Anyone ever paint a car with rust-oleum exterior paint?

[GordonGriggs]

I know its a CrAzzY question. But I was in lowes and saw the rust-oleum exterior paint, its oil based enamel. Anyone ever use it to paint a car? Im sure I could thin it down and spray it. Maybe Ill buy a quart and test it out on a spare hood, or door to see what happens. Its only $9.48 a quart or $27.98 a gallon.

[1970Moparmann]

Someone did it on another forum with a sponge roller and after wet sanding it turned out ok.  If you do it, post your results.

[richRTSE]

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1
Loooooooooooooooooong read....

[JB400]

Tractor paint costs about the same amount at some places.  I can go to Orschelins (hardware store ) and get it for about that much.

[b5blue]

Yup my Cherokee. Painted the roof white after sanding and treating rust spots with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator. Rolled a coat or two and brushed the edges. It's holding up fine after 2 years.  I figured what the heck it's just an old jeep. The roof stays much cooler in the hot FL. sun now also. 

[Chatt69chgr]

A guy I knew back in high school painted his car with Rustoleum.  Bought a couple of quarts and a big brush and had at it.  It was a beater and all he cared about was it rusting.  I knew a guy that also did this with an old farm truck.

[c00nhunterjoe]

I painted mine with tractor supply's valspar brand tractor paint. $28 gallon for primer. $32 for paint. $8.99 for hardener.  As long as you are not looking for a show car and you have somewhere out of the su  to store the car then its ok. I have never painted a car before and it mixed easy and sprayed nice. Had I been a real body man it would have turned out even better. Since my body and prep sucked, the pai t will never be any better then it is. But it layed easy and I have no chips from rocks or people leaning on it and climbing in and out of the doors at cruises. Since it is oil base enamal you can't clear it and the sun will fade it if left outdoors for storage. I keep mine in a tarp garage and waxed regularly and have no complaints.

For the price, if you want a driver car, and are on a tight budget, I say go for it.

[JB400]

Not bad for tractor paint


Cool way of pulling off a Turbine wheel 

[GordonGriggs]

I think it looks really good for tractor paint. What kind of hardener did you use with the paint?

[c00nhunterjoe]

The turbines are only on the front. I have the matching vectors to go on just havnt finished restoring them yet.... 


I ueed the hardener from valspar and thinned with naptha as reccomended by valpsar

[moparguy01]

yup. my 78 Bronco. I just needed to put something on it so that it would not rust worse. so i duct taped cardboard to the windows, and sandblasted the truck. Then thinned down rustoleum rusty metal primer with acetone and sprayed it, followed up with their color coat.it turned out real nice for the 53 bucks I had in it. It even held up in the sun for 5 years after I sold it to a guy on ebay.

[Silver R/T]

Just cause something is cheap doesn't mean you should use it. Stick with automotive paint you'll be happier in the end.

[b5blue]

I used Kirker brand on my car, we'll see how it holds up. 

[moparguy01]

I used Kirker brand on my car, we'll see how it holds up. 

the summit racing paint?

[b5blue]

Well I've "heard rumors" that's what they and Eastwood sell but no real "Kirker". http://www.kirkerautomotive.com/html/paints.html#Paint2
   Pure white, I used Eastwood Epoxy Primer on the whole car after stripping 90% to steel.

[Cooter]

No pics, but back in HS I sprayed my '67 and my '65 With Rust-oleum paint. Turned out ok. Like mentioned, you don't want to enter it in any shows, but protected the car and it wasn't Gray primer anymore.

[Budnicks]

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1
Loooooooooooooooooong read....

That car looked pretty damn good for being painted with a roller let alone Rust-oleum exterior paint

[Budnicks]

I'm not to sure the paint is very hard or scratch resistant, with out a clear with a hardener in it, over it maybe.... Rust-Oleum isn't intended for use on a car, where your washing, rubbing & buffing it allot, all of it I've ever used is pretty soft stuff...  I guess anything is possible...  there are other cheap automotive paints, probably better suited for what you want to do... I would be interested to see how it turned out thou... I think there was a guy on Mopar Muscle Mag. Forum that did a yellow RR too with Rust-Oleum paint....

[Bobs69]

Not bad for tractor paint


Cool way of pulling off a Turbine wheel 

Agreed.  Nice.

A friend of mine did a Toyota truck when we were little more then kids.  It was red.  He laid cardboard down on the concrete and started painting, and believe it or not chased the runs all the way down the panels and let them drip on the cardboard!  Not a single run in the paint, because the whole thing was one big run.  No orange peel (that's what he didn't want) even tho I don't think you would get one with that paint.

I think he also wanted as much "product" on the vehicle as possible seeing how it was a rusty old thing.

[squeakfinder]

      To answer the question, yes I have. It looked nice for a while. And to answer the question you didn't ask, no it will not hold up. You can try and keep it out of the sun but fat chance on that because the summer is when we actually get these cars out. You might want to consider Maco or something. I'm just say'n, you need to be prepared for a high maintenance paint job that will need to be rubbed out and waxed after you wash it almost every time. And the paint will need to be resprayed every two or three years if you want to keep it looking nice. Oh, and if you you want to do a flat color like flat black, wiping it down with wd-40 will revitalize it. Until it rains, then it it'll have that dull streaked look again.

[johnnycharger]

Can't resist

[squeakfinder]

       Damnit Johnny quit interupting me. 

[johnnycharger]

The door was wiiiiide open....

[Budnicks]

Can't resist

   

[c00nhunterjoe]

This is my 2nd season with the tractor paint. Its holding up pretty well. Its scratch and chip resistant. Kids climb all over my car and I don't have any issues. The pic I posted above is from a week or 2 ago. I wax it no more often then any other car and I drive it all the time. As long as you keep the wax regular it seems to be holding up well. No hard buffing. Just liquid wax and wipe off.

[c00nhunterjoe]

A few more from this past weekend and weekend before

[squeakfinder]

     It looks good, but you used hardener. Van Sickle tractor paint has a hardener additive available. Sold at Coastal Farm and Ranch. Oil based paint also. I used it on a brush rake I built for a TD 9 crawler. The paint is holding up O.K. on the part of the rake that doesn't get stuck into the ground. But I haven't tried there hardener with Rustoleum.

[c00nhunterjoe]

Here is a local car painted with rustoleum purchased at walmart. No hardener. It shows scuff marks from the uood being set on the roof due to the lack of hardener. Otherwise very nce.

[1974dodgecharger]

WOW...thats awesome man....makes me want to do mine with spray cans...

A few more from this past weekend and weekend before

[squeakfinder]

      I used NAPA comercial coating on my sons Scamp. No hardner. It needed to be waxed quite often.




     

[69DodgeCharger]

I saw an earlier poster say you could not clear coat over Rustoleum because it is oil based enamel. I personally have, and my friend has repeatedly sprayed clear coat over it. In fact to skip a ton of scuff work before clearing we spray the clear on as soon as the Rustoleum is tacky enough to hold it. Looks like a million dollars after being buffed and has lasted for over 4 years on his blazer and over two on my Ranger with no problems. So it can "be done" Probably not the best way to go, but....

[c00nhunterjoe]

What type of clear did you use? I have read everywhere that there is no clear compatable with the oil based paints. If it works I'm interested.

[69DodgeCharger]

Just your basic Auto Value brand clear coat. Mine was $60 a gallon. My friend has used even cheaper brands with great results. I have done it, and seen it a dozen times already with no I'll effects. It will look like a quality base clear job and most people will never know.

[Highbanked Hauler]

 Rust oleum is very similar to  Dupont synthetic enamel which I have sprayed gallons of back in the day. The big problem with old enamel is a slow full cure and no UV protection.

[squeakfinder]

no UV protection.

That's my issue with it. I recall reading a comment in some thread around here about that "Paint your car with a paint roller" thread on moparts. Somebody stated they saw the original poster's car 2 or 3 year's latter and it didn't look so good. That orange 69.