Question regarding Rust-oleum

I have used Rustoleum primer and had pretty good luck with it. I still prefer Krylon, but would not throw out the Rustoleum.  It is particularly useable when you want a red oxide primer.

Short answer, Rusto primer will work fine for overcoating with acrylic paint.

So is it acrylic or oil based? I don't know. What does oil based mean? Does the word 'oil' refer to the solids in the paint or to the liquids?

This particular paint is certainly acrylic. The film former is an "Acrylic Modified Alkyd" according to their TDS sheet.  But the paint also contains solvents such as acetone, xylene, and naptha. So the paint is perhaps best described as a solvent-borne alkyd/acrylic.

The TDS sheet refers to the paint as an "Enamel spray," but don't let that fool you. The word 'enamel' is a misnomer as 'enamel paint' does not contain enamel. 'Enamel' is a marketing word, not a technical one. Go figure.

Chris

A big problem now is that there are acrylic lacquers and acrylic enamels.  It seems like the old definitions of types of paint no longer apply.  My understanding was that in general lacquers "dried." The vehicle then bonded when the particles all touched each other.  On the other hand, enamels meant there was an actual chemical bonding that happened when the thinner evaporated.