure the stuff. They recommended strongly that you acquire a used range > that > > you had no intention of preparing food in. > > > > On Tue, 15 Oct 2002 15:23:04 -0700 Dean <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > I was looking at powder coating heads at home > > > and ran across this company. I > > > used to get their catalog. Several different > > > kits are available. It's really > > > provides a tough finish on mower frames. > > > Wouldn't really take a big > > > investment just to try it. I never did get > > > around to buying the lowest > > > priced kit. > > > > > > http://www.eastwoodco.com/ > > > > > > -Click "HotCoat" in the left hand menu. > > > -After it comes back click "Original Powder > > > Gun" in the expanded menu under > > > "Hot Coat". > > > -Then click "more information" under the price. > > > ($129.xx). > > > > > > The below link will take you directly to the > > > lowest priced kit. If it works, > > > the URL may get divided in the mail. > > > > http://www.eastwoodco.com/aspfiles/itemdy01.asp?UID=2002101515543379&T1=1019 > > > 8&Dep_Key1=hct > > > > > > FWIW > > > DeanS > > > > > > > > > >
