Its Hammer time, baby (Hammerite Metal Finish)

Member Name: gryphon

Product:	Hammerite Metal Finish
Date:	01/04/01 (1706 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: tough, forgiving and long lasting

Disadvantages: expensive solvent

[Actually, I wouldn't recommend painting the baby with Hammerite]

Hammerite is a wonderful paint that used to come in just a couple of colours, and dried to a 'hammered' finish. It was so popular as people discovered how good it was, that Finnegan's [the makers] bowed to presuure, and added a range of colours, and then, glory be, extended the range to 'Smoothrite'. This paint comes in 6 bright colours, has all the advantages of Hammerite, but is smooth, and looks great.

Hammerite needs minimal surface prep before using; just wire brush off all the loose rusty bits and loose dirt, and get rid of grease, then get busy with the paint.
The busier the better, as it dries very fast, and if you're trying to paint a large area, it's difficult to keep a 'wet edge', which can mar the end result.

The paint forms a tough skin [with minute glass flakes in] over what you paint, and stops rust by excluding and more penetration by water or air. If you want to recoat, you either have to do so on the same day, or wait for it to cure fully [about a week].

The special solvent that you have to use to clean brushes is rather expensive, so it's an option just to throw away after use- just be warned that very cheap brushes tend to lose bristles all over the place, and Hammerite is very sticky, and will pull them all out.

It's a great paint for all outdoor metalwork, and for redoing that bike you rescued from the skip. The smoothrite can be used from a paint sprayer as long as you dilute it first with the correct thinner.

Even better, the smoothrite now comes in a spray can, which makes it much easier to get a good finish, as long as you are somewhere that overspray is not a problem [take that fridge outside on a calm day, or into a garage.

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