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MG MGB Technical - Dash Krinle Paint no working

Any hints that may improve my chances of having the dash come out more uniform with the krinkle finish? First try was a bit hit and miss.

Pete
Peter

Peter

There are others that have done the wrinkle with good success. I, like you, had a lot of problems getting it to come out to my liking.

I ended up having it powder coated in wrinkle finish. For the minimal cost, ($50 US) it is the way to go. My dash is perfect, and when I compare it to a original wrinkle finish on another glove box I have, the are nearly identical.

If you do the stripping of the dash, it decreases the cost of the powder coating.

If you don't have a powder coater that you can go visit in your area, I would be happy to assist you in getting yours coated where I had mine done. I am located in Wisconsin so I don't know what shipping would be to send it here. zip is 54449
Bruce Cunha

Pete,

Go that URL to have relevant information about this issue.
"http://www.mgbexperience.com/article/wrinkle-paint.html"
Renou

Crinkle paint needs heat, and that is the trick. Just use a hot hair dryer or something even hotter. I used a portable heater (like a salamander used in construction, but powered by kerosene)that blows hot air. It crinkled the paint in minutes. It's not hard to do, just get a source for hot air.
Randy
1977 MGB with crinkle painted valve cover
randy olson

I have a better trick. Powder coat the think black krinkle coat!
Frank Baker

i tried that and failed spent about 4 hours rubbing down to bare metal then sprayed with a clear laquer fantastic result silver finish
daz

I always found the problem wasn't getting it to wrinkle using heat but rather getting an even thickness of paint over the whole surface. I tried numerous times using both VHT and Plasticote paints with no luck. I've sent it off to my parts guy who says he has done lots of them (he has done concourse restorations before) and he can guarantee me a good finish. He also has the advantage of having a paint booth handy so he can properly bake the paint to get it to give a nice, hard finish. Haven't got it back yet to see how it came out but I shall update my site with pics once I have it.

I suspect the weather may affect it a lot. Both heat and humidity since I have had no luck with it trying here in Auckland.

Simon
Simon Jansen

Powdercoaters with a clue are rather thin on the ground in Canada. The dash has to go in this weekend and I have a can of paint to try again. I will try to keep the temp up as much as possible. I did not use any primer when trying the first time, should the metal have any primer on it?

Pete
Pete

I found that the trick was to be sure to get the metal up to the recommended room temperature before spraying. Worked a treat.

John
John T

Peter

I have just refurbished my dashboard in Wrinkle finish paint and this is the second time that I have done an MG dash.

Firstly, there are two paint manufacturers that sell the Wrinkle Finish Paint. They are marketed under Hycote and VHT brands. I, personally, found the VHT variety better than the Hycote and after little success with the Hycote Wrinkle Finish Paint (to my exacting standards), I stripped it down again and re-painted in VHT.

Whichever you use, the secret is to get the ambient temperature above 70 degrees farenheight. It will NOT work properly below this temp.

The first time I re-painted a dashboard was in 1984 on my Concours 1967 MGB and I sprayed outside on a very warm day. I also used a heatgun on this occasion to speed up the 'wrinkling' process. The downside to this is that you are dependent on the weather as to when you can do it and also have the risk of insect contamination if you do it outdoors. However, I was extremely pleased with the result.

More recently, I have re-painted the dashboard of my 1968 MGC and this time the winter temperature forced me to carry out the process inside.

Firstly, don't tell the wife, I turned the central heating up in my workroom to the Max, masked all available surfaces with newspaper and watched the Temperature rise to 72 degrees on a thermometer.

I sprayed the dashboard longitudinally and allowed 10 minutes before spraying vertically. I waited another 10 minutes before spraying a third coat diagonally. Again I waited 10 minutes before applying the Heatgun. Playing the heat across the length of the dashboard for approx. 5 minutes, the paint suddenly starts to go Matt before the wrinkle slowly appears.

I honestly believe that this is the only way to achieve an original wrinkle finish that could be described as Concours. It is a long process but for the cost of one can (approx. £7.50) and your own labour, it is a lot less than the cost of a re-furbished or re-painted alternative from your mg specialist supplier (mine wanted £70 to re-paint).

I purchased a DeWalt DW340K Heatgun (approx. £23) to provide the required heat on this last occasion. It has a variable temperature control and gives you more control over the speed at which the 'wrinkle' appears.

I hope that this information is of help to you.

Robert
R Lynex

Stand by for results! The thing will happen this week-end! Will try to rememember to post pics of what comes out.

Pete
Pete

The advice I have heard is "build yourself a long cardboard box , give the dash a coat of primer then suspend it in the box with thin wire borrow the wifes hairdryers
cut holes and put one in each end and
another in the middle , spray the wrinkle
finish paint shut the flap down ,switch
on dryers and leave for 10-15 mins."

Never tried it myself.

Iain
I D Cameron

I tried the proper wrinkle paint in our 'snooker room' with the heater turned up to full *and* using a hairdrier, to no effect. Except to have my son complaining that he had to wash his balls afterwards.
Paul Hunt 2

Paul

A hairdrier just will not cut the mustard. There is not enough heat generated. You need a heatgun/paint stripper to get the temperature up to the required level.

Iain, I have tried your method of creating a 'tunnel'. The problem that occurs here is that you get localised heat spots where the hair driers are sited and less heat towards the middle.

There has to be even heat along the length of the dashboard else the 'wrinkle' will be uneven - been there, and got the T-shirt, baseball cap and propelling pencil!

Robert
R Lynex

"I sprayed the dashboard longitudinally and allowed 10 minutes before spraying vertically. I waited another 10 minutes before spraying a third coat diagonally. Again I waited 10 minutes before applying the Heatgun. Playing the heat across the length of the dashboard for approx. 5 minutes, the paint suddenly starts to go Matt before the wrinkle slowly appears."

Robert, that's EXACTLY the advice my guy gave me when I was trying to do mine myself and he seems to know what he's talking about.

He also said you want quite heavy coats. heavier than normal spray painting but obviously not so heavy it runs.

Simon
Simon Jansen

Yes Simon

The heavier the coats of paint, the thicker the 'wrinkle'.

Robert
R Lynex

The secret is to get the metal at a good room temp before spraying, put it in the house for a few days and keep the heating on 20 deg. Then wait the recommended time between coats. Mine was a real pro finish - may have been lucky!!!
Andrew

Serious question, would I need the heat gun if I was doing it in the California sun, ambient at about 80 degrees plus?
Regards
Tony
Tony Bates

Well, no pics because they do not show the results (or lack of) very well. Went through 4 cans of paint and stipped the dash twice. Final result was achieved by painting, waiting for parts of the dash to krinkle, and shooting more paint on the areas that did not behave. All the while chassing the paint with a heat gun. Not a job I am proud of, but the dash had to go in last week-end.


Pete
Pete

This thread was discussed between 18/05/2006 and 25/05/2006

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