Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy Enamel

[Bingster]

I was in Menard's and saw that Rustoleum sells an oil-based appliance epoxy.  I wonder how that would be for floor pans, etc?

[DJ194950]

Cannot say about floor pan usage but on steering wheels it had held up exceptionally!  Flexing too much may cause issues?, but our steer wheels flex a lot, so?.

 

They sell an off white that is somewhat close to the original off white factory used.

 

DJ

 

 

[Los_Control]

I admit to being a odd bird .... yes I have a a spray can of epoxy white ..... I actually use it for touch up on the washer/dryer in the garage.

I cant even imagine using it for the floors of my car ...... I say anything is better then nothing ..... just not my first or 10th choice.

 

Nothing wrong with using it, just nothing I would set out intentionally to use in my vehicle .... Just white paint .... who paints their floors white?

[Ivan_B]

46 minutes ago, Los_Control said:

who paints their floors white?

Easier to see rust, later on? 😂😉

[Bingster]

Oh, as there are black appliances, I thought it came in black.

[Los_Control]

I'm a firm believer in using spray paint where it actually is needed ..... I use it often all the time ..... as far as epoxy appliance paint ..... nothing better or worse then straight up spray paint.

 

I have used it for touch up paint on the wife white car ..... I see no sign it is better or worse then other spray cans .... just has a fancy name.

[Sam Buchanan]

I've used Rustoleum and Tractor Supply's implement paint for rust "proofing" on many projects over the years. No paint will kill rust that isn't addressed but it can inhibit surface corrosion on clean surfaces. Two VW Beetle floor pans (inside and out) and running gear received the Rustoleum satin and gloss finishes and both have held up well for over twenty years. I usually use a brush because the paint can be applied thicker and the cost and mess is much less than spray cans. I've also bought quarts, thinned with mineral spirits and shot it with a spray gun when that was the best option.

[Ivan_B]

6 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said:

I usually use a brush because the paint can be applied thicker . . .

Isn't the proper painting technique, actually, requires thinner paint layer? I was under impression that for general wear parts thin coat is the best (less prone to chipping, etc.) and when you need thicker finish (like on automotive body panels) you apply multiple thin coats, drying and sanding them in between 🤔

[Plymouthy Adams]

 

5 minutes ago, Ivan_B said:

Isn't the proper painting technique, actually, requires thinner paint layer? I was under impression that for general wear parts thin coat is the best (less prone to chipping, etc.) and when you need thicker finish (like on automotive body panels) you apply multiple thin coats, drying and sanding them in between 🤔

visit a body shop and video the spraying, drying, sanding, respray for each coat.....be a mighty short film  what you describing is the primer/surfacers in prep for top coat finish.  Only time between coats is the flash time and dependent on temp and solvents used, it never should be allowed to dry between coats, thus a thin coat that will not be so wet to run or sag and when flashed you build your next layer.  A good spray job is often described as a controlled run.  Spray paint in a can is not for exposed surfaces and in times when you need X color....there is little long term protection with the absence of hardener,  you can use these rattle cans but do topcoat clear for the long run.  Test compatibility of comingled material on any job.   Rustoleum Appliance paint has it uses and I have used it on appliances, for that application, it is ideal.  Holds up well to repeated washings.  

[Ivan_B]

Looked it up, what I was describing appears to be the good-old lacquer paint application technique. The fact that many technologies are not used anymore, is heavily related to the production efficiency (cheaper) of the process. Not necessarily something one wants to aspire to

[Sam Buchanan]

15 hours ago, Bingster said:

I was in Menard's and saw that Rustoleum sells an oil-based appliance epoxy.  I wonder how that would be for floor pans, etc?

 

My response was in regard to the original post about painting floor pans. These are parts of the car that aren't visible once the vehicle is assembled and can accept finishes that you wouldn't apply to the exterior of a hood. One of the common treatments for floor pans is POR which is a relatively thick "paint" that is applied with a brush so the pans will have a durable, rust and chip resistant finish. Rustoleum and similar exterior paints are an inexpensive alternative to the higher-$$$ stuff like POR or multi-stage epoxy and well suited to our old buggies.

 

https://por15.com/products/rust-preventive-coating

 

[Sam Buchanan]

38 minutes ago, Ivan_B said:

Looked it up, what I was describing appears to be the good-old lacquer paint application technique. The fact that many technologies are not used anymore, is heavily related to the production efficiency (cheaper) of the process. Not necessarily something one wants to aspire to

 

I can absolutely assure you the new paint processes are not cheaper!! The cost of modern, cross-linked auto finishes is staggering, often many hundreds of $$$'s per gallon when you include the necessary reducers and hardeners. Then you add several coats of extremely expensive clear. But the resulting finish is much more durable and flexible (and environmentally friendly) than the old systems such as lacquer and acrylic enamel. To call modern auto finishes "paint" is a misnomer, they should be regarded more as a plastic coating.

Edited April 24 by Sam Buchanan

[Plymouthy Adams]

automotive paint cost is driven by the collision industry where in by 9 and out by 5 is the shop MO and time is money and the insurance calls the shots on time/material and overall process completely.   HOWEVER  I would say that 95% or better of hobbyists do not work to that schedule and therefore do not need these products specific to the short availability of the vehicle or shop access.  NOR are they working rust issues and or panel repairs of banging out ripples, replacement parts by factory, LKQ or collision panel from a wrecking yard is the time paid for repairs, shops would loose their butts in the first week if repairs were as before.   If you paying for those material, well that is your call but they are not needed outside the collision industry.   

[Ivan_B]

28 minutes ago, Sam Buchanan said:

These are parts of the car that aren't visible once the vehicle is assembled and can accept finishes that you wouldn't apply to the exterior of a hood.

That's true. However, I've never used POR before. As for the Rustoleum products, specifically mentioned by TS, the best result I had was with their marine paint (applied with a brush). It is UV-resistant (for exterior panels) sands and polishes well, and does not come right off when you spill gas on it 😉

[Eneto-55]

29 minutes ago, Ivan_B said:

That's true. However, I've never used POR before. As for the Rustoleum products, specifically mentioned by TS, the best result I had was with their marine paint (applied with a brush). It is UV-resistant (for exterior panels) sands and polishes well, and does not come right off when you spill gas on it 😉

What about brake fluid?  (Just curious.)

[Plymouthy Adams]

I have not seen a paint that would hold up to the effect of Dot3 fluid.....powder coat may stand up but would be in my opinion stained at minimum.  Most areas you cncerned with are likely not subject to ease of powder coating either.  Go DOT5 or forever be ye careful.

[Sam Buchanan]

15 minutes ago, Eneto-55 said:

What about brake fluid?  (Just curious.)

 

Keep your leftover paint and a couple of brushes and touch-up as necessary. 

[Ivan_B]

1 hour ago, Eneto-55 said:

What about brake fluid?  (Just curious.)

Did not try that... The "gas test" was only performed because I spilled it while filling-up 😂

[JBNeal]

17 hours ago, Bingster said:

I was in Menard's and saw that Rustoleum sells an oil-based appliance epoxy.  I wonder how that would be for floor pans, etc?

I am a big proponent of Rustoleum...follow the instructions to the letter, and it is long lasting and durable.  My current Rustoleum experiment is a 500 gallon propane tank built in 1964 that I repainted in 2011.  It gets morning and afternoon sun and is shaded by a pecan tree that all variety of birds perch on occasion.  Once a year, I scrub it with car wash soap...not a spot of rust has reappeared.   Remove the loose rust, wash with Dawn between sanding and coating, apply primer and top coats with a foam brush, thin enough that it does not run.  Half a gallon of primer did 4 coats, half a gallon of aluminum silver did 4 top coats, no overspray, a few drops spilled, not much cleanup required, and still shiny after a decade of the elements.

 

By contrast, I painted a pair of lawn cart 8" rims right before lockdown.  These John Deere rims appeared to have been half-@$$ed painted from the factory back in '02, were rusty within a year, and the cart tires and the 1st replacements were always going flat.  So in '20, before I replaced the tires a 2nd time, I peeled the old paint off in chunks, wire brushed off the rust, cleaned per Rustoleum instructions, brushed on primer 2 coats wet sanding between coats, then top coated with rattle can Rustoleum Safety Yellow.  These are small rims that I took great care to cover everything in that 1-car garage workshop, and dadgum I found yellow overspray in the oddest places nowhere near where I was working, even with the door closed and no fans on.  Anyhow, the rims looked great, and those tires rarely need airing up as that cart hauls rock, dirt, and other heavy loads around. 

[Eneto-55]

41 minutes ago, Ivan_B said:

Did not try that... The "gas test" was only performed because I spilled it while filling-up 😂

I found out about brake fluid the same way - an accident.  I had cadmium plated my back plates, and then just spray bombed them with black paint over that.  While bleeding the left rear wheel brakes I got some on the backing plate, and the paint ran right off.

[Eneto-55]

I ruined a pair of eye glasses from spraying Rustoleum with a spray gun when I was working at the plating shop back in Tulsa.  The lenses were plastic, and so I didn't dare try any solvents.  I eventually used buffing compound, and finished with toothpaste.  I could see again, but they were foggy.  I switched back to glass lenses then, and never had plastic lenses again until a few years ago, when they claimed the tri-focals I have to have now would be too heavy in glass.  I somehow accidentally got a deep scratch right in the worst spot on the left lens, so had them replaced.  Then those lenses delaminated.  They didn't accept any responsibility for that, so I went back to glass.  Plastic lenses? Never again.

[Bob Ritter]

18 hours ago, Bingster said:

I was in Menard's and saw that Rustoleum sells an oil-based appliance epoxy.  I wonder how that would be for floor pans, etc?

I prefer using bedliner paint, comes in black and dries hard. Comes in aerosol cans already mixed just a little masking and your done. Two cans will do the whole floor. I do like Rustoleum engine paint in fact I use it on my small brackets...

[Los_Control]

For the floor pans this is what I would suggest, or what I did. I also painted my whole truck with it.

I buy $1 nylon paint brushes 2.5" wide from the dollar store. I actually have a bag of them hanging on the wall .... use it and throw it away.

 

 

I bought the paint from tractor supply and primer from Ace hardware. The paint is DTM (direct to metal) so primer is not needed.

The paint really does lay down heavy with a brush but it flows good leaving no brush marks ..... After a hour the paint does melt the nylon brushes and it is kinda like spreading paint with a stick .... The $1 brushes will last about 1 hour though.

 

I'm interested in the gallon can because I painted frame, suspension everything and then I used same paint to spray the body.

I also found that if I did not use the paint right away, I could not properly seal the open can again. Come back a month later and there would be 3/4" of dried paint on top.

I would dig that out and use the paint underneath ..... pretty wasteful. For floor pans maybe a quart can is better .... use it as you go.

 

I'm 100% happy with using Rustoleum with a brush and I would do it again. ..... While rattle cans have their place, I would not consider it for frames or floors.

 

 

All brushed on thick & heavy and cheaper then rattle cans.

[Ivan_B]

Next time you paint outer panels, try several thin coats (diluted to milk-like viscosity), then sanding and polishing. No one will know you painted it yourself with a brush 😉

[Los_Control]

I sprayed all body panels including the inner fenders and outer fenders ..... hung them up on a clothes line.

I just used my best judgement when I would use the brush .... Underneath is all brushed, all sheet metal is sprayed.

 

So far I'm satisfied with the outcome. I painted it last fall with no light under a dark carport. .... I'm not 100% happy. I did spray the whole gallon. Which is actually the 2nd gallon of paint on this truck .... 1 gallon was just for frame & suspension. .... What I'm not happy with, I laid it on thick but have a couple light spots. The surface is rough when you run your hand over it. ..... There are some blotches in it, making the gloss level different.

I'm thinking some wet sanding and polish/wax would go a long ways ..... Same time I do not have paint for the rear fenders .... $100 more, I will wet sand it and shoot it again.

 

This was painted last fall, never been washed or messed with .... it lives outside. ..... I'm fine with it as is, I think for $100 and some labor I can improve it .... possible it never happens and just left as is? ..... Should update my thread on it .... just too busy with spring gardening and working on the wife car.