Protecting paint and hardware from UVs and rust with wax?

[DavidWymore]

I have (negative) experience with flat and semi gloss paints on other vehicles. I'm in the desert, so I get fading and chalking from hard water, etc. Handwashing keeps it down some, but wears the paint off. I want to paint my deuce USMC Semi Gloss Forest Green. I'm thinking about doing it in flat and then adding UV resistant wax over it to make it semigloss and protect it.

Thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Tow4]

Some have had good luck using the Behr Ultra paints. I think RAYZER has had his TAJ M146 trailer painted and sitting out for at least a couple of years with no appreciable fading. I have also painted a truck with the Behr Ultra but it is stored inside so I can't speak to the durability. It is easy to apply and very hard once cured.

 

[patracy]

I used the behr ultra paint to paint my SEMTT last year. So far, so good. But only time will tell. That said, it is a house paint, so it's designed to stand up to UV better. It is an interesting idea though on the UV wax. But I'm not sure how that wouldn't cause a shine? Certainly if you "polish" it into the finish.

I can say that the krylon paints will not adhere long to the vinyl covers.

 

[Ray70]

Absolutely do not try the wax thing. It will ruin your new paint job! You'll only end up with problems using wax over a satin, semi and especially flat finishes. The wax will get stuck in the slight (microscopic) porous surface and turn hazy white the first time it gets wet and then dries again. Then it will be trapped there and cause problems if you try to paint over it someday and don't get it all off.
If this is going to be a complete new paint job the absolute best way, but also most expensive to get a durable flat UV resistant finish would to use a urethane basecoat and topcoat it with either pre-flattened 2K urethane clear or you take regular 2K gloss clear and add flattening agent until you get the gloss desired, usually 40% by volume will yield a satin finish. For semi-gloss you'll want to be more in the 30-35% range ( do a test panel to get the ratio you want ) Never apply regular wax to anything other than a gloss finish, it will cause nothing bet problems down the road. There is a company in Europe that makes a special wax for satin finishes but its about $180 a can or you can get their whole satin paint care kit for $1800
PPG's Omni line is a very good and reasonable priced urethane basecoat and USC makes a very good inexpensive clear, that is only about $60 for a gallon with a qt. of activator. I believe Dupont still makes flattener in qts. I have also used PPG's pre-flattened clear but it's a bit more pricey. Most likely you can find a much cheaper line if you go the pre-flattened route.

 

[DavidWymore]

I follow ya. That's kinda what I was thinking, just put good modern auto paint on it.

There's this stuff now, but I don't think I'll use it. (Caution, and pardon the pinup girl on the website)

https://www.ratwax.net/

 

[Ray70]

Actually that Ratwax is WAY more affordable that the German?? stuff I was referring to! But, like it says, "its not wax and you can't wax a satin finish" but it does add a UV resistant layer! If you plan to store your deuce outside, go with a good quality satin clearcoat automotive finish and clean it with the ratwax products for even more UV protection!
BTW, I forgot to comment on Patracy's Krylon/vinyl comment.... If you want to stencil on a vinyl cover or other vinyl, pleather or similar plastic/fabric "stuff" look for spray can vinyl dye instead of paint. There is one called "Color Coat" made by SEM (TCP Global) that is an excellent product and available in a good variety of colors. It's designed to penetrate and bond to vinyl instead of sit on the surface ( then fall off ) like paint does. Think of it like stain Vs. paint on wood...

 

[Woodsplinter]

Absolutely do not try the wax thing. It will ruin your new paint job! You'll only end up with problems using wax over a satin, semi and especially flat finishes. The wax will get stuck in the slight (microscopic) porous surface and turn hazy white the first time it gets wet and then dries again. Then it will be trapped there and cause problems if you try to paint over it someday and don't get it all off.
If this is going to be a complete new paint job the absolute best way, but also most expensive to get a durable flat UV resistant finish would to use a urethane basecoat and topcoat it with either pre-flattened 2K urethane clear or you take regular 2K gloss clear and add flattening agent until you get the gloss desired, usually 40% by volume will yield a satin finish. For semi-gloss you'll want to be more in the 30-35% range ( do a test panel to get the ratio you want ) Never apply regular wax to anything other than a gloss finish, it will cause nothing bet problems down the road. There is a company in Europe that makes a special wax for satin finishes but its about $180 a can or you can get their whole satin paint care kit for $1800
PPG's Omni line is a very good and reasonable priced urethane basecoat and USC makes a very good inexpensive clear, that is only about $60 for a gallon with a qt. of activator. I believe Dupont still makes flattener in qts. I have also used PPG's pre-flattened clear but it's a bit more pricey. Most likely you can find a much cheaper line if you go the pre-flattened route.

Ditto on the do not wax! I painted my deuce with Gillespie 24052, Marine Corp forest green semi gloss last January. By April it had faded to flat. I tried waxing it to bring the shine back and it worked for a few days. Then, like Ray said it turned white. It's impossible to remove from the little imperfections in the paint. I think my only recourse now is to sand, clean really well and repaint.

As a test, I got some Behr semi-gloss paint color matched and painted the roof. It is holding up very well going on 9 months- still as good as the day it was applied. If I repaint it will be with Behr. It's a military vehicle- no point in using a really expensive paint unless you intend to enter it in shows as a trailer queen.

 

[Ray70]

Woodsplinter, before you give up and repaint you can try either a light wetsanding in an inconspicuous area with 3000+ grit paper. sand in straight lines, not circles. I've also heard of people using 000 steel wool or an ultra fine scuff pad in a bucket of water with a little dish soap and ammonia in it to scrub the surface (also in straight lines) Both should leave you with a satin/velvet finish and hopefully remove the wax residue. If it doesn't work, scrub it with a powdered detergent like Comet and water, sand and repaint with the Behr.

 

[Woodsplinter]

Woodsplinter, before you give up and repaint you can try either a light wetsanding in an inconspicuous area with 3000+ grit paper. sand in straight lines, not circles. I've also heard of people using 000 steel wool or an ultra fine scuff pad in a bucket of water with a little dish soap and ammonia in it to scrub the surface (also in straight lines) Both should leave you with a satin/velvet finish and hopefully remove the wax residue. If it doesn't work, scrub it with a powdered detergent like Comet and water, sand and repaint with the Behr.

Ive noticed the Gillespie paint does not behave like automotive paint- sanding doesn't "bring it back" like automotive paint. I don't intend to repaint anytime in the near future anyway.

p.s: that's too much hand sanding to do an entire deuce