Kurt Sperry wrote:
> I think of enamelling as the fusing of a vitreous layer to a
> steel substrate by heat, not merely spraying on epoxy or
> other type conventional paint. The Brits seem to me to
> perhaps use the term "enamelling" for the latter. Is this
> just a Anglicism or do they actual "enamel" frames in
> England? I've got an enamelled stove and that is 1,000 times
> tougher than any painted finish I've ever seen. An actual
> enamelled finish would be pretty cool if it wasn't too heavy
> and you didn't have to overheat the frame to fuse the enamel.
DuPont, makers of Imron, call it enamel. I seem to remember the classic Testors Model Paint I used as a kid was also called enamel. Enamel as paint (regular air-dried paint, not baked on) is well-established usage in the US.
Paints are often speed-cured in a drying oven, but the temperatures used are nowhere near as high as for real stove enamel. Bike frames advertized as "baked enamel" or some such are always just speed-dried as far as I know. Without the oven the paint would get just as hard eventually, it would just take a long time.
I'm not a painter but this has been told to me by several bike painters over the years. Exceptions anyone?
Mark Bulgier
Seattle WA USA