What's the best way to paint 50 black Manhasset non-folding music stands? They are old and scratched up but not badly dented. Wipe them down with some kind of thinner? And then spray them with some kind of textured Rustoleum? Any recommendations? About how long to prep and paint 50 stands with a crew of 4-5? How many cans approximately?
Find a community college that offers an autobody repair course and ask them if they would be willing to prep and repaint them for you. Failing that, seek out somebody in your area that does stripping and powder coat painting and see if they are willing to offer you a deal. Buying cans of spray paint for that number of stands is going to be expensive, and the finish won't hold up as well as the original powder coat.
Failing that, get a one gallon can of your favorite color of "Hammer-rite" or one of Rustoleums equivalent. You're going to want to disassemble the stands completely, wipe them down with lacquer thinnner then re-paint them. You are going to wamt to wear a respirator, and have plenty of air flow, as both the Lacquer thinner and the Hammer-rite are both kinda toxic. A slighty less durable finish is Pittburgh Paints' Line of Pitt-Tech which is designed as a "direct to metal" finish. It is water clean-up and dries to the touch in about an hour. I recently sprayed some outdoor projector boxes with it and found that it covered quite well and looked fantastic when aplied with a cup gun at moderated air pressure. Even if you choose the Pitt-Tech method. you will still want to prep the stands by wiping down with Lacquer thinner. Please read and follow all safety instructions on all these materials.
I have great luck with similar projects using automotive paints. In particular Dupont's Nason 2K activated primers and paint. They require little prep besides removing loose paint and oil. The finish holds up extremely well. As always use adequate protective gear. I am also assuming you have access to a spray gun and in a perfect world a spray booth too.
