# repainting old tools



## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

I have scored some gems from CList over the past year and have been working to rehab them (Dewalt MBF RAS from 1951, Craftsman TS from 1971, Rockwell 14in Band saw from 1956). I have checked some of the rehabs from OWWM and have seen some great ones here and I have two major questions
. 
How do you repaint them to look so great? Just about everyone says they use Rustoleum hammer finish. Do you use the spray can or the traditional pint put into some type of sprayer?

I don't have any painting or finishing spray equipment. Any of you tool rehabbers out there that can give some input, I would really appreciate it. The Rockwell band saw is a new addition and I would like to make it look great after getting the rust off.


----------



## bues0022 (Sep 30, 2009)

I redid my '50's Craftsman TS last year. After I sand-blasted/washed everything, I put a coat of rustoleum enamel paint on. I think it was the tractor stuff. I put a coat of metal primer on, then a few coats of paint, then a clear coat. The spray paint worked well for me!


----------



## Camper (Jul 31, 2010)

you may find some leads here. more detailed answers to your question is best found at the owwm forums, but the short answer to your question is using spray cans work real well but there is a learning curve just like using a sprayer.

As far as rust removal, electrolysis is a good choice and I find wire wheels pretty effective.

As far as paint removal wire wheels as well as citristrip works well and is biodegradable.


----------



## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

Thanks Ryan. I was thinking of using the spray paint cans as well, but wasn't sure. Was the clear coat a rustoleum brand spray?


----------



## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

Camper,

I have always used wire wheels and navel jelly for things like iron TS tops. I know this is going to sound dumb, but what is electrolysis? Is there equipment involved?


----------



## Minorhero (Apr 8, 2011)

I've done several restores over the past 2 years and probably visit OWWM several times a day on average. There are definitely two camps when it comes to painting over at OWWM. One will use rustoleum pretty much exclusively and the other will use some type of industrial enamel that goes into a sprayer. I have done both and my favorite paint is a Benjamin Moore Paint called Super Spec HP which is designed for industrial use. It will cost you about 20 dollars for a quart which is enough to do any of the machines you mentioned with a little left over for touch-ups. And that is also going to be pretty price comparable to rattle cans. At 4 dollars a pop, depending on how many coats you put on you could easily use 5 cans to paint one of the above machines. I also own a 20 gallon air compressor and a 30 dollar HVLP sprayer I bought from grizzly. When I started painting machines I had absolutely zero experience using a sprayer and it turned out fine.

Now if you don't own a compressor then you will have to use rattle cans. When I first started I used rattle cans and I liked the hammered finish rustoleum because it covered up imperfections in the castings and sheet metal while still providing a nice finish. I did not try using a brush, I just sprayed from the rattle cans.

As far as surface preparation goes you again have two options. Some folk take the paint all the way off and spray primer over bare metal. I have done this and frankly I just don't like doing it. It takes a long time and is quite involved. Instead I work the whole machine over with a sander/sand paper to get off any crud that has stuck to it over the years and also to smooth out spots where paint flaked and rust developed. Once the machine is de-rusted and consistently smooth over its entire surface I go straight to painting (having already disassembled everything). I have compared at length machines I have taken down to bare metal and machines that I only give the once over with the sander leaving the vast majority of the paint intact and I feel comfortable in telling you that I can not find a single difference in the finished quality.

When using rustoleum which is considerably thinner then the Benjamin Moore paint I use you will need to make sure that there is a nice smooth transition between places where the paint is chipped and the already painted surfaces so that "step up" won't be visible in the finished product. But otherwise it is considerably easier to paint over existing paints. I have never bothered with clear coats but I feel comfortable echoing other people's advice on this and would say if you use one you should stick to one made by the same company that makes your paint. So if you use rustoleum then use a rustoleum clear coat as well.


----------



## justinwdemoss (Jun 22, 2010)

Minorhero,

Wow, thanks for all the great info! I will likely go the rattle can route only because my compressor is a cheapy sears pancake and its not in my budget. The clear coat advice is what I was thinking. I will post pics when I get progress and post my shop.


----------



## Minorhero (Apr 8, 2011)

One other thing to remember. Read the directions on the rattle can (I know, it sounds obvious but…). When I did my bandsaw restore I used rattle cans but I did not follow the directions which warn you about applying paint after the paint has dried but before it has "cured". The result was a terrible "crinkle" effect that destroyed the paint job and meant having to sand off a substantial amount of paint I had already applied. So read the directions about how often you can apply the paint.

Have fun!


----------



## Camper (Jul 31, 2010)

electrolysis is yet another way of removing rust and (paint if you leave it in long enough. This should be a good start or you can search it in LJs or owwm and you will find some threads that go deep into it.

In my limited experience regarding restoration, just about every method works reasonably well or at least looks that way to the untrained eye so go with whatever you can do or enjoy doing. I am sure just like anything else, a "professional" restorer can probably pick out differences in each of the methods for derusting/stripping/painting/quality of finish etc. I find that once you do one and get over the "fear of doing something wrong", the fun part is just going with the flow.

Remember, it is not rocket science (even though I thought it was during my first resto) and the important thing is to enjoy the process. The big challenge in a restoration, IMHO, is taking the machine apart without bending/breaking/cracking anything. That's where I think you should seek most of your guidance and take a picture every time you move something (i mean it) and label everything. I guarantee you when it is time to put it back together, you are going to say bound to say "where does this go again??"

I am not sure that there is a wrong way of painting or removing rust (arguably some work better than others) but there definitely is a wrong way of trying to remove parts from a machine and those are the ones you want to avoid.

One more thing, I find cast iron is pretty indestructible when it comes to derusting/stripping but pot-metal and aluminum parts are more "delicate" so use caution with those. I find chemical stripping like citristrip work best on softer metals instead of abrasives such as wirewheel etc.

Have fun ...it is a rewarding undertaking

If you have specific questions do not hesitate to shoot me a PM or ask here. I am no expert but I have finished a couple of restorations and be happy to point you in the right direction if I can.


----------

