$50 paint job...dyi..and hot as hell

[3G Jester]

no joke kids. for half a weekend and 50 bucks you could have a banging paint job.

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

and the corolla in this one is beautiful
http://forums.club4ag.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=133867

read allthe info very carefully. theres lots of good info...time to dry, consistancy...durrability, painting on unprimered metal or prime'd
yuou just gotta take the time to read it all. butreading the threads will take more time then actually painting the pics. i would first suggest skimming the threads just too look atthe pics. the first link has dozens of pages but if you go page by page skimming youll read a lot and see a lot of hot work.

check it out :)

[BITESIZE]

I'm lazy give us a summary.

[3G Jester]

ok.

this was done with a bucket of duplicolor paint, thinned with mineral spirits to the consistancy of watter and rolled on with a foam roller.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC02769.jpg

tools, paint and everything....costs about 50 bucks. it takes about half a weekend. dries fast (takes a month or so to FULLY cure as does EVERY paint job..pro or not.) buffable within the first few days for a brilliant shine. and if primered and prepped right is very durrable.

[BITESIZE]

Do they then shoot with a coat of clear?....I started reading it, and it's pretty damn tempting to try it on a fender or hood first. Only problem is what colors are available?

[3G Jester]

well. you dont shoot anything. you just roll on the walmart dulpicolor paint and buff it for the shine.

you can bring paint samples or pictures into walmart and they can scan them and color match them. anything is available.

[jschatte]

I never knew that that was possible! You just need a little skill and a bit of time and you cant paint your car for dirt cheap.

[88Accord-DX]

here's how i painted my car for about $50, it's actually very easy and the results are amazing. First off, get a can of tremclad real orange (or what ever color u want) in the can, not spray, yes tremclad, it is a acrylic/enamel paint which is very durable. next prep your car as if was any other paint job, fix all the rust, ect....no need to prime the car since the tremclad allready contains elements which allow it to be painted over bare metal. next, after prepping the car get a small 4" professional FOAM rollers, it's tiny and has one end rounded off, and the other cut straight, and is a very high density foam. u also need a jug of mineral spirits to thin the paint. The thing i really like about this is that there's no mess, no tapeing the whole car, just key areas, and u can do it in your garage, since your not spraying there is virtually no dust in the air, just clean your garage first, also it does'nt really smell at all, dries overnight and it super tough paint. also it you decide to paint the car professionally later, just prep and paint, there's no need to strip the tremclad. i have done this to a few cars, and i can say it works amazing, u just have to be paitient. next u thin the paint with mineral spirits so it just about as thin as water, a little thicker. get out the roller and paint away, don't get the paint shaked when u buy it, enamel is stirred, otherwise you'll have bubbles in the paint for a week!!! after u do 2 coats, wet sand the whole car, then repeat, 2 coats, wetsand, 2 coats wetsand. i painted the charger using a can since your not spraying the car u use all the paint and not spray 50% in the air, use progressivly finer sand paper each time. it's not really that much work, cause u can stop and start any time, u can do just a door, or the hood, ect. do one panel at a time, and don't stop once you start. once your done the final coat, wetsand with about 1000 grit to a totally smooth finish, and then using a high speed polisher i use a buffing bonnet and turtle wax polishing compound. do the whole car with this, and i'm telling u, depending on the amount of time and paitence you have, the results are amazing. laugh if you want, but for $50 ($30 for paint, about $20 for rollers, sand paper, ect...) it really looks good. also you can do these steps overnight, paint one evening and by morning u can wet sand. i have personally done alot of painting, mostly single stage acrylic enamel, and i've sprayed several cars in my garage with really good professional results, just it stinks, it's a real pain to do, easy to make a mistake, messy, and expensive. The tremclad is awesome paint, the "real orange" is an amazing hemi orange, and almost looks like it has some perl in the sun, awesome color right out of the can. I used this technique on my 1974 beetle also, here are the results:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/Picture10.jpg
the car before:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/IM000475.jpg
another after pic:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC00164.jpg
here is a car i sprayed (71 beetle, midnight blue metalic):
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC00194.jpg
here is the car before (71 beetle):
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/Picture1.jpg

here's a few pics of the charger done:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC02764.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC02769.jpg

well that's my 2 cents worth, sorry for the long post. i was borred lol
i painted the orange beetle in 1999, and it still looks like the day i painted it, the 71 blue beetle i painted in 2000, and built the car for my dad, i used the same paint on my charger, maybe one day i'll spring for a good paint job, prepping is 90% of the work, stripping the car, sanding, ect.....painting is overrated!!!
So if you have TIME, then i'd say go for it, the worst that could happen is that it does'nt turn out and your out $50, but if your paitient, and expriement with lets say just the trunk pannel and if you like it do the whole car, if not just get it done by someone else for $4000. i don't know about you guys, but i would rather spend the $4000 on other parts like getting the mechanics sorted out and new chrome, cause when u have really nice paint and crappy bumpers, door handles it just sticks out more.

[88Accord-DX]

Double post.

Anyhow, not bad for roller brush & hella wetsanding.

[BITESIZE]

Holy Frickin Shit! I'm so trying this on my car when I'm done with the body work. I didn't even know you could do this.

Does the paint match all over? Like, if I tried it on a fender first and got awesome results, then finished the whole car a couple days later...Would it all match?

After the paint is mixed, how long does it stay good for in the can? What colors are their and a full list of "tools" would be great.

[3G Jester]

i dunno. looks like it will match. im doing my kit liek this. looks like it should come out half decent. im not waiting a year to mount my kit.

[gp02a0083]

this is coming from an experianced painter , i f'in hate rattle can jobs i mean ive seen some decent work liek one guy did a duplicolor candy apple red mustang ( fox body ) i mean hell for my hatchie i used duplicolor only to do patch work which im pissed b/c its a bit darker and i didnt blend the gas tank cover either but its hard to belive that one is done with a roller brush i cant see how it can be a great job i mean thats allmost liek painting with the old laquer i guess that stuff u can paint it on the beach and it will look good , the newer urathane stuff is alot harder to work with compared to laquer

[88Accord-DX]

Edit- I was going to say, I've done some painting in my day. I've seen some roller brush jobs, but anything is possible with patience & lots of elbow grease.

[ghettogeddy]

no joke kids. for half a weekend and 50 bucks you could have a banging paint job.
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1
and the corolla in this one is beautiful
http://forums.club4ag.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=133867
read allthe info very carefully. theres lots of good info...time to dry, consistancy...durrability, painting on unprimered metal or prime'd
yuou just gotta take the time to read it all. butreading the threads will take more time then actually painting the pics. i would first suggest skimming the threads just too look atthe pics. the first link has dozens of pages but if you go page by page skimming youll read a lot and see a lot of hot work.
check it out :)
great find maybe ill take my gas tank door in and have walmart paint match so i can do my moldings and wing maybe even my vent shades

[frantik]

too bad u can't do metallics with it :(

[BITESIZE]

well. you dont shoot anything. you just roll on the walmart dulpicolor paint and buff it for the shine.

you can bring paint samples or pictures into walmart and they can scan them and color match them. anything is available.


When you say duplicolor...you mean in the can...not spray?

[A20A1]

Yeah I've seen some okay roller jobs and they were not even trying to do it nicely it was more like "hey lets see what this will do"

If there is a certain paint that is suited well for rolling onto the car I might get some. I always had trouble with the hood and roof coming out good an this seems to be a nice solution over trips to the spray booth.

[ICEMAN707]

Some people actually got good results from this method. But IMO it only works well on basic gloss non-metallic colors. I.E. black, red, white, grey, yellow, etc.

This one looks like an oldschool NES:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/BlackBomber/597602_181_full.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/BlackBomber/597602_200_full.jpg

The materials may be $50....but to get a really crystal clear shine though, a good electric buffer is a must. Polishing by hand can only do so much and it still looks hazy. If you already have a spray gun, I think a spray gun would be better cus it cuts down alot on wetsanding since spraying puts on a much more even layer than a roller would....also less chance of orange peel and it can get paint in tight places where a roller can't reach. Only thing with spraying is all the masking and face mask use.

Having no clearcoat also means more maintenance waxing/polishing if you want to keep that shine. Whereas with clearcoat, washing with carwash soap and water is all you need to keep that shine.

[895spdforfree]

hey isnt there a clear though for that rustolium stuff? i thought someone mentioned a clear coat from that same brand?

[3G Jester]

When you say duplicolor...you mean in the can...not spray?

yes. and DONT SHAKE TO MIX....HAND STIR.

and IF YOU READ THOSE THREADS..you will se that the issue of a gloss clear coat (or any clear coat) is discussed to a great length. the shine is very glossy as you can see i nthe pictures but does require some buffing to get there. the reason for the electric buffer is that your fingers dont provide for an even buff. i picked up a perfect little bufer and walmart for 20 bucks. read those threads guys! they answer all your questions!

and yeah spraying would be better, of course pro jobs would be better.....but for 50 bucks and a days worth of work you could get rid off that bondo and primer look!!
im not saying its a perfect slution to last you the rest of your cars life. im saying its the perfect job for someone who's car looks like shit and needs a full coat of paint everywhere (to cover up the bondo and primer), and maybe wants to keep the car but doesnt know if they are going to keep working on it....
its a great temp job.

i havea lip kit for my av6 thats taking up space, i havent mounted it because iif i bring it to a shop to mount and paint match it..then im going to pay BIG $$$ for a paint job that wunt match in a year. my car has plenty of little dings and lots of scratches from katrina. She is getttting a new paint job, most likely with her new engine/tranny which will come at the end of this one. i give it about a year. im not waiting a year to have this freaking kit taking up space in my apartment and im not paying huge bucks to have it matched to a color thats already got hella imperfections. this will match it (hopefully) close enough for me to mount the kit, have it look semi decent (instead of those baby blue primer body kits and mis matched cars) for the time being so i can gain back this space and even see if i really like this kit and want it on there when she gets a multi-thousand dollar paint job.


Some people actually got good results from this method. But IMO it only works well on basic gloss non-metallic colors. I.E. black, red, white, grey, yellow, etc.

I think a spray gun would be better cus it cuts down alot on wetsanding since spraying puts on a much more even layer than a roller would....also less chance of orange peel and it can get paint in tight places where a roller can't reach. Only thing with spraying is all the masking and face mask use.
Having no clearcoat also means more maintenance waxing/polishing if you want to keep that shine. Whereas with clearcoat, washing with carwash soap and water is all you need to keep that shine.

they discuss the issue of metalic colors in those threads. they say flake colors and effects dont work out to well. and if you read the threads you see the use of a foam brush is used to smooth out and take of places the roller cant read well. if your patient it will come out right.

and mike...you said you had trouble with how it came out....how thin was it? the biggest problem mentioned in all these threads is the people who thought they had it too thin but still had it too thick. you want it like water man.

[2oodoor]

THANKS BUNCHES TO jESTER FOR THIS POST!!!!
I like to express graditude for those that provide useable infor for our cars, its cause Im "the ole mighty one" as tagged by another member, Old man is another one though Im only two duece double shots.
The important points of Jesters post is the fact that you can recoat this stuf without stripping, very very good property. If you goof you can clay block, wet sand very carefully ...I recommend using dish soap a lil bit inthe water bucket your sanding from. Another thing its it can save you enough money or custom paint after its cured, such as peal away effect, flames, lightening, smiley faces....whatever floats you nads. i worked several years myself in paint and body, I have painted in boothes, in the yard, in the woods,shhhhhh, the biggiest thing is prepwork, and paying close attention to enviornment, dust and flying debris no matter how small, bugs, temperature, um a friend pulling up to 100 feet away with fresh armor all on his tires.wind, all sorts of stuf, a good painter does this stuff instinctivly almost have to actlike a CFDC worker...lol , modern facilities help these potential problems to increase productivity.
I am very interested n this product, another reason is local ordinances about spraying cars in your back yard shop. My neighbor paints like a MF, he is one of the best flame with shadows, or ghost flame layout dudes I ever met, he does choppers, neked ladies, all of it, Im gonna take him some special brownies so I can get some peel back, or ghost flame on my old LX, also want something done on my crownvic interceptor too, like ghost waving checkerboard or something for wifes kid cab, its still too narcky looking (not that is bad, but I dont want drive bys in my yard )even with the white letter tires ... its gonna take a lot of brownnies,, lol

[ICEMAN707]

Since this stuff is made for painting furniture anyways, I would try painting a sidetable/nightstand first to practice on. I would also roll on a few coats of clearcoat on top of the basecoat to get a deeper shine. Just like using polyurethane on hardwood floors. They use a big floor sander and buffer to get it super smooth and shiny after that. Takes alot of wetsanding/recoating/buffing to get it perfect and super shiny with no haze. Cheap comes in the expense of extra elbow grease when it comes to this method. But it's definitely worth trying out.

I believe you can also do metallics with this method by way of using rattle can first of the basecoat metallic color you want, then rolling on the 6+ coats of Rustoleum clearcoat over that. Making sure you build a thick enough layer of clearcoat to work on when you wetsand so the sandpaper doesn't go through to the basecoat and ruin it. It's gonna take alot of coats to get it thick enough since you'll be rolling on clearcoat in the consistency of water.

[Legend_master]

too bad u can't do metallics with it :(


Do you mean painting metallics or getting metallic colors? Because the guy said it is best to paint right onto bare metal.

[ICEMAN707]

He means metallic paint. You can't do a roll-on job with metallic paint for obvious reasons that it has metallic glitter in it. It would leave ugly rolling patterns all over the surface you are painting on and you can't sand it smooth. You can only do a roll-on job with a basic gloss color. No metallics, pearls, chameleons, etc. - gotta spray those to get an even coat. After that, you CAN roll-on clearcoat, but it's gonna take a shitload of sanding to get it smooth and get the orange-peel off. Pretty risky if you never done paint work before. Spraying is always better, saves time in finish sanding in expense of taking more time for masking, having paint fumes, and wearing a mask and goggles as well as other necessary spraying equipment.

[smufguy]

this is just nutz. I dont see any metallic paints tho. Just damn flat ones :thumbdn:

[ghettogeddy]

well u could roll a flat color then spray a metallic over if u do it right it should look real good

[BITESIZE]

I am so doing this when my bodywork is done. I read all 80+ pages on it.

[BITESIZE]

Can you buy the metal flakes to put in the Rustoleum? I'm going to shoot it with a HVLP Gun.

[MessyHonda]

hey bitesieze when do you think you will paint it?...i cant wait...if yours come out good il paint mine the same

[BITESIZE]

hey bitesieze when do you think you will paint it?...i cant wait...if yours come out good il paint mine the same


Probably in Spring time, when it starts warming up. It gets pretty damn cold in Idaho during the winter, so it wouldn't turned out as well as warmer weather. I've still got alot of body work do, especially since the wreck.

[A18A]

i might try this on our barina for a test lol ill try do it cheaply-er

[BITESIZE]

You should, I want to see the outcome.

[A20A1]

Can you spray it with a wagner :)

[3G Jester]

Can you spray it with a wagner :)


OOOO. good question mike. i would say thats one to test. the best part about this paint/ method is you have 1 or 2 outcomes...

1 you loose 20 bucks worth of walmart paint (personally ive spent more on stupid shit)
2 you come out with a bangin paint jjob for 20 bucks.

[BITESIZE]

Can you spray it with a wagner :)


I remember someone on Moparts saying they used one, and it turned out good. Just wetsand it more if use the wagner I'd say.:bong:

[qh187]

if i wanted to do a clearcoat over top, can i polish my basecoat and lay clear over that to get an extra shine? or do I lay clear over top of my last coat?

[88Accord-DX]

if i wanted to do a clearcoat over top, can i polish my basecoat and lay clear over that to get an extra shine? or do I lay clear over top of my last coat?
Well, if your doing this roller brush job, you better wet sand the base coat nice & even before you lay clear on. Yeah, lay the clear over your last coat of base. Personally, I wouldn't lay clear on using a roller brush, just don't make sense unless you like wet sanding a lot.

[REn0]

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/5330/p11602043as.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/4408/p11602060fn.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/395/p11602106kg.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Here's mine

[Pico]

Looks good Reno
Got any outside pics.

[REn0]

Looks good Reno
Got any outside pics.
Nothing yet, I just took these right now, cuz I put my corners in and its dark outside anyway, ill have some later this week

[Civic Accord Honda]

nice man nice just paint around the edges and your set

[Civic Accord Honda]

i am going to do this in the summer but for now i am going to do a rattel can job

[musclecarboy]

SWEEEET! I was just debating with my bro about paint on his '88 accord 4-dr and he was complaining about the cost but i think we've found the solution! If i do the 2 coats & wetsand, 2 coats & wetsand, 2 coats & wetsand and get a nice smooth finish should I shoot some clear over top to give it the shine? Also, what colours can this method be used for? (we were thinking either a black or white, but all options are open).

thanks guys.
-Tom

[gp02a0083]

black will show everything , white kinda hides stuff . alltho i did see reasonable cheap paint at advanced auto parts today , liek $20 a quart of paint but its duplicolor i dunno how good it is

[brownj218]

I'm trying it. I just gotta get my bodywork done, which should be probably in the next week or 2. In the mean time, I am going to do a test on a door off my mom's old windstar. I'm buying paint and supplies thursday. Is anyone interested in me posting pics, or is the mopar website enuf?

[night]

I'm trying it. I just gotta get my bodywork done, which should be probably in the next week or 2. In the mean time, I am going to do a test on a door off my mom's old windstar. I'm buying paint and supplies thursday. Is anyone interested in me posting pics, or is the mopar website enuf?
you can do your whole car with an airbrush if you want.
after mine was painted i took the left over paint and some clear and did all the trim with it and it came out great.
although i was dumb and didnt ask the body guy so i didnt realize it had to have hardener for it to ever dry. so it was tacky for a while and collected dust, but i will fix it someday.
anyway, despite that stupidity it came out great.

and actual auto paint isnt that expensive. but clear is like 100 bucks a gallon.

[jennwv]

I was about to test this roll-on method on my junker b4 repainting my 88... but then a friend offered to loan me a sprayer. I just rebuilt my tranny and want my car to look decent. Any advice on which way to go?

[russiankid]

I was about to test this roll-on method on my junker b4 repainting my 88... but then a friend offered to loan me a sprayer. I just rebuilt my tranny and want my car to look decent. Any advice on which way to go?
I would get some scrap parts from a junkyard, and practice spraying before i would spray a car.

[bushbean]

Do you re-use the foam roller? If so, how do you clean it after each use?

[2oodoor]

wow, going back to read my own post on this old thread. I was out of my ever lovin mind, I don't even remember writing it. That was a little over a week after having back surgury and pretty heavily medicated :lol:
Basically nothing was said that was not true but dam.
Don't do drugs folks, even though you think you are all together you really ain't and it shows... anyway back on topic
It is very possible to get a nice look out of rattle cans, and brushes or rollers. Use high quality materials, no nylon bristles, and pay close attention to your environment. Sanding- very important to use sponge blocks for wet and hard blocks for dry. Use a tack rag, have two on hand if you can.Also, there is equipment out there now that You can use to spray professional automotive paint without having large shop two stage compressor and expensive paint guns. Harbor freight, pep boys, for example have paint guns that clone the high dollar ones.. for a tenth of the price , just fine for personal hobby use.
Also You can use small oil-less compressors, hooked together to an extra air tank you use for tires.

[brownj218]

dont do it!!! lol, i did it on my moms van hood, after about 6 months now i guess, its peeling like a mother. and i prepped it real good. i had the time cuz i was only doing a hood. ya, i think its the canadian winters, but its peeling everywhere. its been outside since i painted it

[Civic Accord Honda]

wow, going back to read my own post on this old thread. I was out of my ever lovin mind, I don't even remember writing it. That was a little over a week after having back surgury and pretty heavily medicated :lol:
Basically nothing was said that was not true but dam.
Don't do drugs folks, even though you think you are all together you really ain't and it shows... anyway back on topic
It is very possible to get a nice look out of rattle cans, and brushes or rollers. Use high quality materials, no nylon bristles, and pay close attention to your environment. Sanding- very important to use sponge blocks for wet and hard blocks for dry. Use a tack rag, have two on hand if you can.Also, there is equipment out there now that You can use to spray professional automotive paint without having large shop two stage compressor and expensive paint guns. Harbor freight, pep boys, for example have paint guns that clone the high dollar ones.. for a tenth of the price , just fine for personal hobby use.
Also You can use small oil-less compressors, hooked together to an extra air tank you use for tires.
would a Elec paint gun work?

[bank2me]

Where do I get Tremclad I was told rustolem professional in gray gallon is equivalent to tremclad. Does it have to be oil based or no? No one around here has heard of Tremclad. Any pictures of the rustoleum gallon would be appreciated.

[Civic Accord Honda]

yall haave walmart rite? go get the rustolem in the quarts from there they should be like $7-8bucks thats what most ppl use theres some how toos and shit on like honda-tech

[partyharty]

Just thought I would give you all a chance to see what it is about.

http://www.chrisrowland.com/honda1.htm

This is my car and I have been working on it. Approx 4 days worth of work (working about 1-2 hours a day at the most).

For a 20 year old car I don't think it looks too bad.

Also I haven't polished it up yet so it will be looking better than the pictures (I also have to remove the painters tape, fix mistakes, etc).

[ghettogeddy]

Just thought I would give you all a chance to see what it is about.

http://www.chrisrowland.com/honda1.htm

This is my car and I have been working on it. Approx 4 days worth of work (working about 1-2 hours a day at the most).

For a 20 year old car I don't think it looks too bad.

Also I haven't polished it up yet so it will be looking better than the pictures (I also have to remove the painters tape, fix mistakes, etc).

nice timeline

[Civic Accord Honda]

Just thought I would give you all a chance to see what it is about.

http://www.chrisrowland.com/honda1.htm

This is my car and I have been working on it. Approx 4 days worth of work (working about 1-2 hours a day at the most).

For a 20 year old car I don't think it looks too bad.

Also I haven't polished it up yet so it will be looking better than the pictures (I also have to remove the painters tape, fix mistakes, etc).
damn that looks pretty good i was going to do mine that same color

[partyharty]

damn that looks pretty good i was going to do mine that same color

I like it, I was really getting worried about it because when I first started painting, the color was John Deer Green :wtf:

Once I got a few coats on the car, the color started darkening up. It is still not what I consider hunter green but it is getting there.

[Civic Accord Honda]

I like it, I was really getting worried about it because when I first started painting, the color was John Deer Green :wtf:

Once I got a few coats on the car, the color started darkening up. It is still not what I consider hunter green but it is getting there.
yeah i think ima get a can this summmer and try it out on my trunk and if i cant get it to come out good il just sand it back down and primer it again lol

[partyharty]

Be warned the first few coats will look like crap, if you are doing it right , they will not cover up the paint job below. It took 4-5 coats before I started thinking that it might actually work

(I was checking out paint for my spray rig, because I thought the current paintjob was ruined, I decided to finish up with the paint I had and in the end it started looking a lot better)

[bank2me]

Hey Partyharty nice looking paintjob. What kind of paint did you use? Did you wetsand after 2 coats? I want to do mine one of these days I think I'll go over the stock paint like you did.

[BITESIZE]

Partyharty, did you even do any prep work? Did you paint right over the pinstripe lol?

[partyharty]

Hey Partyharty nice looking paintjob. What kind of paint did you use? Did you wetsand after 2 coats? I want to do mine one of these days I think I'll go over the stock paint like you did.

I used rustoleum professional hunter green.

I wetsanded after about 3 coats (I started painting one day and didn't quite finish the car so I just did 2 more coats and wet sanded after that. The rustoleum will stick to the stock paint fine. I did screw up a place on my car where the rubber molding is, I taped up around the molding so I could spray the bedliner coating on the moldings. When I pulled the tape the paint was not dry enough and it pulled some of the paint off below it. I get to fix that. Did the other side with no problems whatsoever so I am guessing that the paint simply was not cured enough on that side of the car.

[partyharty]

Partyharty, did you even do any prep work? Did you paint right over the pinstripe lol?

ya caught me :)

I did a little prep work. I sanded the car with 600 grit paper before I painted. I tried to remove the pinstripe and it was not coming off (I tried a heat gun, taking it to the car wash and using the high pressure sprayer to "cut" it off, I even tried to use a scraper to just scrape it off (ended up messing up the paint around the pin stripe). I got a lot of it off but there was a lot that simply would not come off. As I was going for functional more than looks, I elected to paint over what was left.

I am planning to run another pinstripe over it (in the same place) when I am done so that way it won't look too bad. It needs something to break up the green now (lol)

[bank2me]

Nice Harty do you have any pics of the car now? and how many gallons of paint did you use?

[partyharty]

Nice Harty do you have any pics of the car now? and how many gallons of paint did you use?

I just updated the site

http://www.chrisrowland.com/honda1.htm

I used about 1.5 quarts.

-Chris

[bank2me]

Party how did you wetsand yours? And how long did you wait after painting to wetsand?

[partyharty]

Party how did you wetsand yours? And how long did you wait after painting to wetsand?

I tried to pretty much stick to a 2 a day regiment :)

Meaning I would usually wet sand in the morning, wash down the car, dry it off with a cloth and then paint, then I would roll it again in the afternoon. I am on my 2nd wet sanding and my 5ish coat of paint (some area's have 4 and some have 5).

Now yesterday I just did a little touch up to several area's and wet sanded (it was going to rain). It is supposed to be good weather this weekend and I am hoping to finish it up by Sunday.

and to answer a question you had on another thread, I have washed the car down with a hose (just with the pressure from the house) within 12-24 hours of painting but I would not use a power sprayer for a while. The paint takes a while to dry. I have a couple of places where I taped the car (for trim and what not) and when I pulled off the tape a small section of paint came up with it (because it was not dry enough).

[bank2me]

Harty Did you use just the foam on the roller or did you put the fuzzy fabric over the foam and paint it that way? I'm gonna start today on my hatch and see what happens.Also did you wipe the car with mineral spirits after painting:gun:?

[partyharty]

Harty Did you use just the foam on the roller or did you put the fuzzy fabric over the foam and paint it that way? I'm gonna start today on my hatch and see what happens.Also did you wipe the car with mineral spirits after painting:gun:?

I did wipe the car with mineral spirits each time BEFORE I painted it. Since I was painting outside, this allowed me to wipe off all the pollen, bugs, etc

I just used the foam on the roller (not sure what you are talking about regarding the "fuzzy fabric". Be sure to get the right roller though, pretty much anything else leaves a pattern in the paint.

[bank2me]

Thanks Party for the help my rollers came with the fabric you put over the foam and then paint. I will just use the foam then. Maybe I'll try wiping the car with mineral spirits first. Do you know if the rustoleum will be ok over bondo?

[partyharty]

Thanks Party for the help my rollers came with the fabric you put over the foam and then paint. I will just use the foam then. Maybe I'll try wiping the car with mineral spirits first. Do you know if the rustoleum will be ok over bondo?

I did not use bondo but I believe that it will work. Check out the thread over on moparparts (do a google search for $50 paint and mopar and it should be the first result). I actually finished my car tonight (pictures are up at my site).

[Ichiban]

I have a couple of places where I taped the car (for trim and what not) and when I pulled off the tape a small section of paint came up with it (because it was not dry enough).

You're usually supposed to pull the tape off when the paint is still wet. This prevents the tape from peeling the paint off. However, since you're obviously doing many coats, I'm really not sure what would work best for you.

[partyharty]

You're usually supposed to pull the tape off when the paint is still wet. This prevents the tape from peeling the paint off. However, since you're obviously doing many coats, I'm really not sure what would work best for you.

You are correct. This was one of the things I figured out afterwards. The good thing is that I was able to fix it up in the end so it is really hard to tell where the paint was pulled up.

This is my first car to paint so I did have a bit of a learning curve. I am pretty sure if I had picked up a spray gun though I could have really done some damage :wave:

[bank2me]

Harty How long did you wait between painting separate coats? How long do you wait til wetsanding it?

[partyharty]

Harty How long did you wait between painting separate coats? How long do you wait til wetsanding it?

Usually about 8 hours between coats. If you paint a second coat b4 the first is dried then you will have problems. Wetsanding was done pretty much 8 hours after the paint was put on the car.

[bank2me]

So Harty I think I will put a few coats on tommorow, I don't have to work so I'm going to take advantage of it. I should get pics up.

[partyharty]

sounds great. I would like to see your results.

[bank2me]

Hey harty what did you mean orange peel? You said you sand til there is no more orange peel.

[bank2me]

Hey Harty I painted yesterday and was going to continue today but is going to rain. But lookks decent so far. I'm not sure what the orange peel is though.

[chowder]

what would i do if i want to take my unpainted bumpers and side trim and paint them a gloss black, what kind of paint you recommend for the unpainted bumbers, and would rollers really be more usefull on those pieces then spraying? and how much would a buffer/wet sander cost for someone who doesnt own that equipment

[bank2me]

what would i do if i want to take my unpainted bumpers and side trim and paint them a gloss black, what kind of paint you recommend for the unpainted bumbers, and would rollers really be more usefull on those pieces then spraying? and how much would a buffer/wet sander cost for someone who doesnt own that equipment

Hey chowder I finished the $50 job on my car and it turned out decent but i went with black (wouldnt reccomend black). I just painted over my bumpers cause my car came with fuckin plastic unpainted bumpers. They turned out fine. The rollers will do the job.

[lostforawhile]

what would i do if i want to take my unpainted bumpers and side trim and paint them a gloss black, what kind of paint you recommend for the unpainted bumbers, and would rollers really be more usefull on those pieces then spraying? and how much would a buffer/wet sander cost for someone who doesnt own that equipmentget some of the nappa brand flexible bumper primer and spray them after cleaning them really well, it's a high build flex primer,so if you do several coats you can wet sand it. i don't know what would be the point of using a roller on your bumper when you can use a few cans of quality bumper paint in spray cans. of course you can do the cheap route and paint right over the plastic with the wrong paint,then have it flake off in six months. you don't need a sander to do it anyway,you wet sand it by hand.

[chowder]

l cause there isnt enough bumber black in the world to get my bumpers black again the sun has taken them. so i figured i just paint them black instead. and thanks

[Civic Accord Honda]

hes talking about repainting them with the oem black made for bumpers lol
this
http://www.duplicolor.com/gallery/gallery_images/can_bumber.jpg
i use this now though
http://images.orgill.com/200x200/0592543.jpg

[chowder]

how long does that krylon last and how easy is it to apply

[codyJDM]

It lasts forever, I use it myself. It has a really wide-spray nozzle so its really easy to apply.

[Civic Accord Honda]

its great paint and easy to use mayne
get satin or semi satin

[codyJDM]

And remember, 99% prep, 1% paint.

[2oodoor]

this stuff is awesome, only available from the guy with the white van parked at the end of the abandon parking lot in YOUR CITY HERE down the road from walgreens
http://wurthindustry.thomasnet.com/Asset/Flexible%20trim%20Paint%20Satin%20Black.jpg

[lostforawhile]

you can get the quality stuff like that from any good automotive paint store . for anyone who hasn't gone in there,thats where you get the good stuff in cans

[Low_Rida]

When you say duplicolor...you mean in the can...not spray?

Correct you just search for the paint in a can with that name select your color and get a very fine roller and wetsand after 6-10hours (depending on where your painting), re-coat immediatly, use about 3/4 of a can depending on the size of your car. Best part about this is its fool proof after you thin it and i can do it in my garage!

Truth is i bought rattle cans and was going to paint my car but i said screw that when i read this post. Thx 3Geez!

[RandyAM]

*jizz*

totally doing this in the spring....

[gp02a0083]

you can get the quality stuff like that from any good automotive paint store . for anyone who hasn't gone in there,thats where you get the good stuff in cans

I agree, it would be rare to find a high quality product from a chain store. IMO this is the "RICER" way out lol. A rattle can can never reproduce the same atomization/spray pattern than a real gun can put down.

[Invisibro]

has anyone used a matte paint for this method? ex: matte black, white, blue. also called flat.

[12v]

I know this might be gravedigging but....

We don't have tremclad/rustoleum in New Zealand.

Would this paint below work if I wanted to paint my car :P

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/paint/auction-436083641.htm

I was think of just sanding it to the metal and then give it a few coats of primer with a spray can. Then rolling on that white paint above :D

[RAZR]

I know this might be gravedigging but....

We don't have tremclad/rustoleum in New Zealand.

Would this paint below work if I wanted to paint my car :P

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/paint/auction-436083641.htm

I was think of just sanding it to the metal and then give it a few coats of primer with a spray can. Then rolling on that white paint above :D

Dont sand down to bare metal. It will be very hard to bond paint. The stock paint is a great base for more coats of paint. Just sand the entire car. But not to bare metal.

[Dr_Snooz]

I gotta say that I wouldn't do this method. It is cheap, but good GOD what a lot of work. You paint on a thin coat and then sand like a mofo for a few years. Do that fifty times and you'll have results like the pic in about 17 years. I would buy a cheap sprayer from Harbor Freight and build a cheap wood-frame booth in my yard. Just me though. I think rattle-canning anything is generally frowned upon here.

[Crazy_C]

I've roller painted quite a few cars over the years, done a few gloss, a couple metallic and a huge amount of matt ones, and it's not that bad really.

Sanding down the creases however can be a real pain in the ass, like on the Accords where the hood is raised, sanding that little edge would be a pain to get it evenly sanded, but it can be done quickly and easily with a bit of practice.


First car I roller painted was a Volvo 940 station wagon, and it took a grand total of 3 hours to do the paint job, including prep time. Admittedly that was matt black so a bit easier, and no sanding every couple of coats, but you can get awesome results with a roller.



I would advise getting a spare hood first of all to practice on though, just so you know what you're doing before you actually get stuck in there y'know?

[POS carb]

i'm trying this on the 3gee right now, super ghetto, I'll sneak in some pics tomorrow.
I'm impressed so far.

[Cmunsterman]

i'm trying this on the 3gee right now, super ghetto, I'll sneak in some pics tomorrow.
I'm impressed so far.

Just make sure you take your time..I did this to my 3gee a few months ago and it looked great after the first 4 coats but wasn't fully covered and i didn't sand it down before adding a fifth coat and it ended up looking terrible and the end paint job after 6 coats looked terrible, i'm in the process of repainting it now (with a gun) it definitely would have looked very nice had i taken my time and remembered to sand it

[Dr_Snooz]

i'm trying this on the 3gee right now, super ghetto, I'll sneak in some pics tomorrow.
I'm impressed so far.

Can't wait to see the results.

When is someone on this board going to do a vinyl wrap?

[gfrg88]

Go to harbor freight, buy the really cheap electric house paint sprayer, spray it. looks better, and easier :)

[POS carb]

Put one coat yesterday around noon, a second last night around 9. even though it's in my garage there are random bugs and debris in it. Hopefully wetsand will fix this.
I'll post a pic tonight

[POS carb]

OK,
did the roof hood and front fenders 2 coats. Sanded the hood and gave it a 3rd coat last night... gonna practice my sanding on the hood because its dented and will be replaced if this works. Not sure how much sanding I need to do, I may have over done it a bit...

2nd coat dry
http://carphotos2.cardomain.com/images/0015/85/99/15985899_large.jpg



sanding 2nd coat :chainsaw:
http://carphotos4.cardomain.com/images/0015/95/10/15985901_large.jpg

http://carphotos3.cardomain.com/images/0015/95/20/15985902_large.jpg



Sanded (over-sanded??)
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/images/0015/95/30/15985903_large.jpg


3rd coat (tried to go a lot thinner on this one, but too many runs for my taste)
http://carphotos4.cardomain.com/images/0015/95/40/15985904_large.jpg
http://carphotos3.cardomain.com/images/0015/95/50/15985905_large.jpg

[gfrg88]

looking good. What grit you using on the wetsanding? I've done two coats in between the sanding

[Cmunsterman]

OK,
did the roof hood and front fenders 2 coats. Sanded the hood and gave it a 3rd coat last night... gonna practice my sanding on the hood because its dented and will be replaced if this works. Not sure how much sanding I need to do, I may have over done it a bit...


i did two coats between each sanding. and for my last coat i did one and then sanded and thats when it started to look rough and uneven, so i just decided to keep it that way and buy a paint gun and do it better. but i'm sure if you take your time unlike i did it will look really nice!!

[import racer]

You should use a rubber sanding block so u get a flat panel without finger marks.

[89HatchbackLxi]

Put one coat yesterday around noon, a second last night around 9. even though it's in my garage there are random bugs and debris in it. Hopefully wetsand will fix this.
I'll post a pic tonight

If doing this in your garage, try wetting the floor before you start painting. It helps to keep some of the dust and other debris from getting in your paintjob.

[Dr_Snooz]

POS Carb, I think your experience has pretty much confirmed all my suspicions about this method. I expected debris to be a real problem. I couldn't see any way to wet sand without taking more off the edges than off the flats and I expected that the sanding between coats would take most of the paint off. I think you're doing it right. It's just not a good method. You have to be really, really broke to do it this way. If you can swing it at all, then buy a gun from Harbor Freight or eBay. Build your own booth out of PCV and plastic wrap and get done in a week.

[Civic Accord Honda]

try using a higher grit of sand paper and swing by harbor freight and pick up a $1 sanding block. will make it much easier. and as 88hatchbacklxi said. wet the floor to get the dust down. i bought some tractor green paint to do this. but haven’t bought a car to put it on yet haha

[POS carb]

very humid yesterday, didn't want to risk a hazy coat so I didn't paint. I sanded the paint at 6 and at 9 it was still wet :(
I'll give it a shot tonight

[POS carb]

3rd coat on the roof:
http://carphotos4.cardomain.com/images/0015/28/49/15988294_large.jpg



3rd coat on the front:
http://carphotos3.cardomain.com/images/0015/28/69/15988296_large.jpg


yep...
http://carphotos3.cardomain.com/images/0015/28/59/15988295_large.jpg

[Civic Accord Honda]

looking much better!

[import racer]

Looking better man.

[MessyHonda]

that looks really good

[POS carb]

Coming along nicely. You can see i didn't bother to fill the dents because i really didn't expect this to work

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/images/0015/69/37/15989673_large.jpg

[Dr_Snooz]

Not too shabby sir. Looks much better than I would have expected. How many coats is that now?

[Civic Accord Honda]

damnnnn i think i need to get some black and do that to the civic coupe..faded rattle can and pealing clear coat FTL

[POS carb]

this sucks. the paint looks awesome but I can't keep debris out. it looks great from 3 feet away but up close there are little specs everywhere. dust and hairs and bugs are pissing me off :banghead:
this is a great budget paint job as long as you can have a cleanroom to paint it in and if you did you may as well spray it.

[cygnus x-1]

this sucks. the paint looks awesome but I can't keep debris out. it looks great from 3 feet away but up close there are little specs everywhere. dust and hairs and bugs are pissing me off :banghead:
this is a great budget paint job as long as you can have a cleanroom to paint it in and if you did you may as well spray it.


It's going to be pretty difficult to not get specs unless you can filter the air somehow. There are all kinds of particles and stuff floating around in the air that you never see. Ever notice how the air seems clearer right after it rains? That's because it is. You might get better results if you can paint right after a good rain. It might also help to build a plastic tent around the area to be painted to keep the bugs out and air movement to a minimum.

It does look pretty good though. What kind of paint are you using?

C|

[lostscotiaguy]

Damn this post is making me want to try this myself! Too bad i live in an apt complex....my Prelude is WAY overdue for a paint job, and this would be just the thing to bring her back. The interior is solid and spotless but my paint job makes me look like a tweaker.
I'm really liking this post though, thanks for the pics POS Carb.

[POS carb]

if I wetsand it (1200 grit) I can get most of the specs out and it's very smooth, I just can't get a good gloss after I sand, it comes out a bit less glossy than the dried coat... This is the first car I've ever painted so I'm practicing different combinations of sanding, scratch remover, and glaze to see what gives me the best result. I managed to get a nice smooth finish and reflection but if you look at it dead on there are lots of little scratches going everywhere, not sure what to do. I'm going to do one more sanding and seal up the garage tomorrow and post some pics
I'm using Sherwin Williams Sea Guard 1000 black gloss thinned with mineral spirits

[cygnus x-1]

if I wetsand it (1200 grit) I can get most of the specs out and it's very smooth, I just can't get a good gloss after I sand, it comes out a bit less glossy than the dried coat... This is the first car I've ever painted so I'm practicing different combinations of sanding, scratch remover, and glaze to see what gives me the best result. I managed to get a nice smooth finish and reflection but if you look at it dead on there are lots of little scratches going everywhere, not sure what to do. I'm going to do one more sanding and seal up the garage tomorrow and post some pics
I'm using Sherwin Williams Sea Guard 1000 black gloss thinned with mineral spirits


1200 is pretty fine but I know you can get up to 2000 at least. That might do the trick. If it's still hazy you could try waxing it. Once you do that though you wouldn't be able to paint it again without stripping off the wax.

C|

[2ndGenGuy]

If the 2000 doesn't do the trick, maybe you will need to hit it with some polishing compound? I think the idea is to really go finer and finer with the grit until you can't see the haze or scratches anymore.

[gfrg88]

def have to polish! This paint will never look good unless you do that... Here's a link (http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?40341-My-quot-rustoleum-50-roll-on-paint-job-quot)to VERY good way of doing this...

[import racer]

Wet sand with 2000-3000 wet paper then buff it out.

[Civic Accord Honda]

yeah def need to use atleast 2000 and then buff it out with a cheap $10 walmart buffer....made some of the spray paint jobs ive done look glossy as hell and clean.....and yes bugs and debris cause rage!

[Dr_Snooz]

If the 2000 doesn't do the trick, maybe you will need to hit it with some polishing compound? I think the idea is to really go finer and finer with the grit until you can't see the haze or scratches anymore.

This. You go progressively finer with the sandpaper. Then move to polishing compounds. You can get some very fine grain polishing compounds at paint and body stores. Finish up with a clay bar and six coats of wax and it will really pop.

[POS carb]

i gotta do some hunting around. the finest I could find is 1200 grit at harbor freight

[Civic Accord Honda]

autozone should have it lol...my HF had 1200 and then 2500... i wanted 1500 and 2000 :lol:

[POS carb]

def have to polish! This paint will never look good unless you do that... Here's a link (http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?40341-My-quot-rustoleum-50-roll-on-paint-job-quot)to VERY good way of doing this...

thanks for the link. I'll use those steps on the next parts I do.

dried coat debris shot:
http://carphotos3.cardomain.com/images/0015/95/01/15995910_large.jpg


decided to practice polishing on the damaged hood
wetsanded most of the hood with 1000 grit:
http://carphotos4.cardomain.com/images/0015/95/11/15995911_large.jpg


working on the left section of the damaged hood:
http://carphotos3.cardomain.com/images/0015/95/31/15995913_large.jpg



I decided to hit it with the scratch remover again and got this (no wax or glaze yet):
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/images/0015/95/90/15995909_large.jpg

[Dr_Snooz]

:(

[Civic Accord Honda]

that looks pretty good when its shiny like that!. i think ill def be trying this on the coupe in summer unless i scavenge up the money and want to macco it lol...car is made out of bondo so its not worth anything expensive haha

[JJ'sAccord]

I tried this a the other day a slightly different method but i will share when i get final results

[JJ'sAccord]

I tried this a the other day a slightly different method but i will share when i get final results

my canvas:
7934

7935

7936

7937

7939

7940

7941

7938

[JJ'sAccord]

As you can see thats only coat 2 and no wet sanding yet.... so far i have done 6 coats with no wetsanding. i let it dry to see how the finish would be... to my amazement it actually wasn't as orange peely as i thought it would be... i have more pics coming soon. also when i am done i will take sun photos to show off the paint job. this is my first time ever trying to paint a car... i will show you the materials i used and what the hood and headlight look like now that it is completely dry.... (my prep work was slacking) but even then i am highly impressed with the outcome

i picked up everything but sandpaper at walmart of all places(paint was like 8.50/Qt) I got gloss black as you can see
7942
i mixed the paint to about water consistency(thinned it wil oderless mineral spirits)

along with a high density foam roller
7943

hood dried after 6 coats of paint(a little orange peel and a couple spots you can see lines from roller, but once i sand it should blend it)
7944
7945

[JJ'sAccord]

As you can see thats only coat 2 and no wet sanding yet.... so far i have done 6 coats with no wetsanding. i let it dry to see how the finish would be... to my amazement it actually wasn't as orange peely as i thought it would be... i have more pics coming soon. also when i am done i will take sun photos to show off the paint job. this is my first time ever trying to paint a car... i will show you the materials i used and what the hood and headlight look like now that it is completely dry.... (my prep work was slacking) but even then i am highly impressed with the outcome

i picked up everything but sandpaper at walmart of all places(paint was like 8.50/Qt) I got gloss black as you can see
7942
i mixed the paint to about water consistency(thinned it wil oderless mineral spirits)

along with a high density foam roller
7943

hood dried after 6 coats of paint(a little orange peel and a couple spots you can see lines from roller, but once i sand it should blend it)
7944
7945

the headlight turned out amazing with a nice glossy finish without buffing7946

[JJ'sAccord]

now granted i realize its not 3k paint job quality but for $25 i spent on hood and both headlights to get prep'd and painted and ill finish it with wet sanding 4-6 more coats and polishing compound... on a budget i doubt even the cheapest discounted paints can come close.... i wont roll the whole car like the guy in a forum i read (who gave me this technique) but i will go to harbor frieght and pick up a 30dollar gravity fed spray gun and spray using this same paint thinned out with mineral spirits..... this seems like a really decent durable alternative to automotive paint.

[AC439]

ok, I read enough that I have decided its time to do it. My car looks horrible (Maaco paint 6 years ago). Wife said its too ugly and redneck and won't ride in it.

My 86 LXi is originally metallic grey (factory) in color. I'm just not too sure Rustoleum has a color that is close to it. POS Carb posted pics that looks very similar to the factory color of my car. But I googled the Rustoleum color and not too sure which one it is. I am afraid I may picked a grey color looks like a warship. I'm thinking another route is to change the color to red. I had a Corolla AE86 years ago that has red color with dary grey color bumper and trim but I'm afraid changing color of the car will get me in trouble (Florida) with DMV or insurance co. What do you guys think about color change ? POS Carb didn't posted which color of Rustoleum he was using.

[JJ'sAccord]

ok, I read enough that I have decided its time to do it. My car looks horrible (Maaco paint 6 years ago). Wife said its too ugly and redneck and won't ride in it.

My 86 LXi is originally metallic grey (factory) in color. I'm just not too sure Rustoleum has a color that is close to it. POS Carb posted pics that looks very similar to the factory color of my car. But I googled the Rustoleum color and not too sure which one it is. I am afraid I may picked a grey color looks like a warship. I'm thinking another route is to change the color to red. I had a Corolla AE86 years ago that has red color with dary grey color bumper and trim but I'm afraid changing color of the car will get me in trouble (Florida) with DMV or insurance co. What do you guys think about color change ? POS Carb didn't posted which color of Rustoleum he was using.

im sure you can get them to mix what ever paint you want. but you cannot do metallics with this cheap method.. just solid colors
to finish off my "master piece" i did this for less than $20 thanks to a guy i found on a different forum that just so happens to have posted here in this thread too

7982
7983
7984


no clear coat no spraying i did it with a high density foam roller and rustoleum stop rust enamel paint from walmart.

[AC439]

cool ! I didn't know they can mix color. Single color is fine with me. What color did you choose ? Black ?

[JJ'sAccord]

cool ! I didn't know they can mix color. Single color is fine with me. What color did you choose ? Black ?

yea gloss black. Like i said man it turned out amazing... i will post some before, during and after pictures soon.

they have flat, semi-gloss, and gloss in the rustoleum stop rust protective enamel paint that i used.

[AC439]

JJ, I just went to Lowes and talked to the paint guy. They said they don't mix color. Whatever standard colors show on the shelf are all they have. So, I'm back to square one.

I don't like that smoke grey, its like a battle ship color. Not sure if I will get into trouble changing the color of the car although FL does not have a law to report change in vehicle color, some people said the cops will pull you over if the color doesn't match what the registration is.

So, I'm down to black or red and I will check with tag office to see if I need to update vehicle info after painting.

** My other idea is to buy grey and black and mix them for charcoal grey. Will it works ?

Any advice is highly appreciated.

[Oldblueaccord]

JJ, I just went to Lowes and talked to the paint guy. They said they don't mix color. Whatever standard colors show on the shelf are all they have. So, I'm back to square one.

I don't like that smoke grey, its like a battle ship color. Not sure if I will get into trouble changing the color of the car although FL does not have a law to report change in vehicle color, some people said the cops will pull you over if the color doesn't match what the registration is.

So, I'm down to black or red and I will check with tag office to see if I need to update vehicle info after painting.

** My other idea is to buy grey and black and mix them for charcoal grey. Will it works ?

Any advice is highly appreciated.

We used to use tractor paint like at farm and family stores it was usually about 40 bucks a gallon.

[AC439]

Report: I found a youtube video about someone simulated smoke grey color by mixing Rustoleum black and aluminum together in a 5:1 ratio. I went to HD and got both of them and tried the 5 black to 1 aluminum mix. First, when I opened the aluminum can, I found a big chuck of semi solid substance at the bottom. I realized this is prob fine aluminum powder mixed into the paint that had settled when it was sitting on the shelf. I knew we can only do solid color (for rolling, not spraying) but I gave it a try anyway. If this doesn't work, I will just strip this off and redo it. Color came out really matching factory color but sure enough it doesn't work for roll on paint. It is also very hard to mix the two colors well.

I bought odorless mineral spirit as well from HD and to my surprise, it is not clear in color like thinner. It is like milk in color. I wonder if I got the wrong mineral spirit.

next plan: Get battle ship grey (they call it smoky grey) and mix with black to produce a charcoal grey color. I think the $50 budget won't be enough for my case.

[JJ'sAccord]

Bad ass remember the sand paper... wet or dry. And get rubbing compound and polishing compound. Thin it out alot you wont be sorry you can always make it thicker next coats. Im curious to see how this will turn out. My mineral spirits was clear lol but i doubt it matters much

[JJ'sAccord]

Report: I found a youtube video about someone simulated smoke grey color by mixing Rustoleum black and aluminum together in a 5:1 ratio. I went to HD and got both of them and tried the 5 black to 1 aluminum mix. First, when I opened the aluminum can, I found a big chuck of semi solid substance at the bottom. I realized this is prob fine aluminum powder mixed into the paint that had settled when it was sitting on the shelf. I knew we can only do solid color (for rolling, not spraying) but I gave it a try anyway. If this doesn't work, I will just strip this off and redo it. Color came out really matching factory color but sure enough it doesn't work for roll on paint. It is also very hard to mix the two colors well.

I bought odorless mineral spirit as well from HD and to my surprise, it is not clear in color like thinner. It is like milk in color. I wonder if I got the wrong mineral spirit.

next plan: Get battle ship grey (they call it smoky grey) and mix with black to produce a charcoal grey color. I think the $50 budget won't be enough for my case.

I thibk mixing will be fine.. you can do anything stores can do with the right equipment/ witts about you.

[AC439]

I spent some money past few days for tools (had none), sandpaper and paint etc so I can start tomorrow. I have decided to mix black with white (probably 7:1 ratio) for a deep grey. Will report here the result.

[JJ'sAccord]

bad ass man im looking forward to it. im curious. did you use the aluminum paint? or you went back to white?

[AC439]

Man ! My back hurts !

I started early this morning mostly working on getting the bad Maaco paint off the hood (3 hours). Bought a power sander with 60 grits but ended up using razor blade to scratch off all paints from the hood. Reason to do this first is the car was in minor accident many years ago and the body shop replaced the hood. The car has since went through another Maaco cheap job 7 years ago. There was no primer before the actual paint for sure.

I mixed the paint with only black and white rustoleum. I completely ditched the idea of aluminum in the mix. I put approx 10% of white to make it a dark charcoal grey which is the original color of the car (just like my avatar). I rolled one coat on the hood and it looks like hell for now (but sure better than before when paint was peeling off). Too bad I cannot do another coat later today due to visitors coming. But I will continue to do something to the car tomorrow, prob light sanding off some Maaco paint on the other part of the car and looking into applying another coat. I will also put more mineral spirit in the next mix to thin out more. The first coat was prob 30 to 40 % MS in paint.

I sure will post pic along the line. Now its nothing exciting yet.

[Dr_Snooz]

I bought odorless mineral spirit as well from HD and to my surprise, it is not clear in color like thinner. It is like milk in color. I wonder if I got the wrong mineral spirit.

I think it turns white if it gets too cold.

Can't wait to see pics.

[JJ'sAccord]

Man ! My back hurts !

I started early this morning mostly working on getting the bad Maaco paint off the hood (3 hours). Bought a power sander with 60 grits but ended up using razor blade to scratch off all paints from the hood. Reason to do this first is the car was in minor accident many years ago and the body shop replaced the hood. The car has since went through another Maaco cheap job 7 years ago. There was no primer before the actual paint for sure.

I mixed the paint with only black and white rustoleum. I completely ditched the idea of aluminum in the mix. I put approx 10% of white to make it a dark charcoal grey which is the original color of the car (just like my avatar). I rolled one coat on the hood and it looks like hell for now (but sure better than before when paint was peeling off). Too bad I cannot do another coat later today due to visitors coming. But I will continue to do something to the car tomorrow, prob light sanding off some Maaco paint on the other part of the car and looking into applying another coat. I will also put more mineral spirit in the next mix to thin out more. The first coat was prob 30 to 40 % MS in paint.

I sure will post pic along the line. Now its nothing exciting yet.

well thin that paint out to a milky consistency, i messed up on my first batch and made it too thick... means alot of elbow grease and sore backs. thankfully im only 26 so i was able to recover and get back in the next day. but trust me when i say the thinner the better. i would use 4 coats to begin with. then let it dry over night or longer. then wetsand with 400 grit-600 grit. just enough to take the defects away and blend the paint.(so you dont see roller marks. also i just dipped in my roller then shook it to get off any excess paint that may cause runs. and i just let the roller do the work for me. you will notice if you press down you will see air bubbles form. (we dont want that because obviously it causes orange peel pretty bad.)

after wet sanding with 4-600 grit. i would then apply 2-3 more coats and let it sit again and wetsand with 800. then repeat the process. 800 then 1000 then 1500 and even 2000 if you can find it. after you do the 1500/2000 you should then use rubbing compound and then polishing compound. good luck brother.!!!!

[AC439]

Today is raining so can't work on car but I took some pics:

I only worked on the hood and put one coat of rustoleum. The reflections on the headlight or side of the car is from the rain. The Maaco paint has long dried up and not smooth so only water will make it look reflective. You can see the effect of only one coat from the close up pics. Last pic I wiped some rain water off the hood and you can see it is not reflective yet. The color mix is right on I think.

[AC439]

I think it turns white if it gets too cold.

Can't wait to see pics.

I bought the Klean Green one and it is milky in color. I'm not sure if I should get the regular one which is clear.

[JJ'sAccord]

Today is raining so can't work on car but I took some pics:

I only worked on the hood and put one coat of rustoleum. The reflections on the headlight or side of the car is from the rain. The Maaco paint has long dried up and not smooth so only water will make it look reflective. You can see the effect of only one coat from the close up pics. Last pic I wiped some rain water off the hood and you can see it is not reflective yet. The color mix is right on I think.

that is mixed spot on! i would go a little thinner on the pain to avoid orange peel just for the first couple coats. then you can make it a little thicker. but damn its working like a charm huh?

[AC439]

question: after all the coats and wet sanding, how long do you wait for the paint to cure before buffing ?

[JJ'sAccord]

question: after all the coats and wet sanding, how long do you wait for the paint to cure before buffing ?

i did my last 2 thin coats let it sit for a day (roughly) then i wet sanded with 1500 grit. and used rubbing compound right away. of course you have to clean the hood after wet sanding and before buffing. i just wiped it dry with a cloth then proceeded to rubbing compound. then wiped off excess compound and went on to polishing.

so wet sand with 1000 grit. then wipe down let dry. then do 2 coats. wait for it to completely dry 24+ hours then wet sand with 1500-2000 grit then wash off the hood. wipe or let it air dry either way then you can immediately start polishing remember to follow to directions for polishing lol dont try to be a manly man haha just do your reading.

[AC439]

Ok, worked on it the whole afternoon. Finished up minor body rust repair with body filler took a lot of time. I rolled 2nd coat on the hood. Then I rolled the rest of the car for first coat. When I done with entire car, it was an hour and half later and the hood dried up and looks great. Much more reflections on the hood with 2nd coat.

I started to see bubbles after rolling the paint, but mostly on the area that has direct sunlight shine on it. I reused the roller which I think was probably the reason for it. Not sure what to do for the bubbles, worse case is to sand them all down and start again. But next coat will use a new roller. Maybe I am not thinning it enough (about 50/50 mix).

Last pic show left front of the car. Hood has 2nd coat drying up while the fender was just rolled with paint. My son likes it and asked if I can find an older car for him and do the same paint job, I said "Sure ! Let's get a Volvo 240 !" He was pissed. LOL

[AC439]

today's progress -

Start to see the great potential of this project. 3 coats on engine hood, 2 coats every where else. I sanded away the bubbles before painting today. Problem was I painted it under the sun yesterday. I moved the car half way into the garage today to avoid any sunlight so the bubbles were minimum. I have faith that me car will no longer be the ugliest car in any parking lot.

[JJ'sAccord]

today's progress -

Start to see the great potential of this project. 3 coats on engine hood, 2 coats every where else. I sanded away the bubbles before painting today. Problem was I painted it under the sun yesterday. I moved the car half way into the garage today to avoid any sunlight so the bubbles were minimum. I have faith that me car will no longer be the ugliest car in any parking lot.

great job man!!! keep up the faith. if it makes you feel anybetter i had the same problem. you are not suppose to roll off execess paint. just dip your roller and give it a light shake. and remember if you shake the can of paint you will have bubbles. stir this enamal paint do not shake. also thin it out more like 60 minerial spirits and 40paint or even less. the last couple of coats i did on my hood were prob. 75/25. but remember dont press down. let the roller just lightly go over. and do not go over the same spot multiple times. (i used 1 roller for my hood over a week span) then i swapped the roller and it was much better so try swapping to a new roller

[AC439]

First wet sanding with 500 grits today.

First major mistake learned on the engine hood. I took the hood down to bare metal but DID NOT put primer (someone on internet said no need and it will stick). Wet sanding taken rustoleum off (see pics). Other parts of the car with rustoleum over old paint is fine with wet sanding. Will take all paint off hood again and will prime, probably sand the metal down a little so primer will stick better.

Oh well....

[JJ'sAccord]

First wet sanding with 500 grits today.

First major mistake learned on the engine hood. I took the hood down to bare metal but DID NOT put primer (someone on internet said no need and it will stick). Wet sanding taken rustoleum off (see pics). Other parts of the car with rustoleum over old paint is fine with wet sanding. Will take all paint off hood again and will prime, probably sand the metal down a little so primer will stick better.

Oh well....


I brought one of my headlights to bare metal and wetsanded fine with no problem. did you use like 180 grit on the bare metal before applying the paint? i read that too and wanted to try it so i did and i was impressed.

im curious if you scuffed up that hood good enough for the paint to adhere to

[JJ'sAccord]

First wet sanding with 500 grits today.

First major mistake learned on the engine hood. I took the hood down to bare metal but DID NOT put primer (someone on internet said no need and it will stick). Wet sanding taken rustoleum off (see pics). Other parts of the car with rustoleum over old paint is fine with wet sanding. Will take all paint off hood again and will prime, probably sand the metal down a little so primer will stick better.

Oh well....

also make sure to wash the bare metal to remove any oils after you use the 180-220 grit paper before painting. even putting your hand on the damn car will not give good surface to bond to.

[AC439]

Just re did the hood. Removed all paint again down to bare metal. Then I used 220 grits hand sand all the bare metal different directions to make sure the primer has something to grip on. Applied one coat of rustoleum primer. Keeping finger crossed and see what happen when it dries.

Last time I didn't prime and didn't sand much. The bare metal was pretty smooth. This may be the reason the paint didn't attach well on it. This time hope the sanding and primer will do the trick.

[JJ'sAccord]

Just re did the hood. Removed all paint again down to bare metal. Then I used 220 grits hand sand all the bare metal different directions to make sure the primer has something to grip on. Applied one coat of rustoleum primer. Keeping finger crossed and see what happen when it dries.

Last time I didn't prime and didn't sand much. The bare metal was pretty smooth. This may be the reason the paint didn't attach well on it. This time hope the sanding and primer will do the trick.

it will. the guy i got this idea from said if you skimp on the prep you will pay for it at the end... i guess you were a hallmark for that modo haha ( sorry not to laugh but i totally understand your pain) i finished with the hood and i was sanding a run with 1500 grit. low and be hold the paint chipped due to trash or whatever underneath from me not making sure it was 100% clean. it chipped all the way down to the original paint. dead center in the hood. thankfully i knew it wasnt to to bad and i touched it up with the same paint but without diluting it and it looked amazing.

let me know if you have any questions brother, im really glad to see others trying what i have tried with great success!

[AC439]

Just wet sanded the primer with 500 grits. Some high spots were sanded back down to a little bare metal :(

So I'm going to wait for it to dry up a little and touching it up with some primer. Prob not going to paint or doing anything today due to slight rain. But the primer looks good after wet sanding.

[JJ'sAccord]

Just wet sanded the primer with 500 grits. Some high spots were sanded back down to a little bare metal :(

So I'm going to wait for it to dry up a little and touching it up with some primer. Prob not going to paint or doing anything today due to slight rain. But the primer looks good after wet sanding.

did you also roll on the primer?

and yea i bet it does. i wouldnt mind rolling on some practice runs of semi gloss or even flat to see how it turns out now that i know what the regular gloss looks like.

[AC439]

Yes I rolled on the primer, which produced more orange peel than the paint itself. I rolled on a coat of paint over primer since the afternoon wasn't raining. Definitely can see orange peel first coat over the primer and will need few more coats and wet sanding over the hood. However, the rest of the car looks better with paint after first wet sanding. Anyway, if I had put primer first, I would not have wasted time.

[Dr_Snooz]

Even after a paint has dried, it takes some time (like weeks) for it to achieve full hardness. Until that time, it is still very fragile and can be ruined easily. With the newer latex based paints, once a tiny patch lets go, it will begin tugging everything else off with it in a big gummy sheet. Be careful as you sand. Don't bear down too hard and move around a lot so that you don't get any one area too hot. The $50 paint job is cheap dollar-wise but incredibly expensive time-wise. Prepare yourself mentally, it's going to take a very, very, very long time to get the results you see in the pictures. Most paints are pretty forgiving and will bond securely to even the dodgiest of surfaces once fully cured. I wouldn't worry too much about prep and cleanliness and whatnot. I mean, do it right, but don't lay awake at night wondering if you got a thumbprint somewhere that will come back to haunt you. (That's the kind of stuff I do. LOL)

Keep up the good work.

[AC439]

Not at all a complaint about this job. Instead, this is a learning curve I prepared to spend a lot of time on it since I don't have the money for a professional paint job. If it fails, I have nothing to loose. The progress at this point is better than the bad peeling maaco paint anyway. I work on it a little bit a day at a time and I feel I'm getting closer and closer every time. I read people on internet saying they can get it done in 3 days. Technically yes but with paint not too cure and soft, its going to have some problems. I will take my time and get it done (maybe in a few more days).

[gp02a0083]

Even after a paint has dried, it takes some time (like weeks) for it to achieve full hardness. Until that time, it is still very fragile and can be ruined easily. With the newer latex based paints, once a tiny patch lets go, it will begin tugging everything else off with it in a big gummy sheet. Be careful as you sand. Don't bear down too hard and move around a lot so that you don't get any one area too hot. The $50 paint job is cheap dollar-wise but incredibly expensive time-wise. Prepare yourself mentally, it's going to take a very, very, very long time to get the results you see in the pictures. Most paints are pretty forgiving and will bond securely to even the dodgiest of surfaces once fully cured. I wouldn't worry too much about prep and cleanliness and whatnot. I mean, do it right, but don't lay awake at night wondering if you got a thumbprint somewhere that will come back to haunt you. (That's the kind of stuff I do. LOL)

Keep up the good work.

Some good advise right here!

As said use this as a learning experience for future paint projects. as Snooz said dont worry at this time about the prep work, however it is always good to be on point in that area. AS mentioned some paints are far more forgiving than others to contamination.

With automotive urethane's and enamel's the typical "full" cure time is roughly 120 days after being sprayed. Old school lacquer has a little shorter time frame. It is common in industry to nib and buff paint within hours of being removed from the spray booth. But with that said, booths are typically heated, accelerating the flash and initial cure times. Even with urethane clear coats , i prefer to sand them a few days after spraying, they tend to gum up like Snooz said about the latex based stuff.

[AC439]

Two pics at 4th coat (2 coats -> wet sanded 500 grits -> 2 more coats):

Yeah this is definitely a learning curve for me. For the last coat, I ditched the roller and only used a paint brush and I thinned the paint even more (like water consistency). The roller produces much more orange peels but the brush seems to be able to produce a smoother surface right after paint is applied.

From the pics, you can see the reflections of other objects. At this time, the smoothness and reflection is basically the same level as a cheap Maaco paint job. So at this point, the project is about half way done and I think it should come out good. I will give more time for the paint to cure.

[JJ'sAccord]

Two pics at 4th coat (2 coats -> wet sanded 500 grits -> 2 more coats):

Yeah this is definitely a learning curve for me. For the last coat, I ditched the roller and only used a paint brush and I thinned the paint even more (like water consistency). The roller produces much more orange peels but the brush seems to be able to produce a smoother surface right after paint is applied.

From the pics, you can see the reflections of other objects. At this time, the smoothness and reflection is basically the same level as a cheap Maaco paint job. So at this point, the project is about half way done and I think it should come out good. I will give more time for the paint to cure.

i think it turned out great man, cant wait to see final results. and yes the thinner the better for sure to give quickest dry times and less orange peel when i was doing it. i have put my project on hold for the time being so i an fix some motor issues ive been having. keep up the good work brother!!!

[Dr_Snooz]

Dang bro, that's almost as good as a spray job. Wow! I'm really impressed. You're definitely learning a lot.

[AC439]

Did another wet sanding (1000 grits) today and tried out a high density foam brush from walmart $0.72 each. I thinned out the paint way too much and it ran like crazy. The foam brush holding way too much paint and the paint drying too fast. Lesson learned. Prob have to wet sand again and reapply paint. Will be back on to a plain old paint brush.

[JJ'sAccord]

Did another wet sanding (1000 grits) today and tried out a high density foam brush from walmart $0.72 each. I thinned out the paint way too much and it ran like crazy. The foam brush holding way too much paint and the paint drying too fast. Lesson learned. Prob have to wet sand again and reapply paint. Will be back on to a plain old paint brush.

yea you have to apply it thin. i read where the guy that came up with this method used a foam brush for edges he said be careful not to put it on too heavy or it will run and it dries fast the thinner you make it. try just a light dab on the tip.. also my wife said dabbing foam in water letting it semi dry then painting with it will help. she uses that method with her make up to stop the foam from absorbing too much makeup. just a thought to try to help you out AC439

[AC439]

6th coat today.

Another major mistake - too windy ! I had the car half way inside the garage for painting. The front was inside, no wind. The rear and top exposed to too much wind. Now the front looks good but the top, back and rear quarter panel prob rear doors too need to be repaint. I'm still using paint brush and a new brush every time. Paint was thicker this time and perfect, not running like last time on the vertical sides.

Jobs like this just can't be rushed....shouldn't have done it today due to the windy condition. My plan is to back the car inside the so I'm going to reapply paint to the rear half and the top.

[JJ'sAccord]

man i dont give a damn if you are using a brush or a roller that car looks 100 times better with it painted like that. i cannot wait to finish up suspension/ motor work so i can completely paint my car too. im jealous right now haha

[AC439]

Ok, car has 6th coats all around and I have not done the final 1500 or 2000 grits wet sandings yet. I'm not sure how smooth I need to get the paint to be before the final wet sanding. Is some minor imperfection going to be taken care of by last wet sanding and polishing ? or mostly taken care of by polishing.

I drove it to work today and my coworkers said it looks good. I'm going to take some pics tomorrow and post it.

Should I wait until after polishing before I put back on the honda logos ?

[AC439]

Went outside for some pics today, a little sunny day. Six coats only, have not final wet sand or polished anything.

[AC439]

2 more pics: reflections from top is not too good, needs polishing, Engine hood seems giving a good reflection .

[JJ'sAccord]

2 more pics: reflections from top is not too good, needs polishing, Engine hood seems giving a good reflection .

wow!!!! before you do your wet sanding (final) let the paint sit for a couple days. let the enamel harden a bit. then i would use 1500 grit lightly then 2000 grit very very lightly. then i would wash the dirt and filth off the car. let it dry (or dry it your self) then use turtle wax rubbing compound. I picked both the rubbing compound and polish compound at autozone. it was cheap.

then after you put 2 or 3 coats of rubbing compound. wipe the car down again(with a clean 100% cotton rag)... i didn't rinse it or anything. then i went straight to polishing compound i used about 2 -3 coats you will see the finish and you can get a better finish the more coats you use. then i would throw the emblems on the car. that was my final step before driving it.
i also bought a little polishing kit that came with a foam wheel and a bonnet and some other polishing wheels. it really helps out saves the arms from too much manual labor haha
i hope this helps AC! let me know if you have any other questions brother

[AC439]

The rubbing and polishing compounds are the stuffs that confuse me. I don't quite understand their differences. Some said the polishing is fine cut while rubbing is not as fine cut in order to remove scratch marks. Some said just use the Meguire ultimate polishing compound and save a step. I sure will let it harden a bit before final wet sanding.

Also I don't see 1500 or 2000 sand paper in harbor fright. The highest they have is 1200. I also don't see these in Lowes. Not sure if Autozone has it ?

[JJ'sAccord]

The rubbing and polishing compounds are the stuffs that confuse me. I don't quite understand their differences. Some said the polishing is fine cut while rubbing is not as fine cut in order to remove scratch marks. Some said just use the Meguire ultimate polishing compound and save a step. I sure will let it harden a bit before final wet sanding.

Also I don't see 1500 or 2000 sand paper in harbor fright. The highest they have is 1200. I also don't see these in Lowes. Not sure if Autozone has it ?

it was hard to me to find 2000 grit but i found 1500 grit at home depot. im sure tractor supply co or walmart or even autozone has it.

and i googled it to find the difference. rubbing compound is to remove the surface damage. its a heavy duty type polish. and polish it for the final glass finish we look for.

i was scared to try the meguire though i read alot and watch alot of videos on them using it. i still went with turtle wax. and the rubbing compound honestly is important in my opinion it will remove imperfections from the wet sanding. then the polish will just make everything super glossy. but i used a lot of rubbing compound compared to polish.

once i used the rubbing compound it was pretty glossy then i hit it with a couple coats of polish. but then again your doing your entire car and i was only doing a hood.

i could see why people would say skip the rubbing compound and use meguire. just do your research before you make your decision. its all about opinon at this point lol apples to apples.

i would highly recommend buying a motorized polisher or a kit like i did for my battery drill it did great.


FYI: rubbing compound is like using 800 grit or 100 grit sand paper and polish is like using 1500-2000 if that helps any. its just stepping up the grit to a finer and finer grit to remove imperfections

[Dr_Snooz]

You should be able to find everything you could ever need at a body shop supply place.

Car's looking awesome! Proceed carefully though. You make the paint look too good, and you'll need to replace the trim. Replace the trim and you'll need to replace the emblems. Replace the emblems and...... Well, you know.

Nice work!

[AC439]

Well, ikr ! I surely will proceed slowly from this point. Will let the paint cure and harder a bit before next step. Thx both for comments.

[JJ'sAccord]

Well, ikr ! I surely will proceed slowly from this point. Will let the paint cure and harder a bit before next step. Thx both for comments.

i am very impressed i cannot wait until i am ready to paint my car fully!!!! get done fixing it up mechanically sound then my little dinosaur will be ready for paint!

[AC439]

Update: I waited 3 weeks then went get Turtle wax rubbing, polishing and spray wax today. I did the hood and headlights by hand. I think the paint really hardened and it was not easy to do it by hand. I skipped the final wet sanding (lazy me) and went straight to rubbing (x2), polishing (x2) then sprayed wax. I do not see a big difference compared to before. Anyway, orange peels becoming more apparent now. I'm considering getting a polisher and redo it. I may need to do 2000 wet sanding as well. You can compare the hood to the right fender (which has not polished or waxed, only 6th coats).

[JJ'sAccord]

wet sanding will get rid of the orange peel (atleast most of it) but other than the orange peel starting to show. IT LOOKS AMAZING!!!!! def. worth testing this out. now that you figured it out next time (if ever) you will fly right through it!!! great job man. glad you took what you read and applied it. i am not far behind you. i am finished with suspension fuel system coolant system about finished with oil system and then moving onto brakes!!! then ill paint again lol i couldnt justify painting my whole car when it wouldnt even make it to another state in the shape it was in lol

[AC439]

yeah, I am pleased with the result anyway. Tomorrow has to fix the tint - taking off and put new ones on. Windows can't roll down cause the tint is peeling off.

[JJ'sAccord]

yeah, I am pleased with the result anyway. Tomorrow has to fix the tint - taking off and put new ones on. Windows can't roll down cause the tint is peeling off.
awesome man, are you planning on doing that yourself too? ive never tinted anything but i will attempt to before i paint over the summer.

[AC439]

yes, I have tinted before. The biggest challenge for me is the inside rubber strip at the top of the door panel rubbing off the tint. I think it has hardened over the years and pressing against the tint. Also tugging the tint under that rubber strip is a pain so I would take door panel off to put tint on. While I have the door panel off, I am planning to trim the rubber strip so it won't press against the tint.

[JJ'sAccord]

Great idea man. I may need to do that as well!!! Thanks for the info.


That paint should be looking good now huh?

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk

[AC439]

I bought a DA polisher from HF with a few pads. I skipped the final wet sanding straight to compound. I then realized it wouldn't give a smooth surface (the turtle wax rubbing compound just doesn't have the cutting power). The paint has also hardened a lot. I bought some 2000 grits and started wet sanding and it did not cut much either. The layer of water is floating the sand paper. I have to go back to 1000 to 1500 grits then 2000 grits (have not started).

Tinting was a pain in the butt. Getting door panels off was a lot of work and the clips at the top edge were so difficult to come off.

Will post pics once I get a chance to go back to wet sanding and polishing.

[Dr_Snooz]

LOL. Yeah, those clips are a gem. I remember getting my car back from the dealer once long ago. They had removed the door panel and when they reinstalled it, they didn't even bother reconnecting those clips right. The panel was just resting on top of the clips. LOL

[AC439]

I worked on the roof, wet sanded with 1000 then to 2000. (I hated wet sanding because I don't have the faith I can get the reflection back doing compounding and polishing.)

I then used the DA polisher with an orange cutting pad and did about 4-5 passes using turtle wax rubbing compound over a period of 2 days. I am getting back a lot of reflections but those high spots wet sanded by 2000 grits still not giving good reflection and hazy looking closeup. I don't think I have developed the skills yet with the DA polisher. I ruin a pad already setting speed to 5 and using too much pressure pressing down. Now I slow it down to 3 - 4 and let the weight of the polisher to do the job. Also, I'm not sure how much rubbing compound to use. Basically is trial and error for now.

I am thinking I should move on to using polishing compound for 2 - 3 passes then wax it and see what happens.

[AC439]

Worked some more today - One pass of polishing compound then lazy spray wax. Somehow cannot get the shine no matter how many passes of rubbing or polishing. Today is a bit cloudy so the pics may look darker.

[JJ'sAccord]

Worked some more today - One pass of polishing compound then lazy spray wax. Somehow cannot get the shine no matter how many passes of rubbing or polishing. Today is a bit cloudy so the pics may look darker.

love it man! looks a whole lot better in my opinion. i cannot wait to paint this spring!!!! or summer whenever i finish with a couple more things

[Dr_Snooz]

The lower grit papers will cut deep gouges in the paint. You slowly transition to the higher grits in an effort to remove the deep gouges until you get a mirror smooth result. You'll have to spend more time with the higher grits to get down to remove the deep gouges left by the previous grit. If you move too fast, you don't get them all out. You end up removing a lot of paint before it's all done.

Another possibility is that you need to do something like a clay bar.

[AC439]

When I did the 2000 wet sanding, a little bit water seemed to be able float the sand paper making it not cutting into the paint. That may be the reason that I am not getting a smooth enough surface before compounding / polishing.

I read about clay bar but they all saying it is to remove dirt but will not remove or cut into paint. I thought clay bar would *fill* imperfection on paint surface but apparently is not. Will clay bar help in my situation ?

[gp02a0083]

When I did the 2000 wet sanding, a little bit water seemed to be able float the sand paper making it not cutting into the paint. That may be the reason that I am not getting a smooth enough surface before compounding / polishing.

I read about clay bar but they all saying it is to remove dirt but will not remove or cut into paint. I thought clay bar would *fill* imperfection on paint surface but apparently is not. Will clay bar help in my situation ?

clay bars are mainly used as the first part in paint correction ( after a good wash). this is used to trap surface contaminants into the clay, avoiding the dirt nibs being chucked around causing further scratches.

i do commend your attempt using a DA for wet-sanding, however i would advise against it for now until your very familiar with using it and have a good water source. I have and will always use a "soft-bloc " you can find them even at wall mart (used to be near the sanding and bondo crap), keep pressure even and criss cross pattern alternating and using lots and lots of water.

your issue with the paint not being a high luster may be rooted into the paint. You used a enamel based paint if I'm not mistaken and how long has it been since you sprayed? Anytime that I've used enamel ( mind you it was automotive based single stage enamel) you can get a good shine off of it but not like you can with even lacquer or urethane based paints. Another part of the issue is possibly how many coats you have applied and in what time frame. I spray Enamel based paints all the time on glass substrates and more often than not you will develop a surface haze that occurs when the previous layer did not out gas its solvents ( not enough to cause solvent pop but enough to mudd up the surface). For instance I use the 8min "quick-dry" stuff in the rattle cans, even if i allow 15min for flash off / dry time in between coats it still remains gummy. I even tried lightly cooking the painted glass in our environmental chamber up to 100F for 3-4 days and it barely hardened. possibly a reason you are able to knock down the orange peel but unable to get a high luster.

[AC439]

Thanks for reply and honestly I do not expect this paint job comparable to a spray job done by a shop. I have painted about 6 to 7 layers of Rustoleum. I do remember it was more shiny right after it was painted into the next few days. Then it seems getting more hazy on the surface. Could be very well the reason you stated.

I also think that I'm probably not using the DA polisher correctly or not having the skills. Today I did the trunk "all by hand" and I'm pleased with the result - 1000 wet sand -> 2000 wet sand -> turtle wax rubbing 2 passes -> turtle wax polishing 1 pass -> Simoniz hard shell wax (instead of lazy spray wax). The result is very good.

[AC439]

I think I found the recipe of the buffing: I still have to wet sand 1000 then 2000. Afterwards, I use Turtle wax Ice speed compound. This compound is much more liquid like milk. I put it on my DA polisher on an orange pad. Put quite a bit on the pad and let it soak in. Then buff it with slowest speed (about 1500 rpm). This way, I can do many passes over the area without it drying up like the regular TW rubbing compound. I did 3 to 4 passes. Those hard to reach area, I did it by hand. Please refer to the pics below. I have not use the scratching removal compound yet but I will.

[Dr_Snooz]

Looking really good!

[AC439]

Took my car to a mechanic friend, asked him to look at the body and paint. I didn't tell him what I did at first. He asked "you had it painted ?", I went "I did it in my garage." He asked if I sprayed with aerosol cans, I told him just rustoleum with paint brush, wet sand, compound, polish, no spray. He checked on the paint surface said even some spray paint jobs won't get this smooth. Apparently I surprised him.

Snooz is right that it is very labor and time intensive. It took me on and off for 2 months to get to this stage. But I also made mistakes at the beginning. Also a few trial and error to figure out the way to compound it. Also, every time I compound the car, I could only do one panel at a time. For example, the orange pad needed to be washed after working a quarter panel or it won't cut anymore. I have one orange pad so I can't do the entire car even I have time.

But it turns out to be great and I no longer need to park my car at the furthest spot of the parking lot. I'm no longer feeling embarrassed to park close to the entrance of any buildings.

If I can do it, so can you ! All you need is commitment.

[AC439]

My 3rd gen been holding up with the rustoleum after 3-4 months. The car is always parked outside under Florida sun.

So having lots of fun with it, I decided to do my 6th gen's top. The 6th gen's top was painted before by the previous owner. But it oxidized badly and recently rusted through after few rounds of heavy rain. I was trying to wait till winter but with the rust, I decided to go ahead to do it. Car's color is dark hunter's green. Approx mixing 50% of hunter's green with 50% black and it is very close to original color. Sanded it down to bare metal (almost), 3 coats of rustoleum primer, wet sand, 2 coats paint, wet sand, 2 coats paint, wet sand, then 2 coats of paint (I stop here for now). It is already very smooth and glossy. I only use a walmart 3" paint brush (about $3 each), no roller.

I am going to let it cure for a week, then decide if I want to wet sand, polish or more coats. Check my pictures -

[Honda#1]

That looks great!! If only I had time to do my 83 hatch's roof this way. I did a decent DIY paint scheme on its roof several weeks ago. Not the best but it satisfies me. It was my first time doing it and the time given I am satisfied with how it turned out. But this method is great and if I choose to do the hood, I might give this a shot.

[AC439]

So I have this Rustoleum paint job done a year ago and I am posting some updates.

First of all, the paint holds up well. I did a Mcguire's Ultimate compound on the car with a blue pad. Then waxed it up with Mcguire's gold wax (from Walmart). Car looks basically the same as one year ago. I found the Rustoleum paint is softer compare to regular car paint. It stains grey color on the compounding pad so I know some paint is coming off by the compounding process but it is expected. It also develops micro spores on the surface so the smoothness will reduce over time. I am not sure if this micro-spores is part of the curing process due to the mineral spirit evaporates over time. Nevertheless, after a quick light compounding with MG Ultimate compound, it was restored.

** I have been trying to upload pics but the system says - Upload Errors
accord1.jpg - This is not a valid image file.

I am still trying but not sure whats wrong. My jpg files are not large at all.

[Dr_Snooz]

We used to upload pics to a 3rd party hosting service and then place links to the pics in our posts. Try doing it that way instead. We might have tried to make provision for direct hosting here, following the Photobucket debacle, but it might be less than functional. Try the old way and see if that works.

You can still Photobucket for hosting, but everyone will need to use the Photobucket Embedded Image Fix plugin to view them.

[AC439]

I just tried again with direct upload, same error. I don't use photobucket and I hate that fix. But is it just me not able to upload ?

[Shane86]

I just tried again with direct upload, same error. I don't use photobucket and I hate that fix. But is it just me not able to upload ?

Yep same for me can't upload any pictures

[AC439]

Its been 2 years on the rustoleum job. It does have its own flaw. First, some micro spores that makes the surface turns rough. Second, there is a haze, especially on the horizontal surfaces.

I notice both problems are more on the horizontal surfaces like the roof and the trunk but less on vertical surfaces such as the doors or quarter panels. Definitely due to the more UV effects from the sun. The micro spores is like the surface of the moon (but of course at a microscopic scale). The haze is like a white film over the paint.

Both problems were corrected with compounding and some stubborn hazes were removed using turtle wax scratch remover.

Afterwards, I applied "mothers" wax by hand. Car looks good.

My son, whom has no concept of how hard money comes by, said I made a mistake using Rustoleum and that I should have taken the car for a complete spray paint job with high quality auto paint and clear coat. SMH...

[Dr_Snooz]

It's like those old Maaco ads: no one will notice that you got a Maaco job, but everyone will notice if you don't. That's certainly been true for mine and I'd say the same is true for yours. Your car looks great. Way better than before. Thanks for the update and the good intel.

I'm considering re-spraying mine with tractor paint from Tractor Supply. I think it's an oil-based enamel = tough as heck and a stink to kill half the cats in the neighborhood before it dries. It gets great reviews and because they also sell it in rattle cans, touch-ups would be a breeze. I know I could do a lot better prep work than Maaco did on mine. I don't think I could spray it out better than they did though. Maybe after I sprayed out a couple of my trucks first. I think you could make a passable paint booth out of a portable garage from Harbor Freight. A paint oven would be problematic though. All in all, I think I could do a decent paint job of my own. I don't think it would be much cheaper, but it would last longer and be easier to maintain.

My brother-in-law is taking a different tack. He bought this old beater Toyota truck that he's painting, panel by panel, with rattle-can camo green. What he's done so far looks decent. Better than before, certainly. It's a matte finish, so there's no cut and polish step. It's one-and-done. His logic is that touch-ups will be super easy and he can nibble away at it without a lot of fuss and expense at any one time.

He's another person discovering the joys of old cars. Every time I go over, they're all in the shed working on the beater. He's got a nice Highlander and a beautiful G-37, but catch them on weekends and what are they in? The old beater. LOL

[conozo]

Looks good to me, I'm sure it looks normal from a regular viewing distance too.