Hammered will give the ultimate protection since it's formulated for damaged metal repair and is like a epoxy type finish, but it is very finicky. I talked with Bill Mayo about the inconsistenticy(sp?) and he has the same trouble that I have, the texture ends up different. Bill used spray cans to paint the SS parts. I have been using quart cans and rolling it on primed MDF for garage cabinets/bench. I want the dimpling so the cabinets look like metal. That the paint achieves. But even with putting on the recommended two coats, the panels are not even in dimpling. I have rolled with a short nap trim roller for smooth surfaces and a foam roller for smooth surfaces and have the same issue. You can see my issues below on the left panel to the left of the handle and on the right panel near the bottom. And there are many more that don't show.
One thing I do remember reading in my research is this stuff has a 5 minute flash point, but I don't remember the application. And it is thick. Have a can in front of me. Thin only with xylol, 1 1/2 - 2 pints/gallon for air spray. The can sez for airless, thinning is not required. I used two coats of Rust-oleum Latex Aluminum Primer. One cabinet is going through its 3rd winter in a unheated garage and there are no issues whatsoever. But writing this leads me to my next effort that I hadn't thought of, using a Wagner Power Sprayer. C'mon summer!!!!
Hope this helps. I think your thread is great and will continue to follow it for the electrolosis and hammered paint info.
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Somewhere way back on http://www.ssug.org, there was reference to using the spray Hammered cans. The fellow talked about spraying on a fairly light coat and then spraying again while the first coat was still tacky. This would consistently produce enough thickness to 'dimple'. That's what I have done and I've been happy enough, but I believe I'm not as finicky as some for the machine's appearance.
