6 replies to this topic

[hulsmeier]

Hi, just got some panels today for the front end. They are rhibo reproductions but look excellent quality with e coat.
I originally planned to paint everything in epoxy primer but wondering if this would be any benefit compared to the e coat on there already?

Does anyone have experience with rhibo's e coat?

Would epoxy be better than this e coat in the long run?

Cheers!

[bluedragon]

A good epoxy properly applied will beat a good e-coat in almost all circumstances. For one thing, the epoxy is a better surface for following layers of primer and paint to grip to. 

 

If the e-coat is a good quality one and there are no rust tracks in it, you can scuff and coat it in epoxy, which will give good results. You can get good durability with e-coat alone if it is of high quality, but for sure, if a panel is hard to replace, I'd give it an epoxy coat for the best chance of longevity.

 

I have no experience with rhibo.

 

 

Dave

[PiG]

I have the rhibo front end, be interested in how yours fit if you get there before me!

[sonikk4]

I'm always sceptical about any of the coatings we get on our panels whether its heritage magnum or whomever. I remove them all, period!!

 

Oh and epoxy prime or Octoral P131 Surfacer if you are painting straight away.

[AndyR]

I cant comment on rhibo panels, as i only use heritage ones.  However, i have had some pretty poor e coat on them too, from grease under the e coat to rust spiders and poor adhesion.  I can agree with sonikk that the safest is to remove it and epoxy the panel (irrespective of supplier), but with some large complicated panels it would be a horrendously time consuming job. 

 

I generally do 3 things.  First a general once over of the appearance of the quality of the e coat finish.  If thats ok, i (2) run the DA over the whole panel to see if any anomalies turn up.  If all looks good i (3) scratch a few places and give the area the good news with the air line to see if it lifts.  If it flakes off i remove all the e coat, if it doesnt i leave it as is and epoxy over the DA'd surface once its been welded in.

 

Andy

[hulsmeier]

Thank you all for your replies and advice

@PiG I will update on how these fit. I've seen one post on these fitting very well. They're supplied via M-Machine as repro units.
I'm pretty impressed by them so far, for the price and coming with e-coat,I don't think you could complain, though I haven't tried to line it up yet!

[hulsmeier]

Ps I'm using the lechler epoxy primer. I've used it on the floor panels so far, I am amazed by how durable and hard the paint is.