Is there one paint that's good for both cast iron and wood ?

[Lewis Cobb]

I am thinking about painting an old stationary sander that I have - one of the benchtop combo belt / disk things. It's got a nice heavy cast iron base - not like the bent sheetmetal ones they sell nowadays and a lot of the original paint is still on the base but there's a little rust here and there.

I'd like to get a paint custom mixed that I could use to paint this, plus some wood shop cabinets at the same time. Is there one type of paint that would be good for both jobs? I assume it would have to be either an oil based paint or an enamel. And just what is enamel paint anyway? It smelled the same as oil based paint the last time I used some of it years ago :o

Also, what should I do to strip the paint off the old base - is there some witches brew that I can dunk it in? Sandblasting might be an option as I have a buddy that works at a place with one but it's deathly slow for anything more than a few sq. inches.

And finally, I assume I will need some sort of primer on the cast iron as well?

Thanks for any tips or advice people can pass along.

Cheers,
Lewis

[Joe Chritz]

Enamel is one of those terms that has a few meanings. In is generally a harder paint. It is mostly marketing anymore I think.

I have painted outdoor dog agility equipment with rustoleum and it works just fine. Any similar paint custom mixed (or tint rustoleum) should do OK.

Hopefully the paining pro will be along shortly to give something better to use.

Joe

[Lewis Cobb]

Enamel is one of those terms that has a few meanings. In is generally a harder paint. It is mostly marketing anymore I think.

I have painted outdoor dog agility equipment with rustoleum and it works just fine. Any similar paint custom mixed (or tint rustoleum) should do OK.

Hopefully the paining pro will be along shortly to give something better to use.

Joe

Thanks for the input Joe. I never made it to the paint shop today - and at the rate things are going it's going to be a few more days. One of those weeks where yer all geared up to accomplish something and then the dreaded "list" gets handed to you by the other half :eek:

[Thomas Bank]

The trick is in the primers. I'd recommend a good quality enamel topcoat, but use primers suitable for each material.

[Lewis Cobb]

The trick is in the primers. I'd recommend a good quality enamel topcoat, but use primers suitable for each material.

Sounds like a good plan. I just got back from the hardware store actually and came across a rust paint that can be custom tinted. It's supposed to be good for wood as well as metal, but I will use a good metal primer on the sander, and another primer for the wood cabinets.

Cheers,
Lewis

[David Christopher]

I painted some of my equipment and a cabinet and I used the hammered paint from rust oilem I think it doi a super job on both

Dave

[Alex Shanku]

I use a alkyd paint (soya alkyd polymer) for cast iron/steel, as well as some wood parts.

I prime with the light grey rustoleum primer.

I thin the paint considerably with MS (up to 25%) sometimes a cap full of japan drier is added to each quart.

I shoot this with a HVLP gun, although it can be brushed on rough castings.

Very durable, inexpensive, and works for what I am doing.

Ben Moore has a alkyd paint out that doesnt require a primer and a few guys I know have had very good luck with that.

[Alex Shanku]

Regarding your stripping the old finish off.

I use a combination of electrolysis, wire cup & grinder, heat gun, etc.

Be careful media blasting/sand blasting your machined cast iron surfaces, as you can damage them if your are not careful. (This is one reason I really like using electrolysis)