# brush-painting a frame



## JaquesN (Sep 14, 2009)

Has anyone had any luck painting a frame by hand with a brush? I have a design that would have to be done that way, and I'd like to give it a shot. What kind of paint did you use, and how did you cure it?

I have tried Rustoleum enamel with fairly poor results. Leaving the finished piece near a heater for a few days improved the strength a great deal, but the adhesion was still not great. This was enamel primer over raw steel - no primer was sprayed on beforehand.

Thanks,
JN


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## CBookman (Sep 9, 2008)

If you are really looking to brush something durable on, you should look into an epoxy coating of some type. There are several types out there, that can be applied to raw steel, and will be very durable and also thick and relatively heavy in comparison to normal sprayed on paint. Hard to get in small quantities though, so you could pick a base color and use that. DO NOT go this route without adequate ventilation and protective equipment. I've used an epoxy floor coating from them (Advanced Product Search | International Protective Coatings) and it was nasty stuff.

Rustoleum sucks by itself, you need to add a clearcoat that includes a hardener to make it work, but make sure it's compatible before you spray your frame if you go that route. I've had to redo a couple projects.

A home/professional paint store will have an additive that will flow brush strokes out that is used for metal door frames and latex or oil based paints. Looks pretty decent afterwards, but not sure about durability.


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## boddunn (Oct 4, 2008)

You'll definitely need a primer, preferably an etch primer and then ideally an epoxy. Brushing is is a bit of an art and to get a really good finish you need specialist brushes made of things like badger hair. You could look in to yacht coatings (Awlgrip etc.) which are designed for brush application and would have great UV resistance, high gloss, etc. it's nasty stuff like Mr Bookman said, good ventilation and the proper cartridge mask would be essential as the isocyanates in 2k paints cause asthma. 
If you're looking to do a pro looking job then the cost of the paint and equipment might make it cheaper to get it done by a spray shop.


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