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Snowplows receive a lot of hard use during a busy season and wear and tear can take their toll. Maintaining a snowplow is much less expensive than replacing it or making significant repairs. So, it’s important to take time to inspect and service the mechanical parts of your plow as well as refinish rusty components. General Snowplow Maintenance Check to be sure all fasteners are properly tightened. Inspect electrical connections to be sure they’re not loose or corroded. Be sure all the moving contact points are properly greased. The plows cutting edge must be in proper condition to cut through snow, as well as it needs to be able to protect the moldboard. If a cutting edge is worn down to four inches or less, it’s typically ready for replacement. If your snowplow has plow shoes check to be sure they can keep your blade off the ground. If they can’t, be sure to replace them. Inspect the plow and vehicle mounts for cracks. Keep Rust from Forming on the Snowplow Blade The best way to avoid rust damage is to keep rust from forming in the first place. After use, especially after being in contact with salt, wash the snowplow blade, frame and other components to remove dirt and corrosives. Steps to Refinish a Rusty Snowplow If you find the moldboard, frame or attachment components have been scratched down to bare metal, you can be sure rust will begin to form. Spot damage repairs, as well as complete piece refinishing can be done with RustSeal. RustSeal is a very hard and durable coating that stops rust. It can handle the rigors of snowplow duty and is able to be brushed, rolled, or sprayed on. The coating flows out well, so if it’s brushed or rolled on it won’t leave brush marks. BlackTop is a UV stable (does not chalk or fade in sunlight) topcoat that goes over RustSeal well and is ideal for the moldboard, frame or attachment components. BlackTop comes in Gloss, OEM Satin Black, or Flat allowing you to pick your desired sheen. The first step to refinish a rusty snowplow is thoroughly cleaning the area to be painted of any dirt, grease, salt, or other contaminants that could interfere with the adhesion of RustSeal. KBS Klean is recommended. KBS Klean is a powerful, water-based, and biodegradable cleaner. Next, remove any loose, scaling rust with sandpaper or a wire brush or wheel. If the paint or coating is loose and peeling or bubbling it will need to be removed before painting as the bond of RustSeal is only as strong as the surface to that which it’s adhered. If you are going to be applying RustSeal on top of an existing paint or coating, you’ll first need to scuff it, so RustSeal has a surface to bite to. This can be done with 320 grit sandpaper. Sand just enough so that the surface has a dulled appearance. If it’s shiny the RustSeal won’t adhere as well as it could. Wash the surface again with KBS Klean to be sure all debris and residues are removed. Next use RustBlast to prepare the metal for RustSeal. RustBlast is a powerful rust remover, zinc phosphate pre-primer, and metal etch that treats the metal to provide a surface to which RustSeal can strongly bond. Next, apply RustSeal to the treated area. For this application it’s recommended to apply a minimum of 3 thin covering coats. Detailed information on use of KBS Klean, RustBlast, and RustSeal can be found HERE. Lastly, finish off the snow plow with KBS MAXX which comes in plenty of colors and can be brushed or rolled to give an incredibly durable finish that will not chalk or fade. KBS MAXX is the ideal snow plow paint because of its brillance and long term durability. Maintaining a snowplow is much less expensive than replacing it or making significant repairs. It’s important to take time to inspect and service the mechanical parts of your plow and refinish a rusty snowplow as necessary.

How to Achieve an Incredible Looking Finish When Applying A Moisture Cured Paint You just applied the final coat of a moisture cured paint or coating. It’s still wet and so far, everything looks great. You call it a job well done and leave the piece to dry thoroughly. Later you come back to inspect your work and see micro bubbles have formed in the coating. Ugh! Now you must either deal with it the way it is, or sand down the bubbles and apply another coat. Keep in mind, user error is the main reason why moisture cured paints and coatings form bubbles, and it can be easily avoided. What is a Moisture Cured Paint or Coating? A moisture cured paint or coating is a type of coating which cures in the presence of atmospheric moisture. It forms a protective film by reacting chemically with the moisture in the air. Moisture cured paints and coatings are a one-part (1K) formulation and include clearcoats, such as DiamondFinish Clear, Rust preventative coatings, like RustSeal, BlackTop, and KBS MAXX, as well as other paints, coatings, and sealants. Among the benefits of moisture cured paints and coatings is that they withstand pooling water, produce a hard, durable, and highly reflective surface, and have good adhesion characteristics. Moisture cured coatings are popular for use in humid environments as the humidity can help rather than hinder curing, as it can with paints and coatings that aren’t moisture cured. However, excessive humidity can cause problems with the curing of moisture cured coatings, which we’ll talk about a little later. Moisture cured paints and coatings are made up of pigments, additives, resins and solvents. Since they cure in the presence of water vapor, their formulation is solvent based, rather than water based. The solvent functions to dissolve or disperse a variety of components used in the formulation. As the paint or coating begins to dry the solvent evaporates and the resin component remains to create a hard coating that is not breathable. This advanced coatings technology helps to resist stains, contaminants, and rust. Why Moisture Cured Paints and Coatings Can Form Bubbles That brings us to those nasty little bubbles in the paint or coating you may have found after it dried. The bubbles are typically formed because of gas and vapor pressures within the paint or coating. This typically happens when a coat of product is applied too thick and a film, or skin, forms over the top of the still wet and solvent rich paint or coating. Much like pudding that has skinned over. The solvent gas in the wet coating has difficulty evaporating through the film and becomes trapped. Known as Solvent Entrapment, the condition forms bubbles under the skin. Blistering can also occur with moisture cured paints or coatings. This is different than bubbling and can happen when they are applied during high humidity, or on wet surfaces, meaning a wet on wet application. The resulting bubbles eventually dry in place as the paint cures. This not only looks bad but can compromise the protection the paint or coating is intended to provide; a hard, non-breathable film that seals the material it is applied to away from moisture, oxygen, and contaminants. The bubbles can cause the coating to form a permeable Swiss cheese like structure which can allow these elements to pass through. Tips for Applying Moisture Cured Coatings Avoiding paint bubbles is a matter of taking care and being patient. Instead of applying a couple of thick coats of product to get the job done quickly, time should be taken to apply it in multiple thin coats. With each coat being given sufficient time to dry and off-gas solvent. For example, with RustSeal, KBS recommends applying an additional coat once the first or consecutive coat is dry-to-the-touch and does not leave a fingerprint, which is typically within 2-6 hours depending on temperature and humidity. Applying an additional coat on top of that which has not had sufficient cure time is a sure-fire way to make the paint or coating bubble up. Remember to not apply moisture cured products in rainy, excessively humid conditions, or on wet surfaces. When brushing or rolling on moisture cured coatings it’s important to not “overwork” the brush or roller. Continually going back and forth over the paint or coating forces out the solvent gases at a faster rate than that intended by the manufacturer for proper self-leveling and curing. In Summary User error is the main reason moisture cured paints and coatings can form bubbles. However, by being patient and taking care to not apply coats too thickly and allowing sufficient dry time between coats it can be avoided.

KBS MAXX is a superior performance, two-component (2K), low VOC, low HAPs, permanently UV stable polyurethane topcoat that can be applied by brush, roller or sprayer to all your heavy equipment and heavy machinery. KBS MAXX offers excellent gloss and color retention as well as superior impact resistance and provides fast drying characteristics. When durability and looks are key, KBS MAXX is the best rated and proven choice for all your exterior paint needs.

Because RustSeal and KBS MAXX are incredibly durable coatings, there are thousands of applications for these incredible coatings. One of our customers used RustSeal and KBS MAXX to protect the lift in his garage. After prepping the surface, he applied both RustSeal and KBS MAXX with a brush and ended up with an incredible looking lift that will withstand the abuse that garage lifts have to endure!

“1976 Honda trail 70 I restored using all KBS products. KBS Strip, RustBlast, Black & Crazy Plum MAXX paint & DiamondFinish Clear ... All products worked just like they said they would. MAXX & Clear sprayed perfect with high gloss an no runs ... As a matter of fact I couldn't make it run!!! All dried supper hard! Then used KBS UnderCoat inside frame. On motor cases I used the silver Motor Coater & topped it with the DiamondFinish Clear. I tell all my friends about how good KBS Products are!” -Robert T.

“Entire body painted with KBS RustSeal inside and out in gloss black. Exterior then re-coated with KBS MAXX in Infra Red color.”

Can MAXX be color sanded and buffed?

Can KBS MAXX withstand the temperatures under the hood. I would like to do some parts in the engine bay if it'll hold up.

Does KBS MAXX work for chassis? Or what is this for? Thank you!!

If I want to mix your standard Maxx colors to get different color options, do you have color mixing samples along with their mix ratios for Maxx paint ?