Lathe refurb - Paint question - Metalastic DTM?

Hi,
I'm currently refurbishing a late 70's 10k. I have found a lot of posts about paint color, but not many about paint type/base. And I guess specifically within the Sherwin-Williams company, as that seems to be where the best colors come from...

I'm wondering if anyone has used Metalastic DTM from Sherwin-Williams. This was suggested to me, and the specs seem to look favorable for direct application to cast iron. It is a single part product. Looks like it will brush, roll, or spray. I'm in Canada, and I know the DTM is available here.

Others have suggested a Urethane Alkyd Enamel. It'll also brush roll or spray.. Don't know if this is available in Canada. (tried putting links to the different paints... but I keep getting an error when I submit the post?)

I've looked into "Oil based enamels", and apparently they are either "hard to get" or "not available"...

I guess I'm wondering a few things:
a)Does anyone know if the Urethane Alkyd Enamel is available in Canada?
b)Has anyone used both or at least the DTM, and was there an preference?
c)Will one "self-level" better than the other? Is one easier to obtain a good finish?
d)They seem equally as toxic... but does anyone know if one is less "strong smelling"? or if there are any advantages as far as toxicity?

kick whoever suggested it.

simple oil based,brushed on,no primer needed...if you can get it....

Do you know what the name of this specific Sherwin-Williams oil based product is called? Do you know something specific about the metalastic?

the last thing you want is a waterborne acrylic.

Can you still get Rustoleum? IMO don't worry about "south bend" grey...grey wasn the only color they used and would paint them any color the customer wanted.

everyone has a freekin grey SB...its your lathe do it however you like, if you really like the grey then OK, but there are no rules that says it has to be grey.

I tried to find if you can get decent paint....its a tough one....and ridiculous.

If my only choice was waterborne acrylic I'd go with no paint at all...it sucks that bad....is there a New Holland or other tractor dealer around you? At least around here they always seem to have some of the good old stock stuff.

Hi there, I don't know if there is a general ban on oil based paints up there as is in some areas down here, but usually if you have a dedicated paint supplier like a Sherwin-Williams distributor in town you can find a product that you can't readily purchase in a big box store like homey depot. (oh, and I am no fan of gray myself although my machines are gray because I had it and I am cheap...) Jim

I researched paint quite a bit when I painted mine - even talked to my company paint expert. Below is what I came up with, but the primer is probably not needed - I did not use it on the whole lathe, just the main castings. It is expensive but SW gives our company discount to company employees and I only paid about 30 to 35% of list for the paint.

Sherwin Williams Industrial Urethane Alkyd Enamel Gray paint and Kem Bond HS Gray primer

^ that IS good paint, but he may not be able to get it.

IME primer is detrimental on bare Cast iron...2 coats is best -thin the first coat down about 30% so it penetrates into the pores of the iron, let dry then a relatively heavy coat unthinned over that and it will flow well, look good and last.

Thanks for steering me away from the DTM and the Acrylics. I mean, it makes total, intuitive sense now, why you REALLY would not want a water based paint...

I was able to find an Urethane Alkyd Enamel locally. It isn't Sherwin-Williams... But a Gallon of the Sherwin-Williams Pro Industrial Urethane Alkyd Enamel, was going to be $122 CAD + 13% tax = $138 CAD. At the moment that is $104 USD. Does that seem right? OH! And I had to open a contractor account, just for the privilege of buying it. Honestly, I was ready to.

Anyway, the paint I found is also a Urethane Alkyd Enamel, and retails for something like $14.37 CAD + 13% tax = $16.23 per quart. ($12.24 USD) Although it seemed tough to use the SW paint code from Brad Jacobs, I colour matched an original part I had, and so far I am VERY happy with the colour, and the paint. It seems to go on very easily, and seems to have good self-leveling characteristics as well. I'm sure if I dug deep enough, it was probably manufactured by SW, and just re-branded. I used a small artist's brush, as suggested by brad as well. It worked really well.

Anyway, here are the first results. These are the first two pieces of my refurb, to have been repainted.



When I took the photo, the paint was still wet. There weren't any options in the gloss department... so I got what I got... But.. I'm still happy with it. Honestly, I really like the way the first two pieces turned out. The colour seems "deep" and "rich" to me. I'm pretty pumped.

I'm also glad I can buy in smaller quantities, such as a quart. I'll be able to keep the paint "fresh", and if it starts to harden or something, I can just get another quart... and I'm out a lot less money than the SW Gallon option.

Cheers
Adam

looks great!

iwananew10K said:

looks great!

Click to expand...

Thanks! And thanks for your suggestions!

Sherwin Williams dtm paint means direct to metal. No primer needed.

This doesn't really answer your question but for what its worth... I repainted my knee mill with automotive urethane paint from Napa auto parts (I heard somewhere it is rebranded Sherman Williams but I can't confirm that's true). I went with the single stage option (mixed base coat with clear coat + hardener). I sprayed it on with a cheapo harbor freight HVLP gun. I'm still pleased with the results 4 years later.