- Joined
- Aug 6, 2013
- Messages
- 335
I know it's all a matter of cost & how much time and effort vs quality you want to achieve, but I've used cheap rustolium enamel (pint or quart cans, not rattle spray cans) and a cheap Harbor Freight spray gun with excellent results. A few tips...
-Dismantle, clean, tape, wipe down with acetone all your parts. Just like with any other paint job. The better the prep, the better the final finish and longevity.
-Prime with rustolium primer 2 light coats should be fine. The primer will dry faster than the enamel. You can use the rattle cans to prime, or buy a pint (or larger) and thin and prime for best results.
-Thin both paint (and primer) with 1 to 4 or 1 to 3 parts acetone. (I prefer 2 parts paint to 1 part acetone). It's thinned more than they say on the can, but it works great believe me. Without thinning it takes forever to dry. Days or a week or more depending on the temps. Paint it in the winter and weeks to dry thoroughly. You can use naptha for good results also, but I've been happiest with dry time, quality and hardness using acetone.
-Buy a cheapo harbor Freight HVLP gun to spray it with. They are about $15 and less with a coupon. They also make disposable paint cups. Toss the disposable paint hopper when you're done and just run/spray a little plain acetone or naptha through the gun to clean. All in all pretty easy cleanup.
- Spray 2-3 thin coats vs one heavy coat unless you're in a dusty area. let it dry a day or two before you reassemble. Use light coats. Let the previous coat tack well before spraying on the next. I waited and hour or more between coats. Put the last coat on a bit heavier. Remember its thin (like water) so spray carefully (good gun control) and don't over do it to avoid runs. It will dry to touch by overnight depending on you mix/thin and how heavy you coat, but let things harden well to avoid marring the new paint job during assembly. A day or two may be fine, but the longer you give it the tougher it will be. Once again it just depends on your thinning ratio and outside temps/humidity.
The cheap harbor Freight HVLP spray guns are one of the better HF products for the money. (I think the current model is anodized purple). I've used some pretty good (and expensive) guns over the years and I was impressed the first time I tried one especially considering the cost. Definitely good enough for farm and machinery spray jobs. Do a little searching on the web for spraying rustolium. Lots of info and videos out there. There are folks who have painted cars with rustolium (really!) and with some pretty amazing results.
-Dismantle, clean, tape, wipe down with acetone all your parts. Just like with any other paint job. The better the prep, the better the final finish and longevity.
-Prime with rustolium primer 2 light coats should be fine. The primer will dry faster than the enamel. You can use the rattle cans to prime, or buy a pint (or larger) and thin and prime for best results.
-Thin both paint (and primer) with 1 to 4 or 1 to 3 parts acetone. (I prefer 2 parts paint to 1 part acetone). It's thinned more than they say on the can, but it works great believe me. Without thinning it takes forever to dry. Days or a week or more depending on the temps. Paint it in the winter and weeks to dry thoroughly. You can use naptha for good results also, but I've been happiest with dry time, quality and hardness using acetone.
-Buy a cheapo harbor Freight HVLP gun to spray it with. They are about $15 and less with a coupon. They also make disposable paint cups. Toss the disposable paint hopper when you're done and just run/spray a little plain acetone or naptha through the gun to clean. All in all pretty easy cleanup.
- Spray 2-3 thin coats vs one heavy coat unless you're in a dusty area. let it dry a day or two before you reassemble. Use light coats. Let the previous coat tack well before spraying on the next. I waited and hour or more between coats. Put the last coat on a bit heavier. Remember its thin (like water) so spray carefully (good gun control) and don't over do it to avoid runs. It will dry to touch by overnight depending on you mix/thin and how heavy you coat, but let things harden well to avoid marring the new paint job during assembly. A day or two may be fine, but the longer you give it the tougher it will be. Once again it just depends on your thinning ratio and outside temps/humidity.
The cheap harbor Freight HVLP spray guns are one of the better HF products for the money. (I think the current model is anodized purple). I've used some pretty good (and expensive) guns over the years and I was impressed the first time I tried one especially considering the cost. Definitely good enough for farm and machinery spray jobs. Do a little searching on the web for spraying rustolium. Lots of info and videos out there. There are folks who have painted cars with rustolium (really!) and with some pretty amazing results.