How about some rattle can advice?

Question:

I’m working on an Austin-Healy a section at a time, and wonder if you can give me some direction regarding what type of rattle can paint will hold up on undercarriage and suspension parts.

I’ll bead blast or sand the parts first depending on the amount of rust they have. Should I coat that with a spray can product such as Eastwood’s Rust Encapsulator or Rust Converter? And if so, should I follow up with a sandable primer? Any direction you can give in this area regarding products and procedures would be appreciated.

Answer:

When it comes to restoring, repairing, and caring for old cars I place a much higher value on my time than I do on anything else.

I generally won’t invest the time needed to disassemble and clean/strip/bead blast/sand the parts unless I’m going to do the best I can protecting them so that I don’t have to repeat the whole process a few years down the road.

The best protection will come from powder coating or a spray-on catalyzed urethane paint, not a spray can. But I suppose you likely already know that, don’t you? If you simply must use spray cans then I suggest going with RustOleum or Krylon, two brands that have been making good quality paints for generations. Both sell spray can enamels intended for things that will be outdoors and in bad weather.

You absolutely should remove all traces of rust on the Austin-Healey’s parts before painting them and if you do that you don’t need to use a rust encapsulator or rust converter.

After stripping off every bit of rust, clean the parts with wax and grease remover, lacquer thinner or enamel reducer.

Once they are completely dry give them several coats of rust-inhibiting primer from the same line as the paint you will use. Allow plenty of time for the primer to dry between coats. Then do the same thing with the paint, which means apply several coats with sufficient dry time between each one.