Refinished satin door handles

[hks_kansei]

I'm using lump charcoal, and feeding it with a hairdryer.

But it still pumps out a lot of really fine soot (fine enough I wear a respirator when using it)

Heat wise it seems good, melts aluminum easily, and when I cranked it up I managed to get some steel white hot (had to reshape something and figured may as well test the heat while I'm there)


I'll keep the gas cyl in mind, I'll likely hack up the cyl from my torch when it's empty.

[Mr Morlock]

The original metal handles is almost certainly zinc die cast- i.e. moulds made and then the material is injected. The old fashioned way of pouring into a mould is not a real proposition for production on a modern line set up.Zinc diecasting took a real beating with many of the bezels and garnishes being injection moulded in plastic which has a lot of advantages. Many older cars had die cast bezels and trims but not any more. Guys restoring really old cars might resort to making moulds etc but its not all that simple and some parts once made are ok for appearance but may lack strength. A door handle takes a beating being opened multiple times daily.

Iwould simply use an etch prime® - these products have been around forever to enhance adhesion. Acrylic lacquers are very commonly in spray cans and one of the beauties of the product is almost instant drying and it can simply be rubbed down and re painted. Thats the same for diy home painters- take a look at billybunters threads on repainting albeit a total car.