I have a group of buddies that shy away from painting their rust buckets/rat rods with anything other than a rattle can due to the cost of materials (paint, clear coat, hardeners). Most of them have harbor freight hvlp guns and are not afraid to spray. So, I thought I’d try an experiment. The parameters were, the materials must be inexpensive, easy to get, relatively easy to use and have some reasonable durability.

Here’s what I came up with:

1. Primed a panel with Rustoleum auto primer. (“I know, it’s a rattle can. I wanted to keep this step simple”).

2. Shot three coats of Rustoluem enamel reduced with mineral spirits and then catalyzed with Majic Hardener (enamel hardener) . (Ratio 4:3:1). (Rustoleum from Home Depot and the hardener from Tractor supply)

3. Sat the panel in the sun (75-80 degrees) for 3 days.

For a quick and inexpensive rat rod paint job it sufficed. It’s nothing new and a 30 second google search would reveal the same info.

However, I thought I’d take it a step further to see what would happen. On top of the catalyzed Rustoleum I airbrushed some simple graphics using reduced 1 shot enamel. I’ve never airbrushed with 1 shot enamel and was curious as to how it would shoot. It actually sprayed fairly well…usual tip dry using white.

Because the 1 shot was reduced and not catalyzed it’s very weak. I’d like to bury it in a clear coat.

So, here is the question, “what clear coat would you suggest be used to spray over this test panel?” Remember, the 1 shot enamel has been reduced, not catalyzed, and it was sprayed on top of a catalyzed Rustoleum enamel.

Thanks,
Dave

P.S. “Yes, it would have been better to do a base coat, inter coat clear, graphics and then bury it all in a clear coat.”