Thoughts/Experiences with DDR Shipwreck finish

[technosavage]

Hi Everyone,

Just curious and looking for thoughts, experiences, and opinions regarding Darrel Ralph's "Shipwreck" finish. I just recently picked up a Dominator XI with said finish on the scales and was a little surprised to see that the applied clear coat has started flaking off in many areas after just a couple days of minimal handling ( just flicking the knife and generally playing around with it here and there). The seller mentioned the clear coat when I was in their shop and that it was to preserve the patina, which makes sense, but for all I know it is not meant to be permanent, part of the appeal of copper, brass, etc. being the natural patina it gets over time as well. Perhaps this is abnormal or just the reality of clear coating metals; I really don't know. My plan at the moment is just to get some ProtectaClear and "reseal" the areas where the coating comes off as needed to keep the initial look for a while.

I'm interested to know if anyone else has experience with this finish and noticed this, is it normal, intentional, other, and do you bother to do anything about it or just consider it a natural trait of the material?

Thanks!

 

[john april]

just my 2 cents but i would not be happy with a finish flaking off.

 

[Lorien]

most of the shipwrecks I've seen have all kinds of things flaking off, so the description doesn't seem misleading

 

[technosavage]

most of the shipwrecks I've seen have all kinds of things flaking off, so the description doesn't seem misleading

Touché!

 

[WValtakis]

I've never seen a clear coat on metal that didn't look like crap after a while...add in that it's going on over heavy oxidation and it's guaranteed to fail quickly.

 

[Snody]

You should call DDR and ask them. Peace

 

[technosavage]

You should call DDR and ask them. Peace

I sent them an email and the response I received was that the clear coat they use is Rust-Oleum Matte Clear. It was implied that this is neither abnormal nor unexpected. I think WValtakis is spot on with his take. They also asked me to let them know what results I got with the clear coat I planned on using, perhaps just a courtesy but sure, why not?

 

[Snody]

Interesting.

 

[Danke42]

I've never seen a clear coat on metal that didn't look like crap after a while...add in that it's going on over heavy oxidation and it's guaranteed to fail quickly.

You can do a clear powder coat and it's very durable.

 

[WValtakis]

You can do a clear powder coat and it's very durable.

True, I've seen clear bake-on lacquers that hold up pretty well too...but ultimately you're relying on the patina:metal bond and that's not gonna be great

Edit- pic for reference, we're talking about heavy verdigris...flaky and waxy. Nothing is gonna be durable over that.

 

[betzner]

I really can't quite remember if I happened to be carrying a Darrel Ralph SHIPWRECK finish at the time........................

 

[Danke42]

No pics of the actual knife?

 

[WValtakis]

No pics of the actual knife?

That would be helpful...