PICTURE PERFECT
Like Mr Oily Boot Bob (RC201 ) I too am a fan of brush painting. Like him I found that the original paint can be sound but tatty. This applied to my Jawa frame which in the 1970s had electrostaticapplied paint that was very sound but looked tatty. I rubbed it down and applied two coats of Japlac burgundy. It’s an excellent paint and a very good colour match for Jawa red.
As a boy I visited Brixham on holiday. There was a boatyard nearby and they didn’t seem to mind me wandering in. Two blokes were putting a new plank into a clinker-built boat and I saw them painting the lands grey. I asked why they were painting the bits that were going to be covered by the next plank and so wouldn’t be seen. They pointed out that paint was to preserve the wood, not just to make it look pretty. This philosophy has been with me ever since.
When none of an original finish can be saved I prefer to put my money into shot blasting and zinc primer. Zinc is an excellent preservative for steel and I would be reluctant to put my paint on anything else. I use aerosols of ‘cold galvanising’ from Tool Station and apply an even coat, not too thick. This has a galvanic effect on the steel, so if wet gets in it will be the zinc which is eaten and not the steel.
My pet hate is powder-coating on bare metal. It’s shiny and it covers dodgy welds, but once water penetrates it’s worse than useless as the damp creeps under the coating and encourages corrosion.
Jim Lugsden
Cleaning brushes after use is extremely important. Only use artists’ sable brushes: the hairs taper to a point while synthetic ones do not. The job will only be as good as the brush you use. These brushes are expensive, but looked after will last a lifetime.
After use, clean the brush in white spirit then soak in cheap vegetable oil, working it well into the roots. If the brush is needed the next day, leave it in the oil and rinse in white spirit before use.
To finish cleaning, buy some Marseille soap flakes, probably from an artists’ supplier. Put a little into a jam-jar and cover with water. Heat the jar in a pan with water in it – just warm, don’t boil – and the soapflakes will melt into the solution. Dilute to taste, as they say. Wash your oily brush out again, getting into the root of the brush and rinse under the tap. That’s it. Leave the brush to dry out ready for the next time. Keep the jar of soap for reuse. My best brush has served me for forty years of regular use! Mind you, it is about half its original length.
Thanks for helping to keep us all sane.
Peter Boardman, member 6827