Hot Rods Cheap and quick paint ideas needed

Hi guys, I've got a '30 Model A coupe that I've had for over 50 years and I drove it to high school. I want to get it back on the road before I run out of runway, if you get my drift. The ch***is is all done, it has a mild Model B banger and '48 Ford brakes so it won't be "restored". I'm going to run it as a highboy initially. The body is decent, it had a lot of rust and I replaced all the lower panels, stripped the paint off and covered it in rattle can primer and it now looks pretty good, not perfectly straight but way better than I expected. Its completely taken apart. Now, I'd like to put some paint on it, I want black. The local bay area (San Jose CA) paint and body shops are quoting me $10k - $15k for a decent paint job !!! I can't afford $10k and I don't want a paint job like that, I'd be afraid of it getting damaged. Here's the question, is there any good rattle can semi-gloss or gloss black paint available in larger cans with a wide enough spray pattern so I could get a decent covering paint job on this car ?? I have a couple of spray guns but I really don't want to pi$$ off the neighbors by shooting paint like that but I would if it were a simple one time shoot. Anybody have any other ideas ?? I would appreciate any ideas, thanks Bruce Kile

 

Better get Maaco Haul the parts to them and have them shot. I bet they would do it for a reasonable rate.
Or talk to the painter at your local body shop and ask if he does any after hours spraying.

 

Maaco is probably your best low-buck deal. Especially if you prep it and *grease* the painter a little when you drop it off. I saw one of their TV ads the other nite and their "Presidential" job is on sale now for $449(!) Everything involved with painting has gotten verrry expensive...

 

If you don't mind the labor part, and have the compressor and spray guns, why not do it yourself? Just do it when your neighbors are away, hahaha. You might get some extra contaminants in the paint since no formal booth, but you said you did not want show quality paint job anyway.

Gloss black is much harder to get real straight. A different color or a less glossy black would hide more.

 

Valspar Tractor Restoration Paint. Get some of the clip on spray handles.....or your finger will cramp up. You might want to get a bunch of your friends over to help spray. Multiple painters, spraying at the same time in the same area, will help to keep a "wet edge" when using a small spray pattern spray can. Make sure everyone brings their respirator as there will be overspray flying all over. Let it sit a week, and then cut and polish.....bet it turns out way better than you can imagine. Try it on some small parts by yourself, and work your way to bigger ones. At some point, you will see the need to get the team over, to help you maintain the "wet edge". I would think that gloss would be way easier than semi- gloss when trying to rub it out.

 

Manufacturers in the teens and twenties would thin out lacquer and brush it on, takes a ****load of coats and a lot of cutting and buffing to get it flat, especially for black, but you could do it in your garage without a sprayer and for minimal cost. I'm sure it won't be as nice as the 15K job but at least it'll have paint on it. A few people have done it with decent results, I think there's some threads on the subject if you search.

Others have done the same with Rustoleum, but I'm not a fan of that since it'd have to be totally and completely stripped bare again if it ever gets repainted.

 

This works or get some lacquer and some soft brushes, or even Rustoleum and brushes. Lots of cars got brushed before we owned Kirby Vacuum cleansers with a spray attachment.

If you look at places like Summit Racing or Eastwood they have wide pattern spray cans, perhaps Lowes has then as well.

 

You could also look into doing it with a roller. No idea how to go about it but I have heard tales of it being done. It's probably a process involving just the right amount of thinner like brushing. I'd rattle can everything except the large flat areas first.

I'd also look into having the paint done out of state. I think California makes it as difficult and expensive to run a paint shop as they possibly can. Is Nevada better about that? Maybe haul it over to Reno?

 

LOL @patmanta back in the '70s I had a friend that drove a bug and wanted to paint it. he bought good quality paint but had no way to shoot it so one evening in a substance induced stupor he decided to roll it. Problem was that all he had was long nap rollers and everything was closed. So he rolled it and it ended up being the prettiest blue and fuzziest bug in the area. Note to self use a short nap roller.

 

M80 in a 5-gallon bucket of paint. Always wanted to try that in a room.

 

The maaco idea is a good one. The painter there only paints cars. 8 - 10 hours a day. They are good at what they do. The prep guys come and go. They are also limited to what they can do. Talk to them. They might really like to paint your car. All you are really looking for is a "used car" paint job.

 

I had a Maaco job done years ago on a car I redid. I did all the prep, and brought it to them will all the trim, bumpers, etc removed, fully block sanded and ready to shoot. Turned out pretty decent for a driver. I was pleased for the money.

 

I think the maaco thing is a good idea also, just wondering, would the car have to be a roller for them to do it? You said the car was apart.

 

what is the budget? after all this time you have to want something better than a $100 worth of spray cans, paint job and maybe not as much as $15k. talk to guys at shows someone will want to paint it "on the side" or as suggested maaco.

 

You want shiny black but don't want to pay 10k, so your alternative is asking about spray cans?

There is a lot of ground to cover in between...

10k is about 2 weeks labor plus materials at the going rate, not exactly exhorbinant for a nice gloss black finish.

Spray cans with gloss black are gonna just make an ugly mess

I second the Maaco idea if you just want a cheapo paint job that looks decent from 20-50 feet. Nothing wrong with that for a driver.

I also coated an older truck with a roller and regular flat house paint that came out pretty good. Didn't even mask it, just trimmed with a brush. A pretty durable finish for about $25 and an afternoon, though obviously not glossy black. The blue and white roof were house paint and the grille, bumper and wheels got sprayed with spray cans. This one was rusty and about 6 colors when I started...

 

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Sounds like your painter of choice has champagne tastes and a budget to match. That's fine for him but obviously not what you want. You should stop into a few body shops and explain what you really want and get prices. My buddy just got a car shot for $2000 including paint at a local shop. Simple gloss white and some minor dent repairs. Turned out fine.

For DIY have a look at the Duplicolor Paint Shop products. It's like old-school lacquer which is pretty forgiving for home spray jobs and a lot less dangerous than the catalyzed paints used in shops today.

 

I would use tractor supply black with a hardener and then cleared with mid grade stuff, nothing fancy. Yes it works and is dirt cheap. Have to get pics of a friends tall T pained that way, you would have no idea he has maybe $200 in the paint. The paint has little to do with the final outcome, its all in the prep, blocking, and color sanding.

 

You can paint it yourself with roller and brush. Before you laugh or barf do a web search, it was quite a thing a few years ago.

Started by a guy in Canada who had a restored Road Runner and could not wait until he saved up another $5000 for a paint job. So he painted it with Tremclad and a roller. It came out so nice no one would believe it.

The secret, paint 2 coats, wet sand with 800, 2 more coats wet sand with 600, 2 more coats wet sand with 1000 buff and wax.

Some guys from Australia took up the idea and got even better results using yacht or boat paint. It is made to be applied by brush or roller and stand up to the worst conditions of sun and salt air.

No doubt you could also use auto enamel. But probably not metallic, it would not flow out right.

There are even a few threads on this board.

 

Spray bombs not recommended, they cost too much for cheap paint and too much is wasted in the air as overspray. By using a brush and roller you can paint your car with 1 quart or at the most, 2.

 

When I was coming up rustoleom was brushed on and flowed out real well. We brushed an old ford with rustoleom copper and it was one of the coolest cars around. Maybe it wasn't going to win best of show but it showed well in the high school parking lot.

 

a good house painter could lay down a coat of any colour without leaving any brush strokes behind, you could do the same and any flaws would be easy enough to fix. You can add hardener to alkyd paint to improve durability. In reality it should not be difficult to find a hobbiest to squirt a coat of paint for a couple hundred dollars,,,heck I used to paint cars cheap ($50) just for practice,,,,only had complications on MY OWN vehicles

 

The more I'm reading about it, the more I'm starting to consider trying it.

Do we have a post in the Tech archives on painting with a roller and brush?

 

There have been a few threads on brush painting I think one as recent as the last year. Good advice given as I recall.

if it were me what I would consider is getting some paint and doing a practice panel or two then lay into it. The main thing I have discovered when brush painting is not to let your brush dry out while you are painting, keep it loaded and you should be fine.

 

My bud Mark used Tractor Supply 'Valspar' black 'single stage' on the ch***is and '35 Ford V8 wires on his '30 highboy. Body was 2 stage lacquer, very black!
I went to Tractor Supply on a Tuesday following, the guys said the EPA had come and confi****ed all the Valspar because it contained OIL!!!
A month later, the Valspar was back...but now it's water soluble. Yeah, it's California.
Where everything is aglow with gaiety. Bah!

 

I have a friend that painted his Falcon white, with a roller and brushes.
After a couple coats he wet sanded and rubbed it and i'll be damned if it didnt look like a factory paint job!!
The wet sand and buff knocked it down to a factory looking orange peel and it shines quite nicely.
He's probably out a couple hundred for the whole thing.

Tony

 

Maaco last year- primer/sealer ,two tone green and black, flat clear coat- $1200. total cost. But every shop is different- I was lucky! I did the bodywork, and I did spend a fair amount of time going over what I wanted done with the manager and the guy who shot the car. Good luck with yours....

Car now lives with Gary in Tenn. ( he's a HAMB guy)

 

On one thread about the brush paint idea, a guy practiced by painting his shop fridge. First coat was a bit messed up but he practiced with thinning the paint, how to handle the roller etc and it ended up pretty good.

So you might want to start with something small and don't over match yourself in your first fight lol.

 

Eastwood has some very good products for the do-it-yourself painter. I'm using a black urethane primer on my new roadster project to keep all the component parts from rusting during construction, and will finish it with a urethane single stage gloss black when it's ready to go together.

These products are very easy to use and require only a respirator for safe use as long as you have good ventilation and use common sense. Painting the car in pieces and then ***embling it makes the most sense to me and might work for you, especially if your neighbors will give you grief for painting outside.

Eastwood also has tutorial DVDs to teach first-timers how to get good results at home. They are deeply committed to the hot rod/restoration do-it-yourself paint enthusiasts. To me it just makes no sense to build a nice car and then use some half-***ed paint to finish it off. California may be an exception due to local and state laws, but it's worth a try.

Maaco is also a great idea if you just can't do it yourself. A friend of mine had a nice '40 sedan painted at a Maaco a number of years ago and it turned out great. He took it to them with all trim and upholstery removed. They masked off the engine compartment and interior and painted it with all the doors, hood and trunk open including the jambs. My buddy then took it home and did all the detail painting in the engine compartment, etc. and put it back together. Turned out great and was quite affordable.Good luck!

 

I painted this 7 years ago with rollers and Rustoleum Antique White. Still looks good and shines. It's all in the prep and buff. Lot of work but under $150 in supplies.