TiHabanero

Just finished painting a frame with Rustoleum enamel brush on paint. Not aerosol.

Anyone know if spray on clear coat of the same manufacturer, Rustoleum, is compatible with the brushed on enamel, or will there be problems?

Classtime 

Perfect timing. I'm about to brush on a second coat of Rustoleum and then prepare for the clear coat. My plan is to use Rustoleum Clear Enamel in a spray can...BUT...I will be "decanting" the spray into a jar to apply via brush. (I hate overspray waste.) I figure one can will be enough.

Chr0m0ly 

EddyR

Be sure to use enamel clear coat. If you try and use lacquer clear it will crack and blister. Auto parts stores sell enamel and lacquer color and clear so be careful what you use. If you want to make the finish bullet proof use a two part auto clear and you can get it in spray cans. I could get two bikes from one can as it goes a long ways but it has a 2-3 day life span once energized. It will shine like glass if you do it with two part. The two part will go over any type of color. The two part dries hard.
Here is a badly rusted Centurion I painted up as a 7/11 bike using auto spray can lacquer and lacque spray can clear coat.
Ed

TiHabanero

My concern is I brush painted the color coats and am thinking there are different solvents in aerosol that might react negatively with brushed on paint. Enamel color must be clear coated with enamel clear, that is understood, but will the chemical make up of spray paint react negatively with brush on paint?

TiHabanero

If I sand the color coat it will be with 1000 grit, but probably won't sand it. Does it make a difference?

Mr. 66

CycleryNorth81

Why not call Rustoleum? They would know if it is compatible.

lacro

Decanting works if you are doing it to put in a spray gun, but I think it will be way too thin for brush application, and may cause runs, and will dry too fast to keep a wet edge. You could try spraying some into a cup, and try brushing to see how well it works.

EddyR

One problem with Rustoleum is it takes a long time to get hard. Sanding it may scratch it. I have seen a lot of people use it on model aircraft as it is fuel proof. The color is fuel resistant but the clear is not. The clear may be effected by oils use on our bikes? My experience is it takes a long time {months** to get hard like Lacquer.
Dupli-Color Lacquer is available in spray cans . The clear is available in spray and quart cans. The quart cans have no life problems and can be opened and used over and over untilll it is all used up. The clear is thin and needs no thinning out of the can. Use a high quality brush and clean with Lacquer thinner. Lacquer will be hard in one day.
Ed

rhm

Yes, I've done a couple frames with Rust-Oleum, brushed on, and I am pretty sure I used a Rust-Oleum clear coat spray on one of them if not both. I'm pretty sure the Rust-Oleum topcoat spray says on the label that it can be used over Rust-Oleum enamel

I wet sanded between coats of paint, and wet sanded the final coat of paint, burnishing that to a satiny sheen before adding decals, then a very thin top coat.

Both bikes came out looking great, but the finish was not tough. I repainted one of them after a few years (same method). The other has now been powder coated. I'm not sure it's worth the effort to paint a bike this way. The materials are cheap enough, but it's a lot of work and the result is fragile.

markk900

@rhm: my experience also; though I must be a sucker for punishment as I am in the middle of repainting the Humber with Rustoleum... it looks OK for now, but debating whether to just take it and get it blasted and powdercoated. I know the finish will be fragile as the other bike I painted this way chips easily, but the original factory finish on the Humber was extremely fragile (blue over black and the blue flaked off) so maybe I'm just repeating history....

Classtime 

EddyR

Here is something else you might try that is simple and quick. Auto parts stores sell a paint they call "engine paint" It is for painting car motor blocks. I think it is enamel so you can use spray can enamel clear over it. I have used i and it dries fast and gets a lot harder than Rus-Oleum. I did one old Raleigh team bike with the orange and it looked great when finished. It is hard to not mount parts on a new paint job but try and wait a week before doing so.
When I was a bike flipper I ran across repaints that were hard to tell from original and they were done with Rust-Oleum. The repaint was at least 10 years old and it was hard like a original paint.
If you do not like a spray can paint job {Rust-Oleum** you can wipe it of with Lacquer thinner. . I did not repaint bikes that I was going to flip but I did do a few that I kept for myself.
EddyR

EddyR

I just came across this add for Rust-Oleum and it shows a bike being painted
https://spraypaint.rustoleum.com/?gc...xoCIuMQAvD_BwE



















https://spraypaint.rustoleum.com/?gc...xoCIuMQAvD_BwE
Add on how to paint a bike with spray can paint

TiHabanero

Durability is not a major concern for me, but how it looks when fresh is a concern. This frame has had 3 colors on it since I built it in 2001. I get tired of a color and change it. Don't like painting, just like to change things. Using a brush on paint is new for me and allows me to do it indoors at this time of year. Will clear coat come spring so the color coat should be hard by then.
Perhaps no clear should be laid down if the paint has been sitting that long?

noglider 

I brush painted my bike with enamel. I don't remember the brand, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't Rustoleum. (Isn't that a dumb name, though?) I don't know if I would call it durable or delicate. It has some scratches down to the primer, but I'm rough on my bikes, and I don't know if it would be better with better paint. I waited a long time between coats, sometimes weeks. Maybe that's why it's halfway decent. It never looked good, because I had no experience or skill, but I won't complain about the durability.

Maybe I'll do it again, and I'll do more sanding and polishing, as I barely did any. And I would consider a clear coat.

Given that my paint is old now, does it make any sense at all to sand and polish and add clear coat now?

lacro

If you check out hot rod, and vintage tractor forums, you will find some use Rustoleum, and similar enamels, but add catalyst hardener to the enamel. Here's another brand. I decided to go this route with good results for my Super Course repaint. The hardener did decrease the dry time, enhance the gloss, and after a full cure has passed the thumb nail scratch test. I think I am just going to leave it or maybe polish, then wax, and not bother with the clear.

Mr. 66