Paint Job on the Cheap

KZErider wrote:

"A perfectionist is one who takes great pains...and gives them to others."

This is how I say it.

"Successful people get things done in one easy step,,,,, the extra one"

turpehar wrote:

My .02

1. Can we all agree that preparation before the paint is crucial to the final outcome?
2. Can we all agree that the cost of aforementioned no matter what paint method you use will be the same?
3. Can we all agree that when you get to the place where you're ready to paint that the hard part is done?
4. Do we have an air compressor? No? Can we borrow one?
5. Do we have access to, or can we buy an $80 paint gun?
6. Would it be easier to sand once after painting urethane single stage or mulitple times between coats of Tremclad?

I know, some of you are PO'd off by now, but that isn't my intention. I have tought people to do paint and body work. About %10 just don't have it in them to lay down paint from a spray gun. Of that %10, one in ten can't do much at all without screwing it up. The other nine are just impatient.

My point is that YOU should not be afraid to try the so-thought-to-be taboo art of spraying paint from a gun. The white Nissan looks good, I do agree and will take nothing from the gentleman who did the work on it.

ur right on one hand... i havent painted with tremclad since i dont think its sold here in the us or iv never seen it anywhere.. but he did a whole car for $150.. thats with everything.. u cant do that with a air gun.. even if u bought everything dirt cheap u couldnt come no where near that price..

I'm not sure what $150 included?

"It was all done for less than $150 (paint, rollers, brushes, mineral spirits, sand paper, and polish)"

I guess I'd have to try Tremclad myself to understand the differences in labor cost.

OKC_Kent wrote:

You must have read about the guy who wrote about this method on the Mopar forum?

Yes, that's exactly where I first discovered it. I read ever bit of that thread before I started. I wanted to know everything in detail before I started everything.

EasyRider1 wrote:

HerrDeacon,

That is truly amazing what you've done there. How much wet sanding did you do?

Thanks EasyRider1. I used to put on two coats of paint and then wetsand until completely smooth. I then put on another two and wetsand. Keep doing this until you have enough paint on. Final wetsand is with 2000 grit, then you start polishing.

turpehar wrote:

My .02

1. Can we all agree that preparation before the paint is crucial to the final outcome?
2. Can we all agree that the cost of aforementioned no matter what paint method you use will be the same?
3. Can we all agree that when you get to the place where you're ready to paint that the hard part is done?
4. Do we have an air compressor? No? Can we borrow one?
5. Do we have access to, or can we buy an $80 paint gun?
6. Would it be easier to sand once after painting urethane single stage or mulitple times between coats of Tremclad?

I know, some of you are PO'd off by now, but that isn't my intention. I have tought people to do paint and body work. About %10 just don't have it in them to lay down paint from a spray gun. Of that %10, one in ten can't do much at all without screwing it up. The other nine are just impatient.

My point is that YOU should not be afraid to try the so-thought-to-be taboo art of spraying paint from a gun. The white Nissan looks good, I do agree and will take nothing from the gentleman who did the work on it.

turpehar, your first point is key. Prep is everything. I wasn't in a rush (had all winter since I don't drive it at all in winter) so I took my time and made sure everything was prepped.

As for the air compressor, I didn't have one and I don't think I could have used one. My garage is below my kids bedrooms and the only time I could work on it was when they were in bed. I didn't want any fumes at all. Rolling it on has no fumes at all, you would never know I painted my car. I had 6 coats on the roof before my wife even realized what I was doing.

With that said, rolling the paint on is by far a much time consuming and labor intensive. It would have been much easier if I could have used a gun. I estimate I put in over 100 hours into it. I didn't mind though as I had nothing else to do and I never had my kz650 then to work on

turpehar wrote:

I'm not sure what $150 included?

"It was all done for less than $150 (paint, rollers, brushes, mineral spirits, sand paper, and polish)"

I guess I'd have to try Tremclad myself to understand the differences in labor cost.

The $150 included everything I listed in the brackets. It didn't include labor as I did it all my self. Also, it didn't include a polisher as I already had one. You need a good polisher to do anything with it.

Little B wrote:

I did my bike using the roller method as well. However, I used the brightside paint. It has held up well when I spilled gas on it. Based on all I've read on the mopar forum I'm confident that it will last for a good while.

I'll see if I can post a picture for you a bit later.<br><br>Post edited by: Little B, at: 2007/12/02 21:21

What is brightside paint?

HerrDeacon wrote:

With that said, rolling the paint on is by far a much time consuming and labor intensive. It would have been much easier if I could have used a gun. I estimate I put in over 100 hours into it. I didn't mind though as I had nothing else to do and I never had my kz650 then to work on

That seems like a lot of hours. The Mopar guy made it sound like he whipped right through it, did a coat at night, sanded in the morning, another coat at night, etc..and he was completly done with the car in 3-4 days.

Did you get that impression too?

I would think a bike tank would take 3-4 hours and a quart of Rustoleum. I'm going to test Rustoleum with gas because I bet the chemical makeup is different than Tremclad.

OKC_Kent wrote:

That seems like a lot of hours. The Mopar guy made it sound like he whipped right through it, did a coat at night, sanded in the morning, another coat at night, etc..and he was completly done with the car in 3-4 days.

Did you get that impression too?

I would think a bike tank would take 3-4 hours and a quart of Rustoleum. I'm going to test Rustoleum with gas because I bet the chemical makeup is different than Tremclad.

Yeah, I got that impression as well. The reason mine took a lot longer is that my garage is extremely small and so I had to basically do a side at a time. I did the passenger, then had to move the car to do the driver's side. Also, I took the front bumber off and had to wait until the rear was done so that I could push the car back. Also, I'm pretty slow at doing stuff like this. I usually don't rush and take my time. I could have done it a lot quicker if I could have done the whole car at the same time. That 100 hours also includes removing a lot of things from the car (i.e. trim, mirrors, lights, bumper, weather stripping, etc) as well and then putting them back on.

Quart should be plenty for the tank. I used less than half a quart to do my roof. Not really sure about Rustoleum. I've heard of some guys using the Professional Rustoleum with success.

Well, I checked my drying Rustoleum Spray Can Tank job this morning and it looks pretty darn good. I'm going to let it set up for a few days and then polish it up a little.

How long until I can put the hardware back on and use the tank? In other words, how long will it take for this paint to totally cure?

Post edited by: EasyRider1, at: 2007/12/03 12:01

Rustoleum takes a long time to dry, but I'm sure you can start using it sooner. I would test it with my fingernail on an obscure area under the tank first.
The guy in the article seemed to use it right away, but it was canned paint (tremclad) cut 50/50 so it would dry quicker.
I don't know how long the spray can paint takes to dry but I would guess longer, as you can't cut it with anything?