My Rusto experience:
Several years ago I did a loose fender and then a whole car with the ‘moparts’ roller method. Results on fender were decent, result on whole car was crap (but at least it became 1 color).

Last July I did a whole car, and then also painted a loose door and clearcoated it with Rusto’s clearcoat. Followed that with wetsanding and buffing.

On the car:
We spent about 2 weeks of evenings filling dents and removing all the trim, mirrors, doorlocks and handles, etc. Lots of primer, lots of sanding. Sprayed in indoors in a home-made spraybooth. It turned out OK, has about 3 coats of standard white gloss and has a mild shine. This is where I discovered Rusto does not fill all the sanding scratches. Why it will fill small paint chips, but not scratches, is a mystery to me. ??? Ideally we would have given this car 2-3 more coats and buffed it, but to be honest I was tired of working on the body and needed to get the car ready to drive.

This paintjob is almost a year old and has been driven thru an Indiana winter. It has held up pretty well, although it did chip away at both seams where the headerpanel meets the fenders.

On the loose door:
It turned out really nice, almost like glass, and if on a whole car would easily pass for a $5000 paintjob. I cannot speak for long-term durability of the clearcoat, however this door has been sitting out in my backyard, in the sun and rain, underneath some trees and bushes that drop lots of leaves and buds, for over a year. Whenever I wipe it with a soapy sponge I can tell that the gloss is still there. I have noticed that there are blemishes on it, perhaps from acid rain, and I suspect this is due to Rusto drying so slowly and it getting standing rain on it before fully dry. I think a hardener in the clearcoat might help. That’s a future experiment.


Overall –
With limited colors available in Rusto, and the difference in price vs car paint, it’s a toss-up. I’d say if you’re gonna spend a lot of effort on body prep then spend a little more $$ on cheap car paint. If it’s a beater and expense is crucial, Rusto is a decent option.

The experimenter in me wants to find a hardener for the clearcoat and try again, though.