Grand Daddyish build

[TNThomas]

Man, you guys are seeing my hesitation in real time. I can't stop thinking about the paint color. My brain is good at thinking of shapes, but not colors. My wife is the exact opposite. So I took the humble train and chatted for about 2 hours looking at color combos, asking her opinions on all of them. I think I like the metal flake because it has so much "pop" to it. But, I think she is right in saying that its flirting with a tacky look. Also, the bright poppy colors just dont sit right with a simple machine. After looking for a while her color coordinated brain, and my caveman brain both found a winner: Normandy Blue. Some old flat fender jeeps have it. I'm just going to bight the bullet and do it. No flake, classic old simple look:

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

Don't bight off more than you can chue.

 

[Denny]

I think the original color you picked out would have been cool. It would have not been bass boat tacky because other than the floor there are no big panels, just tubing. You might want to reconsider. It would have had a late 60s early 70s vibe to it.

 

[TNThomas]

Maybe I should just get a sample of both, logically thats the smart way to go. Metal flake will run me about $100 more, but it has a higher potential to look cool. Darn hazmat fees!

 

[Denny]

Get enough paint to do small spray outs. This way you can also judge coverage. Yea, the solid color wound be cheaper. But then again you are painting your buggy for you and your family. Not painting 100 for the faceless masses. You want to show you’re family is not boring but the coolest one around. Just my humble opinion.

 

[TNThomas]

Get enough paint to do small spray outs. This way you can also judge coverage. Yea, the solid color wound be cheaper. But then again you are painting your buggy for you and your family. Not painting 100 for the faceless masses. You want to show you’re family is not boring but the coolest one around. Just my humble opinion.

You are right on that one. I do think that Normandy Blue looks good, but I dont have alot of surface area to work with, and the flake would help "pop" the look of what I do have. This evening I remembered that there is a different, "old school" method to apply metal flake. One that is cheaper, simpler, and might work better with my building method of taking small chunks at a time.

Essentially you have your base coat down (black for me), then you clearcoat and immediately start sprinkling the flake down before the clearcoat dries. The flake then lands in the clearcoat at various angles, helping the flake to sparkle at various viewing angles. Let it dry then apply a few coats of clearcoat to cover/bury flake. The old school method was to poke holes in a shoebix and fill it with the flake to be applied. I think for 1"-1.25" dia square tube steel, a parmesean shaker might work very well. Plus, if I am smart, I could use a catch tray to recycle flake that misses the steel. Another benefit of this is that with big areas (my body and swingarm), I could do one side at a time. Aka, the top of thg the square tube, dry, then the bottom, dry, right, dry, then left, dry. Basically a spacial pattern that can be the "goal" of what needs to be finished in each session.

There are a heck of alot of flake colors/sizes that Roth metal flake, so Ill sit on it and think about colors. Three I really like right now are "Sinferno" (0.008" &0.015" rainbow blend), "Greengo!" (0.015"), and "Sulfright Silver" (huge 0.040" flake). but Ill hang tight and think on it. 3 totally different looks.

-Rainbow "Sinferno" would have outerspace vibes.
-"Greengo!" Just looks really nice all around. High contrast and also shiney.
-"Sulfright Silver" would play off of a classic look I have always loved with Cafe racers. Simple, high contrast, and would loom better with age.

Thoughts on colors would be aporeciated!

 

[Denny]

The only problem with doing it that way is in the old laquer days it dried fast so you could do 40-50 coats of clear to bury it in a day or 2. Can’t do that with enamels or epoxies. They have to be cured and sanded every few coats and left to harden. And you don’t want to sand the flake, that just makes it dull. Stick to a small to medium size flake that you can get through a gun. The HF green siphon gun has a huge 1.8 nozzle on it for only $33.00 plus tax. Throw a couple marbles in the cup to keep the flake suspended and spray away. Then just bury what is left sticking up. The old way of shaking the flake on looked like poop!

 

[Denny]

There is an old and unwritten rule about pearls and flakes. The smaller the area the more flake or pearl but in smaller sizes. The larger the area the less but can tolerate bigger sizes.

 

[BaconBitRacing]

If it were up to me, I'd go for "Sulfright Silver." Classic, classy, and it looks fast. I always though this pupper would look good in chrome.

 

[Denny]

I like the purple with pearl white seats, purple piping outlining the seats! That would be pure old school class.
But if I could not have that the green with just a little finer gold flake would be cool too! You may want to think about pearl paints too. Chrysler Sassy Grass Green with gold pearl is an awesome combination!

 

[TNThomas]

I like where your head is at!

I like the purple with pearl white seats, purple piping outlining the seats! That would be pure old school class.
But if I could not have that the green with just a little finer gold flake would be cool too! You may want to think about pearl paints too. Chrysler Sassy Grass Green with gold pearl is an awesome combination!

 

[TNThomas]

If it were up to me, I'd go for "Sulfright Silver." Classic, classy, and it looks fast. I always though this pupper would look good in chrome.

I agree. I do think there is something pretty cool about just the simple chrome/silver on black look. It would age the best as well, pretty much always looking cool. This would likely be the most "forgiving" color to apply as well.

 

[TNThomas]

There is an old and unwritten rule about pearls and flakes. The smaller the area the more flake or pearl but in smaller sizes. The larger the area the less but can tolerate bigger sizes.

That makes sense. I have never seen or heard of that, but logically with it works out with spacing/light scattering. Have you done metal flake paint jobs before? Thanks for the input on the HF spray gun. I was looking at their gravity-fed options, but didn't see any with a tip as large as that one. I may reach out for a few pointers when I get to the painting step.

 

[TNThomas]

The only problem with doing it that way is in the old laquer days it dried fast so you could do 40-50 coats of clear to bury it in a day or 2. Can’t do that with enamels or epoxies. They have to be cured and sanded every few coats and left to harden. And you don’t want to sand the flake, that just makes it dull. Stick to a small to medium size flake that you can get through a gun. The HF green siphon gun has a huge 1.8 nozzle on it for only $33.00 plus tax. Throw a couple marbles in the cup to keep the flake suspended and spray away. Then just bury what is left sticking up. The old way of shaking the flake on looked like poop!

Thanks for the info! In what ways do you remember it looking like poop? I am guessing that relying on gravity alone would mean more of the flake would land in the "flat" position, which would make less sparkle and most viewing angles. At least compared to a flake sprayed from a gun in a clear coat solution. I think I am really just a little intimidated by the whole process, and looking for easy ways out by considering the shake on method! But the gun would definitely be the way to go. I'll stop by HF on the way home and pick one up to start getting myself familiar with them. It would be a good skill to have with the kids as well, plenty of kids stuff to glam up!

 

[Denny]

I never did the really big flake stuff. The problem with the shake method and big flake is it ends up clumping up. Looks like a kids art project gone wrong. I myself like pearls and finer metallics. I like the effects in different lights. Check out “Paint With Pearl” cheaper than Roth. With big flake means more cost because you need so much more clear. Any paint or flake supplier will give a recommended nozzle and needle size for the spray gun. You also have to remember there are 2 sides to every bar, a top and a bottom. The top is easy but the bottom is hard to get to.

 

[TNThomas]

I never did the really big flake stuff. The problem with the shake method and big flake is it ends up clumping up. Looks like a kids art project gone wrong. I myself like pearls and finer metallics. I like the effects in different lights. Check out “Paint With Pearl” cheaper than Roth. With big flake means more cost because you need so much more clear. Any paint or flake supplier will give a recommended nozzle and needle size for the spray gun. You also have to remember there are 2 sides to every bar, a top and a bottom. The top is easy but the bottom is hard to get to.

Cheers! Thanks for the brain power! Got the gun.

 

[TNThomas]

-Just working on the brakes. E-brake handle/master cylider mounted.
-I mounted it almost exactly where my right hand comfortably sits for easy engagement.
-Ill run the little hydraulic line lock/parking brake right between the two seats.
-Im going to swap over all the fittings to match up with 3AM braided stainless brake lines. I was going to run the plastic lines, then the copper/steel lines, but i realized i may need to hook, and unhook my entire setup occasionally (painting, welding, etc.). I dont want to buy new brass ferrils and beat up my measured connections every time, so ill spend the extra money and get the better/stronger setup.
-Also, I am going to run a second disc for the second caliper, which is on a totally seperate line from my foot brake, solely dedicated to the handbrake. I feel like thats a heck of alot of stress on that little keyway for the one disc if I had 2 calipers on it. That, and the far end would have alot of force/torque (centripiral force?) acting on the non disc side of the axle. So overall a second disc would just help balance out the physics across the back. $30 for the disc, and it will make mounting slightly easier for me as well.
-I need to check a few more things, but if anybody is reading this, MCP threads on the aluminum body are 1/8th npt, and im going to run 3an brake lines (3/8-24 thread, but the an have a different mating surface angle than the 3/8-24 compression fittings that MCP fits them with).

 

[Denny]

Save your money and go with the nicop lines. You can loosen and tighten them more than once. The braided lines are ok until they fail. Then you’re screwed and get to buy them over again.

 

[TNThomas]

Save your money and go with the nicop lines. You can loosen and tighten them more than once. The braided lines are ok until they fail. Then you’re screwed and get to buy them over again.

You are right on that, hadn't thought about future replacement. Much cheaper too. I picked up some nicop line and fittings. Do you have any opinions on the compression fittings for go-kart brakes? The ones with the brass "ferrel"? Looks like many folks use them, and MCP ships their products with them, but it seems a flared end on the tube, and corrosponding fitting would be more appropriate should they need to be installed and uninstalled. Amazon has a good sale on an American made flaring tool for 3/16" and 1/4" lines so I picked one up as well. I think ill just swap the compression connections over to the flared onesvon the master cylinders and calipers.

 

[Denny]

Just make sure you double flair the lines is all. Cars and trucks have been using flaired lines for a century now, I think they’ll be ok on your little buggy! Have fun!