The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Rustoleum Can issues

I have like many of you, been using Rustoleum on all of my projects for years, with good results. But for some reason, for about the last year and a half, it seems like all I get are faulty cans or spray nozzles. Even a new can will start to plug up, or start spewing paint out the base of the nozzle. I use mostly the Rusty Metal Primer and Satin Black. I don't have any problems with any of the other brand's' or types of paint that I use. Has any one else had any problems or am I the odd man out?

Any time I sand blast a part, I always spray it with the Rusty Metal Primer. Does any other company make anything comparible? I am aware of things like Eastwoods Rust Encapsolator in the spray can, but I thought maybe Krylon or someone had something.

Thank you for your help

We sell Plastikote, they changed cans/nozzles recently & I have had the same issues. Seems like about 1 can out of 5 will work correctly-kinda rude @$7 a can. I'm betting they come outta China, like most things now.

I've never had that issue. When I'm finished with each use I turn the can upside down and spray until the nozzle & feed tube are empty. That helps keep the nozzle from clogging.

Same issues with every brand I've used for the last 6-7 years. Poor quality manufacturing processes would be my guess. I keep a can of mineral spirits handy to clean the nozzles out. Sometimes this helps but usually they clog right back up in just a few pushes of the nozzle. I try to be very thourough about shaking the can prior to use.

Sort of depends on the weather around my area....and probably others as well. Like Martin says, try to be through and shake shake shake. I have a habit of doing that well when I start spraying but forget to shake shake during spraying ...then it lets me know by "spitting".

I use mostly the Grey primer so I don't know about the other but during pretty cold weather I have been known to lay it in the kitchen sink with some warm water for about 5 minutes before using. Then shake shake shake. It does seem to make a difference. I guess it makes the paint more "fluid".

What I have noticed it the actual paint itself don't seem to go as far! Have you tried a can of self etching primer lately. A can don't last long!

I live near San Diego, so the weather is not a factor, and it's not like they got frozen or anything like that. I shake the you know what out of them. I have about 5 tips that I keep soaking and blowing out with the air line, and will swap them out as I go, but it still doesn't really help. I'm glad to hear it's not just me

Weather can be a factor. High humidity can cause paints to "blush" and various things. San Diego has a lot of humidity. See if there is any info on the can.

I had the same problem with the Canadian version of the brand, Tremclad. It is very frustrating to have that happen in the middle of a project.

One thing that I have found that helps is to put the cans in a pan of hot water long enough to heat the contents.

Texas must be the best place for Rustoleum. I have not had that problem.

It is called tremclad up here

I use Rustoleum also with the same problem clogging nozzles .I have done everything to prevent it shacking the can , temperature ,clean it out with can upside down.The best thing I found was to change the tip with one that works .A few cans I just returned for a new one seemed to be clogged in the can.The AUTOZONE Rustoleum has a larger tip ,I like the spray pattern of it better but they do clog still.

Same problem here also. Every can gets clogged. So now If i use rustoleum, I roll it on. And if I have to paint anything, I use Krylon Paint cans.

I buy the rustoleum industrial primer from Lowe's

Just to update, I bought some new cans from Home Depot the other night, and am proud to say that they have a new style of spray nozzle on them. It seems to work good so far, but seems to put it on a bit heavier.

I paint quite a few decorative metal signs with rustoleum rattle cans. Some cans will clog for no reason (well shaken, shaken intermittently, brand new, etc) I keep a little bowl full of used nozzles to swap out in case one gets plugged and won't clear.

I do like Krylon's new nozzle, but they are not interchangeable.

i like Krylon and Plastikote.
i quit Rustoleum years ago

I've gone to ACE hardware paint it's called Rust Stop you get more paint and the nozzles don't clog up.It does take alittle longer for the paint to dry,I use one coat of the red primer than two coats of color it lasts and does not scratch easy.


Pete

Ive had several issues with Rustoleum..but most common is that it is not very forgiving with blending and can never be topcoated with any other paint due to its base. Soaking tips in cleaner and blowing compressed air is often required

I did not know you guys use rattle cans for restoration. You can buy a quart of real primer(such as the etching or a good 3 part primer) and get lots more coverage for the money. My son owns a body shop and we use a primer that comes in 3 parts. Primer-Reducer-Hardner. One good coat of this and then blocking good, will be ready for paint usually.

That's nice, but some of us don't have compressors, etc., to spray non rattle can paint.

I don't think you can block rustotremkrylock primers anyway can you?
I also have to pause at calling a rattle can job restoration work and keeping a straight face...

duplicolor is my go to paint for some time. i never had a nozzle issue with a new can but if i dont blow it clean it will sometime clog the next time around.

I agree with CASO. There has been lots of discussions on the tractor restoration boards about rattle cans. Mostly you just get propellant and not much product for your money. (5 to 7 dollars a can) Also a very thin weakened down product. As to the blocking primer: On sandblasted or sanded bare metal we first spray a thin coat of the green etching primer.(After all body work and filler) Then after a short drying time, we give it a thick coat of the 3-part primer,and then wet block with 400 or 500 grit paper. It does take some elbow grease to block, since it has a hardner, but results are fantastic. All sanding marks and blemishes are gone, leaving you a super smooth surface ready for painting. This cannot be acheived with rattle cans or laquer primer. You can even use a small portable compressor and a cheap paint gun, all from your Chinese Tool store,and be using professional material cheaper than the rattle cans.

I'd roll on good paint before I'd spray cheap paint any day of the week. Especially primer. Unless it was just a heater box or something like that, I see how a Heater box = appliance paint... Fenders, not so much.

So does that primer have a recoat window, or can you just sand and apply top coat when ever? Also Im not sure I would want an etch primer, they will not work good over a phosphate rust converter or on other painted surfaces.

Here's the problem(s) with "Rattle cans" and "Spray Bombs": The only decent brands I ever used were Rustoleum and Krylon, Circus is all thinner. If the nossles aren't any good so much more the justification to buy a "Door Jamb" gun. Spray cans are meant for small items like garden frogs or grand-ma's iron chairs (when she's doing the work). They have a hot thinner in them to make them penetrate (good) and soften the paint that might already be there to inhance adhesion. That makes prep less crittical. My advice is to get a "Jamb gun" or a primer gun, keep your lacquer based primer in there (if it's still available where you are)and use it as needed. Now with the epoxies, you are going to have to mix just what you need, use it and clean the gun, hence the small jamb gun is great!

I've also found the Rustoleum spray cans to be more prone to clog anymore. I've tried various things, From soaking out the spray nozzles in laquaer thinner, but they usually just reclog after a short spray again. The paint product has changed anymore, thank the Government for that....
I've even tried storing the used spray cans upside down, but it doesn't seem to guarentee anything either.
The quarts seem to be better lasting protection than the spray cans are. I use the quarts thinned with about 30% mineral spirits in a small spray gun for some jobs. It sprays on just like any enamel paint. Keep the coats light, allow to flash off 10-15 minutes before applying another coat. Allow to dry a few days before top coating with a Rustoleum Top Coat.
They have also made the spray cans smaller now, what use to be 12 ounce are only 10 ounce cans now. They "bowled" the bottom of the cans up in, still look like the 12 ounce cans....

John

i haven't ever had any problems with rustoleum cans, just every other brand out there

Depending on temperature I've found that by laying them in a sink of warm water for a few minutes will help them spray better. In the summer time I don't have as much problem with the heat as I do the cold of winter.

Since I'm one to vent when things aren't good I must also report things when they go good.

About a week ago I was in the shop using some Rustoleum primer and, like most of you, I had a problem with the nozzles, paint spitting and nothing I did seemed to help. After trashing 4 or 5 cans,(had no new nozzles) I decided to give Rustoleum a call.

Man, what a pleasant surprise. I talked with a lady that surely seemed to know the product, she was nice, let me speak my peace. I had cut apart one of the new style nozzles trying to figure them out.
We chatted for quite a bit, she took down my problems, codes off a couple cans I had and assured me she would be report our situation. I also had told her of the Stovebolt thread and how a LOT of us was having the same problem. She ask me how much I thought I had not been able to use and how I had tried to clean my nozzles ect ect ect.....

Today when I got home the Fed-X man had left me 6 cans of primer. Then when my wife checked the mail she came in with an envelope with quite a few of the new nozzles. Talk about CUSTOMER SERVICE. WOW.
She had assure me they would look into the problem and I think perhaps they will. She even discussed formula's and different paint....which ones seemed to give the most problem, ect.

My hats off to Rustoleum. Not because they sent me some goods but because of the way they treated me. They spoke English, knew their product, and stood behind it. I can't get over how good the CUSTOMER SERVICE was. Others could take a lesson from them.

Always one sqeaky hinge in the bunch.... LOL But good to hear that they may look into the issue. I notice the new can I bought, the paint can now be sprayed in any orientation, even holding the can upside down. Only question I have is how do you clear the nozzle after use??
John

I'm impressed Alvin. Customer service seems to be a dying novelty these days so it's refreshing to see a company bucking the trend.

John, they all spray upside down early on till some of it is
used up. Cut a can apart some time, thint no magic inside, just
a straw that's a fraction of an inch off the bottom. The
biggest mistake we've all made is not mixing the paint enough,
and I'm guilty of it just as much as the next guy. The can says
shake till you hear the marble rattle but that's not enough when
it been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years. You gotta
shake the crap out of it to get the solids off the bottom or
you pick it up in the tube and clog up and any nozzle you might
put on it. Ever notice how well a fresh can of paint sprays?
It's only after it sits on the shelf for a good while that you
have a problem with it.

DG

Hi Denny,

These new cans actually say they can be used in either direction now. I've seen some spray can where you need to tap the bottom of the can to loosen the BB's inside to shake them up..
John

wow, i knew i liked rustoleum for some reason

Some cans say to shake for 10-15 minutes!!

John, to clear the nozzle on the NEW big nozzles is "self cleaning". When you let up on the nozzle there is an "air burst" that is suppose to come out last and clear it. No turning the can up side down.
Right after I got a new can, with the new nozzle, I was trying to BARELY press the nozzle for just a little tweak at one small spot I needed some primer. Well, danged, I must have had just the right touch on it that day because as I "barely" mashed the nozzle I could hear the air come out but no paint....until I pressed it farther down. I've tried to duplicate this again but just can't quite do it............

I didn't know when I started this thread, it would run this long. I have used the newer cans with the big heads, and have had issues with them clogging also. The one thing I have noticed, is that you seem to get a lot more spray from the big nozzles. It seems like if your trying to get a small amount into a small spot, you may as well forget it. I've always liked Rustoleum, but I'm still sold on their nozzles.