Seen the question asked many times if there was a rattle can clearcoat or paint that was gas resistant. Answer was usually no, but I think that has changed.
Went to the local Menards (local construction type store like Home Depot or Lowes) to pick up some Rustoleum to paint my Hurricane air cleaner since I wanted to leave the hamcan off, but the shiny aluminum just stuck out on the bike too much for what I was looking for. (posted pics of it painted on
page 8 in the Air Cleaner Porn thread if you want to check it out.
Seen some of the engine paint said ‘Gas & Oil Resistant’ so figured I’d use that for painting the Hurricane and also do a gas test on it for the forum.
Here are the paints I used. The orange/red and the clear coat both have Gas & Oil Resistant on their front labels. The black I used as a base coat was a semi-gloss, but this did not state it was gas and oil resistant.
So with that said,
I ended up actually only testing the clear coat for it’s resistance to gas. If you would like me to do the same test with the orange/red just let me know.
Disclaimer: I highly suggest you follow the prep and instructions on the product itself. I followed directions on the item all except for the prep steps. I used my own prep steps just to see how good paint would stick with my prep steps. Also did not use a primer.
Steel Prep (3/4”/12ga.)-
1) Sanded steel surface with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper until it looked clean and kinda shiny.
2) Had a one gallon plastic icecream bucket half filled with water and 10 sprays of Simple Green in it. Used wash cloth to wipe surface with this solution to clean surface of steel.
3) Let steel completely dry.
Base Coat (the Black Semi-Gloss)-
1) Sprayed according to the ‘Painting’ instructions on the can.
2) Applied 3 coats, following can’s guidelines for multiple coats.
3) The ‘Finishing’ instructions on can state: ‘May be buffed with wax or polish after one week.’ So thought it be best to wait 7 days before applying clear coat just in case these finishing instructions said to wait that long due to paint complete cure time.
Prep before applying clear coat-
1) Divided base coat into three sections by scraping lines in paint.
Wanted to see how finished product looked between these sections and just in case if gas did penetrate the clear coat I could see which section held up better than the other.
2) Left the left-hand side section as-is with no prep at all.
3) Sanded middle section with 600 grit wet/dry sand paper. Used it wet with water and sanded surface lightly and evenly.
4) Sanded right-hand section with 1000 grit wet/dry sand paper. Used it wet with water and sanded surface lightly and evenly.
Clear Coat (7 days after Base Coat)-
1) Sprayed according to the ‘Painting’ instructions on the can.
2) Applied 3 coats, following can’s guidelines for multiple coats.
3) The ‘Dry and Recoat Times’ instructions on the can state to wait 7 days for it to fully cure.
Gas Test (7 days after Clear Coat) (91 octane gas used)-
Note: each gas spot mentioned measured a nickel to quarter in diameter.
1) Placed 3 gas spots in each of the 3 sections by placing my finger in gas and dabbing it onto clear coat.
1a) Let the first of the gas spots in each section sit 2 minutes before wiping up with cotton washcloth wet with water. (left some light surface scratches, wash cloth may have not been fully rinsed of dirt before using).
1b) Let the second of the gas spots in each section sit 3 minutes before wiping up with cotton t-shirt wet with water.
1c) Let the third of the gas spots in each section sit 5 minutes before wiping up with cotton t-shirt wet with water.
2) Placed 2 gas spots in each of the 3 sections by dipping plastic tie strap in gas and letting gas drop onto clear coat and not touching it with the plastic.
2a) Let first of these two spots in each section sit 2 minutes before wiping up with cotton t-shirt wet with water.
2b) Let second of these two spots in each section sit 3 minutes before wiping up with cotton t-shirt wet with water.
Results (please read thoroughly, you may pick out wrong words as results if just skimming)-
1) All the gas spots placed by finger left a light set of finger prints where I touched to place gas. Tried wiping them with cotton t-shirt wet with water and tried rubbing finger print marks out with dry cotton t-shirt. Still there and can see where gas is placed. HOWEVER, I do get rid of them with ease in #3 below.
2) All gas spots placed by letting them drop and not touching, left a very light spot where the gas was present, could only really see these when light was at a certain angle HOWEVER, I do get rid of them with ease in #3 below.
3) I didn’t have a buffer or anything to really rub these marks out. What I did have was some Mcguiar’s Mist & Wipe Quick Detailer laying around so figured I’d give it a try and see how deep some of the marks were.
Must not have been deep, because all I had to do was put one squirt of that Mcguiar’s Mist & Wipe Quick Detailer onto a dry cotton t-shirt, wipe the clearcoat a few quick times, then make sure dry with the dry portion of the cotton t-shirt and all marks disappered – good as new - weren’t deep at all, they were just on the surface and water just couldn’t lift them, but the Mcguiar’s did without any buffing, just wet wipe and dry wipe.
I know this isn’t scientific testing, but think it proves this particular Rustoleum Engine Enamel Clear Coat is plenty gas resistant enough for rattle can painting your bike and allowing you enough time to wipe the gas off without affecting the paint job much.
Disclaimer: Not all clearcoats are compatible with all paints, so suggest you stick with same type and brand of paint as your clear coat.
Another Disclaimer: This testing was done with 91 octane and results may vary with different types of fuels and oils. Results may also vary if you leave the chemicals on for longer periods of time or use less coats of paint or less coats of clear coat or use paint on different materials. *did adhere good to the steel in this test and the alluminum of the Hurricane air cleaner cover.
Almost forgot to let you know how the surfaces looked between the three sections after clear coat cured.
1) The first section without any prep before clear coat has an appearance of just what it was, paint with clear coat over it, looked good, but not very professional.
2) The second section with the 600 grit wet sandpaper prep before clear coat was one step above the no prep. It looks more fluid with the base paint and nice surface.
3) The third section with the 1000 grit wet sandpaper prep before the clearcoat was the best of the three. It looks very fluid with the base coat and give a more professional looking surface.
Hope this helps someone who's thinking on rattle canning their ride
(rattle can) Rustoleum Gas Resistant Clear Coat? Test results inside.
Linear Mode
