Rustoleum paint jobs

[LaOutbackTrail]

I've just painted my Montero with Rustoleum... rattle cans at that. Before you gasp, I pretty much how I should have. Nevermind the crappy sanding job with an abundance of paint gouges, the paint turned out great. I've been letting it cure for a couple of days and now its time to make a decision.

I used a gloss paint, which basically means it is a single stage enamel. But I'm debating on spraying a clear over the top. Not sure if its worth it now that I can really see the gouges and body imperfections. Clear coat would make them more obvious. Now is the point where I decide if I want to just polish and wax the paint or go ahead and spray a clear over the top.



Anyone care to comment on which way they would go and why?

[AA1PR]

I have no real expertise in this matter, except that I repainted one of my sons mountain bikes a few years ago. & when I sprayed the clear coat over the paint, it changed the red from a fire engine red to that of a cherry red, so beware, for our needs it was a nice look

if you have no real value or need why worry

[4xdog]

I've had good luck respraying an old Craftsman toolbox with Rustoleum in the last month, using about a 50:50 mix of Regal Red and Safety Red to match Craftsman Red surprisingly well.

The paint polished and waxed quite nicely.

I wouldn't clearcoat it in your case -- but if you do, be sure to test a piece that isn't your vehicle for color changes (as noted by AA1PR) and for compatibility between the two coats.

Don

[AFSOC]

[I am NOT an expert] I have never rattle canned a project this large. My only experience is spray painting the hood of an old VW GTI autocrosser I used to compete with. I found the nozzle of the aerosol paint can leaves a lot of surface imperfections. Wet sanding and prep wiping between coats made a world of difference in the smoothness and perception of depth in the paint job. I was very satisfied with the results of the job. The wet sanding also mitigates the flashing imperfections that gives that gives the telltale nozzle spray appearance.

I don't have a recommendation about clear coating based on anything more than gut opinion. I am of the mind that if you are satisfied with the paint, leave it alone. The clear coat process is to add greater protection. It won't really add anymore gloss. It's a risk. The color may alter, application consistency is a challenge and if you are unhappy with results, you have a lot more sanding and repainting to do.

[LaOutbackTrail]

SNIP--- leave it alone. SNIP--- It won't really add anymore gloss. It's a risk. The color may alter, application consistency is a challenge and if you are unhappy with results, you have a lot more sanding and repainting to do.

This is sort of where I am at.

[zukrider]

man you sure are trying to hide the color! i would not bother with the clear. it will be offroad as often as you can make it so. so why bother?! mine will be getting a rattle can as well.

[Box Rocket]

you do do a wet sand with a couple different fine grit sand papers to minimize the surface scratches. If you do that, I would follow it up with clearcoat. My suggestion for using Rattlecan clear coat is to spray panels individually. You just don't get enough coverage from a rattle can to get really smooth clear coat over larger areas. So what I mean is mask off everything but the hood and clearcoat the hood. Then mask off each fender and clear coat the fender etc. Do each panel on it's own and you can get a decent finish. Otherwise the clear coat will start to atomize at the edges of your spray boundaries if they are not masked off and you'll have a "dusty" texture to the clearcoat instead of a nice wet, smooth finish.

Just my two cents.

We took this approach when we rattlecanned my brother in laws 1st gen 4Runner. Used white rustoluem too. Turned out pretty nice for a rattlecan job. On the upside white was a good choice for a rattlecan job. It hides a lot of imperfections better than other colors.

[JasonRedwood]

Not clearing it will make it easier to do touch ups in the future. Im either rattle canning my 4runner white or beige in the near future.

[Skrewball]

I am planning to spray a project i am building right now. I did some research on the rustoleum and played around with some colors and clear.

when i sprayed just the color, it looked ok. lots of coats and good coverage still has alot of orange peel.

on the same color that was rough with orange peel, i sprayed multiple coats of clear(rustoleum crystal clear). after i sprayed the clear and let it dry, i thought i had ruined my test section. it looked horrible. out came the 800-1000 grit sand paper...

after wet sanding the clear it looked real hazy and i could see the imperfections in both the body and the wet sanding.

i grabbed a buffer and some compound and went at it, thinkin "this isn't gonna work". well, it turned out AMAZING! for what it was.


for you to feel comfortable with continuing the process, find something you can spray the same as the truck is already, and then clear, wet sand, buff. you will then know what you should do.

[fasteddy47]

Best 6 minutes you will spend regarding Rustoleum Paint Jobs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qPJTTRWttQ