Spray Cans

[kkh120]

I've prepared my surface and am about to prime the relevent area.

Any tips on using spray cans would be appreciated. I dont have a gun and the amout I'm repairing doesn't justify the expense.

Hope you can help,

Cheers.

[dixie1776]

spray can primer isn't sufficient for any topcoat. not tring to be -,but you most likely wouldn't be satisfied with the results when your topcoat falls off running down the road.


if the area is small, try some spreadable primer instead--- i think LEN sells it here in the store

[drizler]

I've prepared my surface and am about to prime the relevent area.

Any tips on using spray cans would be appreciated. I dont have a gun and the amout I'm repairing doesn't justify the expense.

Hope you can help,

Cheers.

Buy some from a local marine dealer or order some Tempo. The marine stuff I don't know who makes but it is damned good Zinc Chromate. I can't swear to how it will work with your topcoat but I painted my outdrive with the Mercruiser cans 5 years back and aside from a couple dull spots its still perfect today. Thats with all the 30MPH abrasion and thumping over a sunkenf floating log I never got to see at that speed. Stuff is expensive but its a huge can and it really lasts, sprays well ( which is a lot to say for a rattlecan.) Otherwise you can buy TEMPO primer. I can't say who might sell it locally but its usually bought for aviation use so try the local airport to see if they are willing to sell a couple cans. AIRCRAFT SPRUCE & SPECIALTY sells it for about $6 a can and like the other stuff its Zinc Chromate or in reality Zinc Phosphate these days due to environmental regs. Again its good stuff to stick to the side of an aluminum propjet getting blasted with prop blast and going 300 MPH. Of course they use 2 part Polyurethane at $200 / gallon for the big stuff but for the touchups ( and there are many) they use those Tempo rattle cans. Colors are a bit limited but they are small enough or whatever to not trigger that huge UPS surcharge so they aren't too expensive from Spruce. I have used Tempo on small jobs and it works darn good, not necessarily as good as the gun stuff but entirely workable and I never had any flake off as long as its sanded to give it some tooth.
You can buy Zinc Phospate by the gallon or quart from MAGNET PAINT co. in NYC and others as well and its dirt cheap. I have used that to paint my old D-4 and structural steel and topcoated it with Acrylic Enamel and it held up like gangbusters. Not Imron but not bad either being sprayed on with a $20 paint gun or even avery fine bristle brush.

[Bruce P]

What did your surface prep entail?

[drizler]

What did your surface prep entail?

I don't get ya Bruce, what do you mean prep? I often never used any but grind fill prime and paint. I know some of these super duper space age whachamacallit elixers are all the rage and do the job in fantastic ways. Still some of the old methods of just cleaning and going for it work quite well. The longer I look at welding in patches I have to wonder if its really the only way. Yes I do it, and yes it it a royal pita and yes it burns hell out of everything behind it which can lead to more problems especially if its not able to be gotten to. Of course I don't do this stuff for a living and what I do ain't on Auntie Katie's Mercedes either but it seems to work well for me and doesn't require all sorts of skill.

[Bruce P]

Okay, I'll get right to the point then. If you have clean white metal there are a variety of products that'll do what you want.

But if you are ending up with what the industry calls marginally prepared steel, then I highly recommend Zero Rust as a proven product that will lock down rust on marginally prepared surfaces and can be finished with automotive systems at some point in the future.

The big bonus is that ZR will do the job on both fully prepped as well as marginally prepped steel. Len sells Zero Rust here and has some links showing some long term tests he has done back when he was in his testing mode for the product.....

Bruce Palmer
info@zerorust.com

[drizler]

Okay, I'll get right to the point then. If you have clean white metal there are a variety of products that'll do what you want.

But if you are ending up with what the industry calls marginally prepared steel, then I highly recommend Zero Rust as a proven product that will lock down rust on marginally prepared surfaces and can be finished with automotive systems at some point in the future.

The big bonus is that ZR will do the job on both fully prepped as well as marginally prepped steel. Len sells Zero Rust here and has some links showing some long term tests he has done back when he was in his testing mode for the product.....

Bruce Palmer
info@zerorust.com

Marginal, prepared, wow. Hell I often as not use whaever I can find. I just a few minutes ago finished my daughters snowmobile debacle up aside from the painting that can wait. I lined the entire pan using tin I salvaged from the side of my barn held in place by an ass load of 3/16 rivets and washers. I just sprayed the whole thing black with a rattle can just for uniformity as its inside out of sight. I guess you would call that metal prepared since it has all that paint that comes from the factory and galvanized to boot. Purdy it aint but its not going anywhere soon. If dumb kid manages to plow another tree this time she is gonna bend the barn along with the sled. If I had known all the mess involved straightening that I would have just sought out a wreck with a good front clip on Ebay.

[Mooch]

I've prepared my surface and am about to prime the relevent area.

Any tips on using spray cans would be appreciated. I dont have a gun and the amout I'm repairing doesn't justify the expense.

Hope you can help,

Cheers.

To answer your question Duplicolor and Mar-Hyde both make good rattle can products. Both can be found at places like Autozone, Advance auto.

I know they are not for the trailer queen crowd. But they do work a lot better than people think they do. Not for an overall but a small repair they work ok.

Mooch

[rustyramblers]

I've been using DupliColor paint and primer on my 68 American while I've been doing body repair on it and it seems to be holding up pretty well. You do need to make sure that the surface is prepared properly or it will fall off in big sheets. Follow the directions on the can and you'll do okay with it. Another thing you need to do with it is use several coats since it goes on very thin. I used a couple cans of base and a couple cans of clear on the rocker repair I did a few years ago and it's held up very well.

Matt

[drizler]

I've been using DupliColor paint and primer on my 68 American while I've been doing body repair on it and it seems to be holding up pretty well. You do need to make sure that the surface is prepared properly or it will fall off in big sheets. Follow the directions on the can and you'll do okay with it. Another thing you need to do with it is use several coats since it goes on very thin. I used a couple cans of base and a couple cans of clear on the rocker repair I did a few years ago and it's held up very well.

Matt

Walmart even has good paint believe it or not. Trouble is their suppliers come and go and you never really know what they will have. The $3 a can stuff isn't bad same goes for primers. The absolute worst is Walmart's $1 cans. The paint is so so but those cans are absolutely positively guaranteed to plug 1st time every time on the second use and thereafter. You can even store the nozzles in thinner and they plug real nice. A pin on hand is essential. I buy all my house paint there and its as good as anything out there at half the price. I think its Sherwin Williams
One thing that disappointed in was rustolium rusty metal primer and paint. I have used it on all sorts of stuff for decades and it was fine. 2 years ago I gave the underside of my 17 year old daily driver a quick sandblast then hit it with Parks rust converter, ( same thing as Picklex basically but dirt cheap) and sprayed the underside. That rustolium didn't hold up for squat under the car here in the rust belt. Not a big deal as its going to the scrappers soon enough anyways. Still I would avoid the cheap shit under the car if I was doing that again.

[kkh120]

I'm happy with the cans I've bought, they are good quality automotive products.

I was looking for advice on how to apply them to ensure a reasonable finish. Altogh the area is in behind a door, I still want to give it my best shot.

Thanks for all the replys to date.

[drizler]

I'm happy with the cans I've bought, they are good quality automotive products.

I was looking for advice on how to apply them to ensure a reasonable finish. Altogh the area is in behind a door, I still want to give it my best shot.

Thanks for all the replys to date.

Yea You did didn't you, sorry. Well just consider how thin the stuff is so I guess the answer is lots of thin coats. In reality where you aren't going to be working with it you could give it a few quick coats to get into the crevices then plaster it with brushed on primer then paint. Aint no crime in using a brush you know and then its thick enough to do the job right. If you live in the rust belt you might want to bury the whole back of that patch in fiberglass bondo to keep the moisture out but that would be overkill in nicer climates. Happy fixin!!!

[dave_demented]

for applying paint from a rattle can, go for coverage first. apply in full,, halfway overlaping coats at a steady speed, much like you would with a spray gun, just make sure you dont apply to too wet and have it run, remember your just going for coverage first. after youve got a decent build (3-4 coats, allowing it to get tacky between each) apply 1-2 wet coats to get the gloss you need, spray it til its just about ready to run, but now letting it run. ive done some really nice rattle can jobs, and they usually last a nicce long time wiht this method

[kkh120]

....apply 1-2 wet coats to get the gloss you need, spray it til its just about ready to run, but now letting it run. ive done some really nice rattle can jobs, and they usually last a nicce long time wiht this method

What do you mean Dave by letting it run!!!!

This is for the top colour over the primer? To give you a little more detail, this is a small repair to the sill area just inside the rear door. The are is about 6-8 inches long and about 3 inches wide. I dont need to worry about blending the top colour width ways if that make sense but would like to try and ensure I'd no abrupt finish either side length ways.

[dixie1776]

where he said"but now letting it run" was a typo i'm sure---was suppose to be" ----------but not letting it run..........only makes sense