Hammerite

robinsoncrusoe

robinsoncrusoe

Active Member
Joined
13 Oct 2011
Messages
50
Visit site
what is going on here ?

open new can of Hammerite paint, paint trailer wheels, open new can of Hammerite brush cleaner, try to clean brush and it wont touch it.

like trying to rinse oil of with water

happened a few weeks ago with an old can of Hammerite and I assumed they had changed the mixture.

Is my 'new' can an old one ? how do I tell ?
 
Changed it again have they.

That has happened at least once before. Suddenly new cans of thinners/brushcleaners wouldn't work with my old cans of Hammerite paint.

Antifouling thinners was the solution then.

From Feb 2007 the thinners were a mix mostly of naphtha (white spirit??) and acetone

( mine obviously older when they were xylene or similar)

Dont know what they are now. Any warnings on the tin that might give a clue
 
I gave up on Hammerite a long time ago; nothing like as long lasting as some aged folklore claims, maybe used to be different but I've only had poor results in outdoors, let alone salt water environments; that includes using the stuff on a -well prepared - steel keel, wish I had chosen something else !

For really painting steel - including keels etc - I have found Dulux Metalshield by far the best, and I've tried every treatment over the last 34 years.

This Dulux stuff is the business; 1 part, but requires its' special 1 part primer.

No connection.
 
The group I worked in during the late 1980s included a small, but highly respected, coatings technology section.

They had tested Hammerite. They did not rate it very highly at all!
 
VicS said:
The group I worked in during the late 1980s included a small, but highly respected, coatings technology section.

They had tested Hammerite. They did not rate it very highly at all!
Click to expand...

I should hope not. Recently did a complete bicycle with it.

Change of mind on finishing. Persil clothes liqiud got anything off at 50/50 water at 100C. Anything plastic at 100% in two days.

With a soft brass brush to agitate.
 
I think it's great stuff - although to be fair I'm still using old tins. The tins of Hammerite thinners I have are mostly Xylene, although I always wash my brushes out with cellulose thinners (£10 a gallon), 'cause the kosher H-thinners is so expensive (£5 for around 1/3 of a pint).

Can't comment on the new stuff - I've been told it's inferior - all I know is that it's damned expensive.

If you want good paint - buy direct from Leighs - you can't buy it in the shops - used on bridges and similar commercial structures.
 
I painted a Mini in Hammerite when it was proper paint in the early '70s
That lasted well (Better than the rest of the car).
I've done boat trailers and such (back to metal) in the last 10 years which have rusted through the Hammerite in months.

Shan't be using it again.

OLDcooper.jpg
 
robinsoncrusoe said:
what is going on here ?

open new can of Hammerite paint, paint trailer wheels, open new can of Hammerite brush cleaner, try to clean brush and it wont touch it.

like trying to rinse oil of with water

happened a few weeks ago with an old can of Hammerite and I assumed they had changed the mixture.

Is my 'new' can an old one ? how do I tell ?
Click to expand...

Hi, petrol works fine.
 
I once sprayed a Chrysler (ne Talbot) Sunbeam with black Hammerite. Thinning it to make it sprayable stopped the hammered finish forming so it looked a bit like these new fangled & costly metallic finishes.
I then gave it a few coats of clear hammerite (yes it did exist back in the 1980s) but isn't as hard as traditional automotive laquers.

However once Xylene was banned and then Hammrerite were taken over by International, it was never the same. Wouldn't touch it now.
 
I too give Hammerite a thumbs down. Stripped me outdrive down to bare metal, bought the Hammerite special metals primer and put Smoothrite on top after rubbing it with wet n dry to give it a key.

Smoothrite won't even stick on to its own primer :( Primer sticks like poo to a blanket, but the top coat just peels away from it, so I have to redo it every year.

Etching primer and sperex tough black this year I think.
 
My experience with Hammerite seems different to most.

Last winter I refurbished my Aerogen (aluminium). I rubbed it down then primed with Hammerite special metals primer and finished off with a couple of Hammerite top coats. It has been on the boat all summer and no signs of a problem with the paint.
 
+1 FOR HAMMERITE SPECIAL METALS PRIMER - ITS GREAT STUFF ON ALLY, BRASS ETC
ANYONE KNOW WHAT THEY USED ON THE FORTH BRIDGE THAT WILL LAST 20 YEARS ?? cOULD BE GOOD STUFF FOR KEELS ETC
 
Halo said:
+1 FOR HAMMERITE SPECIAL METALS PRIMER - ITS GREAT STUFF ON ALLY, BRASS ETC
ANYONE KNOW WHAT THEY USED ON THE FORTH BRIDGE THAT WILL LAST 20 YEARS ?? cOULD BE GOOD STUFF FOR KEELS ETC
Click to expand...

GLASS FLAKE EPOXY
I dont know if it was applied direct on the blast cleaned surface or if a primer was used

There are glass flake epoxies suitable for underwater use.
 
Hammerite V. Forth Bridge Treatment

I believe the Forth Bridge paint was made by Leighs, as recommended earlier in this thread by Electrosys - old paint was removed by abrasive blasting and then given 3 coats of the glass flake epoxy paint. Don`t know if it can be bought direct.
 
Dammit!

I used to swear by that stuff. I painted my trailer with it last year at an enormous cost. Seems that I have wasted my money. Now I am waiting for the rust to show through.

Regards.

Alan.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top