Trim Paint hardness ?

[Randy73]

I just used Rustoleum spray paint to paint my trim, would baking the pieces help harden the paint or should I use a clear coat?
Knocked a piece into drywall and a piece flaked off, is why I ask.

 

[66_B_Body4ever]

Well...Rustoleum is a thermoplastic paint that cures by solvent evaporation and oxidation. Baking them will help, but will still take considerable time to ultimately cure. Even paints that contain a hardener or catalyst (thermoset) take considerable time to fully cure, in fact between 3 to 6 months even after high temp baking (140-160F).
Clear coating them with a spray bomb clear may actually extend the cure time as it will increase the mil thickness of the paint. 2K paints (clear+hardener) will not properly bond with a thermoplastic base such as Rustoleum paint and may cause you more grief and may de-laminate down the road once full cure has occurred.

What did you use under the Rustoleum paint? What is the substrate? Aluminum, Stainless, steel? This may be a factor as well if you didn't properly prepare the substrate with an appropriate primer...

 

[Randy73]

I used 2 different primers, one was Rustoleum rust reformer and the other was Rustoleum regular primer, I used them on Dash frame, glove box, steering column brace, steering column (All parts), Tuff wheel extension. Window trim.