finally got my paint on....

[Blazin]

I have never seen it because I have never done it, but I have heard it could create pinholes in the pain, and moister can get below it. Otherwise known as solvent pop. Might not be as crucial with spray bomb. But no need taking the chance?

[jaredts]

Nice job!  I'm constantly convincing myself not to go the same route.  I've got two voices in my head, one telling me its just an old truck and rust-oleum is good enough and the other saying I've worked too hard on this thing to settle for that.  Seeing how yours turned out makes it even harder on me!  I hope you update this forum after some time so we know how well it holds up.

[autorepr]

Looks good man!  How much $$$ do you think you have in buying the rattle cans? Seems like you'd have to buy quite a few to do a whole vehicle.

[4x4orbust]

i bought 15 cans of rustoleum auto paint, 10 cans of rust converter, and 10 cans of primer.  cost about $4 per can, so thats ~$140.  i have 3 cans of rustoleum left, 2 cans of rust converter,  and 2 cans of primer left, so thats ~$30 in returns, so about $110 total in the paint alone.  plus 1 small can of bondo, and sandpaper to sand off the old paint (about 40 peices on my DA)  all is said and done i figure i have about 175 into it total.   

I actually thought that i was going to have to buy double what i did buy to do the truck, even with 2 coats on it all, it didnt use as much as i thought!!    each fender was 1 can, the hood was about 2, tailgate was 1 can, and the doors/cab/bedsides was ~2.5 per side.  i know i used 12 cans total, so that is an estimate. 

for a long time i was convincing myself not to spray paint this truck, and i'm not so sure why i did in the end, but the only thing that keeps popping in my head was because it was relatively cheap, and to prove it could be done and look good.   and it settled a bet i had with a buddy, so the winnings helped pay for some of the paint....

[Swims350]

for that kinda cash you could have bought a gallon of paint and done it right, or used duplicolor paint shop. If not or you didn't have the gun I would have bought the spray cans of automotive paint mixed into the can by your local auto body supply store, they cost about $20 a can but it's the same stuff you spray from your gun and turns out great right out of the can, you can sand and buff it and everything. I use it all the time and love it when you don't have time or cash for a gallon or quart.

I paint all my junk outside too, don't know how many whole vehicles I've done out there, I wished I had a garage to do it in lol.

I aint knocking ya though poor boys got poor ways IMo I painted my hood scoop and cab visor for my 88 with rylon spray paint and it turned out good. Spray paint just doesn't hold up to well in the sun IMO, my scoop is looking dull and I take care of it like a normal paint job. if I had the cash I would have got the spray cans from the body shop supply for sure, and will if they ever need done again.

As for the body shop spray cans we done an s-10 bed 4 coats per side took 1-2 cans total. I think it was only one but not sure.

[beastie_3]

I know primer is porous, but how about rattle can paint?

4x4, do you plan on clearing it, or will wax apply to that layer?

[fitz]

for that kinda cash you could have bought a gallon of paint and done it right, or used duplicolor paint shop.

  As far as $175 paint jobs go I say he did do it right. Don't forget that that price includes the paint, primer, rust converter, sandpaper, and even the Bondo.
  Sounds like he was realistic with his goals from the start, which was to put together a presentable work truck. To me it looks like he achieved his goal.
  As far as Duplicolor goes it does look like an interesting option, but I think it would cost more $$. Around here that sells for $30 a quart. From reading previous posts it sounds like most people agree it takes about 1 gallon of paint to do one of our trucks. That would be $120 for the paint alone. Add in the clearcoat, primer, rust converter, sandpaper/bondo and I bet your looking at about $250+ for materials plus more $$ for a spray gun.  
  Keep in mind that this is his work truck/4 wheeler. There is lots to be said for having a can of touch up paint in the glovebox that you know will match perfectly.  
  

[Blazin]

Not to mention Duplicolor products stink! My 55 was spray bomb for years before I did a 60 / 60 paint job on it with OMNI single stage.

[Swims350]

I didn't ay it didn't look good or turn out good.

well as I said auto paint in spray cans from the body shp supply go along way, I'd say about 4 cans maybe 5 would do it, and they are $20 a can, plus he'd have a can of touch up in the glovebox that'd match perfect and get ANY color known to man. sandpaper and what not can be had cheap depending on where you get it, plus bondo and primer, you could still use cheap stuff or skip to self etching primer and not worry about rust convertor and all that stuff, just rust convert and prime in one step one can, about $7 a can. if the spray can holds up well then yea it's good but I got junk on my truck that's rattle can'd and it's a work truck and it's dull now, ones been on a year, the other is fresh and still looks good, only a month or so old. The auto spray can last as long as a reg. spray gun job. I'm just trying to let ppl know there's mid point between rattle can(and cheapo stuff at that, not really rustoleum or something) and full on paint from the gun which is more. Most ppl have no clue you can buy reg. spray gun paint mixed in cans.

now fyi, I bought a can of adhesion promoter(bulldog expensive junk like $13 a can) 2 yes 2 gallons of limco single stage, gallon of reducer, gloss hardner, flex agent, 3m flexible repair compound(which is about $35 itself)pack of wet sand 600 grit, and some other stuff for my monte carlo ss for like $210. I know there was 2 rolls of tape in with it, not sure what else I'm thinking a box of 220 da paper but can't remember.

[4x4orbust]

I know primer is porous, but how about rattle can paint?

4x4, do you plan on clearing it, or will wax apply to that layer?

as per blazin's suggestion, i am going to wait a while, then give it a good couple coats of wax and hope it lasts a little while.   

i know there are many other options for painting a vehicle, but Fitz hit the nail on the head.   it is a work/fun truck, not a show truck.   the paint was nothing more than to make it all one color, and protect the body work i have done.   I hope this will help others decide what to do to their truck when it comes time to paint, because my suggestion would more than likely not be a spray paint job.   it works for me, but may not for others.  also, i may have gotten lucky with this paint job, or patient, and it came out better than most would.   i don't know.   

also, as a side note,  the front fenders and hood were painted last june (1 year ago) and the paint still looks pretty good.   this past weekend all i did was from the doors back.   so for the 1 year of the sun beating on it, and the winter plowing, and the firewood  runs,   i think it held up just fine.   thats another reason i decided to paint the rest of the truck with it.   

[Swims350]

getting that bare metal protected is the no. 1 thing for sure. The 84 c10 I did had some bare metal spots that I primered with rustoleum auto primer, that stuff is pure junk, after the good spray gun limco single stage paint job a year later everywhere that was bare metal got primed with that stuff, and everywhere that was primered is showing rust now. I'll never use that crap again, as for primer for bondo or something yea it's ok but for bare metal that rustoleum auto primer sucks, it does not protect or stop rust if anything it makes it start.

The mcss I done in the same paint, same color even, it had the bad spider cracked trunk paint, and had rust under it, it wouldn't come off from sanding, I painted right over it and the rest was bare metal with selfetching primer, and it has never shown not even one spec of rust and has been almost 4-5 years ago and has sat outside the whole time in everything.

I'd highly recomend the self etching primer to anyone.

[Blazin]

One thing to remember about the automotive paint in the spray can is it still does not have a catalyst. If its better than off the shelf spray bomb its on marginally better. Self etching primer is for clean bare metal yes, but not recommended over any rust or old paint. As far as spray bomb primers go it doesn't matter what brand it is, it is basically talcum powder with a solvent that evaporates out after its sprayed. The same goes for lacquer based primers that are mixed with lacquer thinner, and sprayed out of a gun. They have zero rust inhibitors, and zero bithing / etching capacity.
 As far as what you were after, I think it looks great. I have nothing against spray bombs, and prepped correctly, they can look good with allot less mess. I am a body man by trade so I have allot of sand paper, body filler, tape, solvents, and primers sitting around all the time. To me the cost is not as great because I usually have enough of everything to do what I need, and only have to buy the paint.

[Swims350]

you mean a hardner? umm yea they have em with hardner in them now in spray cans, and catylist or not they hold up way better I mean waaaayyyyy better then normal aersol, we had an s-10 had the bedsides, doors, fender flares, bumper cover, all the accessories painted with it and they lasted for years and looked just as good as the factory paintjob from gm. I have NEVER had anything else last that long and look that good except for spray gun stuff.

I too am a body man by trade and huge hobby, and love doing it. I used the etching primer over paint, and over rust, didn't have a problem. Like I said the car is at my in laws and still looks as good as the day I painted it, no rust, no flaking nothing.

[Swims350]

As you can tell I love the stuff, used it for years and it's the mid point for me between spray cans from wallyworld for a quick and cheap fix on something that doesn't matter much, to a full on finish I want to look good for years, spray gun, wet sand and buff to perfection. I know it's not too cheap but way worth it, esp. if the neighbors complain about spray guns and fumes.

[Blazin]

The glass ball inside the can. I have used them, my opinion still not as good.