Krylon "rust tough" vs rustoleum "hammertone"

[joesquid]

Howdy All,
I've been itching to put my lab-rat brain to use on a paint test.  Over the next 6 months I'll be comparing wear and finish between our ever useful Rustoleum Hammertone Silver and Krylon Rust Tough Battleship Gray on bottle shelves in my Cavalier 64G.  In a nutshell I painted four shelves, two with hammertone, two with the Krylon.  I also sanded two shelves with 40 grit to remove some of the galvanic layer in order to test the effectiveness of the rust inhibitors in the paint.  What this means is each paint is being tested on an unprepared shelf (unfinished) and a prepared shelf (finished).  I'll test the shelves on plastic and glass bottles, keeping notes on the initial loadout and rotating bottle types once a month to ensure equal use and abuse of each shelf.  I'll also take notes and pics.  I'll post everything here for anyone interested.  Today I'll post the written test proposal (includes all details concerning the test and notes taken to date) and initial pics.

[joesquid]

The first pic is the paint being tested.  The lovely model is my daughter.  '>

[joesquid]

Here are two of the shelves modeled by my son.  All four started in similar condition.

[joesquid]

Here are the two Krylon shelves after second coat of paint.  The sanded (prepared) shelf is on the left.  You can still see imperfections in the right shelf (unsanded) but not as apparent as they were after the first coat.

[joesquid]

Here are the two Rustoleum shelves after the second coat.  The sanded shelf is on the left.  No noticible differences between the two.....had to be especially careful not to mix them up when moving them!!  '>

[joesquid]

Here are the shelves in place.
Shelf 1 - Krylon - unfinished
Shelf 2 - Krylon - finished
Shelf 3 - Rustoleum - unfinished
Shelf 4 - Rustoleum - finished

If you have any questions/comments not answered by the proposal, feel free to e-mail me!

Interesting stuff Eric.
Thanks for doing the test for us.

[Bob K]

Great stuff, Eric!

ps.  Remind me not to drink a cup of coffee at Eric's house.  He no doubt would have secretly replaced my favorite brewed coffee with Folgers crystals... '>

Bob

[Kevin C]

Eric

Please give out the information on the bottles currrently in use on each shelf. What is the bottle with the paw print?

Kevin

[joesquid]

Kevin,
The pawprint bottles are Seadog Beer, a local brewery just up the road from me in Topsham, Maine.  There's also a couple of bottles of Dundee honey brown on the third shelf.  The top shelf is Diet Coke, and the last shelf is bottled water.
Bob, you don't want to know what I'd put in your coffee.  Sailors tend to "add stuff" to spice up coffee.......how 'bout some good 'ol bilge wine instead? '>

[Jim]

Eric,

What was the recommended curing time on the Hammertone finish and did you let the shelves cure for this time period prior to putting into use...?

[BrianB]

Eric,
What would you say to FedExing me a gallon of bilge sludge, I sure do need a fix....been a few years!

Boy, I can say without a doubt, that's definitely one thing I don't miss about underway time, the NASTY  '>  stuff they/we called coffee!!!  '>

Oh yeah, please let me know the name/e-mail address of the very first FSA to work in the Chief's Mess onboard USS Farragutt....I would like to let him know that he should make sure that ALL coffee mugs should be kept super-duper A.J.-squared away with NO caffine deposits. That will surely win him many friends! '>

I'm really looking forward to the results of your test. I've been using either powdercoating or Cold Galvanizing spray w/ two coats of clear and have had pretty good luck. Maybe I've been using an inferior product this whole time. Could you also include your actual cost? That would be cool also.

Maybe you could paint a whole machine haze gray using Formula 150 as primer, and also make sure to paint it one half at a time using tape to clearly demarcate what side is wet so that people know which side to lay their skinners on to mess up your job..... and use non-skid for the top to prevent people from placing items on top (see 'Kito) Yeah....that sounds like a good idea....

[Eric]

My money's on the Hammertone.... due to the glas/resin/whatever else is in the mixture of that paint...
Great Idea.
I just had all my shelves to my 81 & 72 zinc plated... Still want to clear coat them... But that hammertone
paint looks so good I am tempted to paint over the zinc (it would be a double protection for sure)
Those look Awesome... I love the texture it leaves and it's hard to screw up the finish unless you just
spray in one spot till it runs... This is the paint I used on my blue and green gumball machines.
Tough paint!

Again thanks for doing this for us.

Eric

[joesquid]

Jim,
Rustoleum doesn't provide a cure time on the cans, merely minimum time between coats and minimum time for handling.  both times assume 70F and <50% humidity.  Recoat in as little as 15 minutes (dependent on local temp/humidity conditions), up to 2 hours or after 48 hours.  Can be handled after 90 minutes.  Due to the 76% humidity in my area, I waited just over 4 hours before placing the shelves in service.  The Krylon has near identical time frames to the Rustoleum.

[Jim]

I just wanted to make sure both products where cured according to the manufacturers specs...
In all fairness, the Hammertone finish should be a more durable finish provided the correct curring time has been obtained. In some cases, the curring time can be an extended time as compared to paint products. This allows the glass finish to rise to the surface ensuring a glossy/hard surface which protects better than a typical paint product...

[joesquid]

Jim,
In truthfullness, I fully expect that the hammertone will prove to be more durable but I've also had great luck with the Krylon Rust Tough products.  I've been trying to think of a controlled experiment that would allow both paints to be subjected to the exact same environmental conditions at the same time for side-by-side comparison and thought the shelf test would fit the bill.  Can't wait to see how this one pans out!

[Creighton]

Eric,
Thanks for spending your time on this!! Nice work on the test outline as well. Looks like you have a couple of great helpers :-)
Creighton

[joesquid]

Yeah they're my little "elves".  Their older brother likes to help too when he's not in school....might be able to turn this into a family business...who knows?

Thanks for the vote of encouragement.  My only fear is that I'll inadverdently do something without thinking to nullify the controlled factors of this test.....you know drop the jackhammer currently sitting on the machine onto one of the shelves during the monthly inspection. '>  I doubt Kito would forgive me! '>

[BryanH]

Quote (joesquid @ June 10 2005,8:06)

If you have any questions/comments not answered by the proposal, feel free to e-mail me!

Just to make it more complex and time consuming.... what about Hammerite paint?

[BrianB]

Dang, Bryan........Right when things were going all good and stuff..... '>  That's a good question though. They don't carry Hammerite in my area and I've heard/seen results from different people here and they all sound pretty happy with the results.

Personally, I think I might make the switch over to Hammertone.....Unless of course Powdercoating becomes free!! '>

[joesquid]

I had considered testing hammerite but don't have a big enough compressor to properly spray it.  Whatever results would come from the test would have been in question from the beginning simply because the initial test controls would have been compromised.  Maybe I'll get a bigger compressor for Father's Day? '>

I love how the hammertone looks when finished.  That is what I am planning on using when I reassemble my machine.  That is unless you find poor results.

[BryanH]

Quote (joesquid @ June 13 2005,6:56)

I had considered testing hammerite but don't have a big enough compressor to properly spray it.  Whatever results would come from the test would have been in question from the beginning simply because the initial test controls would have been compromised.  Maybe I'll get a bigger compressor for Father's Day? '>

Hey Eric - some of the folks here on the boards have been able to find Hammerite as a spray bomb in their HD's, Lowes or Ace Hardwares.  

Anyway, maybe file it away as a next experiment to take on your winner.  The Hammerite folks seem to consider themselves a step above Rustoleum. Would be interesting to see if they are.

Oh yeah - good luck on Father's Day!

[sodaworks]

My money is on the hammertone. I use it all the time. It is tough durable paint that looks great. I use it in spray bombs and I also buy it by the gallon:drinkers:

[FDNY1975]

Jim,  What was the final result on you Hammertone test I see it's been over six months since you started the test. Interested in what the outcome was. Thanks Matt

[FDNY1975]

Nevermind remember reading something about Joesquid not posting anything on here in a long time. Would of been interesting to see what the results were. Hope he is ok.

[Seven181]

Great test! Thanks for doing such an awesome test for all of us. I am debating right now to use hammertone or powder coating. I will wait to see what you recommend.

[sodaworks]

Hammertone '>

[Eric]

There was a final result he put it under a new title under same area
with photos the Hammertone looked like day one... that's what sold me
and I've used the paint on other project like candy machines.... Very durable.

[MoonDawg]

I had a customer drop off a machine here because
it was noisy, it was a bent fan blade I found later.

      The Vendo 81 is an earlier restoration which has
been used in a very exclusive home in Montecito.

      Imagine the surprise upon opening the main door.

      Looks as though the inner liner and bottle stack plates
were hammertoned, but the shelves had been sent out
for a shiny zinc plating.

[johnieG]

Yikes!