Spray can paint recommendations for 2016

I am building some low power model rockets and was wondering what is some good spray can paint for 2016? I found some older threads on spray paint but seems the paint quality and/or the nozzle is sometimes changed making the product less desirable. Back in the day, I always used Krylon paint but heard the formula has changed in the last few years and some don't care much for the new formula. I am currently leaning towards Testors enamel spray paint since my rockets aren't particularly big but am open to your recommendations.

Best regards,
Brian

I have amateurish paint skills, so I usually get good results with Krylon ColorMaster Covermax and Rustoleum "Painter's Touch" 2X.

A lot of folks are using the 2X Rustoleum in the spray can. Supposedly it covers much better and it has the primer and paint combined. I have always used the regular Rustoleum with good results.

I'm also interested in this topic, although I'm looking to paint a larger 2.6" L1 rocket. I'm moderately new to this, but I'll share my experience so far.

For LPRs, I've been using Rustoleum enamel pretty much exclusively with good results. I recently tried their metallics (cobalt blue and silver) and liked the results, although those will need some kind of clear enamel applied on top. I will say that I've had cans that I could use until nearly empty and others that got about 2/3's through and they seemed to have poor pressure and would spray larger droplets ruining 2 rockets. I just wipe them down with alcohol before they dry or sand them after drying and then repaint. In general though, I haven't had much trouble and I like the finish and durability. Just go light on the first coats and don't go crazy on the last one or you'll get runs, just like any paint.

I don't know exactly why, but I have consistently gotten better results with Krylon than Rustoleum.

I have gotten better results from Rustoleum "Painter's Touch" 2X than Krylon.

I had a can of Krylon orange peal on me. never used krylon again. :confused2:

Regular Rustoleum.and Duplicolor works well.

I have done well so far with the Rusto 2x and the Rusto Metallics, although the two behave very differently from each other and I have to keep it in mind.

I've really been wanting to try some aftermarket nozzles but just haven't had the opportunity to experiment.

Rustoleum is my preferred paint. The 2 in1 Filler/Sandable is great. You can find it in the automotive section at Walmart. The 2x is really good paint. I have bad paint skills and get a good finish with it. I also use regular Rustoleum and do pretty well

I had really good results with Krylon Colormaster Covermax paint. But the new formula CoverMAXX sucks big time so far.

Duplicolor is also good but costs noticeably more. I get mine at O'Reilly auto parts

If you can find it (it's been discontinued), the Homeshades primer is pretty awesome. I haven't tried the paints yet.

webtech said:

I have gotten better results from Rustoleum "Painter's Touch" 2X than Krylon.

I had a can of Krylon orange peal on me. never used krylon again. :confused2:

Click to expand...

The funny thing is, last time I used something other than Krylon (Rustoleum "Universal Coverage" White) it Orange peeled on me. It was probably the low-temperature/high-humidity conditions rather than the paint, but it still turned me off of Rustoleum...

Isn't this kind of like asking Mac or PC?

I have many cans of old formula Krylon, but don't know what primer I can use. Any suggestions?

I hate to throw away the full cans and mostly full cans of paint because I don't have a primer.

KarlS said:

I have many cans of old formula Krylon, but don't know what primer I can use. Any suggestions?

I hate to throw away the full cans and mostly full cans of paint because I don't have a primer.

Click to expand...

Do a test piece of cardboard with current primers. Spray stripes of primer one direction, and stripes of color the other direction to cross the primer stripes. Allow to dry. Evaluate.

Chances are that current Krylon primer will do fine.

I have been using WalMart house brand primer for unknowns and odd lots of rattle can paint. It's cheap as dirt, sands nicely, and has worked with everything I've put over it.

KarlS said:

I have many cans of old formula Krylon, but don't know what primer I can use. Any suggestions?

I hate to throw away the full cans and mostly full cans of paint because I don't have a primer.

Click to expand...

Use the Duplicolor lacquer based primers, its not a guarantee that everything will be okay but I have had good luck with them in the past.

RocketFeller said:

The funny thing is, last time I used something other than Krylon (Rustoleum "Universal Coverage" White) it Orange peeled on me. It was probably the low-temperature/high-humidity conditions rather than the paint, but it still turned me off of Rustoleum...

Click to expand...

I would guess a bad can of paint or the high humidity. Temp was nice out that day..

You can put enamel over laquer, not laquer over enamel it could bubble or wrinckle.

Brian - seriously don't waste your time with RUSTO, because it is garbage. Go with Duplicolor and use their primers. You might pay more but you'll get a better quality paint job. Also the nozzle is adjustable to spray both vertical and horizontal.

I use rustoleum 2x and stops rust, and duplicolors auto filler primer.
2x is more durable than any other spray I've come across.
IMO it grabs best when the primers sanded with 600grt paper
The last coat should go on heavy and wet.

I have gotten nice results with Duplicolor rattlecans, both the enamel and the lacquer. Available at many auto supply stores.

My favorite is Rust-Oleum "Painters Touch" 2X
I like the spray nozzle that seems to help the paint fan out and go on evenly with less spatter. You really do get twice the amount of paint coverage than most other rattlers. I get twice the amount of rockets painted and I always have air at the end of the can which means I've utilized every oz. of paint.
This paint seems to mix quicker than others and goes on richer and thicker and less transparent than some others. I've used this paint for 2 years and has held up nicely with no fading. I am able to handle the freshly painted rocket much quicker when I want to rush to get the project done without gummy paint.

The Gloss Sun Yellow on my Viking came out nice and was dried to the touch rather quickly. I was able to handle it for decal application later that evening. Most yellow paint especially gloss goes on kinda clear and needs many coats and takes days to cure and still feels tacky at times.

Can't say enough positive things about this paint- GET IT!

If you want a very high quality finish from a spray can, go to the Alsa paint site and go to the Killer Cans section
https://alsacorp.com/killer-cans/

twice the pressure of normal cans, urethane paint...you get what you pay for in this case.

I've been using a lot of Rustoleum rattle can paints lately, all kinds of various colors in several different sub-brands. All have done exceptionally well.
Duplicolor is also very good stuff but should be at the outragious prices they want. I don't use much of it because of Price.
we can still buy OLD forumla Krylon. Most of the basic colors, Particularly #1501 white from most industrial supply vendors.
Stay away from new formula kryon paints. they do not like themselves when applied in more the a single color and one coat.

BRS Hobbies said:

I am currently leaning towards Testors enamel spray paint since my rockets aren't particularly big but am open to your recommendations.

Best regards,
Brian

Click to expand...

Everyone seems to miss the fact you like Testers.

In fact it's great stuff with tons of color selection. I used it a lot in the past for small rockets.
When I began larger projects the cost was too high.

If size dictates that Testers will fill the bill....stay with it. Darn good stuff

I have all of these paints in stock with the exception of that Alsa paint Hobie mentioned, and had varying degrees of success and failures with all of them. A lot depends on the weather conditions too. I have discovered staying under 50% humidity is a must. And the lower, the better.

Having said that, I am able to use Rusto 2X and automotive primers with every kind of paint regardless. Both available at Walmart. I even use it with the automotive colors which I prefer above all. Granted, there's more work involved using auto paints with having to mix the hardener and reducer into the paint, but the end results are fantastic. Since I have to airbrush this on, and I prefer not to clear coat, I go with the acrylic enamels. NAPA will mix these colors for you and there is a tremendous variety of colors to choose from. For most applications, I'll have them mix me a 1/4 pint (1/2 cup) at a time. It's amazing the amount of coverage you can get with so little paint. Rattle cans waste more than they use.

I have 1oz & 2oz jars for airbrushing and the recipe for 1oz is, 4-tsp paint, 2-tsp reducer, 1/2 tsp hardener. This little bit of paint can cover 2 small LPR rockets on the average depending on how thick you spray it on. But you can get maximum coverage with way less paint than rattle cans.

The bottom line here is, I've gotten better results with the gray auto primers followed by a coat of flat white as a base coat. The gray primer works better for me than the white, so a flat white base coat of paint is necessary for keeping your colors true and not darkened by the primer. I still use the 2X on many occasions, especially the black. These are for quick fix painting which I still practice, but when I can, I'll go with the auto colors for the best results. Do the math, and you'll find that the cost is nearly the same in the long run. One more side note on this, so far, the metal flake colors have been most impressive. I've used copper, pewter and a metal flake magenta (of sorts) already, and have some silver mixed for a job coming up. We all have heard the nightmare stories using rattle can silvers in that you can't clear coat them without turning them gray and most of them flake and don't work well with masking tapes. I'm expecting grand results with the acrylic enamel silver. OH, and FWIW, Krylon clear coat on white Krylon caused the worst painting disaster I've ever experienced. Wrinkles from hell!

one i picked up the other day and tried out and like it is rustoleum auto gloss clear enamel


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Ol...oss-Clear-Enamel-Spray-Paint-257884/202623068

One little warning. If one is using a low powered Rf tracker RDF or GPS, avoid the metallics like the plague. I flew two successive 400Mhz GPS trackers and nothing was received except one packet at altitude with one rocket. The metallics sucked
up the transmitted Rf like a sponge.

Sure, if the tracker is nosecone mounted can use a non-metallic or no paint on it and the rocket can be a pretty metallic color. Just don't encase the antenna in a metallic paint overcoat. Also don't use a carbon fiber
based nosecone or tubes if encased inside the body as that attenuates or shields the tracker from the signal getting out.

So, o.k. someone surely will post that I flew an XYZ tracker in a metallic paint coated rocket with no trouble. Sure, attenuating ability is based on the Rf frequency, power, the size of and type of metallic flakes in the paint! For instance, the rocket I received one Rf packet from at 8000', I for hell's sake tried to download the .kml file off the Beeline GPS tracker. Lo' and beholden there was a 7 to 11 satellite lock the entire flight (except when high G or supersonic) that was stored to memory. What happened? The paint (Rustoleum rattle can metallics) blocked the 70cm band energy from getting out but was transparent to the 1572Mhz and other high frequency signals coming in from the GPS satellites. Oh, I forgot to say I was lucky that rocket came down within sight so it was an easy recovery without the tracker. One other interesting tidbit, I stuck the ebay in the back seat of my hard top car and didn't bother to turn off the Beeline GPS until I got home. There was a position packet from the
parking lot of a local restaurant stored and the device stopped recording once the memory was full.

Other thing is a 2 watt converted dog tracker on 150Mhz might be able to blast through ones metallic paint and work fine. Hopefully it won't dork one's flight electronics and lead to deployment on ascent or no deployment at all. Be careful.

If one is constrained to a given tracker, it would be very disappointing to have a project metallic painted and find out the tracker has diddly-squat range. Trust me, stupidhead here learned his lesson not doing an adequate range
test on a new installation and that's a mistake I won't repeat again. Kurt

Micromeister said:

I've been using a lot of Rustoleum rattle can paints lately, all kinds of various colors in several different sub-brands. All have done exceptionally well.
Duplicolor is also very good stuff but should be at the outragious prices they want. I don't use much of it because of Price.
we can still buy OLD forumla Krylon. Most of the basic colors, Particularly #1501 white from most industrial supply vendors.
Stay away from new formula kryon paints. they do not like themselves when applied in more the a single color and one coat.

Click to expand...

You get what you pay for...that's why everyone on here cries about how crappy their finishes turn out and then they wonder why the $1.99 can of spray paint isn't cutting it. You spend $75-100 or more on a rocket and $2-3 on a can paint that's poor quality...oh well penny wise and pound foolish never got anyone anywhere...good luck with that

AfterBurners said:

You get what you pay for...that's why everyone on here cries about how crappy their finishes turn out and then they wonder why the $1.99 can of spray paint isn't cutting it. You spend $75-100 or more on a rocket and $2-3 on a can paint that's poor quality...oh well penny wise and pound foolish never got anyone anywhere...good luck with that

Click to expand...

When I mentioned in the earlier post the Alsa aerosol cans, they can be ordered online even through Home Depot from what I've read. The other paint to consider is the House of Kolor which is one of the most used paints in the show car world, also recently available in aerosol cans. Both of these are in the $30.00 range, but again, what degree of quality are you seeking? Building a model, painting it, then having to sand it down and take up more of your valuable remaining time repainting it and still end up less than satisfied is something to think about. I'm sure you have seen pictures of rockets that have automotive paint applied, and admired the finish. Until recently, urethanes were not available in aerosol cans, or with the high quality, fine atomizing nozzles, with twice the pressure of a cheap hardware store brand. Just my 2 cents worth

I love the satisfaction I get when I buy a rocket for under 5.00 that normally sells for over 20.00 on a Estes special.
I also get satisfaction in finding a good quality paint for my rocket for about the same price with enough paint left over in the can for several rockets.

I wouldn't spend 5.00 on a rocket and then 30.00 on paint and another 30.00 for custom stickers..just not happening.

For me the Testor's and Duplicolor are the best but you will pay more for them.
It is surprising how much you can get out of the little Testor's spray cans though!
I painted the large (BT-1001) TLP Pershing with a small Testor's can and still had some left over.

The best primer/filler out there is the Duplicolor found in auto supply stores.
It dries quickly and sands easier than most others. The Rusto primer sands like rubber.
This is an actual automotive primer/filler and will fill any remaining wood grain and tube seams.
You only have to try it once and you'll be a convert.

For most color painting I use Rusto 2X. I have had some Gloss White spray out a rough cottage cheese on a few occasions.
It was easy to sand off, though. If the sound of the Rusto 2X spray sound (the "hiss) changes, stop and check if it is spitting out the rough stuff.
I think it might be too much paint pigment stuck in the straw. Spray on some scrap cardboard first if in doubt.

The cheap Walmart Colorplace brand takes many more coats to cover.
Valdspar takes days to dry, if it ever dries.