7 replies to this topic

[mike.]

At the moment i'm doing the floors in my car, there at the stage now where they have been fully sanded down, smoothed, rust treated and they've been given a coat of red oxide:



Now i was going to finish them off by giving them a couple of coats of thinned down black hammerite. But i'v still got nearly a full litre of this tin of black emulsion left over from when i pained my headlining. It seems a waste to go and buy some hammerite when i'v already got some black paint which isn't going to get used on anything else.

So what i'm asking is will it be ok for me to give the floors a top coat of emulsion? The rusts already been treated and protected so hammerites not really nessesary, and its not as if i'm painting the emulsion onto bare metal, because the layer of red oxide will act as a primer won't it?

I can't see any problems with it but my dad seems to think i'll need hammerite

[yorkshirechris]

At the moment i'm doing the floors in my car, there at the stage now where they have been fully sanded down, smoothed, rust treated and they've been given a coat of red oxide:



Now i was going to finish them off by giving them a couple of coats of thinned down black hammerite. But i'v still got nearly a full litre of this tin of black emulsion left over from when i pained my headlining. It seems a waste to go and buy some hammerite when i'v already got some black paint which isn't going to get used on anything else.

So what i'm asking is will it be ok for me to give the floors a top coat of emulsion? The rusts already been treated and protected so hammerites not really nessesary, and its not as if i'm painting the emulsion onto bare metal, because the layer of red oxide will act as a primer won't it?

I can't see any problems with it but my dad seems to think i'll need hammerite

I'd recommend hammerite, purely because it'll give you that extra protection. Emulsion is water based so if the floor gets wet it might get a bit messy whereas Hammerite is spirit-based so if it get's wet it won't run all over the place.

Entirely up to you but I'd use hammerite, I wouldn't thin it down either I'd apply it straight, you can get a 1L tin for about £15? (mine was a tenner because my dad sells them) and that's more than enough to slap on all the floors and the boot floor too.

[mike.]

C**p! I didn't think about the emulsion being water based! Guess i'll be using hammerite

[yorkshirechris]

C**p! I didn't think about the emulsion being water based! Guess i'll be using hammerite

You could use some black undercoat or gloss (providing they're not acrylic) because they're oil-based paints so will not run with water but you may as well use hammerite hammerite only takes about an hour to dry even in thick, straight amounts but gloss and undercoat can take several hours to dry properly.

[Retro_10s]

Why use thinned down hammerite?.... because it will provide a better finish, and when it cures,... it will cure a LOT tougher than slapping on an thick coat... which... will take up to around a week to get to the stage where your finger nail wont mark it easily.

Thick application of Hammerite might just be touch dry in an hour,.. but underneath the surface it will still be squadgy which is no good at all.

Also, thinning it down is much more economical, £5 for your hammerite and £3 for the thinners (celly thinners are cheaper and work just as well 'hammerite special thinners') you could even roller it onto your floor, much quicker than a brush,.. and more consistant spread of paint than a hammerite rattle can. PLus you get VERY little in the spray hamemrite cans, Pi55 poor.

[mike.]

Yeah i always thin down hammerite anyway. Even the 'rollable' stuff seems to be like tar whenever i'v used it.

I know what you mean about the ammount of paint in a spray can! In a 300ml tin theres only 100ml of paint!

Any idea of a good ratio for hammerite and thinners? I'v always just added and mixed the thinners until the paints managable enough to use effectivley

[Retro_10s]

Thinning down hammerite for roller use,... try 50/50 annd if it's still too thick,.. 70/30.

[yorkshirechris]

Yeah i'd advise against hammerite spray too, the tinned stuff is the best.