Painting sockets and spanners

[warewolf]

I've had a crack at painting some sockets and spanners so that I can find them quickly amongst all their friends. The KTMs use 8mm prolifically, and 27mm for many large nuts, so I've coloured those two sizes in orange to make them stand out. 10mm as is more common on jap stuff is also used on the WP forks/triples, so I painted those white. They do stand out in the socket racks and the spanner draw now.

I didn't have any appropriate primer, so apart from a quick degrease I just slapped on some acrylic interior house paint, and some enamel - whatever I had to hand. Of course the acrylic is flaking off at the slightest touch. The enamel is fairing better but still comes off fairly readily.

Before I just rush off and grab some likely-sounding primer and try again, I'd like to call for comments and suggestions from the crowd. Any primer (or paint) in particular that would be good for chrome-vanadium tools? Any other preparation that I should do? I'm not after a result that would impress the Queen but rather something more durable than my first attempt.

TIA

[dirtard]

paint will not stick to chrome. id just rap them in vinyl sticker material

[road_apple]

My father owned a machine shop, made airplane parts. One day he ran over three rusted custom Lufkin Mics in the yard with the lawnmower. I had checked something on the minibike and not put them back. Two weeks later when I began to sit down again, I noticed a strange illusion appearing in the garage. He had painted every handtool neon yellow, along with it's outline on large sections of pegboard lining the walls of the garage. At a moments notice he could determine if I had breached the father/son contract on borrowing tools. Fast forward 40 years to me walking thru the basement at a friends house. Glowing in the corner was a 'loaned' pipecutter I forgot about from a previous 'plumbing party' he had. I don't know what paint my dad used but that shit is unmistakable to this day...

[p0diabl0]

It won't take care of your 27mm socket but..
http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piec...set-67875.html

[warewolf]

Originally Posted by dirtard

paint will not stick to chrome. id just rap them in vinyl sticker material

That may be a good option. I've got plenty of triangular offcuts from race number backgrounds.

[Beezer]

Stitts epoxy primer... available at places that sell aircraft paint & covering systems. There other brands... Epibond is another, but harder to find. Chromated Epoxy primers rock... sticks like dog doo to a picknick blanket... it will stick to chrome. I have a paint gun that I didn't get it all off in time... it's been on there at least 5 years & still will not come off with MEK or any other reducer.

[shu]

Fingernail polish (don't tell my wife )

Clean 'em up with alcohol and paint some stripes on. I used to do that to ID my climbing hardware. It's amazingly durable and easy to re-do if needed.

..........shu

[Flashmo]

As a former tradesman, we often painted our tools so that it would be easier to make sure the correct person got his personal tools back at the end of a days project when working together. You would be surprised how long spray paint will stick to sockets (it does not stay pretty, but lasts).

[ghostdncr]

Sandblast the tools to roughen the chrome. Paint/primer will stick to 'em just fine.

[mgdavis]

Originally Posted by shu

Fingernail polish (don't tell my wife )

Clean 'em up with alcohol and paint some stripes on. I used to do that to ID my climbing hardware. It's amazingly durable and easy to re-do if needed.

..........shu

This is the same thing I do. Red for metric, blue for SAE. Try to avoid the shit with glitter in it.

[gofast1320]

Thirty five years ago while doing maintenance work my tools used to have a problem with winding up in other peoples tool bags. Not outright thievery just got picked up while cleaning up and could usually be sorted out. I and others needed to be able to easily identify my tools vs theirs. I painted a bunch of craftman tools with orange enamel spray paint in a rattle can. Some are still in my tool box today and still have enough orange paint on them to stand out.

[gofast1320]

Originally Posted by mgdavis

This is the same thing I do. Red for metric, blue for SAE. Try to avoid the shit with glitter in it.

killer idea. I'm doing it even it I have to use the glitter. Off to the garage I go!! Thanks

[clintnz]

How about heatshrink on the spanner handles? It would stay on better than vinyl bits. A $20 multisize-multicolour heatshrink pack would sort out much of the workshop ...or get the HD adhesive lined stuff for max durability.

I might do this myself...

Cheers
Clint

[sideshow]

I've had good luck with Laco-Markal paint markers for their paint's strength on smooth surfaces.

1/4" or 1/2" wide Electrical tape is a generally easy option. Downside being if the jobs get greasy, the tape gets gone. Lasts a good while, though.

[Wreckchecker]

Epoxy or engine paint only if there is any chance at all the tools will be covered with oil or gasoline.

There's a ugly tale here about a car engine and slippery gooey slimey paint getting onto everything until stopping work to clean the spray paint off.


With respect to people borrowing, they get my worn-out and garage sale stuff, not the Snap-Ons and Craftsmans.