The Steamboating Forum

DetroiTug wrote:"high temp coatings"

Looks like the upper limits for powder coat is around 350, above that as Bart mentions, a liner should be used.

-Ron

There are high-temp powdercoatings that are used on automotive headers and such... 800*F+

It looks like those high temp powder coatings are all flat finish. I guess I'll just try painting it and see how well the old rattle can gloss stands up.

Lopez Mike wrote:It looks like those high temp powder coatings are all flat finish. I guess I'll just try painting it and see how well the old rattle can gloss stands up.

All gloss high temp powdercoats:


http://forrestpaint.com/wp-content/uplo ... 3-2900.pdf

http://forrestpaint.com/wp-content/uplo ... 4-2904.pdf

http://forrestpaint.com/wp-content/uplo ... 4-0237.pdf

http://forrestpaint.com/wp-content/uplo ... 4-2903.pdf

Way cool. I'll be on the horn to them tomorrow. Close to where I live too.

Of course I am in Baja until May but I can dream. Right?

Lopez Mike wrote:Way cool. I'll be on the horn to them tomorrow. Close to where I live too.

Of course I am in Baja until May but I can dream. Right?

Get the best work done while dreaming!

That reminds me, was watching a Jay Leno video about one of his Doble's and he had some Powder coating done somewhere there in California that was applied with a laser and good to 3000°F. I would imagine as the temp rating goes up, so do the prices.

-Ron

I have an elderly wood burning stove in my lounge, with an internal flue pipe 8" in diameter going 6' up the old chimney. Until about a year ago it got the graphite paste treatment a couple of times a year, which was moderately effective. By the way, the paste is better made up using tallow (sheep fat) rather than this new-fangled vegetarian linseed oil stuff. Be that as it may, about 2 years ago I tried a paint aimed specifically at wood burning stoves and their flues, and I have to say it's been excellent, and needed no treatment since. I don't know what temperature the pipe gets to at peak, but it certainly has flame going up it quite often, and it can't be far off dull red. Snags? Well you have the Henry Ford choice of colours: matt black or semi-gloss black.

You can buy Vitreous Enamelled stove pipes here, where the coating is a ceramic fired at about red heat, and those come in a variety of colours, but of course you need a big enough kiln to fire them like pottery. There's quite a range of colours available, and the coatings are very durable. Other than the kiln, the main problem is they're brittle, and wouldn't like going onto flexible metal.

A final comment, there was an article in "The Funnel" last year carrying a contemporary journalist's account of a high-speed sales demo trip in Turbinia: impressive to say the least. She had a pressurised boiler room when running at speed, and a junior seaman standing by to re-paint the funnel and casing after every high-speed trip.

Centurion wrote:I've got a 20 year old boiler with the original black iron dome and stack. What are the options to improve the appearance? Are brass stacks available or practical? What do others do to improve their stack appearance?

Brass or white stacks were popular with the British, as shown in this old post card. As far as the question, "What do others do to improve their stack appearance?" Elbow grease is the obvious answer. A tasteful stack cap is worthwhile as well, along with a polished whistle.
The stack itself is simply a length of 8" galvanized stove pipe, McMaster #1766K5, and painted with a high heat BBQ spray can. Wiping it down after every operation, and adding a coat of paint every spring will give as good an appearance as needed "at normal viewing distance". When it gets too ratty, throw it out and buy a new one.