>> SPRAY-CAN PAINT QUESTION <<

[BearKiller]

Piece by piece, I have been carefully stripping, de-greasing, sanding, priming, and painting various parts of my tractor and equipment.



Genuine Massey-Ferguson RED is six-bucks a can at the local farm supply.

Plain old Dollar General Store RED is a buck-fifty; and, it is as good as any spray paint I have ever used.

My tried and true procedure is two coats primer, then three coats of M-F RED; each coat is applied about thirty minutes apart.

After this has dried a couple hours, I apply two coats of DutchBoy CLEAR, thirty minutes apart.

I have found that the CLEAR yields a much longer lasting shine and protects the colored layers somewhat.

My question is :

If I apply two coats of the less expensive dollar store RED, then apply one coat of the M-F RED, will it affect the outcome of my color ??

Would my results be better if I waited longer between the plain old RED and the M-F RED ??

Your thoughts please.

 

[ray66v]

Using the "cheap" paint for a ground coat is fine, as long as you put enough coats of the good paint on top, to achieve the proper color.

As long as each coat is as dry as the can recommends, your fine to add the next coat.

Red is usually the most transparent color, because of the removal of lead from paint, and the fact that red pigment is the most expensive to produce. Therefore, what you use under it, can slightly effect the shade of the finished product. this is a factor even with the color of primer you use.

You can make up some samples with varying amount of coats, as a test. Take them out in the sun, and compare them, to see if you can tell the difference. Most people will not notice the variation.

A more expensive paint will usually be a better quality paint. Drying faster, giving better adhesion, and higher resistance to UV light. Although, in the case of the spray cans at the the tractor dealer, you may not necessarily be getting more for you money.

 

[radioman]

I just recently painted my snowplow with paints bought from TSC. I just recently learned something. I bought the primer spray cans thinking it won't take much and will need alot of color paint so bought it by the can. Interestingly I found that the ready spray cans did not last as long and I hated the fumes from the can. When I laided down the color using my 3 gallon Air compressor and the small handheld sprayer I bought as kit from homier, I actaully got better coverage and no fumes and it went down better. I also had alot of paint leftover too even after 3 coats. I know the primer coat helped some but wished I bought primer by the wuart not the ready cans.

Perhaps next time you have a project like that, you could use the aircompressor sprayer if you can, I beleive it will go a long ways in saving money unless its such a small project.

 

[BearKiller]

Although, in the case of the spray cans at the the tractor dealer, you may not necessarily be getting more for you money.

That is sorta what I figure; if the dollar store had Massey Ferguson RED, that is what I would be using.

I have some more little brackets to paint right now.

I am going to cover the primer with the dollar store RED, let it dry; then topcoat it with the M-F RED and see how it turns out.

Perhaps next time you have a project like that, you could use the aircompressor sprayer if you can, I beleive it will go a long ways in saving money unless its such a small project.

Right now, I am just painting one or two small odds and ends at a time; brackets, and the like.

When I get around to such things as fenders and hood, I will probably take your advise and use the air-sprayer.

 

[Skyco]

One thing about using bulk paint rather than spray can paint is the hardener available to add to the bulk paint in a sprayer. I know TSC carries it for the line of Valspar paints they sell. I generally find spray can paint to be far inferior to bulk paint applied with a spray gun, don't know if the formulas are that different or what.

 

[BearKiller]

One thing about using bulk paint rather than spray can paint is the hardener available to add to the bulk paint in a sprayer. I know TSC carries it for the line of Valspar paints they sell. I generally find spray can paint to be far inferior to bulk paint applied with a spray gun, don't know if the formulas are that different or what.

I had considered the probable absence of hardener in the spray can paint.

This leads me to another question :

Let's say I mix up a pint of paint/reducer/hardener; what is the "shelf life" once it is mixed ??; if I empty the paint-gun into a sealed jar, can I pour it back in the gun the next day and use it ??

Thanks.

 

[laurencen]

depending on the paint likely not, I had a quart of candy red paint mixed for a project, only used a third, put it in the can and pushed the lid on, aftera week it was prety hard like putty so I think the hardner will begin to set the paint right from the mixing

 

[BXpanded]

Some colors such as red, yellow, and orange require many coats to cover other colors. The off-color red may be very difficult to cover and may be streaked when you finish as you'll be able to see any variation in paint thickness. You will likely have better luck with a white or very light colored primer. If you use white primer, you can usually get pretty good color with only one or two color coats. The time between coats can be critical. Some paints require re-coating within 20 minutes or wait 2 days... The solvent in the re-coat attacks the previous coat unless it is still very soft (20 minutes) or very hard (2 days). Re-coating between these times will result in wrinkling. Read the instructions and paint a sample patch.

You can store thinned paint but not paint with hardener.

 

[BearKiller]

Well, I did a little test run on some miscellaneous brackets.

I used the same two coats Red Oxide primer, then two coats of the dollar store RED, then one coat of the Massey Ferguson RED, then two coats DutchBoy Clear.

I can see no difference between these brackets and the ones I did using all three coats of M-F RED.

This method saves the more costly paint; but, more important, I pass the dollar store every day, whereas the farm supply is about six miles out of my beaten path, making for a twelve mile trip.


Thanks for your input.

 

[oughtsix]

By far the best rattle can paint I have ever used is Hammerlite. The only rattle can finish that I have found to be tougher than Hammetlite is Hammerlite over a slight bit of surface rust. I have used it extensively on my trail rig and it holds up extremely well.

It is SO much better than Rustoleum that Rustoleum bought the whole Hammerlite company and now sells this paint as Rustoleum hammer finish.