Rattle Can Black Paint Comparison

Tom Wesenberg

Tom Wesenberg

Well-known member
I bought 3 cans of what I thought was the best rattle can black at local stores. The first can was a 12 oz. can of Dupli-Color Acylic Lacquer for $6.97 from the Lowell's auto paint store. The second can was a 15 oz. can of RUST-OLEUM Professional High Performance Enamel, which I bought at WalMart for $4.97. The third can was a 12 oz. can of RUST-OLEUM 2X Ultra Cover Paint + Primer, which I found at Fleet Farm the other day for $2.97 on sale. I would have bought more, but they only had one can left.

In the first picture, the black on the left, by my hand is the Rustoleum Professional, and the paint on the right is the Duplic-Color Acrylic Lacquer. I couldn't tell any difference in the color or sheen of these two and they both looked like a good black, without the charcoal grey look of some blacks. The second picture is the Rustoleum 2X, which is only one coat, while the first picture was 2 coats of each color. So, the Rustoleum 2X does cover better as claimed and it has a slightly higher gloss than the first 2 paints in the first picture.

All 3 paints dried very quickly, and I could touch them in less than 30 minutes. I will continue to buy Rustoleum black from now on. It's much better than the Rustoleum I used years ago, that took a week to dry before I could touch it, and then it looked more charcoal gray than black. I think this 2X is something new, and it does cover much better, just as it claims.
 

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That looks like a nice, quick fix (which my hood could use) - anyone have an idea how long it (the Rustoleum 2X) will hold up before losing it's shininess?
 
I used to use Krylon with good results. They must have reformulated it because I have nothing but problems with it lately. I now use Rustoleum, goes on well and dries quick. Seymore was a good paint, but I have no where to buy it anymore.
 
Tom,
Do you know of a way to check the toughness of the paints after drying for a long time? I painted a frame about 15 years ago with Rustoleum red primer and Rustoleum satin black top coat. I used the quart cans and an air compresser to spray the frame, not rattle cans. I was sadly dissapointed in the lack of scratch and scuff resistance of the paint. It seemed like everytime I barely touched it the black paint would come off and the red primer would show. I ended up sandblasting the frame again and spraying it with Eastwood 1:1 epoxy primer and top coated it with Extreme Ceramic Chassis satin black. I wasn't real happy with it, as the paint left a dull finish, not satin, and by the time I was applying the second top coat, the top coat started gelling in the spray gun (about 15 minutes after putting it in the spray gun). The pot life was suppose to be 30 to 40 minutes. At first I thought maybe it was the conditions (too hot or humid), but it happened again on a second frame I did. That is the last time I will use the cruddy Eastwood Extreme Ceramic Chassis black. I have no idea how well it holds up, but spraying it is a problem.
Rusty Nelson
 
Tom, I've been using an Epoxy black on my small parts. A friend who is a former Body man, tells me that just about all Rattle can paints, including primers, are laquers. Is this true? Is my epoxy a laquer too?
Terry
 
I tried Rustoleum and not knowing any better mixed it with paint thinner to spray from my gun. Nothing I did turned out right, it never seem to dry and always had a nasty look to it and you could peel it with your finger nail. Read somewhere to thin it using Acetone, I can't believe how fast it dried and with a very nice gloss! It is also tough as nails, I used it to paint my work bench and it really take alot of abuse. Here's the funny part using acetone to clean the gun was a total failure, but the plain ole paint thinner completely
clean the gun.

One on my buddies has a 2001 Dodge truck that he is patching some of the minor rust holes and we are going to use this method to do a back yard paint job this summer.
 
The Rustoleum 2x that I have used tends to run very easy and can get too thick and kind of crackly when dried. You need to be very careful to keep it even and proper coverage. The "regular" Rustoleum seems to work better for me and has a nice finished look but does require 2 coats some times. It is not like professional type car paint but does an amazing job for what it is. I have tried the other brands and IMO Rustoelum is the best one right now.

For those who use it in the larger cans and are trying to spray it with a paint gun, you need to use hardener and use the proper thinning agent, read the can and use the exact thinner it tells you to and you get some good results for a low cost. If you use the wrong thinner you will have a mess and it will flake / chalk off. I have used it to paint a lot of metal yard chairs, tables, etc. and have learned to follow the directions or I get to re-sand blast and start over after 2 or 3 years, as the wife does not like the yard "stuff" looking too bad..
 
Terry said:
Tom, I've been using an Epoxy black on my small parts. A friend who is a former Body man, tells me that just about all Rattle can paints, including primers, are laquers. Is this true? Is my epoxy a laquer too?
Terry
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I'm far from any kind of paint expert, but don't think that statement would be true.

In the 70's I painted my white motorcycle helmet with spray can appliance epoxy white paint and it sure held up well, even after being dropped a few times.:)
 
After MANY years of painting cars and parts I have never found a rattle can of finish paint worth a damn. After going to all the ttouble and expense of building your car why skimp on the paint....its what shows anyway. Use todays outstanding new paints....not hard to use with some patience and advice. I cringe when I hear the words Rustoleum and Tractor Supply enamel.

But each to their own. Seems like some folks always have the $$ and time to do something over but never the time to just do it right the first time.
 
Good information, thanks. I will look for the 2X, sounds like a great product. I dont like the regular rustoleum either, slow to dry, and most of the time I cant finish the can because the nozzle clogs. I have had much better luck with the Krylon.
 
Curt Campbell said:
After MANY years of painting cars and parts I have never found a rattle can of finish paint worth a damn. After going to all the ttouble and expense of building your car why skimp on the paint....its what shows anyway. Use todays outstanding new paints....not hard to use with some patience and advice. I cringe when I hear the words Rustoleum and Tractor Supply enamel.

But each to their own. Seems like some folks always have the $$ and time to do something over but never the time to just do it right the first time.
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I wouldn't use rattle can paint for the frame, driveline, or body either. It
does come in handy for a lot of smaller parts, when it isn't cost efficient to mix expensive paints, thinners, and hardners, then have to clean the guns and mixing containers.

Rattle can paints will never hold up like expensive paints with hardners, so they will chip easier, but I restored my powerhouse and starter about 20 years ago and used a can of spray paint and they still look good.:)
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
I bought 3 cans of what I thought was the best rattle can black at local stores. The first can was a 12 oz. can of Dupli-Color Acylic Lacquer for $6.97 from the Lowell's auto paint store. The second can was a 15 oz. can of RUST-OLEUM Professional High Performance Enamel, which I bought at WalMart for $4.97. The third can was a 12 oz. can of RUST-OLEUM 2X Ultra Cover Paint + Primer, which I found at Fleet Farm the other day for $2.97 on sale. .
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I used to work for a nation-wide industrial supplier. We were authorized Rust-oleum as well as Krylon, and a House Brand rattle can paints. I have sat through several demonstrations from Rust-oleum demonstrating the product, as well as "how to demonstrate" the product. They have demonstrated numerous times against any paint that we could provide, that their pigment concentration is higher in all of their lines than any competitive paint. In salt spray tests they exceed all other rattle cans as well for adhesion and gloss retention. All of that is of course when applied specifically to their recommendations.

Paints, to the those who apply them, tend to be as subjective as politics or which oil to use or which brand of antifreeze is better. But less than satisfactory results can be attributed to lack of proper prep, wrong environmental conditions during application, improper expectations of the results the product can provide, or misuse of the product. Rattle cans have their place, but they don't belong everywhere.
 
Curt, With all due respect, The reason I like a rattle can Is because it simple and fairly cheap. I have a spray setup and I don't really like it. I can't use it well. It just doesn't work for me. Furthermore, there is a cost factor to consider. I can buy black paint at $400+ a gal, spray it and still get a crappy job or I can go to Tractor supply and get a Gallon of their paint + thinner and hardener, Total cost under $75 and paint all day.
That's just what I did and I "Oranged peeled" a fender. The guy who's doing the painting for me said that the paint dried too fast. Sure was shiny though. I tried to sand the OP out and that implement paint was tough. The sandpaper would hardly scratch it. It was tougher than any Rustoleum I've seen. So that how us "amateurs" have to get these jobs done. Yes! I think we'd all concede that spray guns are better.That $400 paint may be better. Although I can't figure out what is in that can to make it worth anywhere near that, but it is what it is. Merry Christmas!
Terry









Curt Campbell said:
After MANY years of painting cars and parts I have never found a rattle can of finish paint worth a damn. After going to all the ttouble and expense of building your car why skimp on the paint....its what shows anyway. Use todays outstanding new paints....not hard to use with some patience and advice. I cringe when I hear the words Rustoleum and Tractor Supply enamel.

But each to their own. Seems like some folks always have the $$ and time to do something over but never the time to just do it right the first time.
Click to expand...
 
Paint always comes out perfect on a tin can, whenever I use a can to prop up something I am painting the paint is perfect on the can no matter how bad the item I am painting comes out.

I use a different approach to painting of many small parts that I may not have enough ready for proper painting ---I treat the freshly media cleaned parts with "Picklex 20", then they can hang around for a long time before painting without rusting(I have some parts that have been hanging for more than 5 years that still look freshly blasted, when I have enough ready to mix epoxy primer I will paint.

I have used the slower drying rustoleum with good results on many houshold things like heater vents and metal kitchen cabinets
 
Very nice Christmas-like response Terry! I agree in most regards with you. Those endless nuts/bolts/screws, etc... are best sprayed with a rattle can. I have really appreciated the POR products. They have rattle cans now, but they are expensive. They cover a lot though and are tough as nails. Merry Christmas.
 
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