Great paint

[MaineShark]

As I've been rebuilding the suspension, I've been painting things. Now, we're talking 25-year-old components, with their fair share of scratches and dings. Plus, I'm pretty bad at painting. So, glossy paint would end up looking pretty bad. And, it's been done a lot.

So, I wen't looking for some paint, with no real idea of what I wanted. I heppend across a can of Rustoleum "Hammered Finish" black spray paint. Well, I sprayed my water pump pulley, and my right side control arm and spring, so far, and I'm very pleased. The finish is visually interesting (it really does look pretty much like hammered metal), and covers all but the worst scratches.

I'll have to see how well it survives the torture test it's going to be exposed to, but if it does, I think I will be very happy with it. The only warning I have is that it's dark grey, not black, so keep that in mind. I'm very happy with the look, and I'll post some pics once I get everything back together.

Hope this might help someone who's looking to keep the rust off, and hide some scratches (or just look cool - I'm seriously considering painting some stuff that doesn't really need a "scratch-hiding" paint, just 'cause I like the look).

Joe

 

[69MyWay]

Joe,

Try spraying some clear over that and see how it looks. I spray clear either out of the can or gun over my other colors to give them that wet slick look. I also find that components sprayed in clear tend to be easier to wash off.

My favorite accent/detail color is "cast iron" for brackets, bolts, pulleys, etc. etc. It gives a pure raw machined steel look that is almost black, but has enough color/metalic to catch your eye.

Adding the clear makes it pop.

Thanks for the hammered finish tip. I will have to pick some up and give it a try.

 

[MaineShark]

Thanks for the idea. I'm going to give that a shot.

A question: how well do you think I can expect this to hold up on the spring? I've never painted something that will constantly be flexing, before...

Joe

 

[Copdogcorvettes]

I normally use the Rust-o in Satin Black on the springs and frame. it has a light shine,but not that high gloss that shows the flaws. The nice thing is that you can get in by the spray can, quarts or even gallons. The satin finish allows you to touch up and does look like you did.

Gary

 

[paintdaddy]

That is some good stuff.Its generic name is Hammertone.Its mainly used on european cars.I just had to paint the dash on a datsun roadster whith hammertone silver.

 

[Tom73]

Joe,
I used the Silver HammerFinish on my Ralley Wheels, looks great.

tom...

 

[MaineShark]

I wish I could post pictures - these things look great. I don't think the finish would show up in a photo, though.

Still, if anyone's looking at painting some parts, give this a shot (try it on some scrap, if you like).

Now, anyone have any ideas on how I should get this spring back in the car, without scratching all the nice new paint off?

Joe

 

[jetech]

I used the grey/silver on my valve covers. It works great.

 

[MaineShark]

Well, I've painted the water pump pulley, the right-side spring, tie rod, and lower control arm. The pulley, tie rod, and spring recieved a few coats of clear, over the hammered. The control arm is just the hammered paint. I think that will give a nice subtle difference.

I used stainless bolts to re-attach the rubber bumper to the control arm (I painted the metal portion of the bumper, as well as the spacer). I'm half tempted to pull it apart again and paint the spacer black, just for some contrast, but I think I'm going to leave it alone.

The things I'm debating now are the front frame crossmember (except I think it would be near impossible to properly mask-off everything that I don't want to get paint on) and the air cleaner cover, since the chrome is not in the best shape, anyway.

The frame is probably a no-go until I pull the engine (long way down the road), but what do you guys think about the air cleaner cover?

Also, another tip for anyone using this paint: more and thicker coats reduce the "hammered" look of the finish (the later coats fill in the dimples), but there is still enough of a ripple effect to hide (or reduce the appearance of) surface imperfections. I am very pleased with this paint, and that's a rarity, since I generally hate painting, and how things turn out after I paint them.

Joe

 

[MaineShark]

Problem:

I decided to go ahead and paint the air cleaner cover (I'm going to get a K&N filter top eventually, anyway, but I wanted to do something until then, to cover that scratched and rusted chrome). Paint went on fine, and looked great, until I sprayed the clear acrylic. Now it is literally encrusted in wrinkles.

Why? And how do I prevent it from happening again, after I wire-brush this off and re-paint?

Joe

 

[Copdogcorvettes]

Joe,

That's a very common thing. The clear is a completely different type of material. It's like the difference between oil basepaint and water base. There are not designed to be use togrther. The clear is more like a lacgaer and will eat up the enamel. All you can do now is sand it all off and start over.

Gary

 

[MaineShark]

Thanks for the quick response.

I double-checked, and the clear says enamel, not acrylic (don't know where I got acrylic from). Does that change anything?

And, is there some sort of clear spraypaint that won't have that effect on my color coat?

Joe

 

[Copdogcorvettes]

I believe there is some out there You would have to check with your local paint store. I just stopped using the clear. I jsut wait a day or two for the paint to dry well and add a coat of polish to mine. On the black I use the black color coded polish.

Gary