Enamel Paint

[Rkanz]

I grew up around a furniture refinishing shop, and remember using high quality enamel. I have been wanting to paint some of my frames, but haven't wanted to use catalyzed urethane auto paint. Auto paint can get expensive and is hard to find in pint cans. I decided to try using Rustoleum from the hardware store. I was able to find enamel reduced at an auto supply store and Majic brand enamel hardener at Tractor Supply. As a further test I bought a 4 ounce touch up spray gun at Habor Freight for $12. The gun worked well but the reservoir cap leaked, I used tape to stop drips. I first applied Rustoleum primer with about 30% reducer. Once dry I lightly sanded the primer. I mixed the paint with about 30% reducer and hardener per the label. I sprayed multiple coats until I had the film thickness I wanted. I sprayed outside in my driveway. There was very little overspray with the small gun. The final results are very good.

Russ Kanz

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[jclay]

That is very cool! Automotive paint is gawd awful expensive for walk-ins who only shoot a frame or two a year....or a year or two per frame. I may give that a whirl once my current small stash of auto paint is used up or dried in the can. Thanks for sharing!

[Dave Anderson]

Nice work! Rustoleum is underrated for an economical paint job. I have painted several bikes with it over the years. The biggest problem was dry time....in that it took forever to fully dry. The hardener trick is a great Idea! I'll give that a try next time.

Dave

[jclay]

As an aside, are there any other modestly priced but good/high quality enamel paints relevant to us, perhaps in a brand/supplier with lots of color offerings?

I'll definitely try the Rustoleum or other enamel going forward. Is my memory idealizing the old days or do I correctly remember fantastic looking enamel paint jobs 40 years ago on custom MC tanks, hot rods, and such as that? Or was it lacquer?

Clear coats: Are they possible and beneficial to an enamel paint job?

[Dave Anderson]

Besides Commercial automotive paints, I haven't used anything other than Rustoleum for something like this. Krylon and other lacquer based spray or "hobby" paints that I've tried haven't held up. I would guess that agricultural enamels found at Tractor Supply and other similar stores would perform about the same as Rustoleum...color choice is prob even more limited though. Rustoleum has a "Crystal Clear Enamel" in a spray can that I've used, but I've only been able to produce a decent finish with it by letting it dry for about 30 days and then color sanding and buffing it.....which is a lot of work, etc.

[jclay]

Besides Commercial automotive paints, I haven't used anything other than Rustoleum for something like this. Krylon and other lacquer based spray or "hobby" paints that I've tried haven't held up. I would guess that agricultural enamels found at Tractor Supply and other similar stores would perform about the same as Rustoleum...color choice is prob even more limited though. Rustoleum has a "Crystal Clear Enamel" in a spray can that I've used, but I've only been able to produce a decent finish with it by letting it dry for about 30 days and then color sanding and buffing it.....which is a lot of work, etc.

Thanks Dave. I just realized that Testors makes oil based (I think) enamel paint. The bottles are only 1/4 oz (about a$1.75) but the color selection is large. It makes me wonder how much paint actually goes on the tubes as opposed to the elsewhere. I use a small HVLP touch up gun (Minijet knockoff which works very well) and I'm guessing about an ounce of paint but a lot of it doesn't land on the frame. If 2 or 3 bottles of Testors would do it then while far more expensive than Rustoleum, still very inexpensive. Makes me wonder if a small air brush might put a higher percentage of paint on the tubes. All that said, Rustoleum has enough colors to work for me. More would be nice, but I could live with their selection. Just wondering what else might be out there.