Any one ever use the 1 galon cans at home de pot for painting a car? I know they are just a few colors to pick from but at $27 a can will it make a 1/2 respectable paint job on a $500 car?

Any tips for thinning it and spraying it? Does it need any primer if sprayed right on fresh bare metal? Reading the label seems no primer or clear is needed seems to be a cheap way to make a cheap car look ok for a couple years

What I think would be FAR superior would be to source an industrial urethane or acrylic enamel. It's catalyzed, single stage easy to spray.

Here's an example: A gallon of acrylic enamel, with hardener and reducer, just over $75 for the whole kit. 144 different colors. That's hard to beat. Equivalent to Delstar or Centari.

web page

Back to your question, yes you do need a good sanded substrate (original finish or primer) to spray any paint product over. No you do not need clear. Yes, you have to reduce it, probably with mineral spirits (see the label on can). There is a Valspar brand hardener that works with implement enamel which may help with durability. It's just that I would not expect a household uncatalyzed paint product like Rustoleum to hold up to much UV exposure. Yeah, yeah, I know you can roll it on and work with it on the cheap. For not all that much more, I'd just buy some real paint to spray.

There was a huge post on here a couple years ago about "paint job on a budget" and I think 69Dart used Rustoleum and a foam roller to paint his truck. I didn't follow it closely, but I think the results were a nice quick finish, but didn't hold up well in the sun. Somebody will have a link on here.

Here is the link to the old thread.
Paint job on a Budget

The only advantage I can see to the foam roller method is if your situation prevents you from spraying paint. Otherwise it is VERY labor intensive. Do you really want to roll on and wet sand several coats of paint, when you can spray some acrylic enamel and be DONE.

Why not just take it to maaco? My uncle had his car painted there and it looked great...considering it only cost 300

I used a gallon of rustoleum to paint all the black on my truck

after sand blasting,I painted the frame,rear axle,underhood,core support,inner fenders,inside of cab,door jambs

used the satin black on the hood,cowl,letters on the gate

used regular laquer thinner and used a HVLP set up and only used 1 gallon of the gloss and 2 quarts of satin

I used 1 gallon of 2k primer,and 1 gallon of 4th deminsion bright lemon yellow,with 2 gallons of clear coat and the thinner that goes with it.

it turned out real nice on the black and satin and the 2 stage paint worked well also,painted it outside in the back yard,and to my surprize it did not get a lot of crap in it,had about 4 runs in the clear that sanded out after it was dry,was my first try at bodywork and paint..well my buddy did the bodywork and shot the paint,I bank rolled it and did the labor... so it was we when I say I

i just either sandblasted stuff and shot it or scuffed it with a pad useing the black,exept the body work,that got 80,150,320,400 wet

I can post some pics if you want a looky see at the black inside of cab and the rest of it

you can order hemi orange in rustoleum too,thats what I should have painted the engine with,but I used the plasticoat hemi orange.

The current issue of Hot Rod has a article on a Rust-Oleum flat black paint job.Check it out.

Go to autozone and check out their options of rustoleum and i think it was dupont. They sell ready to spray quarts of laquer. You can also get a gallon of primer sealer for $45 and the thinner for $18. You can also buy paint from summit racing ready to spray as well for cheap.

I've sprayed it on trailers and other equipment. It sprays well and makes a nice finish. Reduce 10-15% with paint thinner and have at it. Two light/medium coats 20-30 minutes apart work best. I always prefer to use a primer. Rustoleum red "damp proof" primer works well. Same deal on spraying. Thin 10-15% and two light/medium coats. The damp proof primer takes a day or more to dry. Sun and wind can speed this up a lot. When thoroughly dried, it is easy to sand.

Two drawbacks to be aware of. Because of slow drying, it will likley pick up bugs/dirt. With care it won't be a big deal. Also it hardens slowly. It will be tender for a while. Again, sun/wind helps after the initial dry.

in the paint job on a budget thread, another option (if you have a west marine near you--we have one down the street, but you might not in montana is interlux brightside boat paint

http://www.yachtpaint.com/usa/diy/products/finishes/brightside-polyurethane.aspx

it's basically a single stage urethane that can be brushed, rollered, or sprayed, and very good results have been done with the roller. I may try it once my duster gets ratty enough....Y4381 off white looks very close to my EW1 spinnaker white

Couple years ago I got a big display cabinet out of a business that closed up. The sides were a nasty salmon color. I used Rust-Oleum gloss black and I reduced it with mineral spirits. I think I went two parts paint and one part reducer. Sprayed it with a cheap old style paint gun and it came out great, but it did dry slow.

I used paint from tractor supply on the snow commander.
About the same price as rustoleium.

Make sure to use the hardner, other wise it will fade in the sun..

Mine is holding up great!!

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.

And the car...

With its clothes on...