Another Paint thread

As there are so many great paint threads, I thought I would throw this one out.

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

This thread has made it's way around several car forums, and I guess it's our turn now. Basically, a fellow (about 9th poster down) details a way to paint a car on a budget and without spray.

I know this will be greated with howls of derision from the many excellent sprayers on this forum, but for those of us (like me) who will NEVER have the skills to be a good sprayer (it's genetic) and NEVER EVER EVER feel good about paying someone else $1000's to spray a car (unless insurance is picking up the tab) I think it is interesting alternative.

Ps. I will also never have a show car unless I win the lottery and buy it in that condition.

You do know that all cars were painted with a paint brush untill the 30s and even then the expensive ones like RR were brush painted.

Certainly sounds like an interesting concept. I'd love to hear some other first hand experience with this method. For a driver-quality car, it sounds intriguing at first read.

I'll admit, I have a spare set of doors and fenders that I'll be swapping onto the car when I repaint it next summer. I am considering taking one down to the basement while the weather is still cold and trying the roll on to see what happens. At worst, I plan on stripping it anyways when i do the whole car, so I'll cost me a couple of bucks in supplies. I already have some of the paint I plan on using (I painted it a few years back, sprayed, and have some left over. I want to do a better job of bodywork and paint this time around. last time was learning curve/practive/just getting the car respectable).

drooartz said:

Certainly sounds like an interesting concept. I'd love to hear some other first hand experience with this method. For a driver-quality car, it sounds intriguing at first read.

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I agree. His results speak for themselves! My only neg. observation is that the "gloss" isn't quite there!!

There is a marine paint (some of you into boating may be familiar with) called Awl-Grip which is super hard, super glossy and can be applied with spray or brush. A good brush applier can create a finish that is indiscernable from a spray job (it requires a technique called "tipping"). It is a 2 part epoxy paint that is unbelievably durable but there are "tricks" to a good finish using it, and the paint itself, while a quart goes a long way, is expensive!

BINGO!!!!
And they just happen to have the colour Tremclad I want!!
(Silver Metallic)
I'll keep you updated, I'm going to the hardware store........

Baz,

Were you able to find TremClad locally. Some ogf the threads I read say only distributed in Canada. Curious as this may solve Bugsy's paint and budget issue.

Awl-Grip is an excellent product and is easy to apply. On boats in any case.

It seem that the general consensus is that Rustoleum is an appropriate substitute for Tremclad. Any thoughts on this from those of you with gobs of paint knowledge?

I agree that the 'shine' isn't there but you sure can't beat the looks of it for the price. It would certainly be a big improvement over the paint on my car now.

It seems to me that the shine is not any less than what the cars had new, but I was quite young when the last Midget rolled off the line, so my memory is probably inaccurate.

Also, it seems that the shine could be improved with some turtle wax and elbow grease.

Bruce_B said:

It would certainly be a big improvement over the paint on my car now.

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That's why I'm trying this route, the worst it could be is the loss of a couple of quarts (in $'s) if it doesn't work out.

Morris said:

It seem that the general consensus is that Rustoleum is an appropriate substitute for Tremclad. Any thoughts on this from those of you with gobs of paint knowledge?

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My opinion of Rustoleum is a good industrial coating but unsuitable for a good automotive finish. It does not dry/cure hard enough for use as an exterior automotive body paint. In general, enamels take a very long time to "fully cure" and are therefore "softer" than many other options. This also allows them to be a bit more chip-resistant though! Enamels must be allowed to dry for a minimum of 30-60 days before applying any kind of wax or polish (and even then they had better be mild polishes)! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

I think under the circumstances, this may be a 'better' finish, certainly not the 'best', but I have terrible paint on my B that no amount of compound or wax is getting rid of.
As I'll be using it for a DD rather than a show/trailer car, the 'shine' doesn't need to as important as a well-balanced, even finish.
Anyhow, this, I think is the colour I'm going for....
Pewter Gray
It'll be fun, if it goes pear shaped, I have myself to blame and will get a professional to do it.
Thanks Morris for bringing this up.

Go Baz! .......lemme know how it works!.......z

That charger orange has Zimmy written all over it. You can try it once you get that new front piece installed. I would have tried that on a door or something to see how it looked myself, but I am 300+ in paint already. If this turns out to be a complete failure then I might try the roller myself

Oh, hey and let me ask ya'll something about this wet sanding stuff. I have never wet sanded any finished painted surface. What is the deal with that? I have painted about 4 cars with just plain acrylic enamel and it had pletny of shine as long as you thinned down the last two coats to where they were like 1/3 paint and 2/3 thinner. I mean I would wax after a few months and might compound it if it got real dull but I never touched a car with sandpaper. please infom me on this. I have a 1994 black ranger supercab that has 60,000 miles on it and has only been outside of the garage about 60 days since I bought it. Kept it just as new, but one of those days I had it outside I was sparying some rustoleum on the underside of the midget and the spray carried and my truck looks like it has pollen on it. I have never really tried hard to remove it but was wondering about wet sanding. Here is a picture of it with the camper in tow a looong ways from home. Don't let people tell you that a 4 cylinder won't tow a camper. I have pulled that camper 18,000 miles with that truck and never a problem. Not a lot of power though /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

Here's what I'll do.....
There's a lot of info in that thread, I'll try and edit it down and summarize it into bullets and post it here as a pdf or something.
I'll do some inconspicuous part first as I don't have a spare body part; valance under the front bumper or inside of the door and post results, folks can make their judgments from my guinea pig.

i seen a 74 midget on ebay that had been Rustoleumed...it looked real nice, but i dont think the price went too high,..possibly because of it.....
Rustoleum also has a paint that is used right over rust..supposedly neautralizes it or something......z

Kim, wet-sanding is a finishing prep stage to painting. The cardinal rule is that paint does not hide anything. If you have a "wart' it will still be evident even with a coat of paint over it. Paint application is only the final finishing touch of a good paint job. Your primed surface should be perfect before paint is applied! By wet sanding, you get a super-smooth surface on which to apply the paint and let it flow for the "showroom shine". Wet sanding will also allow you to check your bodywork for trueness by observing the reflection or shine on the wet surface. A dimple or a wave is much easier to see on a wet surface than a matte, dry primer surface! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif