Best paint for SS hangers/ anchors?

Dan Bachen wrote:

So now I just buy a few colors of some good quality matte spray paint in brown and gray and give them a few base coats in one color them speckle them with the rest. 

Do you by chance know how well your spray paint job is holding up? 

I’m not a big fan of painting hangers and hardware, but if it must be done, use a 10 minute bath in vinegar to etch the metal (zinc plated chain). Rust-Oleum sells a self etching primer in nearly every store. Kind of a dark moss green/grey color. Sticks like shit on a blanket. Then a quick coat of whatever color you want and you’re done. I’ve done this to chain and it has held up for 15 years and still looks good. Don’t cheap out on the top coat of paint.

abe r wrote:

Do you by chance know how well your spray paint job is holding up? 

Only been a few years, but the hangers are holding up well. Chain and quick links too. 

Greg D wrote:

Wow. Great contribution. Did you come up with that yourself?

Sheesh, Just trying to be salty eh? Go take your brain food and journal it out.

Not to beat a dead horse here but figured I’d revive the thread with a few questions/comments

- I’ve seen the claim that camoing hardware is likely to reduce its lifespan, and I don’t doubt it at all. Are there any studies on how much it would be expected to reduce it by? Is there any similar study on heat tinting and its effects on corrosion resistance long term?

- Is there an efficient way to heat tint in bulk like there is painting in bulk?

- just a note - I’ve found painting using the methods above of self etching primer + top coat to work great but it’s imperative you let the paint cure as long as possible before moving them if you can. I think the cans typically say full cure time is around 5 days and that seems to be about right to me

It's not a question of reducing the lifespan (which we don't know anyway) but increasing the likelyhood of them corroding and in the case of painting making it impossible to see if they have corroded.

Heat tinting is done commercially so you'll find a company that can do it but getting a suitable ectric furnace is hardly a hobby item.

Best way to do it is a tumbler with ceramic media for stainless, knocks the shine off and theres no need for paint.

Revisiting and reviving an old thread - seems like 500F is a decent sweet spot for color tinting and also happens the be the “self cleaning” temp for most home kitchen ovens. Anybody tried heat tinting en masse in their own kitchen?

Chris Vinson wrote:

Best way to do it is a tumbler with ceramic media for stainless, knocks the shine off and theres no need for paint.

How long do you leave the hardware in the tumbler?  Do you know if this process has any effect on the passivated surface layer of the metal?

Tal M wrote:

Revisiting and reviving an old thread - seems like 500F is a decent sweet spot for color tinting and also happens the be the “self cleaning” temp for most home kitchen ovens. Anybody tried heat tinting en masse in their own kitchen?

....and how long did you leave the hardware in the oven?

Salamanizer Ski wrote:

I’m not a big fan of painting hangers and hardware, but if it must be done, use a 10 minute bath in vinegar to etch the metal (zinc plated chain). Rust-Oleum sells a self etching primer in nearly every store. Kind of a dark moss green/grey color. Sticks like shit on a blanket. Then a quick coat of whatever color you want and you’re done. I’ve done this to chain and it has held up for 15 years and still looks good. Don’t cheap out on the top coat of paint.

Do you neutralize or rinse after the etching bath?

bernard wolfe wrote:

How long do you leave the hardware in the tumbler?  Do you know if this process has any effect on the passivated surface layer of the metal?

As long as you want, the media impacts the shine significantly.  Passivate after tumbling and you're good to go.

bernard wolfe wrote:

Do you neutralize or rinse after the etching bath?

Just a quick rinse in water.