Rustoleum can issues - anyone else?

[American Locomotive]

I've in the middle of a pretty large automotive rebuild project, and a lot of parts need painting. Big parts are being sprayed with enamel out of a gun, but all the smaller bits and pieces are getting sprayed Rustoleum gloss black out of a can.

There are a lot of small parts, and everything is getting multiple coats, so we've been going through quite a bit of paint. Probably 7-8 cans of gloss black at this point and 4-5 cans of primer.

No issues at all with the primer, but the Gloss Black has been killing us. The nozzles frequently start dribbling watery black paint all over the nozzle and can. We get very inconsistent spraying with nozzles clogging all the time. Sometimes we have to steal a nozzle off another can because they get completely blocked up and refuse to spray.

We shake the cans plenty, so that shouldn't be a problem. I don't remember have this much trouble with a bunch of rustoleum paint we bought last year.

Anyone else noticed quality issues lately with Rustoleum paint?

P.S: I did try Krylon Colormaster gloss black and it was absolutely awful. Blotchy, came out looking semi-gloss. Color was all over the place, some parts came out looking grey, others looked black. Sometimes you'd give it another coat and it'd turn what was black to grey and vice versa.

 

[lis2323]

I have that problem with the blacks (flat , semi gloss and gloss) with Tremclad hi performance which is a Rustoleum product in Canada.

 

[measuredtwice]

Did you try turning the cans upside down and depressing the nozzle until it's clear after each use? That sometimes helps to prevent clogs.

 

[Skin]

Did you try turning the cans upside down and depressing the nozzle until it's clear after each use? That sometimes helps to prevent clogs.

This. Pretty sure it's even written on the can.

 

[American Locomotive]

The newer Rustoleum cans spray upside down, so you cannot clear them.

 

[Lwel9226]

Did you try turning the cans upside down and depressing the nozzle until it's clear after each use? That sometimes helps to prevent clogs.

The newer Rustoleum cans spray upside down, so you cannot clear them.

The new cans that cannot be cleared **** big time...
Some people claim that clearing the nozzle is a waste of paint... But it is much better than fighting with the clogging and poor spraying of the new nozzles....

LynnW

 

[Jlarson]

We use a lot of their cold galv and about every third case has a can or two with that issue.

Supplier accidentally sent out bright cold galv insead of the normal flat a while back and every case of that had multiple bad cans, had to send that back, they were so bad we were making a mess dripping all over.

 

[PCustoms]

You using the white Rust-Oleum canes or the silver Rust-Oleum Professional cans?

The pro is way better.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Is this the Rustoleum STOPS RUST line?

If so, that's your problem. That line is basically a very heavy paint formulated to help users stop rust. Beautification is not it's speciality. Customer service told me that they use extra "solids" in order to achieve this goal.

 

[lilredex]

Take the nozzle off and blow out with an air hose, no wasted propellent or paint. Sometimes a quick solvent soak helps. That's what I do with any rattlecan.

 

[jeepnut24]

Wish they just sold extra spray nozzles...... I see them for sale, not sure if they work with rustoleum

 

[American Locomotive]

You using the white Rust-Oleum canes or the silver Rust-Oleum Professional cans?

The pro is way better.

Standard white can. Maybe we'll investigate the pro line once we use up this batch of paint.

Is this the Rustoleum STOPS RUST line?

I didn't think anything of it - just grabbed the standard "white" can they have a billion of at Home Depot. But thinking about it, it might be the STOPS RUST line.

Strangely enough we have almost no issues with the brown Rusty Metal Primer....

Take the nozzle off and blow out with an air hose, no wasted propellent or paint. Sometimes a quick solvent soak helps. That's what I do with any rattlecan.

That's not a bad idea.

 

[The FIB]

Threw a half can of flat black out a couple of days ago, I tried swapping the nozzle with a new one, no luck, the can was clogged internally.

 

[1982fxr]

I can't remember the last can of Rust-oleum I had that didn't clog. Those nozzles are a sick joke on society.

 

[mc4life27]

Contact rustoliumn they will send you a check for a replacement can or cans. I had that happen and they told me to just throw it away and get a new one.


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[Tallpilot]

I can't remember the last can of Rust-oleum I had that didn't clog. Those nozzles are a sick joke on society.

Pretty much. I use the matte black on the skid plates for my truck. When it sprays it works perfectly to cover up a rock chip in the powder-coat. I usually use brake clean and a sewing needle to unclog it before each use. It is a massive PITA.

 

[rlitman]

The newer Rustoleum cans spray upside down, so you cannot clear them.

Yeah, I feel your pain. About 10 years ago, they switched to a new can design with a dip tube that works inverted and a new nozzle that is supposed to improve transfer efficiency, plus they changed solvents.

It gets better transfer efficiency by using larger spray droplets (like HVLP does), but the consequence is that it is more likely to spray globs.

 

[visionguru]

...
Anyone else noticed quality issues lately with Rustoleum paint?
....

I recently did about 10 cans of Rustoleum, noticed similar thing for white can enamel paint, and don't think they have a quality issue. Notice the paint residue on the used nozzle.

The white can "Stop Rust" enamel is very thick and has a high output nozzel, if you don't wipe clean the nozzle frequently or pointing to the object being painted when you first press the nozzel, there could be problems. The regular "ultra coverage" cans are much thinner and don't seem have such issues.

One thing I'd like to see on Rustoleum cans is better spray patterns. Before painting a file cabinet, I bought some caps from a graffiti "artist" website. The better spray pattern allowed me to avoid "tiger strips" on the flat surfaces. With plenty of new caps on hand, I just used a new cap at each coat.

If clogging is an issue, why not save the used caps just in case you need one. Someone above mentioned "professional" cans. I think they are just larger cans with more paint. The nozzles are probably still the same.

I can't remember the last can of Rust-oleum I had that didn't clog. Those nozzles are a sick joke on society.

Somehow, Rustoleum never clogged on me, the hole seems big and not so easy to clog. I had Dupli-Color and 3M primer clogged in the middle of spraying.

 

[lolaetype]

lately I've had problems with both Rustoleum and Krylon. On mylast project the new can of Krylon red quit with over half the can unused. Tried a nozzle that worked on another can; no joy. I contacted Krylon's customer service via e-mail. I quickly got a response telling me a customer service tech would be back to me in one business day. Nine days later, nothing.

Has the industry changed formulations to meet some environmental regulation?


EDIT: Krylon e-mailed me yesterday. Asked for pictures of the can and offered a refund.

 

[seanb02]

Seems as though Rustoleum used to be the best brand for cheap paint and good quality coverage for just about any project. Sticks better than duplicolor, krylon, and the other brands common in stores. Between the nozzle clogging issues and the fact that the paint seems to be much more watered down than it used to be I didn't feel that I was getting a good bang for my buck anymore so switched brands.

Went with paint from Kimball Midwest, not sure who makes it for them but it seems to be much better quality spray paint than Rustoleum has turned into. High solids content so a lot of material can be covered in a thick coat or two of paint before the can runs out, and no clogging issues. Sticks well to everything I've sprayed it on.

Still use Rustoleum in the quarts and gallons for the larger painting projects. Thin it with acetone and shoot it through a gun, but even for that I may try switching suppliers next time around. Sometimes it is worth trying a few different types of paint to see which one is the best for your applications rather than just going with the same brand you've used for the last 30 years.

 

[welder4956]

I sprayed some shelf brackets last week with 3 cans of Rustoleum satin black. The first one started clogging the tip, so I wiped the tip clean with a t-shirt rag and it sprayed again. I had to wipe the tip after every 20-30 seconds of spraying and made it through all the brackets with no more clogging.

 

[BD1]

Same issue with white and black here.
I had my receipt from Menard's and they exchanged them.
Replacements were still lousy.
I bought this $10 shoe holder for my spray paint cans .



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Skin]

You using the white Rust-Oleum canes or the silver Rust-Oleum Professional cans?

The pro is way better.

I use the Pro too but it looks like those switched over to any angle spray "technology" as well.

The only time I had cans spit paint like the OP is describing is when myself or someone else didnt flush the can before storage. Now it appears you cant flush the tube or valve, you can only remove the nozzle and clean it with a solvent.

Add it to the list of something ruined to give an engineer a reason to exist.

 

[American Locomotive]

We actually cut open one of the cans today to take a look at how the "any angle spray" works.

We're not 100% sure yet, but it appears that they just accomplished this by using a comically large dip tube inside the can. The tube basically just acts like a reservoir for when you tip the can upside down.

So it may be possible to turn it upside down and purge it, but you're going to waste a tremendous amount of paint doing it.

 

[david3921]

I found that the white can, 2x, primer and paint have to used up once you start spraying. As someone said, keep wiping the tip. It is thicker and clogs easier. I did find soaking the tip in solvent and clearing with air helps but it's iffy that they can be used the next day. For your application, I would buy the "regular" cans with the smaller red tips. These can be flipped upside down for clearing so you can use them for multiple days. The Industrial line has the red tips also and holds more paint. They also sell the really tall cans that I believe have the red tips too.

 

[rlitman]

I found that the white can, 2x, primer and paint have to used up once you start spraying. As someone said, keep wiping the tip. It is thicker and clogs easier. I did find soaking the tip in solvent and clearing with air helps but it's iffy that they can be used the next day. For your application, I would buy the "regular" cans with the smaller red tips. These can be flipped upside down for clearing so you can use them for multiple days. The Industrial line has the red tips also and holds more paint. They also sell the really tall cans that I believe have the red tips too.

I'll wipe the tip with a paper towel soaked in naphtha.

 

[Astro_Pneumatic_Tools]

If any brand needs to be called out its Rustoleum/2X. I picture at guy at HQ with fingers in his ears yelling "Nah nah nah nah I can't hear you" while he counts the money. I think the average can gets thrown away at 30% full - much of the 70% going on cardboard trying to get it to spray again. Convinced they have cornered the market with exclusives and partnerships with retailers then just sent quality off a cliff and are not too concerned about it. Who comes back to warranty or complain about a can or paint? Where else are they going to go? Every store has Rustoleum.

 

[SweetD]

They can put a man on the moon...

 

[mike93lx]

I have had great luck with pro, spraying, drying and overall durability

 

[dnschmidt]

How about buying a mini-gun (Astro makes a great one, I recommend the 1.2mm tip) and using it to spray Rustoleum. Here's two great formulas: 4 parts Rustoleum, 3 parts Acetone. This is pretty good and works fine for most things. Here's the best one that adds a hardener that greatly toughens up the paint: 1 part Rustoleum, 2 parts Acetone 1/3 part Enamel Hardener. This is pretty thin and will go through a 1.0mm mini-gun. You can cut back on the Acetone to make 1:1:.33 which works good in the 1.2mm.

 

[engineer2]

I avoid RustOleum paints. Their spray cans are nothing but trouble, and you get sticky overspray on everything within 3 feet.
Their headquarters are in the next town over.
Their Product Development center used to be a bar.

 

[Toxictom]

I starting warming cans of spray paint in a hot water bath before using them. I think I get better coverage and less clogging at the nozzle.

 

[visionguru]

I avoid RustOleum paints. Their spray cans are nothing but trouble, and you get sticky overspray on everything within 3 feet.
Their headquarters are in the next town over.
Their Product Development center used to be a bar.

Curious what do you use instead?

Spray cans are more similar than they are different. Different brands may have different spray tips, which is replaceable. You can eve use your own tips for preferred spray patterns.

As long as you spray (gun or can), there will be oversprays even further than 3ft, and it's really not Rustoleum particular problem

 

[engineer2]

I like Krylon a lot better. Less messy to use.
Rustoleum cans put out a lot of very fine mist that tends to drift and get on nearby things with sticky overspray. I'll only spray it outdoors. Rustoleum takes a long time to dry unless you leave the painted part in the sun. It's not all that good at stopping rust either, even sandblasted metal, Rustoleum primer and paint. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it, I just think other products are better. Being in Rustoleum's back yard, almost every retailer in the area exclusively carries Rustoleum. PITA to find other brands.

 

[foghorn1966]

Most of the Rustoleum I try to use is the industrial line of product. I have to agree with Chris from Astro on this. Most of the cans I have issues with clog the tube internally. I've gotten clean paint cans from the parts store & started de-pressuring the cans then draining them into the clean paint cans for use with a touch-up gun. Me greys & primer.