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I currently have my rolling chassis in being sandblasted. I plan to paint it myself and want to hear what paint product is recommended. Is Rustoleam the best or is there some other product. Would a primer be recommended?

The best at what price and using what painting technique/equipment?

On clean metal a good choice might be a black epoxy primer (and then semi-gloss black urethane).

Since you have gone to the trouble and expense of doing it right, have you considered powder coating?

I've used etching primer before with good results to get the metal covered before it rusts.

On my T bucket, I had the frame powder coated, but it is going to cost you, pretty expensive, very nice and durable.

That said, on my '53, the frame will be pressure washed, glass beaded and primered with etching primer then top coated with black semi flat. You can do this fairly cheaply with a cheap spray gun too if you are on a budget, beats the heck out of rattle cans, but I have done my share of that over the years on smaller jobs with good results too.

I used epoxy primer and urethane paint on mine,Both are tough.

Most of these trucks have survived for decades with fairly basic protection so regardless of what you use they'll probably outlast most of us here.
I personally used POR-15 with fairly good results.(If I say so myself)
Chassis with POR-15 paint

If your going to the trouble to media blast it, then paint in correctly. Catalized paint or powder coat. Epoxy primer and urethane paint. Eastwood has chassis paint I don't know what their semi gloss is like though. It is supposed to be UV resistant to.
If its a quicky do the best you can type of deal while the truck is still somewhat assembled to the frame any kinda paint is better than no paint. Some of us (use :edit) don't have all the facilities to do it correctly, at least some kinda paint will save those parts till the day comes it can be done right.
Rustoleum is not for a nice blasted frame, its for the quicky do the best you can deal.

I think Rustoleum works great on frames. The paint is more durable than most give it credit for once fully cured. Doesn't like prolonged contact with fuel, but on a frame it wont see much fuel if any.

I media blasted my frame, primed with epoxy and top coated with Rustoleum (used my HVLP spray gun). The other thing I like is that touch-up is easy if I scratch it or have to drill holes, bang on it to straighten, etc.

You can have a UV protectant added to rustoleum, and I suppose also use a hardner too. Its one of those things of any paint is better than no paint, and rusto is likely way better that what the factory did or didn't use on the frame and associated parts.

I painted a Jeep with rustoleum about 12 years ago and still looking good. It sees very little sun so it hasn't faded and has stuck well. Like all paints, proper preparation is key. Making sure it is free of rust, oil, dirt, and other contaminants will make all of them stick better.

That being said, I will be using a higher end paint on my '49 frame. I have a can of Nason chassis paint that is a semi-gloss and hope to experience good results with it.

Etching primer, etching primer, etching primer!!!!
I keep hearing about people using etching primer for everything.
From all the factual information that I've found it really only
has limited use.
Fact: It contains a small amount of phosphoric acid, which is
what does the etching. In addition to the resins it generally
contains zinc chromate to inhibit rust. It should be applied
thin under a primer and surfacer. If the metal you have has
been media blasted it is deeply "etched", no need for an
etching primer. If the sheet metal is stripped with a paint
stripper and is smooth, an etching primer is appropriate.
Phosphoric acid and iron form an iron phosphate layer on the
surface, of the metal. In spite of what the YouTube videos tell
you, phosphoric acid will not etch plastic such as fiber glass
or plastic body fillers. These are also porous and can hold the
etching primer (phosphoric acid) which has not been converted
to a phosphate and cause adhesion problems when the primer or
surface is applied. Etching primer is an excellent choice for a
bare lower body panel that has been repaired or replaced. Most
factories are treating the body panels with phosphates and some
are using galvanization.
Again, sand blasted metal is heavily etched already and gives
plenty of tooth for the primers to bond to.

Now, my thoughts on frame paint or paint for the accessories.
I've used Rustoleum Enamel for more decades than I care to think
about. I would not use it as a finish coat that is exposed
directly to the elements such as the body. But I've used it all
around in areas the are somewhat out of the sunlight.
All of these "black things" under the hood and the frame and the
under carriage and drive line have been painted with Rustoleum
satin black directly over the bare metal and have lasted for
nearly a decade and a bit over 10,000 miles of fair weather use:
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/153349409
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/153349410
If....my truck was being used as a daily driver where it would
be driven in all sorts of weather, I would prime the frame and
under body panels with an epoxy primer such as PPG's DP90LF,
which would be adequate in itself for decades:
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/153350700
If I was considering placing mirrors under the truck to show it,
I'd topcoat the DP90LF with an enamel top coat.
I've seen wonderful results using POR-15 and Chassis Saver and
they are very durable but can't for the life of me figure out
why they can't formulate it with a UV inhibiter. Makes no sense
to me that it has to be recoated with paint after it's applied.
The brushed frames look just as good as the sprayed frames with
POR-15.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Etching primer is more for use on newer cars.

John

Over the years I have sandblasted many complete trucks, body panels, and frames for my neighbor who is getting too old to wrestle that hose around. Generally speaking, the hardest thing to remove is old grease...that is until I tried sandblasting the cab of my own truck. The reason? As an experiment I painted it with epoxy primer without any sort of prep work. #1 - to test out my new $10 HF purple primer gun and #2 - to see what sort of adhesion I would get to old paint. I'm telling you that stuff sticks GOOD. I was really shocked at the effort that 185 compressor gave to get that stuff off. You never want to sit on the metal (fenders) too long with that much sand for fear of warping the panel. I had to hit an area and pull away on the primered portions for exactly that reason. I've never seen stuff stick like that. Now to be fair, I have also never blasted such fresh paint and such modern paint so there may something to that as well. Either way the general consensus is that epoxy primer is a great choice for sand blasted metal.

I used a product from a company called Southern Polyurethanes (I have no affiliation to them whatsoever) and they were very helpful. You cannot, however, use this stuff if you soda blast so be careful. I think they only deal in primer and clear so they are not a full service paint shop. I saw what my neighbor was paying for his primer and I wanted to puke thinking I would have to pay the same so I gave this a try. So far I am glad I did.

I think I paid $175 plus shipping for 2 sprayable gallons of the stuff (it needs no reducer). Three heavy or 5 light coats on your frame and it will be very difficult to remove. Though not as tough as powder coating, you can repair this easily should the need arise. The best part, however is you do not need to top-coat the stuff - even though it is called a primer. It dries to a semi-gloss so if you use it on your sheet metal you can see imperfections rather easily. It will look great on your inner fenders should you like that type of finish.

If I could use this thing better I'd show you some photos....

Good Luck

New frame for 36 chevy painted with eastwoods grey 2 part epoxy primer then coated with the 2 part satin black paint. Wish I had used the black epoxy so scratches don't show as much. The two part black from eastwood looks good and is holding up fairly well except where I got brake fluid on it. Allen

True it isn't as 'tough' but the EP is more flexible in its cured state... so it's actually more chip and crack resistant IMO making it a better substrate for paint...
I just painted my 88 GMT (A Toyota with a 56 GMC stepside bed) with 2 coats of the SPI black EP over my initial bodywork... I want to paint it in a year or two and I think this is the way to go.

Agreed. Epoxy primer is great as a stand alone product.

I just looked and SPI does carry a gray primer, but as Allen said, the gray will show through when there is a chip in the paint.

BTW from what I have seen the SPI epoxy primer does not come off with brake fluid. Not like other coatings I have seen do this.

The black 2k chassis black from was sprayed over the gray epoxy and you are right, the epoxy did not flinch with the brake fluid. I would probably have been just fine with black epoxy only but had the gray on hand. had to spray it with something to keep the new metal from rusting so haste makes waste. Allen

If you media blast the frame then etching primer is overkill. Any paint will love all those little pits caused by the media.

Now if it were an untouched piece of sheet metal.. yes. But once you media blast anything the resulting finish is more than any etching primer will accomplish.

X2