What kind of spray paint for steel?

[Clay1]

I can hear some of your answers from here: CHEAP!

In all seriousness though, do you prefer a particular brand of white spray paint for steel targets? High gloss, semi-gloss, flat - what's your preference?

Thanks in advance.

[Nik Habicht]

The cheapest spray paint isn't cheap, because it's runny and you use four times as much......

Back when I was shopping for paint the prices at Home Depot and Lowes were about: $ 0.99, 1.99, and 3.99.

The midgrade paint gave pretty good coverage without running, so we actually started spending less total money on paint when we upgraded from the 99 cent cans, even though we were spending twice as much per can..........

While you're there: Black paint for hard cover and red for faultlines.....

[procovert45]

cheapest you can find. not looking for automotive finish just a fan over so you know what hits are new. i get it by case at lowes. white can blk letters. it does good and a case goes a ways. for precision rifle. i actually use a stencil. to put a flourescent orange dot.

[Clay1]

Thanks for the comments Nik. I did a search and found nothing and knew that there had to be more to the story than buying the cheapest of the cheap.

How about finish? I thought that gloss might be too reflective for certain stages outdoors at certain times of the day. Do you guys prefer semi-gloss or flat?

Edited April 10, 2014 by Clay1

[procovert45]

this is a brand new plate. i usually put a heavy first coat when they are new. then just fan em after that. too thick and it chips/flakes

[procovert45]

if you want them brite white niks is the way to go.

[Paul-the new guy]

rustoleum matte or flat

[DRobson]

rustoleum matte or flat

+1 much much faster with less over spray. Makes a big difference when shooting steel challenge where you paint after every shooter.

[Chills1994]

I use an automotive etching primer by Rustoleum and then use a Rustoleum flat, non glossy white.

The flat gives more tooth for subsequent coats. Gloss would be too smooth, in theory.

Just about all paints say to scuff sand between coats. No way I am bringing sandpaper to the range.

[Clay1]

I use an automotive etching primer by Rustoleum and then use a Rustoleum flat, non glossy white.

The flat gives more tooth for subsequent coats. Gloss would be too smooth, in theory.

Just about all paints say to scuff sand between coats. No way I am bringing sandpaper to the range.

This is interesting in that I had another shooter tell me that they prefer primer too. It also brings up a point that the first coat on fresh steel might want one thing and then subsequent coats might need something else.

[Sarge]

We talked about this a few years back. The cheap stuff is like spraying skim milk on the targets. It takes a lot to cover and then it runs all over. A good mid range from Lowe's is what I try to use.

[L3324temp]

Flat dries much quicker than gloss or semi gloss. Which helps keep wet paint off of everyone and everything.

[presadad]

Rustoleum Professional is my current favorite. It's not cheap, but it covers well and dries fast. As others have said, with cheap paint you end up using a lot more of it than if you use better paint.

Edited April 11, 2014 by presadad

[Nik Habicht]

I think we were buying flat, but it's been a few years.....

[Atlgentlegiant]

Rustoleum flat or matte! I wish the big matches would buy better paint. Rustoleum gives better coverage with less spray time, holds up better and dries faster. The cans are larger too.

[Clay1]

I was in my local hardware store and found Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X Ultra Cover Flat White on sale for $2.61/ can. I bought the primer for the first coat on new steel then the regular Paint + Primer Ultra Cover for touch up. The Ultra Cover says it has two cans worth of paint in a single can.

Thanks everyone for the push in the right direction.

[jmorris]

"flat" paints will dry almost instantly in the summer sun. Less sticky than "gloss" that can take much longer to dry.

Exhaust header paint is dry right after you spray it if you don't run it but costs a lot.

I really like "aluminum" paint like for mailboxes but it can be hard to see hits and more expensive than your normal "flat".

Edited April 20, 2014 by jmorris

[Pair a Para]

We've started using Rustoleum Upside-down Marking paint in white for our steel. Cost at "Homer's" is about $5.25/can. The stuff is thick and really covers. I'm kind of guessing at the moment based on last weekends match, but you can paint from top to bottom roughly 20 full size poppers with one can and only make one pass, one coat, and it is done. I've always been pretty cheap when it comes to match set-up supplies but have learned over the years that sometimes more expensive initially saves money in the long run and this is one of those products.

[SPRSkip]

We talked about this a few years back. The cheap stuff is like spraying skim milk on the targets. It takes a lot to cover and then it runs all over. A good mid range from Lowe's is what I try to use.

I found a long time ago that cheap costs more than a good quality paint

[Graham Smith]

We have been using Marsh Spray Stencil Ink for years. It is expensive but it dries almost instantly, only takes a very light coat, and doesn't layer up and flake like paint often does.

[FlightMurse]

We've started using Rustoleum Upside-down Marking paint in white for our steel. Cost at "Homer's" is about $5.25/can. The stuff is thick and really covers. I'm kind of guessing at the moment based on last weekends match, but you can paint from top to bottom roughly 20 full size poppers with one can and only make one pass, one coat, and it is done. I've always been pretty cheap when it comes to match set-up supplies but have learned over the years that sometimes more expensive initially saves money in the long run and this is one of those products.

I use this as well and it works really well. I wish I could get the same paint in a traditional can though, because I tend to get paint all over myself instead of on the target.

[explosivewhale]

Neon For fun

[Nimitz]

As MD for our club's Steel Challenge matches my only real expense every match is for paint. We used to start the matches by painting all targets using a roller and a gal can of latex then spray paint cans for each squad. Just got way too messy so we stuck with only the .99 cent cans. Our squads run 8-10 and I give each squad 2 cans for the match which ususlly will last for the entire 6 stages. Haven't really noticed any issues with not covering or running so I don't see the need to buy more expensive paint ...

[RangerTrace]

99.99% of people use some sort of spray can paint. However, the first time I ever remember shooting steel was at Tiger Valley during an LEO training day. They had 5 gallon cans of paint with rollers to paint the steel and it was SUPER fast. I've not seen that since, but I thought it was a cool idea at the time!

[FlightMurse]

I like the idea of rollers, but I would assume it needs to be really hot outside for it to dry quick enough.