TR4/4A Paint Job on a Budget - TR4 Version

[TRDejaVu]

As promised in another thread, here are some more pics of my roller/foam brush paint job. I ventured out into the garage today (temp about 20F) as I needed to look at front fender alignment to the door. Both front fenders had repair pieces (locally made) welded in at the bottom, which required some bondo to smooth them out around the join areas front and top. They made a small mistake in cutting at the back, so the repair piece also needs some bondo to smooth and adjust to level. I think that it will be a compromise between upper and lower alignment, probably favoring upper. You can also see a couple of small areas of bondo which were for minor dings that I dressed out but couldn't get perfectly into shape. There is also a small amount on the front nose where it seems to have has a very minor nudge with something. Other than that - solid metal that has been ground, wire wheeled and treated with Eastwood Rust Converter. I had a highly clean looking surface yet the rust converter still went black. The inside received the same, but has also been coated with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator.

On to the paint. While doing this, I also hung a rear fender on a couple of bolts to see how it looked in natural light. This one has not yet received its final wet sand and polish as I am considering adding another coat. The finish already matches and in some areas exceeds that of my 03 Trailblazer. As previously mentioned, when the fenders are completed I will move on to the doors, trunk and hood before tackling the rest in the spring when it gets warmer.

 

[martx-5]

That looks really good! I've got a few more things to do to my panels, and I'll be rollering out the paint. Hopefully within the next week or two. You know, I like the color. It's a bit brighter then the original.

 

[heliguy]

After spraying his gas tank black on a Laverda motorcycle about 5 times ( and stripping it off again ) as the finish was never quite right, my buddy finally layed the paint on really thick, a couple of coats, and then wet sanded the thing. Labour intensive, but deep shiney, mirror perfect finish. If you have the time thats the way to do it I think. I whole car is alot of work, but what you have done so far looks good!

 

[Geo Hahn]

It's a 'rolling restoration' and a 'roller restoration'!

It may have been an old post of mine where you found the link to the $50 paint job. I first saw the link on a VW site and was hoping someone on the forum would have a go at it.

My TR3A has a professional clear-coat finish which is very nice but really way more shiny and smooth than the original car would have ever had. The results you're getting may look more like the original finish on my TR4 which, in my opinion, makes it look more like the TRs of days gone by than the show car finish one often sees now.

Congrats to you for tackling this yourself -- best of luck, look forward to many more pics and some application hints.

 

[TR674]

Well done! 10 points for courage. I'm still building up to re spraying the interior side of my doors with a rattle can.......
Regards
Craig

 

[gjh2007]

Has anyone ventured into doing all the body & prep work, taping, chrome removal etc & having MAACO do the final spray?

Most of us here are looking for decent daily drivers; I can't see, or afford a $2000 paint job, I only paid that much for the whole car.

Oh yea & I have a daughter graduating this year looking at some pretty pricey schools!!

 

[CaptDon01]

Many years ago a buddy of mine had Earl Schibe (sp?), paint his VW bug. We did all the prep and removed almost everything so only the windows were masked, (which we did the inital tapeing). Turned out pretty nice, and he drove it through highschool, and college with no problems or pealing.

Don

 

[AltaKnight]

I had Maaco paint a car for me years ago. It looked great for a couple of years but went downhill very fast after that.
They offer several different levels (and prices) of paint and the cheap ones are poor quality materials. You have to spend the $ to get a good one that will last

 

[YankeeTR]

It really doesn't matter HOW the paint gets on the car....brush, roller, spray...the car sure as heck doesn't care!

The MAACO "Ambasssador" paint job uses an acrylic eneamel paint, I believe. You have to keep it up with regular waxings, etc. The top of the line job is a base/clear so it's not as picky about maintanence.

I've seen some pretty good Scheib and Maaco jobs. Several years ago there was an Earl Scheib rep at the Indy "Good Guys" hot rod show who was soliciting paint work...his car, with the "Scheib" paint, looked pretty good.

I think the TR4 will turn out really nice...congrats on daring to be different! (and UNDER bidget!)

 

[TRDejaVu]

So here it is (picture attached, I hope) on its first trip outside this year. It still needs some work, some more wet sanding, buffing and polishing, but at least it will soon be back on the road.

 

[toysrrus]

Hi Ian;

Hey; Looks pretty darn good to me:

Who did the Paint; Scheib or Maaco?

Where in PA do you live?

I`m in the Pocono Mtn Area; South of Stroudsburg & about a 1/2hr drive North of Allentown:

Keep up the Good work;

Regards, Russ

 

[Scott_Hower]

Looks great!

Russ - I live near Allentown PA too (Lower Macungie, actually).

 

[pa297pass]

Nice job Ian! ... that looks awesome!

Keep up the good work.

Matt

 

[TR4nut]

Ian-

That looks great! I have a rear fender repair on my TR4 coming up in the future - can you tell me what if anything you did to the paint formulation different from typical thinning recommendations?

If it's explained fully in the original thread I'll hunt that down.

Thanks!
Randy
65 TR4

 

[mrv8q]

Well done, Ian! At your convenience, can you post the brand and paint code number of the paint you used...

 

[TRDejaVu]

Martx-5 and I have both been trying the budget paint job approach; see https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/270954/page/0/fpart/1

There are 2 good links to this, the concise https://www.miataturbo.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5199
and the original very long https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1 which then goes on to a second very long thread https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2655425&page=0&fpart=4&vc=1

I believe that Martx-5 is using the marine paint approach while I opted for the original Rustoleum Pro (something about rust and British cars sent me in this direction). As to paint code for mine, nothing high tech here, Safety Red, thinned about 20% with 100% pure mineral spirits.

Very good results can be achieved, especially when buffing with a Porter Cable 7424 and Poorboys products. I am still not satisfied with mine as a final finish, but it is light years ahead of the grimy paint that was on the barn find when i got it last year. It is currently a "5-footer", with some "2-foot" quality panels. As mentioned before, I don't want to be fretting over stone chips on a show car finish on my driver car. However, when you look at "Aussie Drivers" finish quality on the Miata thread, excellent results are possible. I still have to do a final wetsand on the hood and doors. I suspect that I will be tweaking it through the summer.

 

[pa297pass]

Ian:

Did you use this same method in the engine compartment or did you do something different? I would think it would be difficult to wet sand the paint there because of all the complex shapes.

Thanks.

Matt

 

[TRDejaVu]

I have always intended this to be a rolling resto, or as I heard someone more realistically describing their own car, a "re-freshening". I want a driver that looks decent, but I want to drive it each year. Doing it this way, it was still hard enough to avoid it getting garage happy by continually doing "just one more job before putting it back together".

With that criteria established, the only engine painting I have done so far is the firewall and about a foot forward. I rattle canned it and have not even bothered to rub that down. I ran out of time this Spring, so the trunk interior will be done next winter, other projects permitting.

I know that this approach is not for everyone, but at the moment if it gets me driving it every year then it works for me.

 

[YankeeTR]

It's MUCH more enjoyable driving a TR than working on a TR....keep driving 'em!

 

[pa297pass]

Thanks Ian!

I am in exactly the same boat ... I want my TR4 back on the road, not in my garage.

I have the engine out right now and want to do something to the engine compartment while I can ... I think you've seen a picture of it when you asked where the choke cable came out.

Good luck and please keep us up to date with pictures.

Matt