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Hot Rods Does Rattle Can Spray Can Paint Suck...or is it just me???

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by CarQuestions, May 24, 2015.

  1. CarQuestions
    Joined: May 24, 2015
    Posts: 105

    CarQuestions

    OK...first post on HAMB...so be nice?!?!?

    Is it just me or does rattle can paint suck now-a-days??? After going through all of the work to prep and paint some metal my paint jobs simply peels off with my finger nail!!!!

    Firstly I live in California so that might be the problem...however here is what I do to use rattle can paint metal:

    1 Sand blast (or otherwise strip down) to bare metal.

    2. Clean BARE METAL parts with lacquer thinner while wearing gloves.

    3. Shake can for over TWO fricking minutes (and also shake during the process described below) to make sure paint is mixed well.

    4. Prime using metal primer (most recently used Dupli-color engine enamel but have had the same results with Rustoleum and other brands) making first pass a light coat and as that pass is still tacky follow it with a second coat that is heavier than the first pass and when that pass is still just slightly tacky, follow it by a third pass that is the 100 percent coverage coat.

    5. Paint with actual paint using the same manufacturer's paint as the primer and the same technique as in the step above.

    6. Leave parts hanging overnight (and even in the sun sometimes) and often times two nights (the temp is about 80 degrees F during the days and 60-ish at night).

    STILL...after all of that the third day I STILL can almost scrape off the paint with my finger nail. It feels like it is a poor plastic coating that can literlly be scraped off with a finger nail.

    Any suggestions???

    THANKS!!!

    Bill
     
    Model T1 likes this.
  2. A Boner
    Joined: Dec 25, 2004
    Posts: 7,419

    A Boner
    Member

    Don't scrape it with your fingernail for at least 2 weeks. Sounds like you followed directions.....did you allow enough time for primer to dry before top coat? It might help to let primer really dry good, and then scuff up the primer to give it good key for the top coat.
     
    joeoldsrocket likes this.
  3. john worden
    Joined: Nov 14, 2007
    Posts: 1,827

    john worden
    Member
    from iowa

    This plus use wax and grease remover instead of lacquer thinner and then a fast evaporating cleaner such as PPG DX 330 prior to primer.
    EDIT DX 220 instead of DX 330 EDIT
    sorry for the mistake
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2015
  4. And first of all... Welcome to the HAMB!

    I've had good luck with Duplicolor and other "quality" rattle can paints. The self etching primer seems to help the finished product. Clean metal first as mentioned. Let dry a few days before scratch and sniff...
    It's not hardened paint but seems to work for us.
     

  5. Try to find seymore brand paint. Must be well shaken. I've used the gear clamp clamping the can to the saws all blade.
     
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  6. samurai mike
    Joined: Feb 24, 2009
    Posts: 547

    samurai mike
    Member

    to answer your question, yes rattle can paint sucks.
     
  7. Lone Star Mopar
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 3,811

    Lone Star Mopar
    Member

    Needs more time to cure, like a week at least. Is what it is though, a cheap alternative.
     
    loudbang likes this.
  8. mrspeedyt
    Joined: Sep 26, 2009
    Posts: 989

    mrspeedyt
    Member

    just keep your #!%& fingernails away from it!!!
     
  9. The best luck I've had was with Krylon, but the main problem is that they can't put dryers in their formula, so it takes for ever to dry.
     
    40fordtudor likes this.
  10. slammed
    Joined: Jun 10, 2004
    Posts: 8,150

    slammed
    Member

    Lightly scuff the primer & tack rag it clean. Put the paint can's into a bucket of hot tap water for a good while. Build up the layers and make sure it is covered everywhere (especially edges) allow paint to cure in sun all day, take in at night back to sun at late morning all day again.
     
    kidcampbell71 and lothiandon1940 like this.
  11. fortynut
    Joined: Jul 16, 2008
    Posts: 1,038

    fortynut
    Member

    I think I have tried ever kind of bomb paint and technique you can name. Some of the things I learned are that results vary according to every step you take and every kind of paint you use. Metal etch any surface you want the paint to adhere to. Some situations call for using primer, and in other cases if you use primer, and the surface paint is another color, and the piece get nicks and chips the primer color will show through. With Krylon you need to make damn sure and not spray it on too thick. There was a time when I heated water in a pan and put my cans in the warm water to make sure the paint was warm enough to flow. The only problem is it can cause some coats to stretch out thinner, or dry faster and cause it to crack like an old oil painting after various lengths of time (and can also be used as a technique if you like that sort of thing). I did find for a smooth finish with Krylon if I put on thin layers, let it dry enough not to tack on the sand paper when I wet sanded it, between coats, it turned out extremely smooth and shiny. I waxed it after the last wet sand to luster up the dull. I used very, very fine paper up to 1200, which loads up if the paint is not perfectly dry. (Yes, it gets anal at that level but I was trying to sell the car and wanted the garnish moldings to be perfect and didn't have the bucks up get them done by a paint shop.) And, to answer your question, NO, paint in cans is not bad, it's the learning curve to use each brand and each color, and to figure out at what temperature it works best, and to do the same thing good painters do before they spray and make sure what you're painting has been prepped well enough to allow the paint to have a happy home. AND ALSO, how you spray, distance from the surface and motion, overlapping each pass and all the other elements of spray painting application. I mean it's just a propellant and paint; pigment suspended in a medium that also carries a drier that reacts to light and the ambient temperature, as it's applied, and as it sits on the surface changing from a liquid to a solid. Of course, epoxy paints in a spray can are a different story, for another day.
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2015
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  12. Lots of great suggestions guys, but I really think that they've been forced by the EPA to change something in the paint formulas for spray cans over the years. I cannot in any way substantiate that theory but something seems to have changed.
     
  13. Deuced Up!
    Joined: Feb 8, 2008
    Posts: 4,206

    Deuced Up!
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    In my opinion, Duplicolor is the best "rattle can" out there. Of course I don't think I have ever used any color other than gloss black.
     
    40fordtudor likes this.
  14. oldcarguygazok
    Joined: Jun 20, 2012
    Posts: 401

    oldcarguygazok
    Member
    from AUSTRALIA.

    You know what really sucks!your half way through the can when it shits itself.
     
  15. ............For real!! And it starts that spattering thing. I hate when that happens.:eek::mad:
     
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  16. theHIGHLANDER
    Joined: Jun 3, 2005
    Posts: 10,244

    theHIGHLANDER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I'll ring in on Krylon too. About the best there is. The thing to remember is that it's a convenience, not a "finish" in the sense of professional products. You don't do your weekly grocery shopping at 7-11, right? In proper context the trusty rattle can is a viable solution to getting something colored up, but like what was mentioned above it's almost always black for me. Something that doesn't merit 40 minutes of mixing/spray gun/clean up but it has to be covered. I have rattle can parts on restored cars valued in excess of $250K that still look good decades later. They don't see 40+ hours a week of sun and weather, they don't get road abrasion or ambient moisture and I don't point out which parts they might be either. On the other hand I have some rattle can parts on an old snowmobile that I painted in 97. They still look nice and shiney today and my base was always clean to bare, etch prime, wait 30min, paint. Thickness should be kept to an absolute minimum.
     
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  17. ............................WHAT!! ..Sometimes they got a good deal on Pork Rinds and those single slices of Pepperoni Pizza. You mean there are other places to shop??;):D
     
  18. raymay
    Joined: Mar 2, 2008
    Posts: 2,532

    raymay
    Member

    Always had the best luck with the more popular name brand paints like Duplicolor, Krylon and Rustoleum. Temperature and things like humid conditions can have a negative effect. Some paints will react when you attempt a recoat too soon.
    While it may be tempting, I agree you should keep your fingers away from your finished work. Instead you can always entertain yourself as other H.A.M.B members have done and start a rattle can marble collection.

    [​IMG]
     
  19. reyn
    Joined: Aug 31, 2006
    Posts: 152

    reyn
    Member

    I use mostly rustoelum , but have used other kinds. I sandblast the parts, blow them off with air and paint. I don't remember ever using primer . Give it 2 or 3 coats of paint. I bought an old stove for 5 dollars about 20 years ago and have it in the garage. As soon as the last coat of paint is on , set or hang them in the oven for a half hour at 275 degrees. As soon as they are cool enough to handle they can be bolted on. I have done bolt heads and a wrench wont take the paint off if your careful.
    It is way tougher when baked on. All my Impala has been done this way. 33,000 miles on it and it has been holding up really well. For white I turn the heat down a bit otherwise it will yellow. I built an extension on the stove and can get double the size pieces in. It's not as tough as powder coating, but probably half way between that and regular spray bomb. Never had any problems with peeling.
     
    The G00SE likes this.
  20. joeycarpunk
    Joined: Jun 21, 2004
    Posts: 4,446

    joeycarpunk
    Member
    from MN,USA

    Good for what its intended for and requires lots of dry time. The prep you've been doing is better than most peoples attempts. Narrow spray pattern, thin paint and no hardener should limit where you use it. I actually think it's gotten better as far as paint goes compared to in the past but wouldn't try to paint a car with it.
     
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  21. OLDSMAN
    Joined: Jul 20, 2006
    Posts: 2,422

    OLDSMAN
    BANNED

    When I built my convertible, instead of mixing up good black paint and spraying with a gun, I used rattle can for all the brackets on the engine, pulleys and the like. They dulled and turned greyish after time. I just took them off recently and sprayed them with Nason black. This will solve the poor paint problem
     
  22. 013.JPG I cleaned my wheels the way you did and used black Krylon.Then just let it dry a few days .I haven't had any problems with my wheels on the 56 buick wagon with it.Bruce.
     
  23. blasted
    Joined: Feb 10, 2006
    Posts: 262

    blasted
    Member
    from N. Tex

    I noticed you said you blasted and cleaned your parts. Did you sand your part after blasting it???
    I see it on here all the time. When you blast metal it brings up the felt. It looks like micro steel wool. If you lightly sand it you will see it disappear quickly. Never paint nonsanded metal if it has been blasted. Even welding on fresh blasted metal will cause a green glow. That is the felt burning off. I hear folks all the time say freshly blasted, wiped cleaned and primed. They my get lucky, but it is not the right way. Once you wipe your blasted metal with sandpaper, you will see the difference. Paint, like a house, starts with a good foundation.
     
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  24. camerl2009
    Joined: Jan 26, 2014
    Posts: 203

    camerl2009
    Member

    I have had nothing but good results with dupli-color enamel and lacquer paints on well scuffed surfaces
     
    40fordtudor and tb33anda3rd like this.
  25. Especially in CA with the C.A.R.B. regulations. I'm surprised they even allow the use of over the counter spray paint. I'm sure if there was Krylon in a water based form, that would be the only paint allowed.
     
  26. I did the interior with rustolem eurothane and it remained soft-ish for at least a month. it is aproblem yes can it be overcome give it plenty of time to cure.

    I used to paint things with krylon with good success. I did learn that most companies "metal' primers didn't stick that well to bare metal and I still go with my go to zinc chromate primer for bare metal.
     
  27. The old Krylon of 20 years ago and further back was indestructible. Apparently the good stuff has been removed from it. It's not very heavy and a bit thin now and takes days to dry. Also I've found Duplicolor is pure junk now.
    Rustoleum is slightly better. Lays down heavy, good coverage but takes 2 -3 days to fully harden, cure and dry. Don't be in a hurry to add additional coats to it. Take your time and give it a long drying time.
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  28. Dick Stevens
    Joined: Aug 7, 2012
    Posts: 3,710

    Dick Stevens
    Member

    EPA has affected what they use in rattle cans, primary change was the propellant used in them. Paint is not cured until you can no longer smell anything when sniffing the surface. The odor cames from the solvents in the paint escaping as it cures. Baking it accelerates that process.
     
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  29. DDDenny
    Joined: Feb 6, 2015
    Posts: 19,136

    DDDenny
    Member
    from oregon

    I used to be a Krylon guy, but since their formulation changes I no longer feel I can depend on it, not to mention the issues with spitting half way through a can.
    I've used enough of the Duplicolor green self etching primer (rattle can) that I no longer have feeling in that finger, the stuffs not cheap but with the right prep I've had great results with it.
     
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  30. Oh come on, what do you really expect? It is what it is.
     

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