Rattle Can Refinish Club

[Doctor Morbius]

I think Rustoleum has given me the most spray issues over the years. Splattering blobs or shooting little specks that look dry, like sawdust.
Though, when it works, me likey.

A friend of mine swears by Dupli-Color for cars. The Rustoleum finish I'm currently working on isn't going to be anything close to a factory finish so if I get tired of it I will refin it next year in something similar to lake placid blue or ice blue metallic using Dupli-Color.

 

[C Stone]

View attachment 3812140
Just completed - refinish of a Spector Legend. It was supposed to involve a rattle can - I purchased Krylon transparent red stain to spray under the finish. But the can was defective; got a couple test squirts, and two short ones onto the bass (thankfully started with the back) before the can stopped working. Even the little bit that came out was splotchy and uneven, so probably a good thing that it quit on me early into the process... thus ends my use of any Krylon products...
This is a rubbed on finish using 1# shellac, about 20-25 coats, sanded with 320 grit and polished with pumice and mineral oil.

It's defective. Return it and get another spray can if you still able to.

When I bought paint for my refin project, I bought 2 cans of the same color of Rustoleum. I tested one on a scrap piece of wood and it came out sputtering. Tried the 2nd can and it sprayed smoothly. Sometimes you just get a dud.

Also, as mentioned in a previous post, when the paint is near the bottom of the can it will sputter out. It's best to use a different can than to take a chance on screwing up a decent finish.

Most likely defective yes but it's the nozzle it's almost never the paint, just try swapping for a nozzle that worked.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

I'm prepping to do this: (Warmoth neck is weeks out)thinking black hardware.

With this : and bury in Solarez "I can't believe it's not lacquer" uv /sunlight cure clear coat.

 

[cavemanbass]

It's defective. Return it and get another spray can if you still able to.

When I bought paint for my refin project, I bought 2 cans of the same color of Rustoleum. I tested one on a scrap piece of wood and it came out sputtering. Tried the 2nd can and it sprayed smoothly. Sometimes you just get a dud.

Also, as mentioned in a previous post, when the paint is near the bottom of the can it will sputter out. It's best to use a different can than to take a chance on screwing up a decent finish.

Thanks, I figured it was a problem with the can. Got it from Roth Metal Flake, they refused to replace it. Won’t be buying anything from them in future.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Most likely defective yes but it's the nozzle it's almost never the paint, just try swapping for a nozzle that worked.

or soak nozzle in solvent.
if you pick can up off the shelf, people test spry in the store , just one little squirt-- and then put it back on the shelf without clearing the nozzle. GRRRRR.

I'm ordering these. Aerosol Spray Nozzles - 6 Pack | stewmac.com
and re-using indefinitely.

 

[friskinator]

A friend of mine swears by Dupli-Color for cars. The Rustoleum finish I'm currently working on isn't going to be anything close to a factory finish so if I get tired of it I will refin it next year in something similar to lake placid blue or ice blue metallic using Dupli-Color.

I've had great luck with the Duplicolor as well. Their range of colors isn't particularly wide, but you can get pretty close to some classic Fender colors with some of their cans. I've never tried their clear coat, but I always use Minwax gloss lacquer since it's compatible and easy to find.

 

[grouse789]

If you aren't already, you should be soaking your rattle cans in a bucket of hot tap water for 30 minutes before use. you get a good even flow.

 

[grouse789]

I'm prepping to do this: (Warmoth neck is weeks out)thinking black hardware.
View attachment 3982903
With this : and bury in Solarez "I can't believe it's not lacquer" uv /sunlight cure clear coat.
View attachment 3982904

this guy has some great videos on using solarez.

 

[friskinator]

If you aren't already, you should be soaking your rattle cans in a bucket of hot tap water for 30 minutes before use. you get a good even flow.

This might be a myth. My father in law is a woodworker, and when I did my first refin project, I used his workshop. I mentioned what I had read about soaking the cans, and he looked at me like I was crazy and said "what the hell's that supposed to do?" I explained the logic behind it, and he waved it off as nonsense.

Not saying you're wrong, but unless you're spraying in cold climates, it might be a waste of water

 

[grouse789]

Well I was spraying in 60* weather back in April here in NY. It's simple physics really. You can read about paint reaction here Spraying Lacquer in Challenging Environments

 

[deff]

Well I was spraying in 60* weather back in April here in NY. It's simple physics really. You can read about paint reaction here Spraying Lacquer in Challenging Environments

It doesn't hurt to do this but the main source of spitting in metallic paints is the pigment size and clogging. The nozzles on metallics and clog up and the paint comes out in globules. You can clear the clear the nozzle as was mentioned above, but there's no guarantee it gets totally clear. Metallics have a largish pigment size and can collect in the nozzle, it gets worse as the can runs down because there's less propellant and pressure in the system.
Heating it up might help a bit. Vigorous shaking and clearing the nozzle is the best way to keep it uniform and equally distributed.

 

[deff]

Well I was spraying in 60* weather back in April here in NY. It's simple physics really. You can read about paint reaction here Spraying Lacquer in Challenging Environments

That's a very good and accurate and concise article. Glad they differentiated between vehicle and solvent types.

 

[cavemanbass]

My first rattle can finish - restored my very first bass, a 71 pbass purchased in 1976, more or less to original color scheme (it was white with brown tort guard, I went with pearl white / red tort).
Used Roth (avalanche white / pearl / 1k clear) products. Two of five cans of clear were problematic. So, the clear is not as deep as it should be although I like the way it turned out. Playability and sound is fantastic; I invested some time learning about fret leveling, which made an enormous difference.

 

[deff]

View attachment 3983155
My first rattle can finish - restored my very first bass, a 71 pbass purchased in 1976, more or less to original color scheme (it was white with brown tort guard, I went with pearl white / red tort).
Used Roth (avalanche white / pearl / 1k clear) products. Two of five cans of clear were problematic. So, the clear is not as deep as it should be although I like the way it turned out. Playability and sound is fantastic; I invested some time learning about fret leveling, which made an enormous difference.

Are you talking about the Spraymax clear? I had that stuff ruin two paint jobs of mine, went through 3 bad cans. I left an amazon review and you can't believe the number of people that shouted me down about it. I love the Roth stuff though. I'd love to see some better pictures. Maybe some outside pics. Nice job.

 

[cavemanbass]

Cost for the rattle cans that I used on my pbass project was close to $150 - seven cans in total, some of them costing around $20 plus the shipping and tax.
Given all the issues that I had with nozzles / cans not working right, I belatedly looked at the cost of a sprayer - more out of curiosity then anything. Seems I could buy a HVLP sprayer for about $40, so could have purchased the sprayer and all paints for less then I spent on rattle cans. Other then the hassle of cleaning the sprayer, is there a downside to doing this? For those of you with way more experience then me, what am I missing?

 

[cavemanbass]

Are you talking about the Spraymax clear? I had that stuff ruin two paint jobs of mine, went through 3 bad cans. I left an amazon review and you can't believe the number of people that shouted me down about it. I love the Roth stuff though. I'd love to see some better pictures. Maybe some outside pics. Nice job.

thank you! The clear is just called 1k Clear Coat. It's not the 2-component clear (2k Clear Coat), I was afraid that I'd mess that up...

 

[deff]

thank you! The clear is just called 1k Clear Coat. It's not the 2-component clear (2k Clear Coat), I was afraid that I'd mess that up...

Yup. I used the 2K but honestly don't like anything from Spraymax. My favorite can clear is Fusion. It goes over everything and sprays evenly and buillds and cuts nicely.

 

[cavemanbass]

Yup. I used the 2K but honestly don't like anything from Spraymax. My favorite can clear is Fusion. It goes over everything and sprays evenly and buillds and cuts nicely.

Good to know, thanks for the info. I read several horror stories right here on this thread, about people ruining a paint job by using incompatible clear (i.e. different brand then the base coats), so I made sure to buy all my stuff from the same source.

 

[grouse789]

Cost for the rattle cans that I used on my pbass project was close to $150 - seven cans in total, some of them costing around $20 plus the shipping and tax.
Given all the issues that I had with nozzles / cans not working right, I belatedly looked at the cost of a sprayer - more out of curiosity then anything. Seems I could buy a HVLP sprayer for about $40, so could have purchased the sprayer and all paints for less then I spent on rattle cans. Other then the hassle of cleaning the sprayer, is there a downside to doing this? For those of you with way more experience then me, what am I missing?

This guy has great videos on spraying. There are many other helpful Youtubers as well. I too have wanted to try that route, but it is a bit more involved than a rattle can. But for a $40 investment you will learn alot.

I have also found this lacquer product good for finishing.
https://www.amazon.com/Watco-63081-...ocphy=9004225&hvtargid=pla-306709818418&psc=1

 

[C Stone]

This might be a myth. My father in law is a woodworker, and when I did my first refin project, I used his workshop. I mentioned what I had read about soaking the cans, and he looked at me like I was crazy and said "what the hell's that supposed to do?" I explained the logic behind it, and he waved it off as nonsense.

Not saying you're wrong, but unless you're spraying in cold climates, it might be a waste of water

yup us "old guys" can be pretty stubborn but soaking in hot water has always worked for me to get a nice and even flow in colder weather, on a warm day if the suns is out I set the cans out to heat up before spraying and don't bother with the hot water. It's no myth it's physics!
Edit: Same reason people put honey in hot water or roofers or road workers heat tar.