Budget Shiny Paint . . . Really Budget . . . Downright cheap in fact....

I'm gonna refer you to a couple of articles on other boards.

Here: http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html

And here: http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1


What these guys have done makes sense because it seems that paint jobs done nowadays are more about color sanding and buffing than it is the spray gun or technique.

Granted, you may not get that mile-deep luster and perhaps couldn't use the specialty paints - candies, flake etc. - but for a simple paint job it should work pretty well.


I'll let the guys who had the balls to give it a shot explain it, but a couple of comments anyway.

My little brothers drag race Henry J, in it's first iteration got a professionally sprayed acrylic enamel paint job that looked pretty good.
Little brother is a detail oriented guy and he'd wax the car every time he went to the races or a car show.
Straight carnuba wax fwiw.
After the first year it looked pretty good and a couple years down the line it looked really good.

The other, you'll note that one guy used Rustoleum - available in the basic colors at Wally World in quarts and gallons.

About 12 years ago I built a 5' x 8' wrought iron gate from 1" x 2" rect tubing and 1" square tubing.
Using a regular spray gun, I primed it with some leftover PPG epoxy primer - DP90 I think.
Then I shot it with some moderately thinned black Rustoleum.

The gate still looked good when we moved, a little dull from never being waxed, but no rust either.

This whole budget paint job deal strikes me as a heckuva good way to go for the parts chaser and it could work out pretty well for the base paint on the hot rod project.

 

interesting read

 

i've read a few articles as well and a friend tried it on his front fender to see how well it works and it is a very cheap way to go that looks decent.

 

Tremec, the paint used by the Charger owner is the Canadian brand of Rustoleum.
Same companies.

Here's a link to the Rustoleum color chart: http://www.rustoleum.com/Product.asp?frm_product_id=18&SBL=1&dds=16

 

That's very interesting, a new budget way to get shiney paint.

Thanks C9

 

Are you kidding me???

 

it always looks good in pictures. Pictures hide a lot. I've seen paint jobs posted on here that look great but in person you can tell it was cheap. I'd love to see some of these in person. This brings me to the question,"Is there such thing as an ok paint job?"

 

not a bad solution, of course ANY paint, whether is rustoleum or HOK, sprayed, rolled or otherwise is gonna look bad over poor bodywork, usually my biggest hurdle is getting the sheetmetal straight. I've been told to NOT buy high dollar paint for the first paint job on a new build, because unless you're a pro, its easy to miss the smaller flaws in the body. I always used DP90, but now it cost as much or more than the shiny stuff .

 

Something to consider for a project in progress. May last you a few years until you are ready to get a custom paint job. Folks may knock it, but not every one has the cash at hand to get a pro paint job. I too am curious about the long term results.

 

No, he's not kidding. Really, think about it. The paint doesn't know what method is used to apply it. Rolled, brushed or sprayed, it gets applied. Next step is to sand sand, and sand some more until it's smooth. Then buff till it's shiny.

I used to be really set against this type of painting, but when the budgets real tight and the color is going to be a straight color then what's to lose? If you screw it up oh well. You can always fix it.

Spraying paint was developed as a time saving method. Originally auto bodies were either dipped or hand painted with brushes. Spraying is faster and time = labor cost = $$$$.

Now if you ever want to repaint the car with a different type of paint or use a metallic, candy, or flake you have to deal with the paint that's now on the car. I'll leave it to the experienced guys to explain why this is a bad idea but it seems to make some sense to me.

If you're handy, you can even mix your own custom colors with the stock palette.

 

I rolled the topside marine paint on my fibergl*** camper, also used what they called "brushing compound" in it. The trick (as I read on a boat forum, and it worked) was to get the paint thinned enough to self-level when brushed on a piece of gl***.

I did it and the paint self leveled and it's as smooth as the old (stained) fibergl*** gelcoat. I scuffed the gelcoat with 180 first.

I could have buffed it to get it shiny-er, but with the marine paint, I scrub it with a scotcbrite kitchen sponge (to get the FL mildew off) and it doesn't scratch.

I couldn't tell you if it's faded cuz it's white, but it was done 5 years ago and the trailer sits outside in the hot FL sun.

I sprayed white Rustoleum on my fibergl*** PU topper, never got around to sanding it but it holds up well outside.

 

If you really think it out this paint method is nothing new. Many a body panel in the early days were either dipped or brushed in topcoat, then wet sanded and polished to the final finish.
I wouldn't recomend or try it but some of the early coachbuilders used a method termed as gas sanding, basically smoothing out the finish by wet sanding with petrol or other solvents....knock down the high spots and fill the lows.
It'll take a lot more elbow grease to smooth out a rolled or brushed finish than a decent spray job.

 

So what would prevent you from painting a final coat and then putting metal flake in a big flour sifter and dusting the paint followed up by clear? Or mixing it in and keeping it stirred up? Maybe mix it in some of the Rustoleum clear?

Seriously I'm not kidding?

 

The big problem I can see with that is that the flake or metallic bits would become aligned with the brush strokes if that's how it's applied. Spraying helps lay these elements down randomly and evenly. Doing that with a brush or roller would be rough.

Dusting with the flake would be rough to get even on the vertical surfaces. If you're just doing a flat small area like panels on a roof, you might be able to sift it on with decent results.

 

Glad to see this - I'll be putting some $6/quart Valspar on my dashboard this weekend. Was going thin with lacquer thinner as I have in the past - maybe I'll try mineral spirits instead.

I used the same stuff in semi-gloss on my frame several years ago and am very happy with the results.

 

What about shooting flake in a powdercoating gun?

 

To each his own. Depends on the look you're going for. Some folks just want to apply some color and aren't that particular about the finish. While this might look alright on something along the lines of a lot of the hot rods on here, I wouldn't do it on a custom. Just my opinion, but a custom should have a paint finish that accentuates the great lines and curves. I have about decided to go with a satin or flat dull red on my 28. That's not a hard finish to achieve with cheap paint and lack of skills.

 

I've tossed this question around a bit myself. My thinking is, ok paint jobs are for ok cars. I've never approached a new project with the mentality that I want it to look "ok" when I'm done. I always want my cars to look BAD***...not just ok. In my experience, bad*** paint jobs take high-quality material, lots of time, and lots of talent. Those things cost money. If a paint job lacks any of those ingredients, it is mediocre...period. I guess some might call it "ok".

I guess this doesn't apply to the flat black/john deer crowd. But I've never understood the appeal of primer as finished product.

 

Actually its my understanding that the Johndeer blitz black stuff will buff out. I haven't seen it done but I have buffed out cheap spray can flat paint and it looked like old weathered black paint that had been waxed a ton. That's not such a bad look for an old heap.

I haven't tried the roller thingy but if you have an attached garage it might be a way to keep from fumigateing your house.

 

I have had four or five thousand dollar paint jobs.
Most of the people I know who have these jobs rarely drive their cars, spending more time polishing them and worrying about the next chip. Sure I would love to have enough money to throw around and pay a professional to paint the next project. I love driving my cars alot. With the costs of this I'm sure I would fall into the same trap as these waxers. Give me a cheap alternative that looks (ok) and I'll be alot happier not worrying about the next scratch or dent or nick to come around. I want my projects to look the best i can achieve within reason.

 

I Have Sprayed Thinned Rustol. On The Tank Of My Bike Through A Good Gun And It Looked ***s. Hit It With Goldleaf And A Few Coats Of Clear And It Shined Nice. Dont Know How Long It Would Have Lasted Cuz A Few Weeks Later I Sanded It Down To Try Something Different But Im Pretty Sure It Would Have Held Up For A Long Time.

 

I go to a lot of top cl*** european car shows and I've seen a lot of 20's and 30's cars in modern spray paint and in original brush (or "coach") paint.

There's no doubt in my mind that coach painting is the technique suited to old style cars. If, however, you're after a 60's look I agree that it has to be a top cl*** spray job.

I have had cars professionally painted and my experience is that unless you pay mega-bucks you WILL be disappointed. If you DO pay mega-bucks then the car becomes all about the paint job and you end up either not driving it or being heartbroken when it gets marked.

Finally, I have posted this link before but it describes the coach painting process very well;

http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk/index.html

 

I have never tried the brush or roller, but I sprayed my truck with flat white and gloss hunter green thinned with acetone mainly to get it one semi flat color. I may one day have to finish off the body work and try the roller method as I could never afford a big money paint job.

 

I too have paid through the nose for high quality paint jobs, and was done doing so years ago for the same reasons that this kind of idea works.

When it comes to single stage color, 97% of the effort/talent is in pre prep and post finish, the color is the color. As long as you have enough coats so it is even and thick enough for smoothing, that is all that really matters. You could pour it on your car, you'd just spend more time sanding to get it right.

It always peeved me to hear someone tell me a single or 2 stage paint job was 'a mile deep' or 'I have 15 coats of X color on it'. Paint is paint (in a manner of speaking), it really only matters what has been done beneath it, and what has been done to the top of it in the end. That is what 'makes' a great paint job.

Now, how many guys will spend enough time and expertise on pre an post work, that is where the pro's and good painters get distinguished on single/dual stage.

 

Dusting Flake on top of wet paint gives a VERY rough finish,
kinda like 60 grit sand paper.And you don't get the brilliant
reflections without a gloss clear on top.

Never seen Rustoleum clear.
Varathane makes Clear,no idea if they include UV protection or not.

 

I have a little experience with this as we have done several race cars this way. They get beat up every night and if you thin it with mineral spirits, you can spray it pretty good also.

This paint fades and chalks up pretty quickly on a car. It will last for a few years though with no problem. The blues and white don't seem to fade or chalk much for some reason, but the reds and greens chalk up and fade bad. These are the colors I have worked with at least.

 

Do you think you could mix the Rustoleum colors? You know for a more custom color. -stick

 

Sure..its just pigments. Just be sure they are compatible with the enamel.

 

I've sorta kept up with the Mopar thread since the first time this made the rounds about a year ago. Been meaning to try this on a test panel, with both a gun and a roller.

What I'm thinking is that this might be a great way to get a paint job that looks "vintage". Old paint that's in great condition has a specific look to it, that you really cannot duplicate with base/clear systems at all.

Worth $20 bucks and a few hours on a test part anyhow.