Painting metal cabinets

[galute]

I picked up a few metal cabinets for my shop today. They have been stored in an old hog barn for years. They are very dirty and have some surface rust. I want to give them a good cleaning, sand them, prime and paint. I'm probably gonna just use some rattle can paint. Any of you guys used that type of paint with good results? What brand did you use? I just want them to look nice an be durable. I might just bite the bullet and spray em with some equipment enamel with my paint gun like the stuff tractor supply sells. I don't have a lot of time to mess with them right now and thought rattle cans may be faster. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Here is what that cabinet looks like with the front doors open. They are just plexiglass that lift up and slide back into the cabinet.

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with this thing at this point. I may just get rid of it. I may restore it and use it with bulk motor oil. It has a meter on it that would make it easy to measure how much oil I pump into and engine at oil changes.

I got a few more just plain on metal cabinets and shelves that I didn't take pics of. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics.

 

[DIC]

I have a brother to that oil dispenser ... Mine is a greaser

 

[yuk]

surfaces less than pristine due to rust pitting seems to look ok using hammertone paint

 

[brianpgriset]

Rustoleum and a 4" foam roller.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1172298#post1172298

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140768

I agree with the above. I did the same with my Vidmar cabinet and it came out great. Plus there is no overspray and its much cheaper.

 

[galute]

Rustoleum and a 4" foam roller.

Awesome! That sounds easier and cheaper than rattle cans. Did you prime them first?

Many thanks everyone.

 

[spooler41]

Yes ,prime first,but clean them up with a wire wheel on a 4.5"grinder before doing any
paint work.

..................Jack

 

[kfainf]

I did the same as FrankLee with an old metal storage cabinet I have, but I thinned the Rustoleum with some mineral spirits first. I cut it about 60% paint/40% thinner. It took several thin coats with the 4" foam roller to cover good, but the thinned coats flash dried quicker and self leveled very well.

 

[HMCFab9]

I'd say spray 'em with Rustoleum hammertone. It will hide any defects / rust pitting, it covers well & it's cheap. About $10 per quart can.

 

[gorilla]

I had really good results spraying Rustoleum thinned with acetone in a hvlp gun. Doing it that way cost less than rattle cans and had a nice glossy finish. The hvlp gun works at 30 psi so the over spray was about the same as rattle cans.