After helping my wife eradicate some pesky fire ants from her garden, I was able to finish painting the integral parts of my springer front end and other fabricated parts. Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad even though I used three different brands of flat black enamel. First, I lightly sanded each piece to ensure an adhesive surface. Second, I prepped each piece by washing it in gasoline to ensure an oil free surface. Third, I coated each piece with automotive primer and filler made by Dupli-Color. This stuff fills scratches and welding pin holes not removed by sanding. The brands were Krylon ColorMax, American Accents, an upscale craft paint made by Rustoleum, and a budget paint from Lowe's made by ROC Sales out of Vernon Hills, Illinois.
Wearing a respirator and goggles, I was able to concentrate on maintaining optimum distance and applying an even, consistent flow. There was slight breeze on my patio, another challenge for this not-so-hot painter. All of the paints performed exceedingly well with good coverage and only a couple of runs where I got too close trying to fill welding pits. I have the parts hanging together from my garage door rails to dry and I can't detect any difference in color or consistency. The larger pieces like the springer forks almost look like they were powder coated. The DupliColor primer/filler made a huge difference by filling/covering blemishes.
Although I admit a strong bias for Krylon based on past experience, all of the paints look good. Here are some lessons I learned from comparing the different brands. The actual contents of each brand seems to be comparable though the budget paint did seem to be a tad thinner than the name brands. That was not necessarily bad because I was careful to sweep the spray consistently while allowing a second or two for drying before the net sweep. The differences appeared to be in the quality of the nozzle with the Krylon being much smoother to operate than the others. And even though the fluid content was the same in each can, the budget brand did not go as far because it is slightly thinner. I actually preferred the way it went on because it forced a slower more deliberate motion. Whether they will hold up the same over time is anyone's guess.
Will provide photos when the paint cures in a day or two and I can assemble everything.