Progress on the $40 Paint Job

[Geo Hahn]

Impressive to say the least. Oh, and it's a TR3A.

 

[karls59tr]

Looks good. I'd like to try that process on a TR4 whose paint job has seen better days. What kind of primer did you use? Would the Brightside be compatible with all primers or is a primer even necessary if I just wanted to paint over a clean well sanded surface?

 

[DNK]

Looks great,1 question. How wood you do a piece ,say the underside of a 6 bonnet that has cross braces that you have to get underneath and inside?

 

[martx-5]

Looks good. I'd like to try that process on a TR4 whose paint job has seen better days. What kind of primer did you use? Would the Brightside be compatible with all primers or is a primer even necessary if I just wanted to paint over a clean well sanded surface?

I just used a regular automotive primer. Who know, this stuff may fall off in a year! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hammer.gif The Interlux site has a olot of info on what it can be painted over. You'll have to navigate through the site. Click on products, paint finihes, Brightside, then there's a link to a data sheet that has all the info. Basically it says that you can paint over a previously painted surface if it's well cleaned and and sanded with 220-320 grit paper.

 

[martx-5]

Looks great,1 question. How wood you do a piece ,say the underside of a 6 bonnet that has cross braces that you have to get underneath and inside?

The same way you do it with a spray gun. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif

 

[71tr]

Art,

Which color are you using?

 

[jsneddon]

Very interesting indeed.

So Martx... is this stuff really thin and runny? I painted a 40 foot houseboat with a similar technique using some stuff called Imron that is a two-part marine paint. It was very very thin when you mix it and we would roll it on with a standard roller and then quickly before it set we would run over the painted area with a dry foam brush to knock down the bubbles and avoid orange peel. Since it was a two-part paint it would set up in about 5 minutes on 90 degree 80% humidity days and we had to work very quickly in small areas but they blended flawlessly.

I like the idea of this one part Brightside stuff and the cost is WAY cheaper than the Imron. Seeing your results makes me feel that I might just tackle this on my TR3 also.

Once it was dry it was rock-hard and looked every bit as good as a spray-job. Working evenings and weekends it took us about a month to get it all put down but we're talking about a 40+ foot boat with a cabin deck, a upper deck, and the entire hull.

Just wondering if the roller/dry-foam-brush technique might do the trick for you to speed up the process if the paint is thin enough.

 

[Joe_Pinehill]

Its worth getting a piece of 18 or 20 gauge sheet and quart of paint to try it and see what kind of results I get.

 

[martx-5]

Very interesting indeed.

So Martx... is this stuff really thin and runny? ...

Just wondering if the roller/dry-foam-brush technique might do the trick for you to speed up the process if the paint is thin enough.

No, it's just like a regular enamel paint. Fairly thick. The brushing thinner loosens it up a little, but not much. I'm keeping it at the recommended 10%, and it has the paint laying really flat.

The stuff just takes a long time to dry, so that's where the hang-up is for me. I just don't have enough room to lay all of the panels out. It really hasn't been a problem, as I'm doing the painting in the evenings after work, so whatever I do one night is dry and ready to wet sand the next and apply another coat.

I've tried the roller/dry foam brush technique, but found just using the foam brush is working out OK. If there were large flat areas, maybe that method would be quicker, but therre aren't many of those on the TR3. Besides, applying the paint is the quickest part of the job. Doesn't take more then about two minutes to paint a panel.

I've been working on this resto for about two and a half years, so a couple of weeks worth of painting is no big deal. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thirsty.gif

 

[Brosky]

Art,

The general rule of thumb with paint is that the greater amount of thinner, the quicker it will dry. The thinner evaporates quickly and because it begins to make up a greater percentage of the paint mixture, the entire process will dry faster.

I know that you are following guidelines, but you may want to mix a small amount and thin it to 20%, just to try it out. My bet is that it not only dries faster, but that it will flow smoother as well.

 

[Jerseygirl]

I've been reading this thread and the other "$40 paint job" links. All I can say is, "Wow!!!".

I would definitely give this a go. I did some touch up painting on my first car before I sold it. Rattle can job, but I took my time and with plenty of wet sanding it came out surprisingly well. This method looks even better and there's no spray paint to deal with!!!

Keep the pics coming. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif

 

[hondo402000]

you know that was the way they painted cars before they had the capacty to spray paints, they brush painted cars with laquer and then sanded and buff, buff, buff, spray painting was a way to save money, go figure

 

[brent615]

Any more progress on the Brightside paint? How is it holding up?

 

[2wrench]

Very nice looking finish, Art.
Keep up the good work. I like unorthodox
approaches, especially when a good result is
achieved.

Only thing that concerns me is getting a factory
color for our cars. Black is black, but probably
wouldn't work with Carmine Red, huh?

Anyway, very nice, very nice.

 

[martx-5]

Any more progress on the Brightside paint? How is it holding up?

Yes, here is the 'progress' report. I finished the whole car, and I have to say, it looked just stunning. Unfortunately, I ran into a small problem.

I noticed that I had a small amount of primer overspray inside the spare tire cavity. So, I masked off the area around the opening with some masking tape and newspaper. I sprayed some black Rust-O-Leum in there. I went back about an hour later and peeled off the masking tape...along with the absolutely gorgeous Brightside paint!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cryin.gif I took another piece of masking tape, pressed it on another part of the car and yanked...more paint came off!

I was devastated! Well, it was obvious that all of the paint would have to come off. Since it occured over a long weekend, my terrific wife offered to help peel the rest of the paint off. I armed her with a roll of tape, showed her how to do it, and she helped me peel off paint. She was terrific, and got me through this awful letdown. There were a few places that it actually stuck, and now I was cursing it for sticking! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazyeyes.gif I had to sand those areas.

So, why did this happen? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif I don't really know for sure, but I suspect that it had been too long of a period of time between priming and application of the Brightside, plus the fact that I used rattle can primers. I think if I scuffed the primer and shot a fresh coat, I wouldn't of had any problems. I blame myself for this, not the Brightside or the technique of brushing on paint.

So, where did it all leave me?? I decided to call on my buddy who's been in the body business all his life, both working at it and teaching it in High School.

I rigged up the garage as a spray booth. I covered all the walls with plastic sheeting, rigged up a fan to blow out the back window, and with the garage door opened about 8", had terrific ventilation. I bought all the materials at the local body supply store and shot the recommended primer the day before my friend showed up. He shot the final coats.

But, that's not the end of the story. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/sick.gif After my buddy left, and I was looking at the paint job, I realized that I had never seen a worse case of orange peel in my life!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hammer.gif I wasn't done yet...many more hours of wet sanding to level the peel.

Well, the paint is done, and because of all the sanding, there ain't much left on there. It looks pretty good, but not as good as the Brightside looked. I'm just afraid to do any more buffing. I already buffed through in a couple of small areas. Fortunately, the primer was also black, so it's not too obvious.

At this point in time, I don't care. I just want to get this car finished, and am heading in that direction. If later on I have nothing else to do, I may decide to re-do the paint. Until then, I'll live with what's there.

 

[Brosky]

Sorry to hear about the issues, Art. Remember that in the grand scheme of things, no one ever broke down because of thin paint.

Get it running, enjoy it and invoke the 20-20 rule. 20 feet or 20MPh for all observations and comments thereof.

 

[NutmegCT]

Art - what a story. From the sublime to the ridiculous with a roll of tape. Even "devastated" just isn't the word.

question: your buddy who has done body work all his life. How'd his spray job become such a major orange peel problem? What did he say about it?

The more I read about paint jobs, the more I shudder and stay away.

Thanks.
Tom

 

[TR6oldtimer]

Not necessarily the cause of orange peel here, but if the last coat of primer was put down and had orange peel (hard to see on primer) and not sanded, the final coats of black would show it up real quick.

Or his friend just had a bad day and screwed up...

 

[brent615]

That is a bummer! At least you didn't spend $4000+ like the PO of my car did only to have it come off in large sheets down to the bare shiny metal 5 years later! Now I am left trying to decide how to get this thing looking better and protected from rust...with a second child on the way in April, so the TR fund is at an all time low. I have emailed the manufacturer of Brightside to see what type of primer they suggest for metal surfaces. I'll post for everyone's info later.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Sorry you hit this set back. You may recall you (prophetically) said...

...I just used a regular automotive primer. Who know, this stuff may fall off in a year!...

As my boss used to say: 'You can always spot the pioneers, they're the ones with the arrows in their backs'.