Tried lookin this up but couldnt find what i was lookin for. I know some of you have used Rustoleum. But what has your experience been with the clear coat? I've had a lot of problems with it either hazing or pulling up the base coat. We've tried letting it dry and clearin, and clearin right after paint. So whats the deal? Im no paint expert, and my buddy is pretty damn good with paint, but even he is stumped.
Because the clears just aren't compatible with the Rustoleum. From what I've read you need to completely strip the stuff to paint with regular automotive paint again. I believe it's because Rustoleum is a formula that only cures on the top surface and stays soft underneath, particularly if it's applied in thick coats. Put some on a piece of s**** and try scratching it once it's cured and see how it comes off, compared to say regular automotive paint, and you'll see the difference. So unless Rustoleum themselves make a clear, I think you're out of luck. But I've seen gallons of automotive paint on sale for under $100 (Martin Senour in a Napa store a while back), if you want a finish you can clear coat over you probably should be using that.
I just had that same problem with RUSTOLEUM!! I bought the silver metallic and the clear, both RUSTO, and the silver metallic looked good but once i put the clear......F@#!!!!!! It look like ****, it wrinkled the silver so bad and looked really hazy!! What's up with that???!!!??? I will never buy RUSTOLEUM again!! I always thought if you buy from the same brand, they were compatible??? Ian
The clear was probably a lacquer and the base coat was an enamel. Or the base coat wasn't fully cured. The labels on the cans should flat out tell you what the contents in the can are. Always practice on a s**** piece of metal first when in doubt. Bob
Hey, I'm bettin' you, or your painter shot the colour coat, wet, and probably two coats at that ! Rustoleum is an alkyd enamel based finish that dries from solvent evaporation and oxidization. If you shot the clear over the colour coat whyle the first coat/s were still flashing, you have probably trapped solvent beneith the clear, and that would explane the die back of the clear's gloss. Next time try one colour coat, giving a complete dry tack coat, then the clear coat. You could also try mixing the clear into the colour and shooting it as if it were a ''tinted'' candy finish. The Rustoleum finishes are good for what they are, but don't expect top automotive finish results from them. S****ey Devils C.C. "Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Comp***ion!"
I've done it in the past with no problems. That said the base coat had to be completely dry and hard. I reshot rattle can black over itself and it wrinkled, more than once. Now I let it cure for at least a full day in warm weather, and longer then that when it's cool.
Ian I guess were in it together. This was a while back, i had my entire firewall black and lookin saaawwwweeet. My buddy says lets clear it with the Rusto clear to really make it shine, and for added protection. I says "why not". I ended up fixin where it pulled and just throwin more black on it. It looks good enough especially for a driver, but I was hopin for some extra coats of protection.
****s man!! I let the tank dry for 2 days then clear coated it. Instantly it started wrinkling!! I just went in the garage to look at the paint and one is METALLIC FINISH and the clear is CRYSTAL CLEAR ENAMEL... It must be the problem, different types of paint!! DUH!! Ian
I sprayed the gravel pan on my '54 a couple of years ago with the metal flake Rustoleum and it looked like *** until I cleared it with their clear. It turned out really well and is holding up nicely. The can says to top coat with the clear after ten minutes.
Everything I've read about using Rustoleum to paint cars says to apply thin coats. That's the real problem with it. To do it right takes lots of coats and wet sanding. I did it the "right" way on a hood I have. Took a ton of time but looks great and is hard as nails. The metallic rustoleum paints don't work for automobiles, and people have had mixed results with the clears. If I didn't have access to a big compressor and could live with the limited color selection and had the time to do all the wet sanding, it'd be a great option. Done properly, it looks like a lacquer paint job and way less plasticky than bc/cc. -JJ
What brand of spray paint and what type would you guys recommend to paint the dash in my chevy?? I really don't want to **** that up. Thanx guys!! Ian
For the dash, I would use krylon and a clear coat over that. Dries quicker than enamel and is easier to rub out and compound in the long run!! I used Rustoleum clear coat over Metalspecks (which I discovered earlier the hard way that it's a laquer-based paint), and it worked fine. I think the clear coat must be more laquer based, and spraying that over enamel will cause instant cracking. I was fogging my rims on my Olds and instantly saw it start cracking within a matter of seconds. If you go with rustoleum clear make sure it's over a laquer based paint.
I use the crystal clear enamal on a bunch of stuff. mostly art i make. I havent had the wrinkle problem unless its still tacky. But heres a neat tip. On your newer cars with plastic lens headlights. when they get all foggy and hazzy. Just spray it with the clear enamal and it makes them almost clear again and much brighter at night.
Well I literally just walked out to the shop and mixed up some 4:1 urethane clear and sprayed it over a spray canned Arkansas Razorback CNC plasma cut out.....so far it looks perfect about to go put 2nd coat on
Old thread, so may be redundant. Maybe Rustoleum read this, and made a new clear, as this is one I brought a few weeks back. I'm going to polish the Hudson's grill shell, then use this, as I can't afford chrome, haha. It says it wont yellow with age, and I did use a little over top of black etch primer that I used on the grill insert, with no problems.
I know this is an old thread but just felt compelled to share my experience with Rustoleum. I painted my first Truck in 1967 with Rustoleum and a brush thinned with MS. The truck was a 1956 Dodge Pickup. Since then I have painted a Ford F-150 and a 1995 Dodge ram 1500 both were also painted with a brush. Now, before anyone feeling froggy decides to jump on me , let me say this first..... all three trucks are still on the road and although somewhat faded, the paint is still holding up and I'm certain a good polishing would restore the luster. Recently, I decided to repaint my Yamaha V-Star 1100 cl***ic fenders and tank. All were stripped to bare metal, etch primed, surface prime sealed, wet sanded, and painted with 3 coats of Rustoleum Gloss Black Professional Enamel. (Rattle Can) Up to that point, everything went well and looked good, until I decided to clear topcoat. Well, I can tell you 3 things, 1) the paint takes weeks to cure and if you go by the directions on the can (within 1 hour is Ok, or at least 48 hours is not) I can gaurantee you will have issues if you put another coat of any rustoleum product on it. How do I know? Well to begin with it will release the previous coat and you will have to sand it down again. 2) Even after sanding it down and waiting 2 weeks Rustoleum Clear Enamel will lift the paint! So you sand it down again. Believe me, it happened to me! 3) Solution: I wanted a good gloss base coat but did'nt want to start over. So I did some more research as to what I could put over the Rusto. I went to my local T&H Paints store and had them mix me up a can of 2K Gloss Black. I went home and went over my fender with a red scotch bright pad to roughen the surface some, wiped it down with some MS, dried and then tack clothed it good. I put 3 coats of the 2k Gloss Black on 20 minutes apart. Man o man it looked amazing, very shiny with very little orange peel. I followed this with 2 coats of 2K clear glamour, let it set for 3 days and wet sanded it with 800,1000,1500,2000,2500. I followed this with 1 even coat of 2K. Done deal! It is my testimonial and the whole truth and nothing but. It looks truly professional. After doing the fender and having all the rusto issues as mentioned I found this fix for it (luckily) and painted the other fender and tank with the 2K gloss black and Clear with no rusto underneath. { Just so you don't freak out, the 2K in the can is quite thick, so make sure you get a good glossy coat, never ran or sagged on me. Just warm the can in hot water from the tap and keep it shook up.} Same results, but no frustration much, much better paint. So I ended up spending $100, and it will be here long after I am gone. My 2 cents, don't be cheap, you can still have a beautiful professional job using Spray Max 2K paints in a can! OK, I'm Done.
I used rusto on my Mom's Model A fenders and splash aprons. I used a gallon can not the spray, laid down many coats to get it just right then sanded with 320 and used an automotive clear with no problems. Years later in the FL sun when the automotive paint was failing the clear coated rusto was still holding strong. I am a firm believer in rusto/clear but not spray cans.
I didnt need to put a clear coat on...I got a nice shiny coat on with no problems at all. 2012-01-11_13-13-18_294 by Chappy444 posted Jul 6, 2018 at 7:56 AM
Paint is always prep and using the products correctly If ya don’t spray it how it’s designed to be sprayed it’s cost or brand/type is irrelevant
I'm restoring my grandfather's old Wheel Horse and have been painting it with Rustoleum Regal Red. After seeing how nice it's turning out I'm not going to clear it. It looks fantastic!
Only use I've found for Rustoleum Clear is for protecting chalk guide lines for my 14" walk behind concrete wet saw. It has a short dry time but it's not lacquer.
I was thinking of this thread today because my plan was to clear coat a project but now after what happened with the blue I'm not so sure. I brush painted the primer for the underlying brush stroke effect, spray bomb the white, then the red with no effects, couple hrs after the red I sprayed the metallic blue and it checked like an antiqued effect. All Rustoleum so I'm not sure what the heck happened but now I'm Leary about spraying the clear.
Too bad on the blue. As many project vehicles you seem to be working on, I can not believe you have time for this project.
I knew that the rustoleum was going to wrinkle when I painted my grandson's 4 wheeler , but that was the effect I was going for as he wanted a Spider man themed paint job and the wrinkles added to the end results. I put the paint on and cleared it wet and it did exactly what I had hoped for.
I did a set of bumpers in rattle can metallic, can’t remember the brand, then covered them with clear enamel auto paint from www.paintforcars.com. They turned out looking like a satin powder coat. Planning on trying it again on my Lincoln chrome the po painted black.
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