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Brian,
A-516 shouldn't be any more difficult to machine then standard
off the shelf A-36 or 1018 steel you find. There are some steels that are
freer machining but not by much. There are a lot of steels that are much
tougher and sticker to machine. If your machining any 316 stainless for
sub parts, you'll find that much more difficult.
I imagine you could etch with acid but I've never heard of
anyone doing that. It would probably just give you a coating of corrosion
under the paint. All you need to do is, after your done machining, sand
the surfaces your going to paint a bit right in the lathe with some,
maybe 180 grit emery paper, or sand blast it after your done machining if
you have a sand blaster. Use a two part, self etching primer after
that. The primer will bite into the surface and hold the paint.
Also, the primer will protect the surface until your sub is all welded together
and painted.
You may want to run some tests of how thick your paint will be
when your finished. I'm guessing one layer of primer and one layer of
paint will average about .010 of an inch but it depends on how you put it on and
how heavy you apply it.
Dan H.
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