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

[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.