Budget Paint job Ideas

[lukieg]

 The old truck soon needs a fresh coat.. and Im not looking to spend big.. I was thinking the alkyld rust paint route.. The truck is the original general motors french blue... really heavy metallic light blue... not a bad color. Im not looking to match perfect by any means, however Im not going to do the jams or engine compartment. Its just not worth the added effort. My idea was tremclad brand.. or similar.. urethane fortefied.. 2 quarts medium blue.. 1 pint aluminum and 1 pint white.. or bring it as close to shade as possible with the methods in use. I have a few questions.. I plan on using a DOI wet look hardener.. will the urethane in the paint have any negative effects? Would acetone or laquer thinner be best for thinning... I am thinking lacquer thinner. Also I believe the aluminum paint contains alot of aluminum flake.. will this mix throughout the paint and cause a slight metallic look? Thanks

[1980c10]

Personally I would give it a base clear paint as this would be a great learning tool so when it comes time to do some paint that really matters you have the practice. btw I love that color. T155 is the paint code if I remember right. 

[lukieg]

I took autobody in school... Im just curious to see how it works... if the internet hypes are true.

[lukieg]

  Im going with  as high gloss as possible... not to sound rude.. but your truck seems to be a semi gloss finish 1980, I have acheived very similar results with a flat alkyld barn paint carried by the locan hardware store... with hardener it has not seccumbed to weather and it has been well for over a year. No one has ever suspected it as barn door paint. Im not trying to argue or insult you in any way. Here in Canada paint supplies are very expensive... cheapest one can get a gallon of premixed enamel for is well over 100$ just paint... no reducer or hardener... so I can see the allure.

[1980c10]

I've actually seen my truck in person and not just from grainy cell phone pics.
Its a basic base clear paint job but well done and wetsanded and polished nicely.
even in the pics I posted; to me it doesn't look semi-gloss.
The guy who painted this has been painting for 65+ years and I am bringing him another car this week.
He likes my projects and always give me great results and prices.
Anyway I just want to make sure he gets the credit he deserves.
So what I was getting at is If I were to paint something(I'm not very experienced but would like to be) I would go with a base clear and put the extra money to become more experienced at it as most paint jobs are base clear.