2-Part Automotive Clear Coat over Rustoleum

[marshall]

I painted my gas tank the same way I painted my car a couple years ago: with a bucket of Rustoleum, a paintbrush, and a bunch of sandpaper. I've got a real nice, flat finish now but I need to get a clear coat on it that will resist fuel spills, according to what I've read on this site.

I had planned on going to a collision shop and having them spray an automotive 2-part paint on the tank. I took it to a guy last week who said he wasn't sure if his paint would mesh with the Rustoleum, but he gave me a little plastic bottle with a sample of his clear in it which was left over after he'd just sprayed a car, and I took it home and tried it out on the underside of the tank where I had painted the Rustoleum. It looked totally fine a few days later, no cracking or peeling. I tried rubbing fuel on it and it had no affect, although I found that the fuel didn't have an affect on the bare Rustoleum right next to it either... odd.

The guy who gave me that paint said he could do the tank for $50, so I started calling other shops to see if I could get it done cheaper. The first guy I called said no way, you can't put his paint on Rustoleum because they're "just different," and it would crack and peel if he tried it. He also said he didn't know how the other guy gave me a sample, because real 2-part paint turns solid pretty soon after you mix it. I haven't checked the sample yet to see if it's hardened, but I'm starting to get real confused here.

Anyone have some insight on this? I (obviously) don't know much about paint and I keep getting different information from different sources about:
-Whether or not bare Rustoleum paint is fuel resistant
-Whether or not 2-part clear paint will destroy the Rustoleum
-Whether or not the sample bottle the 1st guy gave me is actually a 2-part paint

I'll check the sample bottle to see if it's hardened as soon as I get a chance. I just want to get the thing fuel-proof before the weather gets any nicer!

Marshall

[psycoreefer]

I can't answer your paint questions but in my experience most paint and auto body shops will not paint a part that was not prepped by them. The reason is that if your crapy prep (not saying yours is but averge joe off the street) causes whatever finish they put over the top to fail, then you might come back and be un-happy with them. The average person not understanding that prep is arguably the most important part of a good paint job and the intricacies of what will or won't stick to what else. Then you might demand they fix the paint or whatever and generally be a hassle. Plus they make more money if they can do all the work....

That said your best bet might be to get some of the 2 part in a rattle can that some folks here have used and shoot it yourself.

[marshall]

I can't answer your paint questions but in my experience most paint and auto body shops will not paint a part that was not prepped by them.

Yeah, every painter I've talked to so far (I also got my frame epoxy-painted after doing my own prep) is REAL suspicious of me and what I'm asking them to do, until I talk with them for a few minutes and explain that I'm a poor college student and I'm aware and okay with the fact that their work might not come out looking show-bike worthy. Once they're on the same page they are way more likely to either do the job or give me useful advice.

[crazy steve]

Marshall, if the Rustoleum is fully cured (say over a year old), you shouldn't have any problems unless you spray a real 'hot' paint over it such as some lacquers. I've sprayed over this myself and had no problems.

'78E original owner

[Guy_b_g]

Couple of cans of this should do it...

http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_2_part_2k_aerosol.cfm

[ross]

or a cheap buy at the hobby store....

hey there marshall....i did it this way and it works pretty good....airbrushed 3 coats on.......

....ride hard, ride safe...ross

[Yard Dogg]

Whatever you do don't use rustoleum gloss. You already know it from the sounds of things. I have 1 yr old rustoleum gloss on my tank and it still comes right off with gas as if it were acetone. The paint itself is holding up fairly well. I just said it in case your like me and decide to try it out anyway. Not worth it.

[cywelchjr]

Whatever you do don't use rustoleum gloss. You already know it from the sounds of things. I have 1 yr old rustoleum gloss on my tank and it still comes right off with gas as if it were acetone. The paint itself is holding up fairly well. I just said it in case your like me and decide to try it out anyway. Not worth it.

If you want true gas resistance, you need a 2 part on the top. Do make sure it's fully cured, because the 2 part will seal the surface and no further curing will happen. But, you can get the clear in a spray can as mentioned in an earlier post and feedback says it does a bang up job. I plan on using it as the top coat when I do mine next month. Got a bunch of sanding to do before I start, and then I gotta be really careful waiting for the lacquer to cure before I put the 2 part on, but it's actually what duplicolor recommends over this paint if used on a tank to protect it from the gas.

[cywelchjr]

hey there marshall....i did it this way and it works pretty good....airbrushed 3 coats on.......

....ride hard, ride safe...ross

Yeah but is it truly gas proof? And can you get it in all 50 states? For those of us in Ca, we can't get most of the good stuff because of the air quality regs. 2 part is our ONLY option for true gas resistance (that and the fact that modern gas is much more reactive than the stuff used in the 60's and 70's.)

[Yard Dogg]

If you want true gas resistance, you need a 2 part on the top. Do make sure it's fully cured, because the 2 part will seal the surface and no further curing will happen. But, you can get the clear in a spray can as mentioned in an earlier post and feedback says it does a bang up job. I plan on using it as the top coat when I do mine next month. Got a bunch of sanding to do before I start, and then I gotta be really careful waiting for the lacquer to cure before I put the 2 part on, but it's actually what duplicolor recommends over this paint if used on a tank to protect it from the gas.

Not sure if you ever read my thread on what I did to my gas tank, but let's just say I need a new tank before I'm ready to mess with the paint on it again. When I do get a new tank, I'm definitely taking my time, and I'm thinking of buying one of those rechargeable paint cans again so I can mix some good auto paint with hardener this time. I hate painting, I just want to do it once more.

[marshall]

Do make sure it's fully cured, because the 2 part will seal the surface and no further curing will happen.

How can you tell it's really cured? Seems very "dry" after a week, is there something else going on chemically that takes longer?

Thanks for the advice,
Marshall

[crazy steve]

How can you tell it's really cured? Seems very "dry" after a week, is there something else going on chemically that takes longer?

Nearly all paints will 'surface dry' fairly quickly. But with some paints, it can take literally months for all the solvents to fully 'cure out'. If the Rustoelum is only a week old, it's not even close to being cured; this paint is notorious for curing slowly. How fast paint cures depends on a lot of factors; what kind, how thick it is, how quickly additional coats were applied (and how thick each coat was), and environmental conditions. With all the Rustoelum products I've used, I'd figure a 3 month cure time at a minimum before I'd try to put another paint type over it unless you speed the process with heat lamps. At six months I'd feel semi-secure about doing this, after a year no problem. I've seen brushed-on Rustoelum fingerprint after being on for over three months, so you tell me how slow it cures.

But that's just me...

'78E original owner

[ross]

the low down...

hey there folks....the stuff i showed in the picture you should be able to get in most any radio controlled hobby store....it is the fuel proofer they use for airplanes and boats...i heard that airplane fuel is even worse than gasoline....i've spilled on mine a couple times and if you wipe it off when it happens, it works pretty good.....ride hard, ride safe....ross

[marshall]

WOW that is a long curing time! Since there is no way I'm waiting that long, I'm going to have to say &*%$ it and either have the 1st guy clear-coat it or do it myself with Spray Max, and hope for the best. It really is hard- and dry- feeling, and it came off in a very fine powder when I wet-sanded after coats, but I imagine the potential problem w/ clearing an uncured base coat has something to do with chemicals (I'm an ME, not a ChemE), not hardness. I called a bunch of hardware stores and nobody had Spray Max so I'll probably have it done by the collision center guy. Also, I went to check on the bottle of sample clear he gave me, and sure enough it had hardened to a sort of plastic-jelly state.

Marshall