Enamelling car parts

[Matt Barnes]

I was watching RestoreIt channel and the host had enamelled a lantern... as he's done up an E30 before, I asked him if he'd enamelled any car parts before, he replied that he had and the enamel looked amazing and very durable.

Evidently 500ml of Enamel and 1Litre of thinners is about £50... has anyone tried enamel over powder coating?

 

[Zephyr]

Takes ages to dry.
i have used high heat enamel paint (meant to be used on stoves etc) when I had an old Vespa PX200 as an undercoating of the frame and to the steel rims.
Three coats of spray in a period of four days and each time I heated with the gun for about ten minutes.
The frame lasted for more than three years but was not chip resistant so finally it flaked off.
The wheels looked as good as new for more than five years.
It is cheap and if done right its an easy and effective diy.
On the other hand powder coating is more expensive but what you pay is what you get.
Better finish, more durable and probably will last more.

 

[Matt Barnes]

Takes ages to dry.
i have used high heat enamel paint (meant to be used on stoves etc) when I had an old Vespa PX200 as an undercoating of the frame and to the steel rims.
Three coats of spray in a period of four days and each time I heated with the gun for about ten minutes.
The frame lasted for more than three years but was not chip resistant so finally it flaked off.
The wheels looked as good as new for more than five years.
It is cheap and if done right its an easy and effective diy.
On the other hand powder coating is more expensive but what you pay is what you get.
Better finish, more durable and probably will last more.

interesting @Zephyr ... I would have thought enamel would be the toughest of the lot. I did think about parts that get road abuse like subframe, trailing arms, brake shields etc.... but if your experience is not that great then maybe not..cheers