I work at a chemical plant and our plant only runs half the time. If we are not packaging when we are down, they give us things to do instead of laying us off which is great. One of the things we do is paint.

I've been really impressed with this PPG Pitthane paint we use:

https://www.ppgpaints.com/products/pitt ... ne-enamels

I painted some hand rails using a horse hair brush and this stuff is so glossy and slick when it dries. One section dried so slick it didn't even have any orange peel or brush strokes in it. My guess is because it takes longer to dry, it allows the paint to lay down better.

I thinned it down with MEK which is really volatile stuff but works just as well as the 101 thinner that is supposed to be used. The MEK is intended to be use to clean brushes but it seems to make a great thinner. Just gives off more fumes.

I got to wondering what would this stuff look like if shot from a paint gun.

I noticed that items we have painted that sit out in the weather 24/7/365 do tend to fade after about 3 years. If I were to paint a car with this and keep it waxed and kept in the garage when not driven, I wonder how well this would hold up.

The main reason I am asking this is I've used acrylic enamels and I have issues with orange peel. Not just the typical orange peel found even on cars painted from the factory but more of a rough texture. Like the paint is drying too quickly. So far I've painted two cars and have had to go back and wet sand and buff the car.

This Fiat 131 I painted with ValSpar tractor paint from Tractor Supply:

http://s222.photobucket.com/user/turbof ... t=6&page=1

I would not recommend this paint at all. It's oil based and did not adhere too well to the primer I used. Although I guess I could have used their primer before painting the car.

This Yugo I used Dupont acrylic enamel:

http://s222.photobucket.com/user/turbof ... t=6&page=1

I have painted stuff using a rattle can that looked better.

One of my better paint jobs was this wagon using Rustoleum:

http://s222.photobucket.com/user/turbof ... t=2&page=1

Any pros or cons to using this paint? Any of you guys ever used this paint to paint anything?

If it fades that quickly then it doesn't have UV inhibitors (or enough of them); no amount of wax is going to fix that. Other than that, it's probably ok for very low budget jobs.

I'd suggest that you learn how to spray the acrylic correctly. The problems you mention are technique related, not product related.

MEK is bad enough in liquid form. Atomised and sprayed it is just asking for trouble.

Just a short excerpt:

How can methyl ethyl ketone affect my health?

People exposed to MEK have nose, throat, skin and eye irritation. If MEK is inhaled with other harmful
chemicals, the damage can be more serious. Animals that breathed or swallowed high levels of MEK had serious health effects, including birth defects, fainting and death. Rats that swallowed MEK had drooping eyelids and difficulty with muscle movements.

There was no damage to the ability to reproduce. Mice who breathed low levels for a short time showed short-
term effects on behavior. Animals that drank water with low levels of MEK for a short time had mild kidney
damage. There are no long-term studies with animals breathing or drinking MEK.

MEK has not been named as a cancer-causing agent.

How is methyl ethyl ketone poisoning treated?

There is no treatment for methyl ethyl ketone.

I would have thought that in a chemical plant, where knowledge of risks should be at its highest, that using incorrect/non-specified thinners would not be allowed. Are your supervisors aware of what you're doing?

ABSOLUTLEY do NOT use MEK...

it is Designed for Q80 Xylene BUT Urethane reducers work better.

70% solids so it will dry slow


that pitthane is amazing stuff for equipment, do not paint a car with it...

it fading on you is probably that MEK