Topic: rattlecanning my project, please review my plan and comment

[Alan F.]

Thanks for the link, I'll probably use spraymax on my stuff when the time comes.  
I liked this review from the link you gave, it's one of the spraymax reviews.
What's this guy thinking?

"Painted motorcycle tank, Had three different kinds of paint. Enamel, lacquer, and vinyl decals. This clear is super!!It went on smooth, dried fast, no runs and looked wet and crystal clear after it dried there was no need to wet sand or polish it worked flawless very impressed I will use it on all future projects. I'm sold!!"

I wonder how that's working out?

Hey Nick, is that bare metal, or a chrome paint?  Nice look.
-A

[NickC]

Clear coated bare metal

There are a few spots on the bare metal I'm not real happy with, so I'll probably strip it this winter and redo.

[IHWillys]

...
It seems there is some uncertainty as to the best procedure for applying the white striping. Should this be applied under the black or over? There must be a superior method in order to achieve a clean and sharp stripe. Any more comments?

Thanks

Here's my thought on it.  It takes less black to cover white than white to cover black. So I'd suggest white base.  Then create the stripes in tape.  This will give you a negative of what you'll end up with so it will be a bit easier to "see" what the finished stripes are going to look like as far as width goes.  Then spray as little as necessary of black in the stripe area.  This will minimize the thickness of the transitions between black and white.  Because you are clearcoating you don't have to worry about the paint thickness for durability, just for it to be black. 

Regardless, take your time and maintain as much patience as possible, rushing the job always detracts from the end result.  As I stated before, I've done *alot* of rattle can painting over the past 25 years and an absolute necessity for getting the best out of the materials is not to rush it.

Excepting the clearcoat, it would likely be worth your while to do a practice run or two on some scrap sheetmetal or just resign yourself to the possibility of redoing the tank.  Days old rattlecan paint is easy to remove.

Ken

[Mdub]

It also helps the paint to flow smoother if you heat the rattle can in a pan of hot water for a few minutes.

Mike

[drdreas]

Don't use the Rustoleum with the Duplicolor. I did that and my paint started cracking after 6 months. Use the same brand primer as paint to insure compatability. Also get a buffer. It does wonders for polishing the clear coat.
Alternately go a cheap auto parts store and get sprayer and use some polyurethane paint. That's what I'm going to do with my next paint job. I already have access to an aircompressor so it should be easy.

This is a bit worrisome to me. I have read that putting rustoleum enamel over the duplicolor lacquer should be no problem, but it is true that I would be spraying the duplicolor on to of rustoleum primer. Is this really an issue? I feel like if I prep correctly and ensure that I dont put lacquer over enamel then I should be ok. Any comments on this?

Thanks

[NickC]

I've always had problems with duplicolor spraypaint for some reason. Rustoleum always seems to look/last better

[drdreas]

I guess Im leaning towards returning the duplicolor and trying to find an off-white/cream in the rustoleum line. No one here seems to have good comments for the duplicolor.

[NickC]

My last duplicolor product i used was the clearcoat. On the second light coat, it immediately clouded up. Stripped, resprayed, same thing. I said fawk it and ran it, 1 drop of gas completely ate it up. The rustoleum came out crystal clear. I spilled some gas on it, wiped it up and didn't even faze it.

[Johnny5]

Enamel is generally tougher than lacquer. Once rustoleum fully cures (about a month) it's pretty hard stuff.

[drdreas]

I had planned on using the Duplicolor Lacquer only as a color basecoat. I will be using a 2 part urethane clear (spraymax) over both the duplicolor and rustoleum.

[mattcoff1]

You will be fine using the spaymax over dupicolor I've done it
Probably have to wet sand the clear a little then carefully buff out with a buffer.  It will resist gas etc.
 Make sure you use a resporator with the spray max.
And whatever you do dont use it in the house/basement...

  Matt