$50 paint job

Searched some and don't see it here, so if it is please correct me and link -

A Corvair enthusiast and others are using a new/old school method of painting with Rustoleum, hard foam rollers and multiple sandings. It seems the total outlay is in the $50 dollar range, and from the slick looks (someone posted a really nice orange Roadrunner with 5 year old job) it seems a no brainer for the cash flow challenged.

As it will take months for me to finish, I was hoping someone else had done this here and had a writeup.

It seems its a no primer job that requires the same amount of body prepwork (there's no free lunch) thinning the enamel with mineral spirits, rolling it out, sanding between coats (like any good custom job) and enjoying seriously nice shiny paint - without popping for the $450 compressor, etc. to do it yourself. Its really that simple, if you like hand sanding 6-8 coats - but you could also figure each sanded coat is $500 off a pro job. Talk about sweat equity.

For a trailer park camo (clear coat popping) 90 XJ, I'm in.

we paint our cranes at work with a industrial rustoleum paint with foam rollers and as long as you prep good and clear coat it it looks good. we just use rattle can clear with 3 coats to make sure its covered well

How does one know how much to thin it?
Billy

In my experience you dont need to thin it unless your sloppy. if your sloppy thin it about 10% and it cleans up a lot better We just line the part of the shop with big 40x40 tarps and then park what we are painting on them. (we break the crane down into sections to fit in the building)

This might be a way to save money on materials, but is going to be alot more work in the long run. I also can't see that the results are going to be anywere near even a cheap automotive paint. I would say maybe for a trail rig were a top quality finish isn't a concern, but its going to scratch much easier than a catalysed product. One advantage is touch ups would be easy. To go through all the trouble of preping your truck for paint and then skimping on the paint doesn't seem smart to me. alkyd enamels are soft compared to hardened acryllics or urethanes, gloss level will be alot less, as will durability, and UV protection (fade out). Sanding fresh alkyd enamel between every coat will drive you nuts-it will clog up sandpaper so fast you'll spend more on paper than you did on the paint! It will also stay soft for a long time. Painted a small utility trailer with some about a week ago and its still to soft to put the wood back on. Spraying with automotive paint is your best option, hardened enamels arent that expensive and it will come out 100 times better. If you absolutely have to try rolling your jeep I would look into some of the products that Interlux makes for painting boats. At least they're catylised and would last alot longer...Just my opinion...

Web site shows 50/50 with mineral spirits to slow flashing off, and lay out the enamel so it won't orange peel. The roller used is high density with a very smooth flat surface, obviously better than the brushes used before spray guns were widely available.

For info...oil enamel will change color fast (oxidizing, yellowing)....I am a painter (commercial) and plan at some time to paint my heap with SW safety red catalized poly....I am not trying to acheive a great job just one color. Oil (alkyd) will lay out nice. I kind of agree with bfred if you go to all the trouble of a good prep job, spend a little more on materials.

This was originally on the moparts board from a guy who went by "69Chargeryeehaw", and some of those guys got very good results. One of the latest conclusions was to use Brightside marine paint. It takes some time, but you can do a panel here and there, less mess (overspray, etc.) and touch-ups are pretty easy. YMMV

I agree about enamels being soft and fading - I saw plenty of that in the '60's. A once a year buff and monthly wax was imperative.

I'm not recommending Rustoleum, but I have used it on other items, and it seems to do OK. It's not out of the loop to think of other materials - and if the technique can work for yard paint, how much better with modern coatings?

Paint delivery systems aren't cheap when air powered, but the materials don't have to be - and the pics I've seen rival the corner bodyshop.

My YJ was painted with Rustoleum and also my 68 C10. It holds up well, but it seems that the paint is soft for a couple weeks. Held a gloss for about 3 years till I repainted it.

AutoZone, and Advanced Auto sell paint already mixed, just drop it in a gun and pull the trigger.. Its only $20 for a quart, and has many colors, and also clear coats

XTrmXJ said:

AutoZone, and Advanced Auto sell paint already mixed, just drop it in a gun and pull the trigger.. Its only $20 for a quart, and has many colors, and also clear coats

Click to expand...

These paints are laquer. Not a catilysed product so it will remain soft and not much durability. If you like wet sanding and buffing though, it will give you a very nice finish. Before uro's this is what people used for show cars. As for the price, remember that it's pre thinned- 1 pnt of paint and 1 pnt of thinner. In other words your paying for 1 pnt of paint and a dollar or two of thinner. For $40.00 a quart you should be able to get the actual color for your jeep mixed at a paint store and reduce yourself. Laquer is a pretty forgiving paint when it comes to application might not be bad for a first timer.For overall finish and durability, still can't beat uros though.

Not sure I'd use laquer over any enamel, factory or otherwise - from what I'd been taught.

Martin Senour makes a industrial enamel available to me locally, and Brightside looks worth investigating. Top coating clear is certainly not out of the question.

I've run acrylic enamel on my trailer and my rig, color matched to factory. I love it, and I never have to worry that the clear coat might peel. I'll take waxing and buffing over that anyday! LOL

After reading the hot rod article last month on this i'm pretty sold on the idea. even if i'm not happy with it, the price is right.

I've been using a foam roller with Rustolium for years. I normally use a nitro thinner, it evaporates a little quicker than mineral spirits (minimizes runs). Though you do have to be careful about the base paint, it will lift some paints. Though I've never had any trouble with automotive paints or primers.
I do some practice passes to get the thinning just right, it depends on the outside temp. when you apply it. Too thick (or hot) and you get something near an orange peal and possibly air bubbles. Too thin and it really doesn't cover well, and can leave the edges and corners naked.
I've been doing it for awhile and can dip a screwdriver and watch how it runs, then drips and tell when I'm close enough. A standard paint viscosity tester (funnel), would probably be a good idea for a beginner.
A little trick that has helped me out, is to get matching cans of gloss spray and after applying a coat with the roller, wait till it tacks a little and then do a light coat of spray. Get a good angle so I can see the gloss is uniform.
I've also used the roller with Acrylic automotive paint and have gotten good results. I use a slow catalyst so I don't have to make a bunch of small batches, a roller is slower.
My neighbors complain when I spray, I save the compressor for special occasions.
The main problem with Rustolium is it takes a long time to really cure. I wouldn't even attempt to sand it much until after a couple of weeks (or a month). Though I do use a fairly thick coat, that may be some of the reason it takes so long to cure.

This project is gonna get more pricey fast.... gotta buy a buffer... and since i'm painting i might as well get my glass fenders now.....

I just finished reading this thread. Some interesting ideas here.

I was motivated by my recent visit to the local MACCO paint and body shop to get a quote on a paint job for my faded 87 Wagoneer. They wanted $500 just to sand the beast first. OUCHI! :shiver:No paint, just to sand it!!!!

They said they would not paint it, period, unless they sanded the ENTIRE beast down to BARE, yes BARE metal first.

I have had 2 old vehicles that needed new paint, that I waxed (in some places I used rubbing compound or polishing compound) first to remove old dead paint, and to soften the old paint, then I meticulously washed, and cleaned the vehicles to further remove dirt and the wax, and then had them shoot (Earl Shieb both times) the cheapest the stuff they had (light tan-yellow) on one of them (78-dodge wagon), and OEM (catalysed IIRC, it was a Ford copper metalic color from 1973-?, possibly catalysed, I forget) paint on the other. Spent $130 on a gallon of the copper metalic (PPG) back in 1998, and no more than $300 to Earl Shieb for the paint application. Neither time did I have them sand it first. Niether one had a clear coat before or after. I did sign a non-warranty disclaimer for both paint jobs.

Since I had preatreated the existing rust spots myself before they painted either car, both cars lasted at least 10 years without any rust through (except the LTD, 73, trunk which rusted from the inside out) , or paint peeling or flaking or craking. Only one spot on the LTD trunk which I poorly prepaired had any painting craking, and that took nearly 4 years to show up as I recall.

Needless to say I left MACCO as quickly as I could to consider other paint options.

I have had good luck with Krylon spray cans as well as rustoleum on other stuff. Krylon drys really fast and hard. Works great on metal furniture.

Personally I would rather pay a shop to spray paint mine, but I am not going to pay their prices and pay for their prep methods. Oh, and by the way. I skipped the spray primer on my last 2 paint jobs, but I used Permatex or Klean-Strip Rust Converter on the rusted, bare metal areas. It is a paintable rust neutralizing polymer primer.

One question I do have is the 85-89 Jeeps, clear coat and color coats, what are (were) they, and what top coats are compatible to go over them and what prep work is really needed, or suggested. I am guessing the clear coats are not designed for top coating, but what were they using for clear coats back then, versus now?

I am think an MEK soaked rag wipe just before painting should help adhesion a lot.

Anyone ever tried 20 Year high gloss exterior house paint, latex, on a car????? :shiver: Just thinking outside the box!:yelclap:

Been 6 months and my $100 paint job is still holding up great. I started a write up but after the crash I lost intrest. Let me know if you want. I will repost it.

Before


After

Yikes, it looks positively naked with out the wood grain decals!