Rattle Can Q & A's

Alright I'm opening this for any questions and answers on this. I really would like to get things painted around here, don't want to pay big money for it, and don't feel like powder coating or dealing with a spray gun. That leaves the rattle can...

From watching multiple youtube videos I've gathered you spray it up and bake it at 200* for 20 minutes (powder coating is 350*). So my questions would be the following:

Do you bake just the paint, paint first and then the clear too, or only after clear process?

What is the best sanding process between coats and grit wise?

Can you carefully bake plastic parts?

Brands?

Guess we'll start with that. Would like to hear success stories so that I can perfect the rattle can.

 

Im no rattle expert but ive had good results with everything duplicolor. The prep work is part of the key to a good finish. After that ill put on several light coats of the paint until it really starts building. On my last few coats ill put them on fairly heavy then pop the whole thing into a low temp oven, something like 225. Ill bake it in there for as long as i can and very carefully remove it. I generally dont do any sanding and once it cools ill apply several coats of clear and let that air dry someplace with low humidity.
They usually come out pretty nice but the one thing ive found with rattle cans is the quality never really lasts. Sometimes ill get a few months out of something, sometimes a year but it always ends up looking ratty faster than actual painting.

 

The job is ALL in the Prep.
The slightest blem will be magnified when you blow-on the color.

The most common mistakes that Rattle-can Painters make are:
a) The "Point & Shoot"

DO NOT point the can at the work and start to spray.
Shake the Can.
START the spray AWAY from the work and bring the mist to and across the work.
NEVER ... Point at the work and squirt spray. That causes RUNS.
Even if you have to shoot a little spot you left thin, ... Start the spray away ... bring the mist to the work ... quickly apply the coat ... aim away from the work BEFORE stopping the spray.

b) DONT USE THE WHOLE CAN.
>> When the Paint gets low ... CHANGE CANS before you hit Propellent.
Shooting Propellant will mess-up the job.
It's better to not even get close.

c) FINISHING the Job.
>> After blowing-on the color, ... let it DRY for a minimum of 48 Hrs.
Wet-sand the dried paint-job with 1000 or 1200.
Wash, ... rinse ... dry.
Apply CLEAR=COAT to restore luster.
Wet-sand Clear ... clean ... apply additional coat(s)

Buff FINAL Clear AFTER completely dry.

 

I wonder if that has something to do with product quality of the clear coat. Maybe it needs to get baked on too?

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@RickCoMatic - do you bake it? does it have to be wet sanding or can it be dry sanded? Noob Alert!: is wet and dry paper the same?

 

Rick, just to clarify, are you saying apply additional clear coat?

Dave

 

You can apply several coats of Clear.

An extra coat or two ... well buffed ... lets you brag about how much work you did.

"Looks good"
"Thanks. It's got three coats of clear. Hand buffed. Used 3 packs of new socks. Blue Coral-ed. Rinsed with distilled water."

 

Ive had great results with the duplicolor engine enamels. It takes 3 hours to dry and a full week for the paint to fully cure but it is very durable. I used it for the wheels and have not had to repaint them in over a year now and close to 10000 miles.

 

Those handles that attach onto the spraypaint cans are really nice to have.

 

My vote is with Duplicolor or VHT (same company) for basecoats, and follow up with Spraymax for the clear topcoat. Great stuff and easy as hell to work with. you can even by the basecoats in Spraymax, which is what I did for my daughter's BC Rich Warlock (Plum Crazy Purple), followed by their clear. Guitar came out, wonderfully.

 

I did a rattle can job on Pumba and it looked great, however 2 years later (and 1,000 klms with a tank bag), the finish is crappy.

I would not class the finish as durable.

 

Will a baked rattle can paint job hold up to spilled gas?

 

Not without a two-parts clear coat that is gasoline safe.

I've done a few spray can jobs, quite a few actually.

My latest project is painting the 650R. My 3 hour paint job actually included over 40 hours worth of prep work.

Sanding (80 grit)
Bondo
Sanding (150 grit)
more bondo
more sanding (220)
spot filler
sanding (280)
spot filler
sanding (320)
primer
wet sand (400, lightly)
primer
wet sand (800)
primer
wet sand (1000)
paint (light)
paint (light)
paint (medium)
wet sand (400, lightly)
paint (medium)
wet sand (800, feather touch)
paint (heavy)
wet sand (1000, feather touch)
paint (heavy)
wet sand (2000, more of a light tickle than a feather touch)
let cure 5 days

clear on fender and side covers:
clear coat (light)
clear coat (light)
clear coat (medium)
wet sand (1000, feather touch)
clear coat (heavy)
wet sand (2000, feather touch)
final clear coat (heavy)
let cure 5 days
hand rub with Meguiar's Polishing Compound

SprayMax 2K Clear on tank:
clear coat (light)
dry 15 minutes
clear coat (medium)
dry 15 minutes
Clear coat (medium)
dry 4 hours
EDIT: ............I forgot to add wet sand with 1000 grit here............
Final clear coat (heavy)
dry 24 hours
hand rub with Meguiar's Polishing Compound

The SprayMax should be used withing 12 hours of activation, sprays great, dries quickly, and is gasoline safe

Don't wax within (depending on who you ask) 1 to 4 weeks

Duplicolor spray is good quality

NO, dry paper and wet/dry paper are NOT the same. The only time you should be dry sanding is for paint stripping, bondo, and spot putty

 

You need to protect yourself.
Don't think you can get-by without clear.

There's more than just Gas that will mess-up the job.
Brake fluid.
Lighter fluid.
Diet Coke.

 

You can get actual automotive paints and clears in rattle cans if you go to a paint supply house. They will put whatever you want in the can. Never personally done it that way but I looked into it last time I painted my bike.

 

Everyone has their own way of doing it. But if you notice everyone preps and sands the same way. What i have found with clear coat most do not stand up to gas. I started using engine clear it resists chemicals a little better. But you need to make sure to spray over the paint your going to use to make sure the paints get along (separate piece of metal) My rattle can paint jobs hold up well. The last bike i did i saw about a year ago. The owner logged over 25k mils on it still looked great

 

If you are going to use the Duplicolor that is quick dry, make very sure that your tank isn't too warm before you spray, the paint will instantly shrivel like an old pair of n....

 

I bake my parts in the sun at 200* :lol: :roll:

+1 on Tsaka sanding gradient progression,
just a note - any work coarser than 220 will show thru the final finish without the filling and feathering and re-priming already mentioned, so to any amatuers, start the job with 220 if you can.

Completely de-grease the job first !! Coarse sandpaper can drive grease/oil "to the bone" and your work WILL "fish-eye" because of these tiny amounts of oil interacting with the paint while it's drying.

And don't rush.

 

IWGO is right, the best way is to go to a paint supply house and have them inject auto paint into a rattle can, then buy Spray 2K Max clearcoat. It has a button that mixes the two internal chambers together and it comes out like liquid glass if applied correctly. I've had more then one vintage guy not be able to tell my custom mixed rattle can jobs from original factory.

Lastly, I'll share another of my "secrets"....warm your paint to 100-115...about comcortable bath water temp......it will go on amazingly evenly and dry without runs......

jeff

 

Sweet tips. Went to the store and got me some socks, some airplane stripper (seen that on youtube), multiple wet grits, and some engine enamel. Couldn't find the duplicolor where we went nor did I have the time to find a place that fills them, but I will be using those tips in the future.

Great tips and keep them coming. Oh and going to warm up my paint before use. Now I just need to find a warm place in the northeast to do this.

 

I did my fairing last year with Duplicolor spray car paint. I wanted to match the colors of my bike and I found a Duplicolor that's was a pretty good match.
I gave the fairing 3 coats (wet sanded between coats, the clear coated with enamel clear with hardener in it. The clear coat turned out like glass!
The most inmportant part of painting is the prep work. Wet sanding between coats feathers out any imperfections and eventually you get a perfect finish.
The main thing is to use a top coat with hardener in to incase of a gas spill, bird poop,etc., and it keeps the sun from fading the paint over time.

My Harley fairing painted and mounted on a VT1100 Honda Shadow:

 

Looks sweet painter. I got a 2006 shadow as a personal. Only a VT750 though , but has booster intake.

I got the engine clear coat enamel. Figured if it's good up to 500*+ heat and hold to oil and gas on an engine then it would work well as suggested earlier in here.

 

:::: Editors Note :::::

Remember the Golden Rule.
It's ALL in the PREP.
Once you have Bike Parts ... Absolutely READY ... for Painting, ... it's worth your trouble to:
a) Barter
b) Pay for the Painting with CASH

Let the guy who smashed-up his Escalade buy you some GOOD Paint.

TRADE what you do, ...
For what a Body Shop Guy does.

Do his Taxes. Teach his dog to "Stay". Hook-up his Home Theater. Get him up on FaceBook. Create a Website.
WHAT-EVER !!!

A Tank, Fender and 2- Sides can get-done with what he has left in the GUN after shooting some poor bastards quarter-panel.

"Hello, Mr. Bodyshop. My name is Needagud Paintjob. I was looking on-line and couldn't find your Web Site. I brought my LapTop and fully-prepped Bike Parts needing color blown-on. I'll sit here and create your new Web PAGE; if you'll have somebody blow-on an exciting color from whats left-over that you'd like to get rid of. The sexier the paint-job gets, ... the better your Web Site is going to look."

 

LOL...heck Rick, it might work.....

the Spraymax 2K is a two part urethane....and it's gas and oil resistant which is why I use it on bikes....for those of us that have struggled with rustoleums, krylons and the like, it's from a different and better planet!

I used it on my last H1 that I sold to a guy in Minn....after he took delivery, he wrote me a email complimenting me on the paint....he didn't know that I had walked into the local paint supply house, picked a PPG color out of the Mazda & Imports book, paid them to inject it into rattle cans, picked up 2 cans of "Spraymax 2K rapid cut in clear" and sprayed it myself.....be sure to use a respirator with REAL paints or you can quickly cause your lungs some serious damage!!

jeff

 

I am painting my master cylinder with caliper paint in a rattle can and was wondering if I should clear coat it. Thoughts?

 

Don't clear coat it, but you have to bake it, 1 hour 200 deg.