What is up w/ this epoxy spraypaint?

L

LL

Been Around the Block
I bought the epoxy appliance paint....it says primer not recommended right on the can. Are they serious or is that just for applications to appliances that are already painted? I sanded my frame/ an angle grinder to get rid of most of the rust so I'm left with lots of bare metal along with some paint. So should I prime or not? If priming is the way to go, my choices are Rustoleum auto primer or Rustoleum Clean Metal primer.

I'm not looking for mind blowing results - I just wanted to get rid of the rust and have a decent 5-footer paint job.
 
I'd bet that's just for already painted appliances. If you had to do a bunch or rust cleanup, you'll want at the very minimum a rust converting primer.
 
Since you're already dealing with some bare metal, you might as well remove the rest of the old paint; painting over it could cause problems for you. You should probably wet-sand the frame thoroughly; it doesn't have to be PERFECT, just sand the ENTIRE frame, then prime it with a good primer-surfacer, followed by a second (light) wet-sanding to get the surfaces level. Once you're happy with the results, it will be time to paint.

MANY people try to rush things; they simply want results, so they do a crappy job in the preparation, and eventually re-do everything, which is a waste of time and resources. This is your chance to learn how to do things right, if not perfectly. You're painting a frame, which shouldn't be too difficult if you take your time and do it right. My advice is, follow the same steps you'd use to paint a fuel tank and sidecovers, so you'll know how to do a good job when the time comes to actually paint a fuel tank and sidecovers. Everything you learn getting the frame done is knowledge in the bank; you'll probably apply the skills you develop in the frame painting process sometime in the near future to paint something else (a gas tank, for example), and you'll be glad you took the time to learn how to do a good job when you painted the frame.

SO, to recap; wet-sand the entire frame, then spray your primer, followed by a second (LIGHT) wet-sanding. If you expose any metal during the second sanding, you can respray just those areas to build up your primer base again, and LIGHTLY wet-sand to get everything smooth again. After that, you'll be ready to paint, and you'll have built some good basic skills for more challenging paint work in the future.

Good luck; post photos of your work as you go along. We all want to see this turn out well for you, so take your time; try to think of the work you're doing to the frame as training for tougher jobs down the line, not simply as drudgery you need to rush through. With a little time and patience, you'll be proud of your results, and you'll be better prepared to tackle bigger painting tasks in the future.

Lastly, remember the old saying, "There's never enough time to do the job right, but there's always enough time to do it again"; keep that in mind as you work, and you probably WON'T have to "do it again", because you'll get it right the FIRST time.
 
I guess I'm one of those guys who rush ;D

Don't waste time sanding that frame, that's a huge job. Send it out and have it media blasted. In 15-30 minutes your frame comes back clean and ready for your primer at that point. Sanding your frame is an hours long job.
 
While I appreciate the DIY attitude and skills involved, for those of us with no materials or proper paint facilities, I tend to lean towards farmed-out powdercoating. For $150 or so you can get your dirty greasy old frame completely blasted and powdercoated.
 
Thanks for the replies. If I did this over again, I would send it out for blasting and paint it myself. Rust and paint removal is a hassle and blasting is cheap. I don't have any illusions of the frame paint turning out that great. I've rattlecanned a few guitar bodies and have learned the correlation between effort put it and the results you get out. But I'm looking to build a mad max hipster cafe racer hoodride death machine that small children will hopefully run in fear from, so as long as rust is contained and prevented I fully accept non-level surfaces and orange peel.
 
yo i use this paint ALL THE TIME! best rattle can paint you can get! sand it down with 400 grit... then just shoot it in light coats... you have a half hour window to work with this stuff if you do not get it right it will peel on you if your recoat within 1 week! once it cures (1 week) you can wet sand and buff it or wet sand and clear and it will shine like NO OTHER PAINT! for real this stuff is great! i use it all the time! here are some pics of stuff i have done wiht it
2vmzxhs.jpg

Tank: (wet sanded and cleared)
33kub2o.jpg

GSXR down tubes
125p6di.jpg

muffler and a/c
dlrm02.jpg


more down tubes (been done 2 years now and still look brand new)
2cz91k5.jpg
 
Painted everything today w/ Rustoleum auto primer and then their appliance epoxy. Did a brief wet sand on the primer before applying the epoxy. Very happy with the results. The epoxy paint is forgiving and covers a lot of unevenness. Definitely not a pro-looking job and I'm sure below many people's standards but I was surprised at how nice it turned out. I won't be doing any sanding. I ended up running out of paint, which requires a trip to the suburbs since you can't get spray paint in the city. Turned out a little light in a few spots, so I'll wait a week for it to cure and then finish it off. I'll do pics when all is said and done
 
In all honesty, my advice was intended for someone who wants to develop "mad skillz", starting from ground zero. I've done enough wet-sanding of various items over the years to prefer media-blasting hands-down over all other options. However, I didn't know what the OP was trying to achieve, which is why my advice was directed toward someone using the frame-painting experience as an opportunity for skill-building... Depending on the goals and budget, powdercoating ROCKS, but the OP actually bought paint to spray the frame with, so I felt he deserved an answer that addressed what HE wanted to do, not what I would prefer to do under the circumstances, working on MY motorcycle...

That being said, the other replies are certainly valid; I live near a media-blasting facility, and all I can say is, I WANT ONE! I mean, these guys do EVERYTHING; I first learned about them in an issue of "Hot Rod" a few years ago, and was VERY HAPPY to find out that they're just a few miles from my front door. The media really isn't abrasive enough to eliminate heavy rust, but it removes paint very well, and it WON'T stretch or warp the sheet metal in the process.

Sooner or later, I'm going to have to repair a leaking gas tank, then repaint it. I already have a replacement tank, so if I ruin this one trying to salvage it, at least I'll have learned what NOT to do the next time. The tank will be my guinea pig; if it survives the repair process and holds fuel without leaking, I'll repaint it and use it. I can't do bodywork to save my life, but that doesn't matter; I'm more concerned with making the tank usable again; if it happens to look like shit when I'm finished with the repairs / bondo / painting process, I can live with that. In fact, I'm willing to rework it fifty or a HUNDRED times, just for the experience of doing it, and building my own skills for the future...

I'm looking forward to seeing those pics, LL; I haven't used the epoxy paint yet, so your results will probably be similar to mine. JRK5892 does PRO quality work, well beyond anything I'll ever be capable of, because I have poor depth-perception. Most people can spot flaws or imperfections in sheetmetal and paint; those same surfaces usually look perfect to me, and as an old body-and-fender man once said to me, "If you can't see it, you can't fix it"... over the years, I've learned not to let that bother me. My repairs suit me, and I can live with that, but obviously, I'll never be known for my skills doing cosmetic restorations... so I read these threads, and I sit here drooling over the quality of the work I know I can't match...
 
I saw that stuff at the big-box store the other day. Is it more fuel-resistant than regular enamel paint? The can mentioned enamel on the front, so I passed it by thinking it wouldn't be much good for a fuel tank.
 
JRK5892 said:
... you can wet sand and buff it or wet sand and clear and it will shine like NO OTHER PAINT!
Click to expand...

JRK, what kind of clear coat will this accept. Does Rustoleum sell one for this paint?
 
do not use an accrilic clear... it will get super fine cracks... i use Dupi color auto clear... IF I HAVE to clear it... this paint has a settling finish and is REALLY SMOOTH when it dries... 95% of the time i just let it be without a clear... but on tanks and what not i will usually clear do 2 coats of the epoxy with a wet sand on the 1st
 
tanks done! here is a pic of my tank... did alot of bondo work and crap to it... but it has 2 coats of white epoxy... 1st one sanded down, 2nd one just shot over the top of it...
ak7vkk.jpg
 
Listen to this guy, I get the impression he knows what he's talking about. Pics don't lie.....
 
tonight i am goint to wet sand it so that i can clear it... i know i say not to but i want to do something on the tank and by clearing it i can spray over the clear... if i am not happy with the outcome i can sand it down wihtout ruining the paint under the original clear... ill snap some pics of the progress
 
JRK,
I am picking up a few cans of that epoxy appliance spray paint tomorrow for application on two surfaces:
Plastic - headlight "bucket"
Metal - gauges and assorted brackets

For the plastic I am just roughing up the surfaces with 600 grit before spraying the epoxy.

For the metal, I used a wire wheel + sandpaper to get down to the bare metal, then worked up to 600 grit sandpaper for a reasonable finish. I think I might put on some Rustoleum Auto primer before the epoxy paint.

Sounds good?
 
i do not prime on metal... it advises not to and i have had great luck wihtout it... on the plastics I still use a self etching primer... will help the paint hold if the plastic flexes at all
ALSO!!!! make sure it is WARM enought! soak the can in hot water for about 10 min and it will really help the way it sprays and lays... if the garage is not warm enough it will not dry right.... be ready for overspray like a mother F____R
 
JRK5892 said:
i do not prime on metal... it advises not to and i have had great luck wihtout it... on the plastics I still use a self etching primer... will help the paint hold if the plastic flexes at all
ALSO!!!! make sure it is WARM enought! soak the can in hot water for about 10 min and it will really help the way it sprays and lays... if the garage is not warm enough it will not dry right.... be ready for overspray like a mother F____R
Click to expand...
Ok I won't use the primer then.
YIKES! I did not think that temp was that big of an issue. What I have been doing for my other rattle can jobs is spraying in the garage and making a dash to the basement of the house for drying. What do you mean by overspray?
 
if the metal/ parts you are spraying are too cold and the air is too cold it will not let the paint propperly set up... it will be soft (this is for any rattle can) remember you only have a 1/2 hour to shoot this and then it needs a week to cure propperly, you have to do light coats, so this will be outside for 1/2 hour at least... in the cold we have right now there is no way to shoot it unless the garage is at the lest 50*... over spray.... this paint hits the air and will begin break up... it just hangs there in the air with this paint... be sure you cover everything, or make a booth out of cardboard or something... that will help alot.
honestly in this cold.... i would not shoot any kind of paint without heating up the garage, you will never get it to lay right, will get orange peel, RUNS, and weak adheasion
 
JRK5892 said:
if the metal/ parts you are spraying are too cold and the air is too cold it will not let the paint propperly set up... it will be soft (this is for any rattle can) remember you only have a 1/2 hour to shoot this and then it needs a week to cure propperly, you have to do light coats, so this will be outside for 1/2 hour at least... in the cold we have right now there is no way to shoot it unless the garage is at the lest 50*... over spray.... this paint hits the air and will begin break up... it just hangs there in the air with this paint... be sure you cover everything, or make a booth out of cardboard or something... that will help alot.
honestly in this cold.... i would not shoot any kind of paint without heating up the garage, you will never get it to lay right, will get orange peel, RUNS, and weak adheasion
Click to expand...
Yeah I understand completely, f**king Chicago weather!
 
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