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All modern conventional automobile body panels have one or more layers of colored paint, and one or more layers of clear paint on top of that.
I propose instead to polish the steel to an aesthetically pleasing sheen, then apply one or more layers of rust preventing clear paint on top of that.
This
provides a finish that's less costly than stainless steel, chrome plate, and certain silver paints, while still being clearly metallic.
If color is desired, the steel could be dyed (machinist's blue, for example), chemically treated (acid pickling?), electroplated, etc, before it's given it's clear coat. I know that fasteners of grade 8 hardened steel have a yellow color, with green and pink highlights; I think it might be cool to have a car with this (plus the clear coat) as the finish.
If electroplated with aluminum, the body panel could be further colored by anodizing and dyeing; if electroplated with titanium, anodizing alone would suffice to provide a wide range of aesthetically pleasing colors.
The only minus I can think of, aside perhaps cost, would be the difficulty of repairing body panels after an accident, without it being obvious.
Back to the Past
http://www.newsgrou...09/12/delorean1.jpg
[swimswim, Jun 02 2010]
Pur Sang
http://www.bugatti....news.html?newsId=61
Show off that carbon fiber! [DIYMatt, Jun 03 2010]
The Silver Arrow
http://en.wikipedia.../wiki/Silver_Arrows
No clear coating, but legend has it that exposed metal panels began the legend of the Silver Arrow. [DMc, Jun 07 2010]
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I have also wondered why this isn't common [+]*. I had a bike like this once, and it was so cool that it got stolen. (Also, see link) |
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* waiting for someone to come along and say "isn't this just another flavor of x?" |
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I think the minus might be that it would show off just how many panels were non-metallic. |
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Bugatti Veyron "Pur Sang" - see link. |
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Before the Veyron came the DeLorean, with an uncoated stainless steel body.
Before the DeLorean came unpainted wooden carts.
Before wooden carts came unpainted horses.
Before horses, people got around on their unpainted legs. |
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I'd argue that through most of the history of makind, we've achieved locomotion without the need for decorative coatings. |
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//we've achieved locomotion without the need for decorative coatings.// |
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Put your trousers on, [Twizz]. |
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To the best of my knowledge my car has exactly two panels that are metal. The hood and the trunk. (I'm not sure about the roof, but I don't think it is) |
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It's an extreme example, admittedly, but I think very few newer cars have metal door panels. |
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Oh and bare structural metal is pretty much all silver/gray depending on polish (Ti is an exception in some alloys, admittedly). About the only coating that changes this and isn't purely aesthetic is zinc (yellow/orange) or a couple of oxide finishes. Anodizing produces the exact same thing unless you specify a color, which is a purely aesthetic decision. |
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//Au naturel car finish// |
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That would be gold plating, shirley? |
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[+] from me... 100% steel through and through except inside the passenger compartment which is pretty solid plastic mostly. There's also the blindingly obvious, advantage of being able to see any rust developing, at least on the outside of the panels. |
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actually from the Summary, the idea *is* to clearcoat. |
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while driving a car that looks like a mirror may be somewhat unsafe because of glare and loss of depth perception, fixing it would be extremely easy since the area could be banged out and uniformly saded and polished to match the rest of the panel. |
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well no, actually it would be impossible to hide any bodywork, but steel panels are completely recycleable. And since I'm currently in the process of excavating my ride's panels in a rust removal effort, I can appreciate knowing where the rust is starting when it starts. |
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[+] for bringing it to mass-produced cars for good reasons. |
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Could the panels be COR-TEN steel, without even a clear
coat? I'm sure there would be a price to pay in terms of cost,
weight, perhaps other considerations, but it might be worth
it for the esthetics [sic]. |
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Isn't this just another flavor of x? |
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You couldn't wait could you? I was just goi...and then y...and I...ugh |
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Naked metal shows every scuff, every weld, every
polishing. There is no way a regular high-volume
production car could be finished to anything like the
standard you'd need to make this anything other than ugly. |
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Moreover, repairs would be a nightmare. Moreoverer, I
think many protective coatings rely on non-transparent
substances (use to be red oxide, probably isn't any more),
and therefore couldn't be used. Moreoverest, the seams
of modern cars tend to be filled and glued with some kind
of gunk which would look hideous. |
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Paint hides a multitude of sins, which is why (as far as I
know) only expensive, hand-finished cars ever have clear
coats. |
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On the other hand, I did see a de Lorean the other day
which looked kinda nice. |
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