Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Am I the only guy that has issues with Rust Oleum spray can nozzles clogging?
It seems since they changed the nozzle design a few years ago, I throw more cans away than I am able to utilize.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

If you are buying them at Home Depot, you should be. Just take the half used can back to HD return desk and they will give you a new can. Done it a coupla times with no problem. Don't forget to clear the nozzle after each use. That will help but not resolve the problem.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

I have the same issue. Not sure if its the little tube coming out of the can or the tip. I've had some that I've never used, only a month or 2 old and nothing comes out even after trying different tips. The tip pops or shoots off after depressing it but nothing comes out. I don't get it, as I can shoot compressed air thru the tip but no paint....

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

As you can see you are not alone. I suspect that at least half of every can is never used. What a waste.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

I tossed 2 out last week after trying for a hour to get them to work. They were sitting on the shelf for a year and I decided to get them cleared or toss them.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Just the opposite, specifically with Rustoleum "Professional" enamels. I just finished off a can I've used off and on for 4 - 5 yrs, worked flawlessly right to the bottom of the can. The instructions say nothing about inverting the can and spraying paint out of the tube, just "wipe paint off nozzle". I've done that and it sprays right away next time I pick it up (months later). Aside from that, it is great paint, very durable and perfect for chassis parts.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Ole...8838/100114318

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

4-5yr old can....Maybe you have the old style nozzle?

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

funny you should comment, just threw away four rust-o-leum cans. I have started using the red primer from my local true value hardware, it is their brand never have had a failure and it is rustoleum in a different can

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Ever since I started storing all my spray cans on their sides, I no longer have any problems. I also buy the Walmart carb cleaner and use the tube sprayer to flush through the paint nozzel before I put the can away. I also use the cleaner on my spray guns.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

I have found that they need to be shaken a LONG time, with theory being they have sat for a long time on a store shelf and all the pigment settles to the bottom, just like in a gallon can of paint. I have a vibratory parts polisher with a bowl and when I'm going to use a can of spray paint I shake it in that for several minutes, the longer the better. Since I started doing that I've had few problems with clogging. Just yesterday I used up several partial cans on the interior of a '67 Mustang body--it's a coat of many colors but it will all be covered and I just wanted a coat of paint on the steel--and none of the old cans plugged up. Just for insurance I keep several nozzles sitting in a closed container submerged in lacquer thinner.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

One time I called them. Nothing happened. I lose a lot of paint

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Yeah, have had bad luck with this brand since they changed the nozzle design. Can never get more than half a can sprayed before they plug up...

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Just went through this a couple of months ago. I contacted RO customer service and they sent me a dozen new nozzles for free. They also included a set of instructions that the nozzles should be stored in solvent after use. They recommended several types and I'm using acetone. I have not even had to use one of the new nozzles because because the nozzles stored in solvent work like new every time.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Couldn't say, this is what they look like

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

One word: Krylon

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

setting the can in the sun for half an hour before use helps and clean nozzle with lacquer thinner.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

x2 acetone or lacquer thinner

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Lacquer thinner.......? Oh ya, I remember that.
Our paint store In Oakland tried to get me some lacquer thinner about 10 years ago but they couldn’t.
Last week our local hardware store told me they can’t get mineral spirits anymore.
It’s okay to have brush fire smoke so thick you can only see two blocks but those mineral spirates is bad stuff.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

I do what 38Bill suggests. When I'm done with the paint, I pop the nozzle off, and put it in a jar of thinner.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

I agree. I contacted them twice. Tried to tell them its the tube that clogs not the nozzle, they say all they can do is mail me nozzles. I told them keep them that that would not solve the problem. Before rustoleum and krylon merged I hated krylon, but since with the new style cans krylon is far better. Steve

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

"KUBE" you are not alone. I go out of my way to not buy Rustoleum spray enamel because the nozzles ALWAYS clog, even if you turn can upside down and spray to clean it out.

One of the worse nozzles on the market.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Yep , I switched to Krylon a couple yrs. ago . Flat or satan . Dries fast too !

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Engine enamel ( acrylic) also works great. Let it dry for 4 days.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Clogs every time. Have wasted quite a few cans. Sometimes they clog in mid use. I'd like to believe one shouldn't have to purchase solvents to soak the cap in. It's the only brand of spray paint that I've used that does this regularly. I've stopped purchasing RO because of this. Too bad because the product is of good quality, if you can spray enough before it permanently clogs.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

There are very few things I ever paint with a spay can, so they sit in my paint cabinet a long time and I have never had a problem with any make of rattle can. All I ever do is put some lacquer thinner on a paper towel and hold it against the nozzle when finished with it and there is still wet paint there, and it always works next time I use it. I guess I am just lucky. I like the cans that put out a fan like a gun instead of a round pattern of paint but I usually spray with either my touch up gun or production gun paint that I mix (catalyst + paint+ maybe some reducer if needed)

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

try storing the cans up side down

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

I went through this a while ago. ( https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...stoleum+petevs I saw that my problems started when they stated that their cans could spray when upside down. I had always simply inverted the can, sprayed a bit and the nozzle would be cleared. Now, if I invert a can, I can spray until next month and the paint keeps coming. I dissected one of the cans and found that they had replace the skinny little paint straw with a massive tube that would fill up with paint and all of that paint would keep coming out when I was trying to clear the nozzle. So, what I do now is keep two small bottles, one with about an inch of mineral spirits in it and capped, the other empty. When I'm finished painting what I want to, I pop off the cap, toss it into the mineral spirits, cap it and shake the day lights out of it. I then pour the spirits into the empty bottle and put the lid on that one and then retrieve the cap from the now empty bottle. If I have compressed air, I'll blow out the now clean nozzle and set it on top of the can being careful to not push too hard.

I tried a couple of cans of Krylon who tried the Rustoleum design. I left one of their nozzles in the mineral spirits and when I went to use that one, the little plug with the small orifice blew out of the nozzle and I got paint everywhere! I was upset to say the least. I tried using a used Rustoleum nozzle on the Krylon can but it wouldn't fit. I found out that if I drilled out one of the Rustoleum nozzles with a 5/32" drill, it worked out well.

What I do now, is I buy rattle can paint based on the nozzle design!

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

I have the same problem with the new design Rustoleum. I found that when finished if I sprayed through the removed nozzle with WD-40 and then stored the nozzle in mineral spirits, that it would work okay.


I use Krylon exclusively now and can spray upside down with it. Good paint and drys fast.


Glenn

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

My local Ace dealer said when the cans sit for a while they go dead, I had an issue with a different dealer, I chose a color that was not popular and about 75% of the cans wouldn’t spray.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

There was a thread on U-Tube about this a few months back. Seems the tube in the can gets pluged and you have to force air into it to clear it. Need a hundred pounds. Haven't had the "ball" to do it yet??? Let me know if ot works.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

All these suggestions are great, but why doesn't the Rustoleum people realize there is a problem with these nozzles !! For the last 2 years since they've changed the nozzle.....when I have a problem I take back to the store and exchange for a new can. I've gone through about 6 cans like this and the store I deal with has no problems with me bringing them back.

Mike

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Mike, because Rustoleum doesn't really care as long as they are making a profit. I knew a fellow who designed spray can nozzles for 3M company. he said it is a science in itself and a really big deal.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

I'm with Ol'ron. They clog down in the tube. You can take a new nozzle and put on the can and it will not work. I know the dome at the bottom of a can is to protect it in case of excessive pressure but I too don't have enough koonas to do this over a $5 can of paint.
Steve

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Don't put 100psi on the can!! You're talking about a bomb at that pressure.


Rustoleum won't care until they notice sales are down. I called them too a couple of years back and got no acknowledgement of the problem.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Rust-Oleum changed their pick up tube some time ago. They are designed to pick up fluid whether right side up or upside down. Now there is no guarantee about how it works while consistently held horizontally.

I'm not a big fan of their hard hat products any more. They were reliable about 30-years ago but not so much any more.

I've always removed the spray nozzles and put them in the cap with some lacquer thinner before storing any rattle can. I blow the thinner out with compressed air and carefully put it back on the can. If it can be cleared by inverting and spraying all the pick up tube contents out then I do that but not all of them are that way anymore.

I use more Tempo than others but I also use the Tisco paint since they are the only ones that carry colors that work well for my Ford 850 tractor. They are good for preservation but not necessarily for accurate restorations. It just depends on what color a person needs. I get my zinc chromate primer from Aircraft Spruce and it's reliable if properly cleared and cleaned after use. Rust-Oleum hard hat has some good matches for Caterpillar Yellow and a red that I use for aircraft gas caps and such. I've used this red and a bright white on tail rotor blades but it doesn't come out as well as polyurethane single stage does. I just hate the dry time. It takes too long. The old Epoxy color paint was the best but it is almost impossible to get unless a person purchases it by the 55-gallon drum load.

Spraymax 2K polyurethane clear coat is kind of a novel thing for rattle can users. It is genuine 2-part mix in one can. A person has to mix it in the can by pushing the activator button onto the bottom of the can and activating the mix. This stuff is spray it or lose it since once it's activated, it's pot life in limited. I's kind of a novel thing though for folks that want to have a urethane clear coating but want a rattle can to apply it with. The patent is likely out on it now so there may be others producing it.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Sliding slightly off the original topic, but hey, we do that a lot. As noted above, for anyone wanting a top quality clear coat , the SprayMax is the answer. It is a 2K urethane material made in Germany and sold in spray cans. The nozzle will produce a "can finish" as good as you can get with your Sato gun. Since it is 2K, the life is limited after activating, but I have had it last 3 days. Top quality stuff. Many high end paint shops use this for small exterior repairs rather than mixing up a batch of their Glasurit clear. I just used it to finish a set of Porsche fuchs wheels. It is about $22 to$ 25 a can but a swinging deal for what you get. Same story as lots of things, top quality , not cheap, you decide.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Ron, I am not in the mood to kill myself over a can of paint. 100#? Crap, I wonder how long it'll take to pull the shrapnel from my bleeding body.
Who does this stuff???

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Floyd, found it on Amazon...$24.99 for one and $45 or so for two. Thanks for letting us know about this option.

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Some of what is posted online is just to see if people will try it!

Re: Rust Oleum spray cans
 

Sometimes the valve in the top of the can gets stuck and won't allow the sprayer to go down. If it is just the spray nozzle, I keep a little box full of all kinds of spray nozzles and usually the replacement works in the can.
But even if it is the valve in the can, I still never waste the paint. I keep an empty quart paint can and have a roofing nail affixed to a metal base so the nail wont tip over. Set the nail pointing upward inside the quart can, turn the defective spray can upside down and put it down in the can so the top is against the nail. Hit the bottom of the spray can with a hammer and the paint spray comes out, but can't splatter all over the place because the hole in the can is way down at the bottom of the quart can.
Then I pour the paint into my little detail spray gun, fire up the compressor and go to town painting. I've never thrown away a can of paint because of a bad valve or nozzle.