Tractol aerosol for a lathe?

[hjc]

I've randomly acquired a small vintage lathe (a James Spencer dating from somewhere between 1890 and 1920).

I'm going through the process of stripping everything down, derusting and getting the parts moving again, and at some point will want to paint it. (photos here for anyone that's interested)

Looking around the web most folk seem to use either Tractol or arc force enamel, either spraying or with a brush. I've no spray equipment, so I'd assumed I'd need to brush it, which I'm a bit nervous about as I'm a terrible painter.

Just noticed that Tractol also comes in an aerosol, but I've not found any write ups from anyone using this. Does anyone have any experience with it? I spoke to someone at Smith and Allan, who was nice enough but couldn't really offer any advice.

So I guess the question is, worth giving the aerosol a shot or is it not too hard for a novice to get a decent finish with a brush?

 

[Jelly]

My experience is that Aerosol Spraying doesn't tend to build up the film thickness that results in a really hard-wearing paint job, but you can get a nice finish with it.

If you want to use spray cans I would brush on the etch and high build primer coats, and at least one colour coat, then use a can to do the final top-coat after de-nibbing.

 

[hjc]

Thanks, hadn't thought of mixing approaches. Only drawback might be economic as I'd need to swing for the aersol as well as the paint, which doesn't look to come in less than 1L.

 

[deema]

Tractol paints on really nicely with a brush. There are just a few things to consider:
The workshop needs to be warm, around 20 degrees
Clean the metal properly, until a white rag does not show any dirt. That’s lots of cleaning Panel wipe
Wipe everything with tack cloth. These are specialist cloths that are lint free and tacky
clean the workshop throughout the day before. The following day lightly spray the floor with water, and keep it damp.
Wear a disposable paint suit that stops dust falling off you.
Always statin the paint with a very small mesh paint filter, you can buy them anywhere, cheap.
Only use the highest quality brush with the right bristles for solvent paint. I.e Purdy as an example.
Use a suitable undercoat that creates the first bond to the metal (Tractol do their own undercoat, but I usually use another brand)
Follow with high build primer, de nibbling between coats (remove any foreign bodies) (usually you can get a high build primer that you can thin down for a standard primer)
Once you have one or two coats of high build sand with a high grit to make it absolutely smooth. This is the finish you will see through the paint, so it has to be as perfect as you want the final finish to be.
Clean, wet, panel wipe, tack cloth between all coats
Paint on Tractol Top coat on.
Admire the finished result.

may sound a lot of work, but in reality it should be the same process used for any painting job. It would be the same for paint spraying

 

[Sachakins]

+1 for Deema, it sounds a lot of prep work, but it will produce amazing results.

Unless you can heat the workshop constantly, I'd tend to wait till warmer times before attempting it.

Good luck.

 

[hjc]

Thanks Deema, sounds like a lot of prep, but I suspected there would be. Not heard about paint straining before, so that was very useful.

Unfortunately the "workshop" is an unheated garage in Scotland. 20c is a long long way in the future.