Andrew R Stewart 

Not rattle can but proper HVLP gun sprayed. I am beginning my slow learning/reacquaintance with compressor fed spraying. I have chosen Rustoleum brush on canned paint for it's low cost. So much of my lacking is in gun handling technique and I'd like to get better at a spraying sequence too before trying a vastly more expensive paint system. I am very familiar with the reasons to not ride a rough amateur paint job on one's own frame and I am good with doing so, besides Rustoleum will be easier to remove in the future when I decide to revisit this frame and use nice paint.

Right now my first question is about what chemical those who have used Rustoleum have used to clean the gun. The first 3 times I sprayed (primer then a primer/color mix then just color) I used Lacquer Thinner and it didn't seem to dissolve the paint very well. I ended up taking the flow valve needle and packing out of the gun and worked at the residue with Q tips and a lot of elbow time. The last time I sprayed (just yesterday and color only) I used Acetone and that seemed to work better, I don't think I'll need to take that needle valve out this time, but still wonder if there's an even "more aggressive" cleaning agent. With both cleaners I removed the directional/fan cap and the orifice (1.5 or 1.3mm) to get inside the gun.

I am still experimenting with thinning chemicals. Lacquer Thinner worked OK with the primer and paint/primer but less so with just paint. Acetone went far better, quicker to mix (at around 10-15%) and the paint wetted out nicer. Next up will be Mineral Spirits. Before I try spraying, I do a very small batch thinned as I think is right and brush it on a test surface to see how the flow/wet out is, it's tendency to sag/run and how long before it is no longer tacky. The testing I do in the basement as its conditions are pretty constant so comparisons are more valid.

IIRC there was a thread here describing some of the efforts and results of their spraying Rustoleum too. I think the bike (or the main one) was red. Memory fails me but I recall some description of using hardeners, reducers and/or activators. Anyone remember this thread? Andy

unterhausen

I painted my mill with rustoleum in a gun. Been a while though, and I don't remember what I used to clean. I think it's an enamel though, so mineral spirits or paint thinner should work.
I was just thinking about getting rid of the gun. I'm not too impressed by how I cleaned it last time.

The SDS I just looked at says it has Naptha, MEK, and mineral spirits in it. I assume that means that mineral spirits should work as a cleaner. I don't know what "paint thinner" is these days.

dsaul

I've never painted a bike frame with Rustoleum (I use base/clear when I paint a frame) but I have painted quite a few other things with it. The can usually has thinning instructions that specifiy what thinner to use. I believe I used acetone and a small amount of Japan Drier to accelerate the drying time and get a better finish.

I usually use laquer thinner to clean my guns, but whatever is recommended to thin the paint should work also.

Nessism

The TDS says you can reduce up to 15% with acetone for spraying. Clean-up with mineral spirits.

Rust-Oleum is Alkyd enamel. You can use hardner, to speed the cure time, and increase hardness. I used a similar paint, Glidden Farm & Implement Alkyd Enamel, with Krylon hardner, when painting a lathe stand I made last year. It worked out well.

My biggest heartburn with that project was the Rust-Oleum primer I selected. It flowed out like crap. I won't use it again. This was used on the splash pan, after I ran out of Por-15 paint, which I primed the main stand with. That stuff flowed out way better.

unterhausen

That looks nice. Last thing I painted on my lathe was with spray cans of ... something. Maybe rustoleum. It seems to be working well. At least it doesn't look like it was painted to be in a clown show now. Or at least, I don't think so. I have often thought that they should have picked one color and stuck with it.

Velo Mule

I am an amature, but my experience has been that I thin Rustoleum with acetone and cleaned the gun with acetone. I like acetone because it is a solvent I can use in many applications.


The Wilton vise above was painted with Rustoleum thinned with acetone. I may have added a bit of mineral spirits as well. I mixed white and green in an attempt to get Wilton Green. It didn't work. I got minty green.

I also spray with 2k primers, base color and clear coat and clean with acetone.

zandoval 

Allot of the paint shops around here, Central Texas, use Penetrol as a thinner for Air Guns. The mix can be as much as 40% Penetrol and depends on the ambient temperature and Dry Time.

Rustolium Gloss Enamel has proven itself to be an economical high quality paint with an Air Gun, Airless Sprayer, or Brush. Penetrol too has proven itself in this area of the country. But the percentage mix is not fixed in any way that I know of. I have seen some painters using air guns use 20% Penetrol one day then 35% the next. Why? ...Duh, the create remains...




For me the most tedious part of using Rustolium Gloss is that long wait on dry time. Often I just hand the frames in the attic and wait a few days... Tedious Indeed...

unterhausen

All the wiltons I have seen have been more of a blue.

Velo Mule

Aggree. The early ones had grey, blue and green. There may have even been two greens. The one pictured above is 1946.

The color that I had in mind, but didn't really look at before I mixed up paint:



The Rustoleum paint mixed with acetone and perhaps some mineral spirtis came out good, even if the color was too minty.