You're starting to know me John. Am I that predictable?
There is a great paint on the market. It's even brake fluid proof. It MUST be applied wearing a respirator. Even outdoors, you NEED the respirator. It's nasty stuff, and VERY TOXIC, but it is the absolute best. The last time I bought it it was $30 a quart. In fact, I haven't painted my plow in 4 years. It holds up that good.
It contains isocyanates (sp?). They are nasty, because they build up in your body, the same way lead does. Paint thinner won't take this stuff off your hands. Aircraft paint stripper, takes 17 hours to soften it. Acid even takes hours before it starts to eat at it.
It's an MCU (Moisture Cured Urethane). There is a primer version, that you can paint right over rust with. Unlike all the products that claim to "seal" rust, this stuff really does. You can even use it to seal pinholes in gas tanks. A few coats to build it up to about 8 mils is best. Then you apply the top coat version. It comes clear, but you can add pigmanets to it to make it any color you want. They also sell it in black, but you could just add black pigment to the clear coat. The primer doesn't hold up to UV rays, so any topcoat will work over it. For the best results, you need to use the primer, then your color, then the top coat. I gave my plow 2 coats of clear, with a brush so I could lay it on thicker. The more you "build" with this stuff, the longer it will last.
You can't buy it in stores, and it's for "industrial use only". I got mine at a swap meet, at Raceway Park in Englishtown NJ. There was a dealer in West Milford, but I can't locate him now. Let me try to find more info about where to get it, as my supply has dwindled.
Oh yeah, this stuff passes a salt spray test with flying colors. I mean about 32 hours of salt spray, with no adverse affects. A salt spray test is when you gouge an X in the painted surface down into the metal. It is then sprayed with salt for hours on end....
It's called Mastercoat. It's MCU.
I'm hoping to become a dealer in the near future.
~Chuck