Paint, what types available, most durable

I have recently purchased an old Italian bandsaw for wood. I have had to strip it down simply to try and get it home. It is mainly cast iron but also quite a lot of cast aluminium. I wanted to try and paint at least the pieces I need to clean up. I have a friend in the auto trade who might be able to get some pieces sprayed.

Are current automotive paints a good option? Are the paints themselves durable or is it the clearcoat on top that does the hard work?

What type of paint might be best?

Your friend will paint them with 2-pack automotive paint. If you don't want a metallic finish, then a direct gloss system will be at least as durable as any of the more traditional paints used on machinery, and won't need a clear coat. Which saves labour and material costs. 1/4litre of paint will paint half the side of a car, so you won't need much paint!

I wouldn't paint workshop equipment with anything else.

A good machinery enamel ! Years ago Valspar was the best, good wet edge and flatens out beautifully. Will look like new. Noel

Thanks. Not very many flat surfaces, lots of holes, I think spraying is really the only way to go.

As Nicholas says, the 2-pack automotive paints are very robust and give good results when sprayed.

Whether you go for conventional enamel/alkyd resin or a 2-pack, it's a good idea to be careful about the use of high build primers. They can give a very flat finish with sanding, but the reason they are easy to sand is that they have a lot of talc filler and not much resin, so they chip easily. It doesn't matter how good the colour coat is, if the primer is thick and soft, the paint will chip.

The other thing is, whichever system you go for, it really can be a good idea to leave it alone for a month before putting the saw into use. Both 2-packs and alkyd resins do take a while to gain their ultimate hardness. Not so much of a problem with a car, but worth the wait for tools.

I discovered both of those after I rebuilt and repainted of my Hardinge HLV....

You should be able to get any RAL or BS standard colour mixed for a reasonable price.

If you are feeling cheap, use hammerite.