Ultima Metal Paint Smooth Finish Light Grey 750ml – Advanced Protection, Direct to Rust, Water-Based, Durable Exterior Coating

Not as shiny as I was expecting. When I tried to clean the brush with thinners it didn't work, but when something I just painted got rained on I saw the paint washing off. After that, I just clean the brush with water. Not, I just need to wait 10 years to see if it really last better than the other paints.

Product arrived in a good condition and in good time. Thank you for a speedy delivery. The paint is easy to apply and is very hard wearing. Completely satisfied with it

This is the latest and greatest Hammerite paint which appears to supersede several of their previous ranges in that it can be used on every variety of metal surface. I have used it on ferrous and non ferrous metals and found it to cover at least as well as the organic solvent based paints. The industry appears to be shifting to water based paints which is all well and good for the environment and for painters health, but be aware that you will not get the same quality if finish. Water based paints have greater surface tension and do not "flatten" themselves as you paint like organic solvent ones do, so you will get brush marks. The way around this is to thin the paint but then you will end up having to make at least 1 or 2 more coats to get good coverage. Water based paints also begin drying much faster and so you have less working time to get your coat right or move the paint around on the surface. If you're prepared to live with this then that's great but I will be using Hammerite direct to rust in circumstances where I am not able, or not prepared to apply more coats. My last project was some old aluminium window frames from the 1960s, I used this as a base coat, sanded it smooth, and then used a non-water based top coat for a good finish.

This paint is obviously more expensive than its oil based sibling, but gives great coverage, great colour and much easier clean up. It goes on as easily as something like weathershield, with an equivalent consistency. It’s less of a brush destroyer too - brushes will clog but maybe half as much. I used it on some rusty wrought iron gates (remember that if you are using on rust, you need to wire brush the surface before you start - drill attachments are just the ticket), and they look very smart since painting. My only criticism is the description of “smooth” - gloss would be a better description as your brushes won’t leave a fully smooth finish (brush marks etc).

Used on a 26 year old galvanised and painted petrol tank with crusty rust attacking the seams. Cannot go heavily at the rust due to danger of creating sparks, the paint has to go on rust, steel, zink, and old paint. I scraped as much rust away as possible then brushed this on to discourage continuation of the rust, soon it will have a rubber based stone-chip sprayed on top. It went well on rust, acceptably on clean metal, and not so well on old paint. Other reviews claimed it was thin: "good" thought I, "I can spray it". No such luck, far to thick to spray and no information on the can about thinning, so out came the brushes. Another review suggested it will be necessary to discard the brush afterwards: total twaddle, it cleaned up easily with water and a touch of detergent. Does it work? It will be a few years before I can answer that!

Applied it with a sponge roller and achieved a great finish.

Bought Hammerite over the years to pint metal items with, in fact I was a fan, needed to paint my unpaintedgalvo door ,I saw deluxe hammerite read the info, no undercoat needed etc. bought it, it was dreadful, no coverage at all in fact it seemed to separate inti clear liquid and a thin colour so I tried undercoat no difference. Read the other reviews and other users and found exactly the same. A waste of £22 and a mornings work, now bought some Johnson’s paint.

Purchased this to repaint a white painted, round aluminium garden table. Did not want to buy and use the specialist primer required for aluminium. As promised, this covered the existing paint without the need of primer, with the additional advantage that it is water based. This makes it relatively easy to apply, and better for the environment. Please note that two coats are required.