The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Chassis Paint Test

just a heads up on $ .
I purchased 6 cans of Eastwoods Extreme Chassis Black..at 19.99/can .
did a very nice job looks great !...then to find out i needed just a bit more an picked up a can of Rustoleum Satin black at 4.50/can ...color is near identical ...soo i got to thinkin ....took 2 pcs a junk metal layin in shop sprayed each with a brand ...let em dry a week an did some tests .
dropped/scraped/drug stuff over each ...well they both took the abuse pretty much the same .
SO DONT BE AFRAID TO USE THE RUSTOLEUM RATTLE CAN STUFF !
LESSON LEARNED

Now score each of them through to bare metal and lay them out in the rain and watch what happens at the scribe mark.
The salt spray test you hear about is a reading of when the rust starts blistering sideways at the scribe mark.

OK Bruce the samples are out in the elements will let everyone know what happens.
Excellant Idea ..
Thanks

Verrrrry Interesting! I don't mind saving $15+ on each can. Let us know what happens.

i used hemeright on mine left it out in the drve for 2 years before i got it under cover looks as good as the day i put it on big buck paint no thanks but im a tight wad anyway

I used Rustoleum on mine and have to agree I was worried about the durability.

In the two years of working on the truck I am suprized at how good it has held up to being used as a workbench, having the cab dragged back on over it, having parts bolted and unbolted, then bolted again. Very little damage is noticable. Much tougher than I thought rustoleum would be. Of course this will be a Sunday driver and won't see much bad weather.

when i did the frame on my 49 yrs. ago i brushed rust oleum gloss black then fogged it with the same in a spray can to smooth out the brush strokes.it looked great . went through a divorce and it sat out side unprotected not even a tarp for 8 yrs. when i restarted the project last year was very pleased how it held up. paint had faded a little but no rust.i have since done more suspension work and am mounting a fuel cell under the bed when i get done i will definatley repaint with rust oleum.......dave

Sorry to hear about the divorce Dave. Glad she didn't get the truck though

OK 2 weeks now on the samples , they both look the same .
Scratch has become rusty but both are lookin the same ....a little discoloration on the Eastwood at the edges I AM BETTIN IT FAILS FIRST..
but to be fair the Rustoleum seems to have some a bit of sunburn ...
so far I have thrown salty ,crappy, messy road debris on the samples
will keep ya all posted .
Bye the way my Wife thinks im fringin nuts ....LOL
runnin out to check on em an such .

They all think we're nuts, it's a girl thing. Opps, sorry bout that ladys!

Glad to see you taking the scientific approach to the project. It would be interesting to see how all of the popular paints compare side by side over a few years. Mar-K has done quite a bit of testing over the years and have a lot of info avalable on their site.

I have used Rustolium for many projects over the years. I have been spraying all of the under carrage parts, backing plates, steering, drive train, etc., of my '50 with it. One thing bout Rustolium is it won't hold up to brake fluid. I believe Eastwood claims theirs does, might want to add that to your test.

Painting the frame is a must for a restoration but has anyone ever seen an AD pickup that came from the factory with a painted frame??? And if the VCCA judging is so extreme do they deduct points for a painted frame??
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny ,
Good idea ... after the weatherin , i will pour some brake fluid on each sample

Use some of that good Pa. road salt on it , Radial. Keep us informed of your testing!!!

I used Dupont Industrial Epoxy, high $ stuff. I will probably be using rattle can paint to cover my grinding work, so how Radial's test comes out will be of interest to me as well.

ok been near 1 month ....as far as keepin up both samples sem to be fairin well ....a little discoloration on the Rustoleum side of the street from what sun they have recieved ,, BUT CHECK THIS OUT !....The Eastwood Extreme Chassis paint failed HORRIBLY ! compared to the rustoleum on the brake fluid test !...I WAS SHOCKED !...you want a good paint stripper for E-WOOD chassis paint just dampen a rag with some brake fluid it will fall off !...I mean i am shocked !...the rattle can rustoleum also failed but it just got gummy an snake skin lookin ..but did not wipe off it smeared a bit an after the fluid was removed ..(dried)it giot hard again ...there was NO CHANCE WITH THE EASTWOOD it was no longer there ...
So I am bringin this test to an end ...

Results are as follows:

1- both take the same amount of abuse
2- both withheld weather for 1 month of PA salt an did not peel
3- Rustoleum I would not recomend for the sunshine , for underneath OK
4- Eastwood for 19.99/ rattle can is not justified as it failed HORRIBLY on the brake fluid test , heck the 4.99 stuff held its ground better .
5- SO MAKE YOUR OPINION ...try what ya want ...I know what I am usin under My truck now !
Rad over "N" out

Thanks for the product report, I appreciate not having to reinvent the wheel. I hope we see more reports like this.
I've used a lot of Rustolium over the years and found it to be a pretty versatile paint. Yes it does seem to fade or do dull over time.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

heck, I knew it all the time. I used rustoleum primer and paint on the chassis of my 37 and for the last 9 years has held up well. I do keep it in the garage but after two tranny changes, rear end work three times, I look at it and still amazed at how good it looks. I drive it a good bit and have got caught in bad weather my share of the time. Luckily there has been no salt spread around here in years. SOOOOOoooo, why am I going to put POR15 on the chassis of my 52panel. Mmmm, well, I been married 3 times so I guess I just like to try different things and don't mind change