Well, I may have changed my mind about painting the chassis. On the way home from lunch today with the "Car Guyz", I swung by a surplus place that I had not been in for a couple of years. There was mostly stuff that I wouldn't have carried home if it was free, but I spotted some cans of paint on a shelf and asked the guy what he wanted for the stuff.
"Hmmm... what'll you give me?"
"A couple of bucks a can"
"How many do you want?"
"I'll give you a 20 dollar bill for 10 cans"
"Uh. OK"
Thus I now have 10 cans (that was all he had) of Aliphatic Isocyanate Resin MIL-PRF-85258D, Type 1, Class H, Color 33538 Yellow. It’s a 2-part military/aerospace paint that is really tough and resistant to weathering.
Here is the Federal Standard Color:
http://www.colorserver.net/showcolor.asp?fs=33538&size=s Not exciting but OK. Each can when mixed with its hardener makes 1 quart so I should have enough to paint my chassis.
The hard, tough polyurethane coating has the same drawback as powder coating-- it is hard to repair or modify-- but since the paint is a much thinner coating than powder coating, it should be easier to sand off. This paint should give good protection against salt corrosion-- better than spray-can enamel. Has anyone tried this type of coating?
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ