inexpensive paint job

No problemo

Where your train derails is thinking every car is worthy of a professional quality paint job. They're not.

Just like some cars aren't worthy of a rebuilt motor and get a junkyard equivalent......well what do you do when your car needs a "used paintjob"???

 

I have painted many cars over the years. I have sprayed them inside garages, and outside in driveways. I have used very expensive paints, and dirt cheap paints. All my spraying was done with a syphon feed Devilbiss gun, sprayed at 45 to 55 PSI. My results have ranged from spectacular show winners to 50/50 paint jobs. (Look good from 50 foot at 50 miles an hour).
A few hints from someone who OWNS the t shirt.

Always use a charcoal filter mask with fresh filters, one that fits your face, whether painting indoors or outdoors. Aliphatic Isocyanates build up in your lungs and prevent the air sacs in your lungs from absorbing oxygen. You die from shortness of breath, and there is no way to get that **** out of your lungs once its in there.

Paint when the temperature is between 72 and 75 defrees F for best results and least orange peel.

I like "standard" enamels, because when you have cleaned your gun, your done! Enamels are not meant to be rubbed out, and most can not be rubbed out. However, you had better be sure of your painting skills, for that same reason---you can not sand out a run and buff it to fix it.

Catalyzed enamels (acrylic enamel with hardner) are slightly more forgiving. They can be rubbed out if you paint in a boo boo.

Either kind of enamel are more difficult to spray than any kind of laquer, or any base clear. They run a lot easier, and are much easier to get "orange peel" ---this is a cindition where the paint is shiny, but has a stippled surface texture like the skin of an orange.

If you do choose to paint with enamels, use a medium dry reducer. This gives the paint a chance to flow out and flatten out before it sets up hard---This reduces the chance of orange peel.

All paint jobs should have 3 coats of paint. The first one misted on very lightly.--You may not even see much color build. The purpose of this first coat is to provide a good "base" which will act to "anchor" a heavier second coat and keep it from running. You should start to see good colour build on the second coat. The third coat is the "beauty coat" where the gloss builds, and you get "full hiding" on the vehicle. You should attempt to spray the car in alternating directions between first, second, and third coats. This will help to prevent "streaking" in the paint. Do not swing your arm in an arc. Move the gun PARALLEL to the surface being sprayed---That way you get a uniform film build throughout the full p***.

Do not have a helper in the garage when you are spraying---they only get in the way and stir up dust. If you paint out in the driveway, be aware that paint mist falls as it leaves the gun. If you have an asphalt or cement driveway, I guarantee you are going to paint it. (Don't ask me how I know). Never paint in direct sunlight. A light overcast is better, an awning rigged from a tarp is even better. Do not paint under trees for shade, unless you like picking little worms, spiders, leaves, and bird**** out of the paint!!!

Do not let the car get wet, either thru rain, lawnsprinklers, or dew for at least 48 hours after it has been painted. It will leave water spots in the paint that will never come out.

If you spray in a garage, be sure that there is no heat source in the garage which has an open flame i.e. pilot light on gas furnace--BOOM!!! I like to have a big ***ed fan blowing fresh air into the garage. The reason I don't like a big ***ed fan ****ing air out of the garage, is that its ****ing those highly combustible/explosive fumes right over the fan motor arc, spark, BOOM!!!

The only dangerous thing about painting in a driveway, is that your neighbour may phone the cops on you, or if you live in a place like California, you may have the environmental protection Gods after you.--Things like dust storms and rain drops messing up your paint job aren't dangerous, but they sure piss you off. (Again, don't ask me how I know).

Probably the easiest paints to use today, are the base/clear systems, but unfortunately, they are the most expensive. Tractor paint is an enamel, shines like Hell, is limited in range of colors, is cheaper than most anything else, and will stand up for about 3 years, then dulls/fades quite rapidly.

Do not, under any conditions, leave masking tape on ANYTHING for more than 3 days.--If you do, then be prepared to s****e it off the chrome with a razor blade. (Not pretty)

Hope some of this helps.---Brian

 

take a leaf blower and dust the driveway down .Blow the car off real good fenderwells hood trunk use prepsol wax and grease remover pick a calm day and go for it medium temp i think is better real hot draws bugs hey what are you waiting for. alternative method cut gr*** day before and spray out back kills gr*** but you dont have to worry about cops or ***hole neighbors .

 

I painted my Rambler with Rustoleum and a 4 inch foam roller. Turned out very good even by the admission of some professional painters I have shown it too. Took 6 coats after some minor rust surgery and a 400 grit scuff of the old paint. There was a great deal of labor involved as far as wet sanding and buffing it out compared to a spray job but there were also distinct advantages. I didn't have to worry about a dusty garage floor because there were no blasts of air from a paint gun. I didn't have to wear a respirator because there was no airborne paint. I didn't have to worry about overspray on other items in my garage and I didn't have to completely mask off the windows. Just gave my self enough margin to roll-over a bit. I also got to do it at home on my schedule and didn't have to worry about how somebody else was storing my car or how long it would take them. The paint has been on the car for a year and a half now and still has a very mirror-like gloss BUT the car has been garaged about 98% of its existence since the paint. I don't know how it would stand up to regular weather exposure. I used "Gloss Antique White" and it was a very near match to the original color. I will say I have seen other Rustoleum jobs that didn't seem to have the same reflectivity. Don't know if the color is inherently shinier for some reason or if I just got lucky rubbing it out. It is not an $8k paint job but I am never going to have that kind of money and it made the difference between finshing and not finishing my car.

 

Rustoleum can also be sprayed if you thin it down. Comes out great. I'm planning the roller approach myself when it gets warm. It's a great, inexpensive way to get a very nice result. However, you do run into color choice limitations. Still, good way to save.

 

Hi,

I know everyone has an opinion on this and mine is no better or worse than anyone elses. If you are willing to put the time and effort into it, a reasonably good paint job can be achieved in your driveway. I painted the roadster in these pictures in my driveway and got very good results. I was a painter at a dealership in the late 70's so I had experience but I think reasonable results can be achieved if you follow a few reccommendations. I used acrylic enamal with hardner and selected a light solid color so I could color sand and buff it without causing metalic rings. I put on plenty of paint and let it cure for a couple of weeks before sanding and buffing. Make sure your overspray is not blowing towards your neighbor's house and wear a good quality resporator.

 

Excellent point. There are a lot of $2500 daily drivers out there that, come hell or high water, will never likely be worth more than $2500. Do you go with a $3000 paint job, a $2000 rebuilt engine, etc. or do you go with what the car justifies?

More than once, the cheapo paint job (of whatever type) is the difference between completing and not completing a car.

 

They have a great number of colors and textures to choose from
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProductFinder.asp?pfm=BBC

 

Amen

 

He, he, he.... So, as a Pro, you recommend that the guy pay you for a base-coat-clear-coat, that IF IS LEFT OUTSIDE EVERY DAY IN THE SUN, for 3 years that it will peal? He, he......

Unsafe to paint in my driveway? No more unsafe than it is to drive out of my driveway over to your paint shop.

As for your statement about the tractor paint being garbage, I challenge your premise. I don't think that you have a clue, on the subject of tractor paint and are merely spouting.

I have over 60 years experience on the subject of self-applied paint, and maintaining enamel with a little elbow grease a couple of times a year to polish the fade is a viable alternative to throwing money to the commercial application. For the price of one of your paint jobs, I can paint eleven cars on my own. Actually, the one thing that a nimrod can do on his car is to paint it. It's an exercise in learning. No paint job that costs less than a set of tires is spetacular.

That's not the point anyhow. This thread is about how to do a cheap paint job in the driveway. That's what the guy said he is going to do.

There are plenty of people that want to pay for a paint job, and to attack those that prefer to do their own is uncalled for. Your business is to satisfy your customers, that are willing to pay for your services, not to demean those of us that do our own painting and are perfectly happy to live with the results.

 

Amen!!!! I get so many compliments on my paint that I applied on my car in the driveway, safely and with spectacular results and it was my first ever paint job. Look back at the pictures. I also have seen show winning cars that were sprayed in their one car garage without building a booth. I have also seen some **** come out of paint booths that look like they were painted outside on a windy dusty day.

 

the idea of a "no/low maintenance paint job" is killer idea. tractor paint is some durable stuff. low buck rules because after the first chip they all become equal!

 

Awwwwwwww heck!!!!!! You scared Rusty away!!!!! Damn you!

 

Tractor paint is good stuff.

I painted the Touring with PPG Urotech. It is their single stage Urethane INDUSTRIAL paint. You can hit it with a hammer and it wont chip. I paid $42/gal for the paint. Had less than$250 total in paint,primer and filler. Sprayed it in a garage and it came out nice for a driver. Would have been better but that was the first car I had painted in 15 years! Like starting over as a beginner!~

 

painted in a garage by someone who knows what they are doing with proper respiration and ventilation.

 

Garage primer job on my old roadster:

 

I'm a little late to the thread.

Just curious of a single stage, or even two-stage catalyzed urethane could be applied with a roller.

I realize it would probably be lots of wetsanding to get the finish flat, but given that I live in the city, there is no way I could get away with spraying.

Using a roller, even though it might be more work and would probably take much longer, would be a really attractive option, especially using a solid color.

Probably would also be prudent to let a good deal of time between coats to let the solvents out, especially before the first coat of clear (if using two-stage).

Would be great of one of the manufacturers came out with a line specially formulated to be rolled...

 

Actually it was the July '07 issue of HOT ROD.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/body/hrdp_0707_1962_ford_falcon_budget_paint_job/index.html

 

I used Nason acryllic catalyzed enamel on the Galaxie. I cut the original paint down with 320 dry, and any bare spots or putty I put etching primer on. Cleaned it with 97% rubbing alcohol, shot the Nason sealer on then the topcoat. A little color sanding it was done. Its not a $5000 paint job, but it looks good and polishes up nice, you'd never know we did it in a home garage. I used to do body and fender on used cars, its just the same method. Most of your money would be in labor, materials are reasonably cheap. The more work you put into it getting it ready the better your cheap paint will look and last.

 

I wouldn't try, many paint systems get weaker if you go too thick. It is so easy to make a cheap spray booth in a garage with old sheets, box fans and a radiant heater, and the results are better with less elbow grease later. I would rather make a one time booth than color sand for 5 weeks.

 

Thats what we did, just a homemade paint booth with good lights. We had a perfect day to paint that matched the system. Very little color sanding was needed with the Nason. I am proud of how it turned out, it looks like a nice polished survivor car which is what I wanted.

Here's a ****py scanned photo, scratched picture but you get the idea

 

I tried it once. Didn't finish, and the next time I try, I'll be cited by the city.

Houses are too close together to be spraying a few quarts of hazardous material into the air, even in a garage.

Rolling it on, if it were an option, would be a very practical solution. The chemical fumes would be spread over weeks, not all dumped into the air in one day.


I wish I knew something about paint. I think there'd be a real market for a decent quality (urethane) one that was designed to be rolled on with a good quality roller.

I have rolled on epoxy primer since then with good results, but I've had to outsource the spraying.

The tractor enamels or rustoleum just don't seem to be worth the work if they aren't going to last. I'd be fine with spending an equal amount of work, and a little bit more $$ for a good catalyzed urethane, and be able to do it at home.