Whats the best paint to use on slick metal? spray paint is comming off with the tape!?

the table is metal, but its like a very smooth finish with a 70's design on it. its an old fold out table.Whats the best paint to use on slick metal? spray paint is comming off with the tape!?
You are having a primer failure. It isn't providing the ';tooth'; for your desired topcoat to hang on to. Could be inappropriate primer for metal, could be el cheapo primer, could be improper sub surface preparation, could be that you are letting the paint dry too much before removing the tape. A quick tip is to always remove painter's tape at an acute angle before the paint dries completely.





I have no idea how much time you want to spend on this, but the proper way is to have it sandblasted, desmuted, electro-galvanically primed THEN painted (if it is aluminum it has to be etched). These are industrial processes and probably beyond your scope though. In lieu of that, remove all rust first. If this is too much of a hassle, I've had good luck with rust converters. These compounds chemically react with the rust to form iron tannates that are generally stable enough to prime and paint. If the metal is slick as snot, you will have to scuff up the surface with sandpaper before you prime.





Remove all dust and debris from the table with tack cloths and prime with a good primer meant for metal. This will generally mean oil based, alkyd products that are difficult to clean up. I prefer to purchase by the quart or gallon and use an airless to spray the piece, but spray paint will do in a pinch if you don't want or need the piece to double as a mirror.





Sand after you prime and re-tack cloth the piece for the best final finish. Spot prime any places that went back down to bare metal (but this shouldn't happen).





Pick a good top coat of desired gloss. High gloss may sound cool at the store, but with spray paint in a can, end results can be dodgy at best. Spray the piece, let dry, and spray again. Some people opt to wet sand with high grit sandpaper and re-tack cloth in between top coat applications, but this is really only for high performance end results. Put on as many coats as you wish. That may be one, it may be 35, I don't know.





Clearcoat if you wish after your last topcoat and enjoy your table.Whats the best paint to use on slick metal? spray paint is comming off with the tape!?
rustoleum oil based paint is great on metal. I used it to repaint the handles on my kitchen cabinets.
Did you clean and prime the surface before painting it? If not, nothing will stick.
You should primer it first and get some spray paint made for metal.