[David Ferguson]

My new-to-me 3016 has apparently had much of the paint inside the cabinet eaten by the coolant the previous owner used. There is a softened paint sludge in the corners and crevices.

I would like to refinish this and use coolant that will not eat the paint. I don't think I will be able to disassemble the cabinet, so I will likely be masking the table and prepping/painting in place.

Any suggestions from other owners as to preferred paints, and paint-friendly coolants?

[scadvice]

I tried for a number of hours to remove the enclosure panels but finally give up. If anyone knows a easy way to remove them... I would sure like to know!

I'm going to do the same as you, mask off and paint what I cannot get off.

As far as paint...I have found no sure thing. What I am doing is using paint remover, well ventilated with a fan on the opposite the opening I working on to pull the fumes away, right down to bare metal. Then I'm using med-fine sandpaper and cleaning the surface. It is alot of work so I'm doing 3 or 4 sq. ft. at a time. 40% done. I'm planning on putting a couple of coats of a metal etch primer. Then paint. But, like you...I'm trying to decide what paint to use. Fadal paint numbers are available, but I'm not sure they are any better than other paint.
I'm considering epoxy two part paint. Any ideas from others would help.

Steve.

BTW - Someone spray painted over the inside of my machine and its stained paint before I bought it. The result was almost immediate peeling.

[IN2GLAMISGIRL]

The sheet metal is powder coated from the factory. Powder coating is tough,
but the sharp hot chips and the scraping of diging them out will take their toll. I have not seen any coating that will stand up to years of that .

To re-powder coat the pannels they would have to be chem stripped, blasted, then coated. It might cost $1,000-$1,500 for all the parts.
Lots of powder coat shops around out here (CA).

I just keep the outside clean and saw up some new lexan windows when you can't see thru them anymore. Nothing wrong with raw steel chip pan. J.M.O.

[Switcher]

I'll tell you why the paint is gone/sludge.

The paint is water-based paint, & I bet ya the previous owner used water based coolant.

It (water based coolant) turns the paint to sludge


.

[scadvice]

Your going to have explain what you mean. Almost all coolants used today are water base mixed. Only 6% to 10% of the coolant is something else.

David... I believe most of the staining on the paint comes from dirty and misused coolant, excessive PH problems, or a high iron content in the local water.
Also outside tapping fluids added on the part by the operator during tapping operations.

I'm looking into industrial application designed paints if anything pops up interesting I'll let you know.
Steve

[cam1]

An Alternative:
Depending on the budget, I'd be tempted to line the interior surface with Stainless (.032 or thinner). A 4 X 8 of 308L is around 120.00.Depending of course on the complexity of the surfaces, it could be done. As far as fastening goes, it could be glued on with a good tube adhesive. It certainly would look nice, and hide the imperfections.

regards

[scadvice]

I been thinking about that also...some labor there too, but not as much.

[cam1]

Yup, I guess it depends on whether you like to scrape & sand and prime and paint (Yuckkkk)
Or do you like making cardboard templates & having some nice material waterjet cut
Is the interior surface reasonably friendly? Or does it have as many facets as a diamond ring?

regards

[David Ferguson]

Stainless panel liners is an interesting idea. I will try to snap some pictures of the cabinet over the weekend and post so you can see what I'm facing. The paint is not just discolored, it's dissolved into a sludge. At first I thought it was rust, but it's really just a brown sludge.

[extremecase_8]

IN2GLAMISGIRL is right, the cabinets are powder coated from the factory. As far as I have seen Fadal has always powder coated everything except the fiberglass head covers that they were using for a short time. If you are going to try paint I would recommend acid etching the steel that has been exposed to oily conditions (such as coolant). If steel is exposed to oil/coolant for very long the oil can actually impregnate the steel and then sanding the surface doesn't prep it deep enough.

[scadvice]

It is a nice idea, I'm considering doing the back sheet metal with stainless sheet, the lower side panels and the bottom.
Steve

[David Ferguson]

Thanks for all the replies. As promised, here are some pictures of my machine:

[machinist_1]

If you have thought about going back with the "powder coat" (best choice), there is a company that sells complete kits (gun, power-supply,prep supplies ect.). It may even be cheaper than Stainless sheeting. I have tried their products (powder coat, anodizing, cad-plating) and they work as they claim. WWW.caswellplating.com. The way that paint looks, I would say it was from old coolant and a poor earth ground. When that coolant gets acidic from the metals in it and a poor or no ground at all, electrolysis will start.

Just a thought from an old timer.

[scadvice]

A 24ga. 3x10 sheet is about $190. I will use two sheets. They are a little narrow but I plan on using alum. angle to trim the corners and flat for the uncornered edges. I already have the alum. & will send it out for hard anodizing after it is fit checked. That's about 50 bucks if I send it with some other work. Stainless screws and caulking 20 bucks...and then over to my friend who has a brake and a shear (I'll do cardboard templates first for a fit check) ( freebee use of fab shop, plus my time). I would say around 475 bucks and a weekend. I can't paint it for that, let alone the time to strip the paint. Done right it will look good and no paint problems ever again.
Still thinking it out but sounds right... Steve