Rustoleum rattle cans


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Old 03-10-15, 08:08 AM
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Rustoleum rattle cans

I have taken apart my 50 some year old Rockwell drill press, made a couple of repairs, cleaned it up, and, before reassembling, am ready to paint it as soon as it warms up a bit more. I intend to use Rustoleum Professional spray cans, which I have had very good results with, but am open to any suggestions and/or opinions. The base and table are cast iron, and I intend to primer them first. So, first of all, I plan to wipe everything down with mineral spirits before painting. Good? Secondly, the instructions say that I can spray the primer and follow immediately with paint. Any issues with this? I always thought, perhaps incorrectly, that because it dried so slow, I needed to wait several days to topcoat Rustoleum primer. On the other hand, things change, and I've been wrong before, so maybe am in this case. Finally, I'm a little concerned with getting to much paint build up on the head assembly, so am thinking of simply painting it, no primer. Bad call? I know, some pretty petty questions, but I want it to look good when I'm done, and am getting too old to do things over again, so appreciate any thoughts or comments.
 
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Old 03-10-15, 09:21 AM
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Surface prep is key. Thorough cleaning and degreasing is critical to get good adhesion.

I have had good luck doing to top coat as soon as the primer has dried to a light touch. The primer is still soft so there is good adhesion with the top coat but now you've got two layers of paint that are soft so allow a lot of time for the parts to dry before anything more than very tender handling. It can take a week during colder temps but I like to smell the parts. As long as it smells like paint then it's still drying and should be treated tenderly.
 
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Old 03-10-15, 09:23 AM
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The Rustoleum primer dries extremely fast. It's the surface coat that takes a lot longer.

Whether you spray the machine or hand paint it.....you run the risk of runs.
I'd use the spray. Just spray a very thin coat at first. Use several coats instead of a heavy coat.
 
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Old 03-10-15, 09:33 AM
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Just my opinion, I rarely use primer and find the paint sticks better without it. The Rustoleum professional rattle cans are the only ones I use now. The paint covers the best and seems to set up the fastest. Yes you get runs unless you spay very light coats. I spray a light coat first and then about 10 min. later spray the final coat.
 
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Old 03-10-15, 09:37 AM
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I don't know why you want to paint it at all. Why does it need paint now after 50 years without it? It's not going to extend the life of it. It's just going to make more work for you in the future.
 
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Old 03-10-15, 09:52 AM
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I rarely use rattle cans since I have spray equipment and feel I have better control with it.
The biggest drawbacks to spraying over tacky or uncured primer is you've not been able to sand it smooth for a finer finish and the longer curing time.

As a painter, I'm all for fresh coats of paint to dress things up but you do need to decide if the new paint will dry hard enough and be durable enough to be worth the effort as opposed to just cleaning up the existing finish. I'd probably mix up some equipment/industrial enamel with hardener to spray it with but that isn't an option in a spray can.
 
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Old 03-10-15, 10:08 AM
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Pulpo, you must be old, like me! This was in a plant for several years before my dad and I got it sometime in the late 60's, and I never recall it with paint. And I am pretty sure I am correct in remembering that a lot of equipment like this was not painted. So, the original plan was to clean it up, maybe topcoat it with paste wax or something, and let it go. But then I realized that the gear box for raising and lowering the table was painted a light machinery gray, and liked the looks of it, so here I am. The areas to be painted are well cleaned, and, as mentioned, intend to wipe them down with mineral spirits prior to painting, so should be good in that regard, and definitely have learned to use light coats, so hopefully will have few or no runs. DMC, I'm sort of like you, don't use primer for things like this maybe as often as I should, but haven't had bad luck in that regard either. Not worried about sanding between coats, Mark, as not much is smooth anyway. The column and table top are, but I have cleaned those up, and they will be coated with Johnson's paste wax. And yes, would use hardener for sure on this, but figure it's going to be enough of a chore just to get things laid out and hung to paint, and not much surface area to start with, so decided to keep it simple and use cans. May mix paint when I get around to the belt guard though, as that's a bit larger piece to work with. Thank you guys; I appreciate it.
 
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Old 03-10-15, 01:36 PM
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LOL I'm a 60s' guy too & I'm in my 60s. I even like Rustoleum but that's as far as it goes. I still wouldn't bother to paint but if that's what you want to do, go for it.
 
 

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