Ok, I was following a thread on using Rustoleum to do a low buck paint job and, in all honesty, was very impressed with Mr Cool's outcome. Here's what I am working with: I guess I am basically asking you pro painter types, what is the best route to go with prepping this oxidized surface? I am like a child in need of some guidance. I would like to know what grit sandpaper to start with and what is the best technique to clean up the sanded surface for the filler primer I plan on using. I don't have time to strip down to bare metal, this will happen in a few years once I have saved up the cash for a full rotisserie re-build. Anyway, I sort of have a plan of attack. I plan to prep, prime and then shoot. Hopefully this is not too vague a request and any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Since you're going to spray do you plan on using rustoleum? Why? I can tell you "why not" in one word...longevity. it might look good at first but over time the UVs will get to it and there's going to be a major mess trying to get it all off. I guess I didn't see the post you referred to.
Not set in stone on Rustoleum. Just getting info on good techniques at this point. 1) best grit to prep the oxidized paint 2) best way to clean up sanded body for paint 3) using filler type primer, what is best grit to use on it to get prime job satisfactory to shoot the color? 4) using a campbell & hausfield gun, do I need different tips to spray primer and then the actual color? 5) when color is on, which will be suede or satin finish, should I sand it? and what grit do I use to prep it for clear? I know that the best answer to all my inquiries is "go to a pro painter" and stop being a pest, but I have next to no budget right now and am hoping that all the good folks on here could give me a clue. I am not out to steal anyone's trade secrets, just trying to get my ride to be a little more presentable.
1&2) wash it real good by hand with dawn or something like that and hot water. Then wipe the whole car down with rubbing alcohol, or moonshine what ever you can get cheaper. Use a wet rag and a dry rag. Scrub with one hand and then dry with the other, work small sections at a time. Then your ready to sand. If you don't clean first you'll just work contaminates down as you sand. I would start with 180 grit blocking, then hand sand with 220. If your not using a urethane or enamel primer you may need to finish with a finer grit. 3) I block sand primer with 220 and finish with 400 for color on a base coat clear coat job. If your using rustoleum you may want to finish with 600 to keep the sand scratch swelling down. 4) with urethane or enamel primer i use a 1.8 tip but you could reduce it a bit to get it to spray with a 1.4 but it wont fill as well. 5) Refer to the paint manufacture to find out if you can spray "wet on wet" between color and clear. with base coat clear coat you usually wait 20 - 30 min. between color and clear, with no need to sand. All paint has different recommendations for waiting between color and clear. Always a good idea to check, and make sure. If you do sand before clear with a good urethane you can get by with 600 but your probably better off in the 800-1000 range.
I think a tan {#2} Scotchbite and water will do the trick. Use gray {#3} if the tan doesnt knock some tooth in the finish. Once you settle on which one is working, buy a box of them. Rinse as you go, flip the pad to get the most life from the pad, and rinse as you go. Can you tell I dont like dried sanding scum?
Ive seen the results with Rustoleum, even read all 200+ pages on the moparts board where it originated. I really suggest going with single stage non metallic auto paint for a first paint job. If you want suede you can throw some additive in to dull the gloss. But Why? Are you planning on pulling the doors and jambing the car? Sand with 180 / 220 / 320, I'd get all of the rattle can off of it, pick a paint line, use that sealer primer, single stage non metallic topcoat. If you get dirt / runs etc, just sand that panel down and reshoot. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PPG-...Z380248520908QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools PPG, Omni for same price as you can buy rustoleum, This is a budget line or "fleet" quality paint but its good to work with and forgiving for a first time painter.
Hey, I get the " no budget " part, there's alot of it goin' 'round.......... Just so you know Rustoleum is what it is, a very cheap enamel! You can add to its' service life with the addition of a hardener, just be sure to ware a good mask when shooting ANY paint product! As mentioned above, wash down the vehicle BEFORE doing any sanding, but only after you've removed as much trim as possible. The chrome pieces, bumpers and handles trap dirt ,water and old wax, all bad news for a paint job. I'd 180 the primer, shoot your "filler primer"? "Featherfill "? Block with 220 prime and reblock with 320, but no finer grit. Cheap synthetic needs all the "mechanical bond" it can get to hold on to the job! I wouldn't spend the money on a clear coat over this , and DO NOT use lacquer thinner or acetone to thin the top coat. Both lacquer thinner and acetone are much too hot a solvent for a synthetic enamel and will kill off the binder ( that's the oil that holds the pigment, the actual colour together) upon the job, once the solvents dry out. With good care, a wax job or two twice a year, you "may'' see a couple-three years from your $50.00 paint job..............or not! " Meanwhyle, back aboard The Tainted Pork "
Thank you indy and pimpin, I am not sold on the rustoleum and will be doing more research on other single stage automotive paints within my budget.
One good thing about a 50.00 paint job is that you can do it over and over for many years before you spendl the price of a Pro. job.
Jasone- After browsing Mr.Cool's "Rust-Oleum" thread, I too decided to get off my***** (in regards to paint) and ran to Wally world yesterday to get all the suggested materials - to give some "Non-Rat" feel to the ol' Desoto (just recently got it all roadworthy-but now comes the "picking at this and that" phase). I have painted my share of "Show-Quality" paint jobs on my drag cars - but I started this project to see how inexpensive-but safe/reliable-I could do it. Originally I was going to go with Mr.Cool's color combo, but I always wanted to duplicate the the OEM (?) color scheme off a neighbor's '38 mopar back home in the mid-70's, a somewhat Burgandy w/Black trim (it was the first 30's "Field find hot rod" I was exposed to). I originally bought the R/O Sunrise Red and Flat Black, but when I shot a panel it was too "chocolately" looking for such a big car. I ended up running to the local ACE Hardware (since they were closer, and it was late) grabbed a can of Royal Blue Gloss and Safety Red Gloss Rust-Stop (ACE Hardware Equipment Paint brand ), and mixed them until I got the shade of Burgandy I had envisioned. I thinned it with mineral spirits, and took the advice of another HAMB'er, and used my touch-up gun to keep the paint cloud to a minimum. I am very pleased with the results, and like other R/O painters have mentioned, I'm not in it for the LARS, just a nice looking daily driver. And for about five hours labor, and give or take $35.00 - works for me. Now, I may have to go find me some flower mag wheels?
Personally, I'd take all the trim off, DA the whole car with 320, spray on a couple coats of fill primer (I like Marson Ultimate 2K if you're on a budget, up here it's like $60/gal with the hardener) then I'd guide coat it and block the whole thing out with 320 on a long board until I felt it was nice and straight. If you're really tight on a budget, you can spray acrylic enamel right over fill primer, although it's nice to epoxy the whole thing first if you can swing the cost. Limco acrylic enamel is only like $65/gal here for mixed colors and less for gloss black if you're wanting some cheap paint that isn't Rustoleum. I've used it on a few cars and am pretty happy with it. If you do all the work yourself and really count each penny, you should be able to knock out a respectable paint job for $200 materials, including sand paper and tape. Prices may vary though.
Thanks for the tips Squablow, and thanks to everyone for the helpful input. Gotta organize all the suggestions in my little brain and get rollin'. The plan is to start removing all the exterior trim, bumpers, etc. after the Ventura Nats. next weekend. BTW, I scored a free hook-up on supplies, I have a buddy that is a studio painter and he brought me a bucket full of awesome goodies.
Lefty... my pickup is painted with Rustoleum. Goozgaz did a great job on it, but if I had to choose now, I'd use "real" paint. My Apache leaks gas from the top of the filler neck if I fill it to the top and it's a hot day. The gas running down the side of the pickup causes the enamel to blister. It's soft paint, and so it can't stand up to rock chips the way "real" paint does. When it comes time to paint my 52 (and my '60 Shasta travel trailer to match) there is no way I'm going to use Rustoleum. Even if that means I'm going to use a regular collision shop to do an inexpensive, basic paintjob. I'll bet if you stay out of the stripclubs and BevMo for a month you will have enough scratch to afford real paint, man. - Joe
Depends on what you want to accomplish. Does the car sit out 24/7? Will it ever see a garage or carport? If it sees limited use or is not in direct sun everyday the tractor paints or Rustoleum will pretty much last indefinitely. If you thin it correctly and USE THE HARDENER. If your not sure what to expect from the cheap route don't chance it. Why not just do all the dis****embly and take it to an Earl Scheib type place? Seriously... if they don't have to do alot of prep work like taping or dis****embly they can spend more time blocking and filling etc. Most of these type shops have an unspoken rule of thumb that if you spend a little more you get a lot better result. Buy a better grade of single stage urethane with no metallic and wet sand and buff it out before you reassemble. You can't wet sand and buff single stage metallic because it ruins the metallic. A straight color will buff out like a mirror and last forever if you care for it. I have done this on my car lot for years literally more times than I could count. I can make a $500.00 paint job look like a $3k job. I just did a little Mazda Miata like this and it turned out very well. We just pulled everything off we could- trim, headlight bezels, tail lights, marker and turn signals etc. Painted it single stage red. Spent the extra 50 or 100 bucks and bought the better paint. Buffed it up and put an aftermarket new top that I bought for $150 off Ebay. It looked like new and I sold it to the first lady who saw it. Also wanted to ad that if you don't want to spend the money to paint the jambs just let them paint the car and when you get it back, mask them off, scuff them with a scotch brite pad and shoot them satin black with a rattle can. This is what they do on the car building shows on T.V. to save some time & cost. No one ever notices and it works like a champ.
Thanks to all for the great advice and tips. I have a buddy that does damn good work out of his garage and he has offered to guide me thru this process. Gonna start tear down this sunday and really go for it. I have decided to go with automotive paint, PPG Omni to be exact. I plan on mixing a blue with a white to get the desired color. Found the stuff on egay for 35 bucks a gallon. Budget is going to be around 300 bucks and looking like I am gonna have a few pennies left over in the end when all is said and done. Here goes nothing.....to be continued.
Just remember use a block to wetsand for primer and for final paint , If you prep it run it over to Maaco .They dont do bad paint jobs ,Just bad prep work.
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