I still think this is weird, around 2000 i wanted to put a set of police wheels on my dart. It was like a sleeper with old faded out peeling away light blue paint. I wanted the wheels body color but i had no ability to spray with real paint at the time. Also a nice paint would have looked out of place. I found a toucn up paint at pep boys that was so close i had to try it. I glass beaded the wheels, primer paint and clear. I think I used one can of color per wheel hopoing they would hold up. 10 years later i had the car painted i did the wheels myself. Took them to a place to have them sand blasted but the guy said he could just hot tank them and they would come out really nice for cheaper and they would be ready in a day or 2. I went back 3 days later and the guy asked what the heck kind of paint or what is that on them??? It was taking forever in the hot tank he showed them to me sitting in the hot tank. I never would have thought that paint would have been that tough. I still have 2 wheels with slicks and that sprsycan job.

Then i started spraying all my chassis parts with rust oleum from a can thinned out. it seemed like good practice with a spray gun and seemed better than rattlecan. At least you could get a good buildup. I used it on an engine in my 30s car once. Even on that it actually held up better than any spray can engine paint I have used.I had my doubts it was going to work out for that.

One day in tsc I decided to try the tractor primer and paint they sell. It says you can use with or without the optional hardener but I tried it once without and it stayed wet for days. So I've been using a satin black with the hardener on everything. its pretty cheap and it seems to hold up better than the rust oleum. I used it on all of my suspension parts and the dana 44s on my trail jeep. I also used it on a steel wheels and some other stuff on my wife's jeep. I think those were a good test for it. Water, mud, sand, rocks, snow and road salt with daily driver abuse.

I work around industrial vehicles every day. Equipment that is out in the field taking abuse like your old car will never see. We use rattle cans a lot. Not the .99 stuff, but good quality high solid rattle cans. The stuff holds up like you would not believe. Like it was mentioned earlier the prep work is the key

No doubt rattle cans win the convenience contest. Powder coat wins the durability contest. Catalyzed spray wins the appearance contest. Which one to use depends on the results you want and how much you want to spend. Attached is a picture of my old '62 sedan. With the exception of the block the engine was powder coated.

Years ago I bought a motorcycle that had side covers that were red and the tank was black. So I bought a couple bottles of black touch up paint and an air brush setup. The bottom barrel kit that used cans of compressed air.

Did a good job repainting the side covers. That might be an option for those no interested in a full scale paint rig. Summit sells automotive paint for a reasonable price, like $25 for a quart. Airbrush kit like I used is $132 with canned air.

I have had really good luck with the Eastwood rattle cans for durability and color options...

If you want to use "gun" paint, go buy a couple of gravity feed guns from Harbor Freight..

The small ( regular style, not the "finger" kind) can be had cheap ( Under $10 with coupon) and does a great job for primer/paint on smaller items... The gravity guns are really easy to clean ( I just spray some lacquer thinner through them) When it wears out just throw it away.. Had really good luck with them....