I'm trying a rattlecan job. Any guesses as to which Rust-oleum product will be more durable?

1) Rust-oleum "Automotive Acrylic Enamel" or 2) Rust-oleum "High Performance Enamel"?

I believe the latter might be an oil-based product (contains alkyd).

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-ca...acrylic-enamel
https://www.rustoleum.com/product-ca...e-enamel-spray

those are BOTH oil-based spray enamel paints and though I can't say for certain which has the more durable resin in the formula I suspect that the alkyd resin (basically a modified polyester) might be tougher than the acrylic resin (which I'm guessing will be "harder" but more brittle)...in fact I find that most enamels give best results when you can cure them in a heat-box (around 140 degrees F) for several days, even a week, before rubbing out/polishing.

I have used brush on Tremclad, an identical product to Rustoleum, almost, on this bicycle...



I sprayed Krylon...



...on this bicycle...



and I intend to use this...



...to paint this all chrome plated bicycle...



My first choice for the kind of work I do is Tremclad.

[MENTION=84826]randyjawa[/MENTION]: this is using the same tremclad spray in gloss green that you are going to use....I think it needs a clear topcoat for durability but even without it goes on really nicely.

You could be right but I have never used a clear top coat on any of my bicycles, except for a fifties something Carlton that I built up years ago...



For my money, durability is a product of the way the product is applied and allowed to dry. Baking the paint does help (unless one can wait a long time for the paint to dry naturally) and when I do the Torpado, I will show you how to bake a frame using Mother Nature's magical heating device.

Tremclad goes on nicely - you bet it does. For what it is worth, I don't even have to polish after painting, the paint levels and smooths out that well...



The biggest problem(s) most people have with rattle can work, or even brush work, is lack of patience. You cannot paint today and assemble tomorrow. Yes the paint feels dry to the touch and can be handled carefully. But just under that touchable surface, is undried paint and undried paint is SOFT! You have to give paint time to dry, unless, of course, you are using a two part product that cures, rather than dries.

I used the 2) professional high performance enamel on the Peugeot below. It dries pretty tough, about equivalent to the original enamel, maybe a bit better.

They are both oil based enamels. The word enamel in modern context means oil based paint. Alkyd is a type of resin, not an oil. It is a synthetic substitute for pine resin, etc. Oil enamel is a mix of drying oil, a resin, and a solvent.

If the bike didn't use enamel originally as would be the case for most bikes after the early 70s, IMO you are better off spending more money and getting some 2k autopaint in a rattlecan.

ISTR that Tremclad is the product name in Canada. Any idea what it's called south of the border? Or did Rustoleum eventually make it available here?

https://www.rustoleum.ca/pages/audience-brand/homeowner/

Tremclad is one of Rustoleum's brands. I did a dealer search for it (gloss black non-aerosol) and it was only showing Canadian locations.

I can't tell from the product descriptions whether there's a significant difference between Tremclad and Rustoleum brand. One could email the company and ask that question I suppose.

I got paint from an auto paint store. They put the color I chose into a rattle can. The primer you use is important too. Get an Etching primer. Clean your frame with steel wool, solvent and a tac-rag. Then wipe down with a quick evaporation solvent just before priming.

If I am going to the effort to paint then I am going to use a two part paint. Use my old Binks 2000.

I used this to paint this bike

I used the Rustoleum 'Appliance enamel' with great results. I covered it with several coats of Rustoleum clear. The only drawback is it comes in exactly three colors - white, black, or almond.

I used the black on these cranks:



And these forks and handlebars:

I have been most successful using Rustolium Engine Block Paint...

Lucky me, I finally found two dusty cans of Tremclad Harbor Blue and one of white. The blue looks much lighter than what I thought it would, when held up against the chrome of the Torpado.

Not to worry, though. If light blue isn't the right color, the new paint will be even easier to strip off than was the original Italian quick release paint used back in the sixties and seventies.

All I need now is a bike box, some flat black paint, four popular tree saplings, a few nails and a couple of sunny days in a row(we call that summer, in Canada, and I think it is supposed to come on a Wednesday/Thursday in 2016).

Oops, almost forgot - time to order decals from the "land down under".

I contacted Rustoleum to ask about the (lack of) availability of Tremclad in the US. The response:
When I pressed a bit further, I got this:
I infer that the Tremclad formulation contains some VOC they can't use in the US.

Rattle can is simply not durable.

I painted a Jeep for a friend once, he wanted urban camo. I shot it with Dupont Corlar light gray epoxy primer and while it was still wet shot black rattle can into it like graffiti. The Krylon melted into the epoxy. Then I shot a satin acrylic clear over the top with just a little rub out looked baddaxx. It still looks great and holds up to trail use. But that is the only real use I have for rattle can.

Nowadays there are several peel off products that began with Plastidip. Could be a great product to protect a gravel bike in a muddy, dirty race.

As rattle can goes, Krylon Fusion is pretty decent. I have used it and Krylon Ultra Flat for telescopes. Fusion on the outside and Ultra Flat on the inside:





But telescopes do not get the rough handling that a bicycle gets.

J

I've used Rustoleum extensively and found this Outdoor Metallic to be one of their most durable, it looks really nice in the sun too. Their "Universal" brand is also very good but has a flat spray pattern which doesn't work very well on bicycle tubing.

I used Plastikote engine paint on this one. After about 4-5 days, the paint responded well to sanding with 2000 grit wet or dry, and hand polishing with 3M Finesse It. It brings out the extra gloss. It already dried with a great shine, but I needed to sand a couple of spots with trash and/or orange peel. There are a couple of smudges near the head tube joint, please disregard as it's still under construction. Finished pic tomorrow.,,,,BD

Did you clear coat it, [MENTION=13229]Bikedued[/MENTION]? Decals over or under the clear coat?

Nope no clear. This is the nicest looking rattle can paint I've EVER used, bar none.,,,,BD

any spray paint is notoriously hard to make bond to aluminum, such as the Cannondale, maybe you've found the best product with this Plastikote Engine paint, but IME the only way I have ever gotten a good bond to aluminum was to use a really effective PRIMER first (like an aircraft-specific primer) or just using the factory paint as the "primer coat" and scuffing in up really well to be the base for the top-coat.

One more piece of free advice: anybody home-spraying 2-part (AKA 2-pack ) such as polyurethane like DuPont Imron: 1.have your health insurance paid up.
2.own or rent the same "bunny suits" with full-mask respirator and gloves that the pros use.

Just out of curiosity, how did you guys prep the frames for painting? I'm thinking of taking a frame to a sand blasting/powder coating shop near my home if their price isn't too bad. But I'm not entirely against stripping the paint myself and I would like to try paint it myself.

^my reco: pay the PC shop just to blast the frame/fork and handle it from that point, until you get it in your "booth", with cotton gloves. They can get it cleaner, faster and with a nice 'tooth' to take your wet paint with none of the 'fun' you'd have with stripper and scrapers and hand-work...not to mention the mess and possible chemical burns from the stripper!

If you (or anybody else) touches the frame before you paint, wipe it down with a fast-evaporating solvent and immediately spray primer when the solvent has dried...have a tack cloth handy too, if your solvent-cloth was linty.

Makes sense. I have considered adding some braze-ons to the frame so a good clean sand blast will be much better. Thanks