Technical Chassis paint

Have a truck frame im going to paint soon. It will be sandblasted before painting so no rust and just bare metal. I’m looking for a semi gross or satin chassis paint. With UV protection. I was eyeballing spraying Eastwood chassis paint but wanted to know what other used? Local friend said try rustoleum paint but don’t know if it actually has Uv protection from fading.

 

I actually use rustoleum satin black # 7777 thin with urethane reducer spray's great, take's a couple day's to dry for assembly.
There's a lot of catalyzed satin out there as well .

 

Did you have any issues with the rustoleum fading over time. Painted my trailer several years ago with tractor paint from tractor supply and it faded within a year. I know the frame won’t be exposed to UV rays that much but want something that will stand up to rocks/chips.

 

I'm Western NY, I haven't had any issues, the rustoleum is going to hold up better than anything as far a chipping.

 

I really like the Eastwood Chassis paint - used on three frames now all with really nice results. pics are from my 36 pickup that was done around 6 years ago and really holding up well.

 

I would epoxy then use any brand of automotive or industrial paint you like.
PPG among others have semi-gloss industrial enamels/urethanes that are good products and cost effective.
However, there are several DTM (direct to metal) industrial paints. A friend of mine uses them on equipment with good results.

 

They do have a hardener you can add to it so it doesn't take so long to dry

 

I still like powder paint. Gets everywhere, doesn't run and is durable. I know it gets poo pooed on here but I've done several deuce chassis with excellent results.

 

I've used Rustoleum black on every frame, and floors on all my builds for decades. It holds up great, but does dull slightly. I use gloss black, so even after over a decade my frame and underbody are still sort of semigloss. Holds up great to a lot of driving also. I see no signs of chips on my 11 year old project.

 

With the cost of paint materials + your labor it might be cost effective to power coat it

 

Looks good. Is that satin black you used? Did you apply to bare metal or did you use primer first?

 

I've been using tcpglobal urethane, they'll add a flatteber if you call, or you can buy it from them and weigh it per can.
https://tcpglobal.com/collections/acrylic-urethane-paint-chasis-black-gloss

Southern polyurethane epoxy primer has UV additive.
https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/pricing

Any industrial catalyzed paint will work, most of it is alkyd enamel and pretty tough when cured out. Add enamel hardener to toughen it up. I shoot some rustoleum but prefer valspar tractor enamel.

Krylon owned by sherwin williams
Valspar owned by sherwin williams
Rustoleum owned by RPM international

 

Hard to beat good old fashion Rustoleum enamel,it will hold up extremely well.

Used it on my Deuce pickup frame.



Used it on the Ranch Wagon frame. HRP

 

My son used Fleet Farm tractor enamel paint with hardner added on the frame of his 53 f100. It came out real nice with a sort of semi gloss finish and just looks right. The frame was shot in DP40 before paint. The tractor paint with hardner cost him about $65. The price was in his budget.

 

I also prefer powder or liquid paint where it's practical. I would powder coat the body if it weren't for the body filler.
"I use that shit on everything"

 

If you are finished with frame mounts/drilling/welding.... powder coat IMO....esp if you want real durability.....it is NOT that expensive, they do prep, and you can get neat effects or colors just like with paint. It helps to toss in any little extra pieces at the same time, little coat jobs not free.

 

I painted my entire car with this stuff. It’s on eBay and found it laid down real nice and mocked GM under hood paint .

 

For 1,000 bucks you could have it powder coated and forget about it.

 

Had my 1934 chassis, front axle, suspension and steering components, etc powder coated for $750. Hard to beat.

 

I used Eastwood chassis paint. They have several grades and I think I used the middle one. Pretty nice and easy to use with the rattle cans. It does, however, drift everywhere, so plan for that.

I only have 2500 miles on it in mostly good weather, but it looks great. I used the satin.

John

 

A fellow I know who is extremely picky uses Tremclad/Rustoleum in a 4:1 ration of flat to gloss. It comes looking dead on to factory and is very very durable.

 

I'm lazy and cheap. I picked up a case of VHT chassis and rollcage black on Amazon, this was in 2014 and came to about $6 per can. It goes on well, touchups blend right in and it holds up. I do garage my car and don't drive it in crappy weather.

 

And I'm pretty sure he didn't spend a thousand dollars. I took the back bumper of my Sierra apart and painted all of the steel parts with three coats of Rustoleum Stops Rust satin black. this is a year round truck, so I also hit it with a couple of light coats of CRC 06026 heavy duty corrosion inhibitor. It is translucent, and I touched up all the paint on the underside of the bed and cab as well, and hit that with the CRC too. It is basically cosmoline.

I did all the suspension parts of a convertible I restored in the early 80s with Rustoleum. I drove it pretty much all summer every day for 15 years, and it was still hanging in there when I sold it. It is a pretty good paint if you get enough on there to make a decent coating. There are lots of chassis paints, and there are a lot that are superior in some way or another to Rustoleum. We used to have this saying, Best is the enemy of the good. it is necessary to find a reasonable balance between the intended purpose and the resources used ...