Best Paint?

I know best is an opinion, but what have you guys found that works good to paint rock rails?

I had a set of super sweet C4x4's custom made. 2 tube, with 3 pockets for my hi-lift. They are SWEET and a great value at $240! Just got em the other day. But I asked Mike to not powder coat as I wanted whatever I scratch up to be matched. (he discounts $25 for not powder coating).

Anyway, looking for a spray can paint or a brush on, WHAT DO YOU GUYS RECOMEND?

Jason

Red97XJ said:

I know best is an opinion, but what have you guys found that works good to paint rock rails?
I had a set of super sweet C4x4's custom made. 2 tube, with 3 pockets for my hi-lift. They are SWEET and a great value at $240! Just got em the other day. But I asked Mike to not powder coat as I wanted whatever I scratch up to be matched. (he discounts $25 for not powder coating).
Anyway, looking for a spray can paint or a brush on, WHAT DO YOU GUYS RECOMEND?
Jason

Click to expand...

Some use herculiner or durabak, others use plain old rustoleum and touch up as needed....

i'd get rattle can so fixing will be easy and cheap

Krylon is your friend.

it is of course bare/raw metal, should I use some kind of primer. I think I want the final finish to be a gloss or semi gloss. One thing on "The list" is an ARB bumper, I think they are pretty shiny.

Anyone have an ARB? Glossy?

So, primer, or what?

Rattle can paint absolutely sucks! It works to put color on metal but is very thin and offers very little protection. If you live in a dry warm climate this is fine but if you live anywhere that it snows and they drop salt they be mostly rust color in no time.

Powder coating really is the best. Very strong hard finish that could be touched up with a rattle can. The other option would have been to powder then paint over them with a rattle can to make color matching a snap but offerening the toughness and adheasion of powder.

Too late for that now though. The next best thing would be a metal etching primer from a gun and a high quality automotive finish. Not the greatest for touch ups but not that bad either.

I think you only decent choice at this point is a brush on bed liner and then sprayed over with a rattly can. Wont look as nice as powder or good auto paint but should be fairly tough and easy to touch up. BTW, if you do rattle can them make sure you use a metal etching primer before you paint them the color.

HTH,
B-loose

OK, so I can learn all this. What is Metal etching primer? VS reg. primer?

I orig. thought that the POR 15 would be great, but it sounds VERY expensive after reading I need to prime with a special primer, then use POR15, then use some topcoat for the sun, etc.

By the way, I live in Northern IN. We have salt here..... and every once in a while we get some snow.

Thanks for all your help and Ideas. I don't want to repaint these things in a few months. Just touch up after wheeling/sliding on rails.

Jason

I would spray some metal etch primer, and then a few coats of Krylon Semi gloss black.

Powdercoat is all nice a good, but it will come off when you rub on rocks. As for the ARB, it's a gloss black, but it will fade to sorta semi-gloss after a year or so.

what is the dif between Metal Etch and regular primer?

thanks

POR 15 really is great stuff but it is a bit complicated to put on and their directions need to be followed to a T but if you follow their directions it gives a hard ass finish.

I used DuraCote (spray on bed liner) on my rails, front and rear bumpers. It’s held up well over the last year, no rust and easy to touch up. It doesn’t seem to fade either; it’s the same semi glossy color it was a year ago. Unfortunately I tested out my brush guard on a Ford Ranger last week. The Ford rear bumper was toast and it scuffed up the paint on mine. I’m not sure what upset the other guy more; that his bumper was crumpled or that mine wasn’t damaged at all. Oh well, a $6 can of paint at Wal-Mart and I was back in business :laugh3:

The correct way to paint it, after getting a can or two of what is called 'self etching primer, couple cans of Rustoleum colored paint, quart of Prep-sol, prep sol is sold under different names but it's a fast drying degreaser/cleaner.
Step one: Use some medium grit wet/dry sandpaper to remove any surface rust that formed, clean with the prepsol, wear some clean cloth gloves or handle the parts with clean rags. Hang them up if you can to reach all sides and angles. Spray with self etching primer 2 or 3 light coats, let dry. Wipe down with some prepsol, 2 or 3 more coats of primer, let dry over nite or for several hours. Use some fine or extra fine wet/dry paper and water to rough up the surface and get any runs off. Wipe down with prepsol again. Spray 1 coate of color, let dry, add another coat of color and let dry for a day or more, depends on temperature. I put about 5 coats of red rustoleum on my gastank and front skid. Been on there for about 6 years and other than a touch up after a particularly rocky day they still look good.
If the angles where they were welded are rough you can grind or use some body filler and sandpaper to neaten them up, those angles are usually where most of the rust comes from, the holes in the welds hold moisture.
Try to use the same brand primer and color paint, they go together.... Like I would never use PPG primer and dupont color on a paint job. Granted these are not body work show finishes but doing it right is pretty easy..

I don't know that you would have to go with 6 total coats of primer. I have a C-Rok bumper that came unfinished, and I sprayed two heavy coats of rustoleum primer. I wet sanded after with 440 grit(carefully: remove the imperfections not the primer). After prep, I painted with 2 coats Rustoleum Black using their ball can trigger set-up(Home Depot). I have an immaculate bumper with very little effort. The art of paint is in the prep. The better(and finer grit paper used) you sand and prep the better the job will be. Acetone or Methyl Ethyl Ketone(available at home depot cheap). Work great as paint prep solvents, unless your rig has a cheap aftermarket paint job on it. These will clean all residue off factory paint, HOWEVER; cheap paint will be desolved and gum up.

Metal etching primer is just that, primer that etches it's self into bare metal for better adhesion. It is the way to go when working with bare steel. You can get it at most hardware stores right by the rest of the paint.

B-loose

I just tried Hammerite for the first time last summer (recommended by OldMan), used a Hammerite primer, specified for galvanized steel or chrome (better adhesion?) after roughing things up with sandpaper and a 3M pad. Then brushed on a coat of the New formula water based, Hammerite finish coat. It also comes in a spray can, in either the old solvent based formula or the new. Think the old formula (requires a special thinner for spraying, that cost almost as much as the paint) is a bit more durable, but the water based seems to be good enough for most applications. Hammerite is a paint over rust type paint, just brush off the loose stuff, used alot on outdoor ironwork. It brushes on thick, dries fast and seems hard (impossible) to get a totaly glazed finish without a few brush marks, stuff seems designed more for durability than the finish. Imagine the spray can would have a better finish. They say it can be sprayed from a gun, but from the instructions, I got the feeling it wasn´t the prefered methode of application.
Did my tow hooks, trailer hitch and some other underbody pieces, has held up well so far (tow strap hasn´t taken the paint off). My kind of paint, it gets harder as it ages. Seems much better than regular paint, better than mastic paints, some better than epoxy or PVC paints, comparable to many of the lower priced bedliner paints in hardness, but has some serious rust inhibitors and penetrating adhesives.
No I´m not a Hammerite salesman, just happy because it seems to live up to it´s reputation and wasn´t prohibitively expensive.

.....

neon green

miracle paint
http://www.hirschauto.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=27&Product_ID=10&CATID=1

Red97XJ said:

what is the dif between Metal Etch and regular primer?

thanks

Click to expand...

Etch primer is acid based. It scores the metal for better coverage.

Get the cheap bedliner kit (duplicolor I think) it works great, when I painted my Jeep I painted up to the body folds at the bottom (where the cladding on the chiefs went) with the stuff, so when the mudders throw rocks they don't chip my new paint, just throw some more on if it chips, and it's textured so you don't have to worry about people noticing the paint lines.