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Defective spray top on Rustoleum Rust Reformer messed up my paint job


moretsky99

Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2025
Messages
22
City
Pensacola area of Florida
Vehicle Year
1996
Engine
2.3 (4 Cylinder)
Transmission
Manual
I was trying to spot spray the rusty areas around my front window. Bought a spray can of Rustoleum's Rust Reformer, but the spray top was not attached. I figured it came that way and was intended by the purchaser to put it on. I tried that as I sprayed and this is the result.

Wonder if Rustoluem's white spray will match my 96 Ranger's faded white paint?



Rustoleum1.jpg
 
Contact the manufacturer.

i have found it very useful when buying spray paint, especially at home centers like Lowes and Home Depot, to pull the lid off and inspect the spray nozzle. I have found cans that have obviously been sprayed. Any damage to the nozzle would be found this way, also.
 
I always do a test spray 1st, I dont trust the nozzles on any type of spray can.
 
Paging @Rick W , lol

Also I moved this to where it belongs
 
I love rust oleum as everybody knows. I think it’s one of the best products on earth.

First, on the paint that got on your paint job, if you get some mineral spirits or lacquer thinner, and a rag, even if it seems like it’s totally cured, you can work it gently, and it will actually dissolve the paint off your auto paint. Always check your solvent down underneath the truck in a corner where nobody sees. If you don’t have the original paint on your vehicle, mineral spirit or lacquer thinner or whatever could conceivably take your white paint off. But if it’s original auto paint, you should be able to slide the rest above without damaging the underlying coat. Use something like a microfiber or a piece of cloth from a flannel shirt, and don’t press down on it at all. Literally slide it back-and-forth and let the chemical do the work. The chemical will melt the surface a tiny little bit at a time and with the lightest motion at all the loose surface will absorb into the Rag.

Having said that, I don’t like the rattle cans at all. If you’re going to buy the can and use it up in the one session, you’ve got a 50-50 chance of getting the result you want. With the rattle cans, you really have to prep the surface properly and make sure there’s not any residual glue, solvent, wax, etc., and then you have to prep it by some 2500 Emery paper sanding or something like that so the paint will stick. The spray cans are a flash dry mixture, which isn’t very thick and isn’t very strong, so it could chip off pretty easily or you can get wear spots.

If you get a spray can of anything, and the spray button is loose, there is usually a dot on the ring right where the spray button sits on top. The spray nozzle should be pointing in the direction of that dot. But before you spray anything, shake the can somewhere between 1500 and 2000 times. If it’s a fresh, can you only have to shake it for about five minutes. Depending on where you’re buying it, if they don’t have a high value turnover, you have to shake it forever.

To set the spray button in, I usually take a piece of shop towel or an old baggie or something like that, and I punch a little hole in it and drape it over the can. Then I put the spray nozzle in the right place and push it down until something sprays out. My experience is it’s only partially seated when you do that. Then I take a piece of wood like a 2 x 2, not too heavy and I tap that nozzle down so it seats properly.

Then I immediately turn the can upside down and spray until any paint in the tube of the nozzle blows out and you’ll get some clear gas. You can’t do that too often or you lose your pressure.

Then, do some test sprays on something similar to what you’re going to try to coat. Theoretically, the best method is to go side to side, or up and down, but basically for one position across the surface to the opposite position and then come back. You want to start spraying the second before the spray is actually on the piece you painting and let the spray go after you pass the end of it. So the beginning of the spray in the end of the spray are wasted, going out to thin air. But that’s how you get a smooth coat on the piece you’re working with. It’s a pretty easy technique to master. If there are nooks and crannies, and such, I usually spray them first, maybe you have to spray the paint in a cap and use a Q-tip to get it a small space or something like that. Do that, when it dries lightly send it so there’s no blisters or bubbles, and then spray the main piece.

Now, having said that, I’m much prefer the rustoleum in the quart cans, the industrial stuff. If you’re painting, something rusty, mix up a 50-50 mixture with mineral spirits, so it’s real thin, and it will flow into all the rust spots in the seams at such. Then, before it totally sets, use an appropriate brush to cover the piece. What you want is the first coat to still be a little tacky so the second coat just blends right into it. You don’t want a coat on top of a coat. You want to build up one coat with several applications.

You can use foam brushes, or there’s a half a dozen different brushes you can get if you go to a place like a hobby lobby, and with a little bit of practice, you can lay it down so it comes out almost smooth as glass.

Edit: fixed the typos
 
Last edited:

After thought, seeing Bobby’s comment,. Instead of painting it, you could just remove the piece entirely and drive the truck that way.
 
DAY-um!... your Ranger got seriously hosed-over by Rustoleum's Rust Reformer!... or maybe by the store that sold it?...

I had a much better experience with it, but on a removable item:

 
DAY-um!... your Ranger got seriously hosed-over by Rustoleum's Rust Reformer!... or maybe by the store that sold it?...

I had a much better experience with it, but on a removable item:


Wire brush/mechanical rust removal always best - to start.

Get a handful of artists brushes at hobby lobby or Walmart or wherever. $5-10. They’re not for painting the whole truck, but you can completely cover a couple parts like in your picture in a couple minutes, in the small brush lets you work, whatever into all the nooks and crannies.

Industrial rustoleum in the color of your choice, cut it 50-50 with mineral spirits. When it’s thin like that, it seeps in everywhere, around the bolts, in the bolt holes, under a lip or fold, etc. Don’t stroke the paint on like you were painting a picture, used a brush to mash it in everywhere. Then do a full strength outer coat.

Home test: get a rattle can and spray whatever. Then take a can of rustoleum and brush the other side. Let it dry for a week, and then take a screwdriver and scratch both of them, and look at the difference in the thickness and the adhesion. Then leave the peace outside in the rain, and look at both sides of it in a few months.

My two cents, just wanna help!

Edit/afterthought: with a little brush, you can paint that rusty bolt on that alternator or compressor or whatever is sitting right under the plate in your picture, without even knocking the rust off it. You can put a paper towel under it so you don’t throw paint everywhere, but work it in it both end. The truck will be gone in the boat will still be there. And it dresses up under the hood without having to pull everything. It’s one of the next things on my list.
 

Edit/afterthought: with a little brush, you can paint that rusty bolt on that alternator or compressor or whatever is sitting right under the plate in your picture, without even knocking the rust off it. You can put a paper towel under it so you don’t throw paint everywhere, but work it in it both end. The truck will be gone in the boat will still be there. And it dresses up under the hood without having to pull everything. It’s one of the next things on my list.
Before I risk PAINT, I'm just going to splash Evap-o-Rust on everything, and see if that both improves appearances AND stops the "cancer" process in its tracks...

... already have an experiment going on underneath my air filter box, and that will inform how far I go with my formerly-neglected battery tray.

Below is the throttle-cable retainer with Rust-Reformer ONLY (preceded by drill-mounted wire-brush and EvapoRust... click on thread above.)
IMG_1562x25.jpg
:
 

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