Painting Aluminium

[Pheebs]

Quick question... what on earth can I use to paint aluminium metal?!

Making Coca Cola Christmas decorations and need to paint parts of the tins but it's a right blighter!

Are there any standard paints out there I can buy that will actually work?! As opposed to scratching, using acid and the rest of it?! Or have I set myself an impossible task!? :)

Thanks people :)

[Fayshun]

Primer first?

[Fayshun]

Google says "etch primer" first.

[Fayshun]

HTH.

[Von Smallhausen]

Dear me. Rusty as owt but I was a paint chemist in a former life.

Aluminium is a very difficult substrate to paint on and will require an etch primer before a top coat goes on.

Even a scuff with light abrasion paper is no guarantee that a top coat will adhere.

[divine]

This would be why aluminium is often anodised i suppose?

[Darrin]

And why you hardly ever see a car with aluminum body panels...

[Jonny69]

That's actually down to it being more expensive and slightly harder to recycle ;)

[volospian]

And, although it is the most abundant metalic element in the earths crust, it was, until the very late 19th century, so difficult to extract that it was considered, in Europe at least, more valuable than gold. Indeed, it was considered such a rarity that the Emperor Napoleon III apparently reserved his aluminium cutlery for his most honoured dinner guests, while the lesser diners had to make do with cheap gold stuff.

Now I drink lager out of it.:D

[Goose]

I assume if you drink lager from aluminium containers , if I ask for diet coke it'll come in a gold container? Can I come and visit? :D

[volospian]

if I ask for diet coke it'll come in a gold container?

Funny you should say that....

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:MQG-AyXJ0gJ5yM:http://aqua-amore.com/images/products/01137.jpg&t=1

[Pheebs]

Been meaning to post and say thank you! It was too much of a mega bum to sort! I have got some tin instead on order! Will paint up and do it proper :D

Thank you though very much so :)