Most Durable Paint For Metal

[SeniorXJ]

Having a hard time tryin to figure out which paint type to go with. I'm building an RC rock crawler & most parts are brass with some aluminum & steel so the paints durability is very important! And yes, everything will be 2k clear coated! I also want to airbrush it all as the parts are small (1/24 scale) & automotive paints are too thick.
I have narrowed down the primers to either Mr Metal Primer, Tamiya Fine Surface Primer or SMS's Etch Primer followed by their Surface Primer.
Leaning towards the SMS due to the etching and the fact that it's meant for the airbrush.
So my 1st question, does anyone here have experience with SMS products & airbrushing onto metal?

If I go SMS, I would also use their lacquer paints so my 2nd question is would lacquer paint be more durable than say Wickeds Acrylic Polyurethane? Again this will all be 2k clear coated with 2 part NO-NAME clear.
Side note, I did buy Tamiya Fine Primer & 2 bottles of Spaz Stix paint with Createx 4011 & 4030 but am unsure of the adhesion & durability.

Opinions Please & Thank You in advance!

 

[SeniorXJ]

Also, if anyone is willing to offer another brand of paint & primer that has a stronger & is more durable, please do!

Thanks!

 

[palk]

The toughest paint I have ever used was Jotun 87 it was a 2 pack epoxy paint that is used on ships I painted it over an ally punt I made after an acid wash and dried no primer or anything, the paint is still on my 18 year old boat
Have no idea if it's airbrushable
We did painted over a couple of jobs with a 2K clear and it worked fine. I don't know if it lasted
But the Jotun 87 dosnt chip and when scraped just a shaving comes up no cracking, chipping or splintering

 

[SiRoxx]

I only have experience with the Createx system from an airbrush pov. Once cleared I think the durability of Wicked is good. Their Autobourne sealers are a great product, but they don’t recommend going direct to metal, so would still need an etch primer underneath. Personally I think that if you’re going to follow the steps of etch, surface primer, paint and 2k then any known brand will be as good as the next.

 

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

By durable do you mean scratch and rubbing resistance or stress loading/bending? There is a difference. If the parts will experience bending the paint can possibly crack. Depending on the paint, flexing additives can be added to help with that. Not sure I follow "automotive paints are too thick". If you are talking machining mating surfaces like the thread of a precision screw then you can consider anodizing instead of paint.

Thanks,
Ismael

 

[SeniorXJ]

Hello,

By durable do you mean scratch and rubbing resistance or stress loading/bending? There is a difference. If the parts will experience bending the paint can possibly crack. Depending on the paint, flexing additives can be added to help with that. Not sure I follow "automotive paints are too thick". If you are talking machining mating surfaces like the thread of a precision screw then you can consider anodizing instead of paint.

Thanks,
Ismael

It's a remote controled rock crawler, no the parts will not bend, yes they will get scratched.

 

[SeniorXJ]

Alright I think I've got this together now so tell me what you guys think..

First is Mr. Metal Primer followed by Autoborne Sealer Black reduced 20% + or -
Let cure 24 hrs.

Next is Wicked paint with 25% 4030 and reduced 20% + or -
Let cure 24 hrs.

Last is 2k clear coat No-Name brand or possibly Finish 1
Let cure 5-7 days.

Remember this is an RC crawler so some of these parts will be dragged over rocks, !

Thoughts?

 

[TruggyDriver69]

I was gonna suggest Testors enamels over primer.

 

[SeniorXJ]

I was gonna suggest Testors enamels over primer.

Testors Enamel over an etched primer for bare brass & aluminum?

 

[TruggyDriver69]

Testors Enamel over an etched primer for bare brass & aluminum?

I had a racing buddy that would paint his aluminum parts on his 1/8 cars that way. Krylon primer and Testors enamel. He painted his brass chassis weights as well. This was back in the late 90’s when most of the aluminum parts weren’t anodized. Held up pretty good. I will have to say that after looking into the SMS paints-primes they probably are a better option.

 

[SeniorXJ]

I had a racing buddy that would paint his aluminum parts on his 1/8 cars that way. Krylon primer and Testors enamel. He painted his brass chassis weights as well. This was back in the late 90’s when most of the aluminum parts weren’t anodized. Held up pretty good. I will have to say that after looking into the SMS paints-primes they probably are a better option.

So you think lacquer paint would be more durable than Createx Wicked even with the 4030 or 4053 additives?

 

[TruggyDriver69]

I would think so. I know lacquer is very durable. Enamels are quite durable as well and that’s what heavy equipment are sprayed with. Here’s a good article on lacquer and acrylics. https://leisureguided.com/acrylic-vs-lacquer/ Alsoa vid on SMS that you might find useful.

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[SiRoxx]

I can’t help with the enamel / waterbased issue as I don’t have any experience with enamel. But I can say that if you go for Wicked, use the 4050 UVLS Clear rather than 4030. 4050 came after and in my opinion is a much nicer product to work with. It also seems to have better all round performance than 4030.

 

[Vaportrail]

make sure you use an etching primer for your aluminum parts