Exterior Latex/Acrylic House Paints

[Hainebd]

Tons of info. I need to paint my m35 and going with behr. I want cammo job but OD for noe. Thanks to all for keeping this alive.

 

[twrecks]

Getting ready to paint

I have been following this thread with great interest. I am about ready to paint my truck and thought I would lay out my plan and see what y'all think. I have the paint code from the first page for the desert tan that I am planning on painting. Keep in mind this is a custom work truck not a show piece or restoration. I think I'm going with the behr premium plus ext. flat, I was planning on brushing/rolling just to make it easy and quick but might spray. I have a hvlp gun. Any recommended pressures? Second, I'm not planning on a whole lot of surface prep short of washing with degreaser, scuffing with a scotch brite/ orbital sander, washing again and painting. How worried do I need to be about scuffing this old paint and respiratory issues. I have a couple of hard edges I was going to feather down just to make it look a little nicer but not opposed to just painting over if the risk is too high. One more question, On the right windshield is the name Sgt. Hicks. Were these trucks assigned to a driver or something. I have no idea the history of this truck or what branch it came from. It was desert tan and I have found numerous spent shell casings in though that could have been training or just spilled brass. I am going to leave this thing very Military in appearance and may leave the name on the truck and call it Sgt. Hicks as a tribute to our soldiers If anyone knows who he was don't tell him I cut up his truck!

 

[WC-54 Oregon]

I painted my WC-54 Dodge Ambulance last summer with Behr Premium Plus and now I'm seeing lots of very small raised dots appearing on the surface. I sanded through a few of these down to bare metal and found very small rust pits. When I was preparing the surface to paint I sanded to bare metal and primed with Rust-oleum Rusty Metal Primer and it sat for a few weeks before painting on the Behr. During the winter it was under a roof and out of the rain, but I noticed moisture was condensing on the surface and even running down the sides a little. Now I know that I will have to strip the paint off down to bare metal again, treat the rust pits and prime again. I read in this forum that Rust-oleum had been used under the Behr and it was recommended and that's why I used it. I could also go with an epoxy primer when I redo it if that would be better.
Does anyone know what could have caused this problem and how I can avoid it when I paint again?

Thanks, Dave

 

[twlinks]

Dave, just a thought, but do you remember back when you had it down to bare metal, how long it was before you primed it? Within hours, days, weeks? Although you can't see it, metal starts to rust in the open air almost immediately without primer. Of course, all the other conditions then come into play as well...temperature, humidity, fingerprints, etc. The Rustoleum primer you used should have been sufficient. Seeing that you are in Oregon, I'm guessing the problem lies in the other conditions someplace.

 

[Tow4]

I have not had very good luck with Rustoleum primers. I like the Valspar red oxide primer that Tractor Supply sells better.

 

[SteveKuhn]

RustOleum red is not the old RO red. There is a 2nd RO red 'industrial' formulation that's worth looking for. They're different formulas. Neither is the orignal one.

Steve

 

[WC-54 Oregon]

I think you're right in that rust started right away and took hold before I got it primed. When I strip it again I plan to just do a panel at a time and prime it right away. After sanding through the bumps on the surface recently I can see lots of pin head sized dark spots on the metal underneath that must be rust. Should I sand all those off or should I use something like Naval Jelly or maybe another product? In areas where the rust hasn't come up through the paint there are no spots on the bare metal.
Thanks, Dave

 

[cbvet]

I've had good luck using rust oleum "self etching" primer over old paint & light rust. I'ts harder to find around here but it works for me.
In hot dry weather I let it dry at least 3-4 days. If it's humid better let it cure at least a week.
On heavier rust I use their " rust reformer first. That sems to dry pretty fast. 24 Hours cure in warm dry weather.

 

[SteveKuhn]

Naval Jelly, probably RO's rust reformer, and a number of other products that are probably based on phosphoric acid are good for penetrating pits where your abrasive can't reach and for holding off oxidation for a bit. If you don't mind the extra steps, it could be a good idea. I've just gotten done doing an M105 frame with RustMort and it held under tarps for over a week in some rain and humidity without flash rust appearing.

Except for the 'approved for bare metal' acrylic latex paints, you have to consider that you're applying water to the surface so it'll exacerbate any weaknesses in prep or priming. Exception - galvanized that actually wants latex instead of alkyd. It's also worth noting that primer is porous as opposed to finish paints that are not. That's why most primer instructions will caution against letting it exposed without a top coat for too long.

Steve

 

[Jakelc15]

I primed with rusty metal primer a few days ago and when I got home from work yesterday my wife had the green pretty much done.
I had to school the home depot rep on federal standard paint. But she seemed intrigued and happily mixed my paint.
Didn't do the inside, used about half a gallon.
This was the test before I do the truck. It goes on pretty nice.
I think the better primer is the professional rusty metal red. Home depot didn't sell it but lowes does.

 

[twlinks]

Naval Jelly, probably RO's rust reformer, and a number of other products that are probably based on phosphoric acid are good for penetrating pits where your abrasive can't reach and for holding off oxidation for a bit. If you don't mind the extra steps, it could be a good idea. I've just gotten done doing an M105 frame with RustMort and it held under tarps for over a week in some rain and humidity without flash rust appearing.

Except for the 'approved for bare metal' acrylic latex paints, you have to consider that you're applying water to the surface so it'll exacerbate any weaknesses in prep or priming. Exception - galvanized that actually wants latex instead of alkyd. It's also worth noting that primer is porous as opposed to finish paints that are not. That's why most primer instructions will caution against letting it exposed without a top coat for too long.

Steve

+1 Very good explanation and advice. As always with painting, whether it be vehicles, houses, furniture..."PREPARATION" is the key. Most any of the top quality paints will look good and last well IF the proper prep work has been done.

 

[ltcray]

I'be restored or repaired a number of old trucks, including a '46 Chevy pickup (one of the postwar buybacks). I'be always used Loctite Extend to kill and seal the rust before painting. If the area was badly pitted, I'd use NAPA body prep, which is a dilute phosphoric acid solution.

 

[unaffiliated]

@Jakelc15, I'd say your wife is a keeper if she is willing to paint your MV stuff.

 

[188slo50]

Anybody have some paint codes for the "383" green and brown for lowes? I have 3 different lowes with in 30 min from me and nearest HD is 1hr and that's the only one I know of.

 

[General Hood]

Components in the cab of my M923A2 were desert tan, with the exterior of the truck being the 3 color camo. The tan stood out like a sore thumb, so I decided to try out the Behr paint mentioned in this thread and others. The Home Depot rep was great, took his time to make sure he manually mixed the paint to spec. I'm by no means a professional painter, but I am happy with the results. After a light sanding and prep,I used a Graco sprayer for application.

 

[uglydukwling]

I found a link to this thread on another site, and it looks useful even though I'm part way through my paint job. I plan to get back to it when the weather gets warm enough to paint again. I'm painting a DUKW, which is probably more severe service than other trucks. After all, we don't expect most trucks to be immersed in water for any length of time.

I haven't painted the wooden parts yet, and it looks like Behr is the way to go for them. Does it need a primer for wood?

For the metal, I'm using a 2-part epoxy finish coat over a 2-part epoxy/strontium chromate primer. It looks like I'll have enough finish coat, but I'm going to run out of primer. I bought this stuff as mil surplus, so I probably will have trouble getting more of it. When I run out of primer, what should I switch to if I can't get more of the same?

I could use another 2-part epoxy. Is there a particular brand I should look for, or just use whatever is easiest to find?

Or I could use one of the rusty-metal primers, such as Rustoleum, mentioned in this thread. Even though the metal parts have been sandblasted, there are always rust specks in spots the sand doesn't reach. It bothers me a little that the epoxy and most other primers say they should be applied to clean metal, and that's pretty much impossible when you're repainting a complex structure. Is any brand better than the others, and more likely to be compatible with the epoxy?

Another alternative I've considered is a moisture-cured urethane. POR is the best known and most expensive brand, but it looks like most of the major paint companies have one in their industrial line. I've had good results with it, but never tried to use it as a primer under epoxy. It's also recommended for rusty metal. The theory is that since it cures by reacting with atmospheric moisture, it will also react with moisture hiding in porous material such as rust and provide a dry bond. It's miserable stuff to use, and even the generic version is expensive, but it does appear to be indestructible.


I don't expect to need more finish coat, but then I thought I had plenty of primer, too. If I do need more top coat, is there any reason not to switch to Behr? Any better alternatives?

 

[manders]

When I redid my M923, I also had it blasted and then I sprayed Chassis Saver by Magnet Paints. I am quite happy with the results. (I used an LVLP set-up in a homemade spray booth.)

I read a bunch of the comparisons between CS and POR and RustBullet, etc., and in the end went with CS. If you're starting with a freshly blasted surface which is "decently rough", this stuff seals tight! It is sensitive to oxidation from UV light, but you indicate you are adding a finish coat, so it doesn't sound like that'll be a problem.

It is also important to follow the instructions "to the letter", use a good paint mask and don't get any on your skin, it won't come off until the skin underneath flakes off. ;-}

Good luck!

MAnders.

 

[reeddavid]

Hi not finding anyone say anything about how behr paint holds up in the winter. I live in Wisconsin and can have very cold winters. Also is this for road driving or does it handle off road driving with sticks and mud?

Sent from my LG-K450 using Tapatalk

 

[plym49]

Bump... How is the Latex paint holding up? Thinking of painting my M101A2 in the next month and will probably be using Sherwin Williams. One of the SW shops is 2 miles down the road. I plan on using a HVLP spray gun and using floetrol. I am looking for a smoother finish than the CARC finish that is on the trailer now.

What about the porch and patio paint that someone mentioned?? Are there any advantages to Porch and Patio paint over regular exterior Latex house paint?

Thanks
Jeff

Forgive the late reply, but I painted my M416 with the ACE exterior latex over 8 years ago and it has held up fine in weather from Vermont to Florida.

 

[01GRANDER]

Forgive the late reply, but I painted my M416 with the ACE exterior latex over 8 years ago and it has held up fine in weather from Vermont to Florida.

How many coats? Did you spray any type of clear coat? I'm trying to decide on using Behr Marquee because getting it off will be a lot harder than CARC, you can pretty much just sand CARC vs latex will start peeling when sanding.