Rustoleum Bright Coat Metallic Paint Tips

[Antares JS]

PSA for anyone who wants to try this on their rockets.

Rustoleum bright coat metallic silver paint looks great, providing the most chrome-like finish for the best price that I'm aware of. However, what I have found when using it is that it MUST NOT be applied on top of itself. No second coats, no touch-ups. If you try to touch up bright coat silver metallic, you will end up with an orange peel texture that looks all the more unsightly for how shiny it is.

If you find a spot where you still see your primer after applying the silver and letting it dry, you have to weigh whether to live with it or sand the whole thing down and try again.

I did figure this out by experiment - I sanded down half a tube while leaving the silver on the other half. The sanded down part of the tube ended up smooth and shiny, while the half that was already silver got orange peel.

This does not appear to apply to the gold version, which seems to accept touch-up coats just fine.

Any other experiences with this paint or questions, go ahead and reply to this thread. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants a rocket with a shiny metallic finish.

 

[tsmith1315]

However, what I have found when using it is that it MUST NOT be applied on top of itself. No

Thanks for that, you saved me some aggravation with a 4” nose cone I’m going to freshen up!

 

[user 38430]

I've used the Chrome finish with little problem, unfortunately if you touch it too long it starts to melt. It also gets discolored quickly. Once this can is gone I'm done.

 

[Antares JS]

I've used the Chrome finish with little problem, unfortunately if you touch it too long it starts to melt. It also gets discolored quickly. Once this can is gone I'm done.

You have to coat it with floor wax or gloss clearcoat after it's thoroughly dry. You'll lose some of the shine, but the finish will better survive handling.

 

[user 38430]

You have to coat it with floor wax or gloss clearcoat after it's thoroughly dry. You'll lose some of the shine, but the finish will better survive handling.

I tried that, and it just looked like silver paint afterwards. Most of my rockets fly over 1000 feet and silver is a bad color for tracking/locating so it's added to my list of colors to never use along with white, blue, and green.

 

[Antares JS]

I tried that, and it just looked like silver paint afterwards. Most of my rockets fly over 1000 feet and silver is a bad color for tracking/locating so it's added to my list of colors to never use along with white, blue, and green.

That has not been my experience, but you do you.

 

[SolarYellow]

Rustoleum bright coat metallic silver paint looks great, providing the most chrome-like finish for the best price that I'm aware of.

Have you tried the various Dupli-Color chrome options? They're ~2x the price, but some of us loathe Rusto.

 

[Antares JS]

Have you tried the various Dupli-Color chrome options? They're ~2x the price, but some of us loathe Rusto.

I've heard good things about Dupli-Color, but I haven't found anyone around me that carries it.

 

[SolarYellow]

O'Reilly and Advance Auto both have it here. Autozone has some, but the selection is much more limited. Advance does frequent 15% off everything coupons if you get on their mailing list. Amazon also sometimes drops a price way down if you have it in your saved for later items. That's how I got Dupli-Color purple engine enamel for <$10.

 

[MarsFire]

I just used this paint to do some silver striping on a BT-20 sized rocket. No problem putting on 3 coats about 15 minutes apart. My experience along with extensive reading on the subject indicates that it is a basic universal law that you should never put metallic colors directly over primer. Always use a gloss paint basecoat. A number of brands recommend gloss black specifically but any color works as long as it is gloss. Metallics should always be the last colors you put on a model and as Antares JS mentions it is very important to add a top coat like Future to protect them or they will smudge, stain , and dull out very quickly.

Andrew