How does the Blitz Black finish look? I saw a couple youtube vids that make it seem like nice stuff, but I am a big fan of the way the Rustoleum Satin or Semi-Gloss finishes look for things like my front and rear bumpers, etc. John Deere says it's suede/flat, but the way it looked in the vids I saw it was almost more of a satin finish. I would rather not have those types of applications look flat. Any thoughts?
I like VHT Epoxy (its in the purple can) Its more satin than glossy and does not require a primer (although I still prime) . Tough stuff; it is gas and chemical resistant and hard as a rock.
I use Rustoleum alkyd primer and enamel that comes in the quart can with my DeVilbiss 4.2 oz mini detail gun because it has a more useful spray pattern and we can’t get good products in a rattle can in CA.
I appreciate the responses. It sounds like JD Blitz Black is battle tested. Squirting some over a self-etching primer is about as good as you can do with rattle cans.
rustoleum works better for me when I thoroughly clean then heat the parts with a heat gun or an oven before application. It seems to flash dry with a much harder finish than when I let it cure slowly at ambient temps.
I used this VHT to repaint my stock wheels with great success. The clearcoat had failed they had a lot of corrosion. At the time I had access to a blast cabinet with glass beads. If a great job of cleaning off corrosion and old finish without tearing up the aluminum.
I was very happy with the results. (Sorry, I don’t have a better picture of the wheels.) Unfortunately, factory rims are 16” and most tires are sized now for 17” or 18” wheels. Currently have cheapo 17” to run BFG AT KO2 34x10.5R17 (and wishing I got 37s instead.)
Someone just the other day posted some random spray paint tech about valspar tips fitting the rustoleum pro metallic cans. @jcardona1 was that you?
@HDJdreams i order the john deere at a JD dealer in town. (Has to be a tractor division, not landscape or other) Most tractor and emplement paint is a hard durable enamel as well. Evidently made by valspar so you could try to cross #s Also have a hardener available that i have not tried.
Google shows a bunch of results. Even amazon but 12 each. Here is a locator or there were a Few others online too.
I'll document this here for anyone else that might be curious. I have a love/hate relationship with Rustoleum. Love their products and the colors, especially the metallics but I absolutely HATE HATE their "Universal" line of spray paint with the stupid trigger nozzle. This thing is awful. They clog, spurt paint everywhere and sometime just flat out stop working. It's a shame too because the Universal line has some of the nicest colors and finishes.
Not willing to give up I tore off the cap/trigger nozzle and of course they use a different tip on the can. The standard Rustoleum nozzles won't work on these cans. So I started going through my spray paint collection and found one that worked. The Valspray spray paint cans sold by Lowes use the same tip as the Rustoleum Universal.
So if you like the colors of the Rustoleum Universal line but hate the trigger nozzle, tear it off and swap it with a nozzle from a Valspar can. Now you can use it like a can of regular spray paint without ruining your finish.
I’m sure there are other excellent paint options, heck I’ve even used POR 15 in a spray can, and sometimes I use Rustoleum for certain projects because it’s cheaper. But I know exactly what Blitz does and it works for me. YMMV.
I saw this in the hardware store and thought I would try it on the front axle. It’s expensive at $14 per can, but it claims is direct to metal and salt spray tested. I thought it was worth a try if I can prime and topcoat in same operation instead of two separate ones. The Rustolem above is $4-7 per can.
We’ll see how it holds up on the front hubs compared to the Rustoleum duo on the rear hubs.
I stopped by a local paint store (as opposed to a box store). The lady there loved this stuff, stocked it next to POR 15 and thought it was easier to use and as effective.
Online I saw conflicting stuff on self etching primer compatibility with enamels like JD Blitz Black.
The paint store said self etching primers for spray guns CAN have a higher acid content and could cause some top coats to bubble. In that situation a 2nd primer would be needed before top coat.
Self etching primers in the rattle cans are not too high in acid and fine to top coat over. They said self etching primer is a great choice for painting over a mix of bare metal and old paint.
Although it was a “real” paint store, not sure what to make of employee’s advice. She recommended a $22 can of self etching primer (I didn’t recognize the brand) but she couldn’t explain how it was better than the $10 can of Valspar self etching primer next to it. Other than the expensive stuff being in a slightly larger can, she thought they functionality were the same. And she was a big fan of Zero Rust, said it was the only “rust converter” primer they had.
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The paint store said self etching primers for spray guns CAN have a higher acid content and could cause some top coats to bubble. In that situation a 2nd primer would be needed before top coat.
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Why not just do it right, etch then paint? It's not like phosphoric acid is rare, expensive or hard to use. It eliminates a step, but putting acid in paint is a compromise, isn't likely to do as good of a job is doing the separate etch step.
This thread is focused on paint for metal (chassis and armor), but an honorable mention needs to made for Krylon Fusion. It’s amazing on plastic. Used to work in a prototyping shop that made lots of 3D printed parts. Fusion bonded better than anything else and weather well, made a huge difference on delicate plastics holding up to the environment.