Rattle can paint job

[Guest jdllaugh]

Okay, I know this is sacrilege for you paint guys, but paint is one of the last things on the agenda for my 240z project.

 

The first step is repairing the rust. Then comes motor installation, getting the car running, brakes, suspension, etc., etc. Paint last.

 

But, after I repair the minor exterior rust I end up with a multi-color car. My idea is to spray the entire car with Rustoleum red or similar spray paint for like $20-$30 bucks. I just want to make the car reasonably presentable for a year or so, then have the car painted by a professional. I have zero painting experience.

 

Questions:

-- Are there any major drawbacks to this idea.

-- Is there any particular brand that would be better or worse? Rustoleum, Krylon, Hammerite?

-- Will it give me a reasonably presentable paint job?

 

I'm just now taking the car apart, so this is down the road a ways. I'm open to all suggestions.

[Mike kZ]

A rattle can paint job will look very patchy, not worth the money for the cans. Leave it primer but add a sealer to keep it waterproof. Or you could spend an extra $100 or so on top of what the rattle cans cost and get a Maaco paint job.

[ratedZ]

hehe.....I stay away from primered hot rods....I know better lol

[Guest Anonymous]

You would be surprised how many cans of spray paint you will need to do an adequate job paint with spray cans. I painted my Jeep CJ-5 exterior with spray cans, Camo colors. Mind you I only did the exterior and no top. I used 16 cans. This was at $5.00 a can. Okay so 80 bucks is cheap. I would guess you may need twice that amount. Keep in mind that if you do go this route, make sure you buy all of the paint up front( over-buy and return what you don't use), buy the same lot number or you will have a real problem. The colors can be off by a few shades between lots.

 

Maaco does offer deals once in a while. If you do the prep work, You may do better price wise. Somewhere about $200.00 is typical. Make sure that the Maaco you go to has a Bake Booth. If they do, they can provide a better paint system. Maaco can get a bad rap. They crank out paint jobs at a high rate. They are like fast food places. Cheap, fast, and only a fair product.

[Guest greimann]

Why not pony up for some cheap automotive paint and a cheap spray gun and give it a go? It would be good practice on using a gun knowing that you will be putting a "real" paint job on it in the near future. It will look tons better than a rattle can job anyway.

[Guest Anonymous]

bikeboy on the MR2 message board painted his car with blue Krylon. It looked pretty damn good, at least in pictures. Him and a few other guys had Team Krylon in there sig.

 

My brothers' 91 MR2 T had big ugly scrape on the front that actually had surface rusted. My dad and him sanded it down, primered it, and painted it with a couple cans of touch up spray paint from Schuck's (same as Kragen's). You get a can to match the actual paint codes. It looks pretty good, especially from a distance. It's a little darker than the rest of the car, but just barely.

[Guest Anonymous]

I don't know if you know, but around here there is a car paint place called Mako or something which will professionally mask&paint your car w/ real automotive paint (but not shiny). Your story is so familiar that i had to write...i am doing it in about the same order and the car is god-awful-ugly about 3 shades of primer and of cource the tacky orange bondo. A friend of mine, he did the paint coat himself, but then again, he dropped 12K into it his car...

[Guest jdllaugh]

Thanks for all the comments. We have a Maaco franchise in town, and that is certainly an option. I'm just trying to keep costs down within reason (ha! Just dropped major coin on an LS1 and tranny).

 

I probably will end up buying paint equipment and doing it the right way. My goal with this project is to do all the work myself. (With occasional advice from the helpful folks at Hybrid Z!) Hey, it's a hobby and learning experience all wrapped in one. I'm just a little intimidated by paint.

[Guest Anonymous]

When I get to that point, I guess I'm old school too, black stealthy primer for a while just like the old rods. It looks tough, and attracts a little less attention (well unless there is like a John Force amount of smoke coming from the back tires... ).

 

Rattle cans will cost a fortune and the spray pattern is so narrow you usually end up with like tiger stripped area's of alot of paint and less in others.

 

I won't say its not possible, but it'll be kinda ugly and the money would be well spent if your going to spend that sort of money to just put a earl scheib or Maaco or Enriques Body Chop cheap job on it till your ready to rake over serious money for a good job. The cheap jobs won't be concours thats a fact, but it'll be more evenly covered than rattle cans.

 

Regards,

 

Lone

[awd92gsx]

This is my old DSM. Complete with $300 Earl Scheibs paint job.

 

 

If I didn't do a color change on my Z I would have returned to them, but, the biggest difference between MAACO, Earl Scheib, and real body shops is in the prep work (and paint, but more on that later)

 

Painting is about 90% prep, and 10% spray. Sanding down, welding in holes and filling gaps, smoothing surfaces...these things take alot of time.

 

Cheap paint places do a poor job at best when it comes to masking the car. They've got about 20 other cars to get to so they're not going to take the time to pull your weatherstripping, properly bag your wheels, remove emblems, remove marker lights, etc...they're gonna just tape 'em off...in a hurry...which means they're probably going to leave gaps in the tape and masking paper...I can guarantee it. Now, if you're not too concerned with the little things like that, then it's OK. If you're sticking with the same color you'll probably never even notice a little overspray here or there (you'll probably have to scrape your mirrors, though).

 

MAACO uses cheaper paints, so don't expect a full guarantee on them. Earl Scheib offered me a 6 year gurantee against flaking, peeling, fading, etc...still cheap paints, though.

 

About the cheapest real paint you can get is OMNI. That's what my Z is painted with. If you're respraying the entire car, it works great, from what I'm told...it's just they don't have alot of color options to blend into other brands.

 

Finally, MAACO doesn't like to use clear coat. Also, another thing, they don't color sand or polish the final coat. This leaves it a little more dull and unfinished than a real body shop.

 

You can have it color sanded and polished afterwards IF you have an extra coat of clear applied. Problem is, do you really know what you're getting for that $150 extra clearcoat option? Do they really apply it in all cases...hmm..I dunno....if they don't and you colorsand the paint it could rub through, and MAACO won't take responsibility.

 

For a temporary paint job, hell yeah, go for it. If your paint is smooth and they get dirt in the new paint, you'll have to take it back down to metal to get it repainted in the future. Whatever they leave in your current paint will show through your next paint job...just something else to keep in mind.

 

Whatever you do, avoid spray cans at ALL costs. Unless you're painting your old patio furniture...or valve covers...or something like that.

[Guest Anonymous]

Cheap Paint Job

 

A cheap paint job can haunt you down the road. Remember you'll pay much more to remove

a bad paint job.

Another possible course of action is taking

your car to the nearest community college which

has an automotive body program. If you prep the

vehicle, you would only have to pay for the materials(cost would depend on your pocket book).

The classes can do the bodywork too but it may

take awhile as they don't work on it full time.

It may be what you looking for.

Good Luck!

Sunny

[Guest Anonymous]

i don't know but i've seen some rattle can jobs that came out pretty damn good even fairly upclose. the one thing rattle can paint has going for it is it's eneamel based and dries very fast compared to the nice automotive paint that translates into a slight advantage since it leaves less time for dust and dirt to get into the paint layer. but the comment about spray pattern is correct. it not uniform and is too narrow. but thse little clip on handles you can buy don't seem to be too bad and i think they widen out the spray pattern. i know one guy that did just made sure that he had a good paint tent rigged up so no dust or dirt could get in easily. did a good prep job on the body and primer coat. then sprayed it with multiple layers of ratte can making sure to take his time, then if i remember correctly he sanded the paint job with 1200 grit pads then 1500 and finally 2000. then he applied the clearcoat the same way even down to the sanding. and on top of that when he was down and hed let the paint cure for a few days he gave it a good wax job. lots of work and time no doubt but it came out looking very nice adn probably cost a little under what a maaco job would cost in the first place but still looked a hell of a lot better.

[Pop N Wood]

I had an Aunt who painted her car with a brush. The things you will do when you are poor.

 

Actually I would like to second what Mike Z said. Spray cans will look pretty bad. A Maaco job is an option but some of the Maaco jobs I have seen were so bad that you would probably want to completely remove them prior to a final job.

 

My suggestion is to buy or borrow a cheap spray gun and paint it with a sandable primer. I think that is the kind that can stand weather. Then you will have joined the elite group of individuals who have painted their cars the internationally respected Hot Rod color: primer grey

[Guest Frank280z]

OK. Heres a wagner paint sprayer on ebay. No reserve.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2023341820

Duplicolor is now selling their high gloss enamel by the gallon in stores for less than 30-. With all materials you should be into 100-. I have seen paint jobs with house sprayers and they came out nice. Single stage jobs. Probably put on thick enough to color sand and buff out. And a gallon for these cars is plenty. I just painted a full size 1500 for a relative with this paint and it came out very nice for the $$$. Hope this helps with your decision. Good luck. Frank

[Pop N Wood]

I have a related question. I have a 240 that has been repainted once (a very high quality job). If I do the same as JamesL and run it in primer, what will I need to do prior to the final coat? How many layers of paint and primer are acceptable before problems occur?

 

I have read from past posts that using chemical strippers leaves a rough surface that takes some time to smooth back out. Thus is it feasible to try and sand 2 layers of paint and a top layer of primer down to the factory primer before the final paint?

[Guest Anonymous]

I have a friend with a blue plymouth reliant. He was a nut and wanted to paint the car with a different color on every panel. A whole can of white spray paint didn't even cover the whole hood. After that he just gave up and now has a blue reliant with a white good with a blue patch in the middle. To his defence the white part dosn't look all that bad at a distance and my guess is that it could work except it would take alot of cans.