Poor Mans Paint Job

[dbarker]

oh the $50 paint job lives on....

I always thought about using farm implement paint. Farmers paint their tractors and tools all the time with this tough as nails stuff.

you can get it in lots of colors at places like Atwoods, farm supply stores etc...

[flyboy2610]

Regular Rustoleum does not contain UV inhibitors. Their marine topside paint does, but color choice is limited.
http://www.rustoleum.com/en/product-cat ... side-paint

[red_67f100]

I used rustoleum gallon paint from home depot and mixed it with acetone in 1:1 ratio. I then sprayed it with a $12 gun from harbor freights. I then waited 3 days for it to fully dry and spray professional clear from ppg . If you don't wait at least 3 days theres a chance the paint will wrinkle as it has not completely dried. All I gotta says is I'm happy with the results, but not too happy on having to wait the 3 days for it to dry, but hey works. Here's a pic...

[red_67f100]

Here's another pic....

[motzingg]

i'm a cheapass, but having done the rustoleum route a couple times (good quality HVLP gun, thinned 10-15%) I'm sticking with auto paint.

There is a PPG industrial enamel (1 part, but you will want to catalyze it) called ALK-2000 that i've used several times now. It goes on really heavy and covers bad prep work fantastically. We used it on factory equipment, and a lot of OEM's use it on tractor frames, axles, etc. Its glossy, but doesn't have the deep gloss of a clear coat. It was 80 a gallon last time i bought it, and it goes a long way, 1 gallon is plenty to do a car with 2 light and one full wet coat. You probably would want to prime it but its not mandatory. You can even run it out of an airless sprayer, but cleanup is a bear because it cleans up with acetone not mineral spirits or reducer.

Another cheap option is do all the prep work yourself and rattle-can primer, then take it to MAACO when they are doing their $200 sale or whatever. They don't do much (any) prep on the cheap paint jobs but they do run a decent acrylic enamel paint, and they have good guns and dudes that spray it all day long, so minimal drips, runs and orange peel. I've done that for cars i was selling/flipping and its come out great every time. Paid more for the clearcoat once and it was every bit as good as OEM on a mid 90's chevy S10.


The big problem with rustoleum, as others have said, it doesn't buff/take wax very well and it gets chalky and fades really quickly. If you do it on a riding lawnmower that lives in a garage or you don't mind looking ratty, no big deal, it gets the job done and keeps rust off... if you do it on a car, 2-3 years later you're gonna be bummin'

[motzingg]

if you do the rust-oleum (alkyd enamel) route, you gotta use Japan drier, or something like that, to get it to level off smooth and not orangepeel. It gives you a much harder finish when its done and wont' chip.

i've seen people get good results with the harbor freight/ (lowes/craftsman/northern tool...all the same china junk) guns, but i've never used one that was worth a darn. Mine is a Astro Pneumatics, made in Taiwan but very high quality... I bought it barely used off a pro auto body dude friend of mine. You can get them from the pro auto body mail order sources like TCP Global.

[red_67f100]

thanks for sharing those tips motzingg....I see your from Austin. I went there a couple of months ago to visit the state capitol building...its such a nice city. So anyways....back on topic..do you know what store sells the Japan drier?

[tac]

Try Home Depot.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip- ... 1vZc5bmZug

[motzingg]

man there was a brand that i used to get at true value, it was in a wierd lookin can, like auto body supplies come in, not like a turpentine can... i don't remember what brand it was but that was the best.

i used that stuff from home depot about 2 years ago and it was ok... i was also painting in N.Carolina at 100% humidity and 100 degrees... but it didn't work like the old stuff... smelled different too.


AH ok, i'm an idiot... wow.. i meant enamel hardener not japan drier... holy crap how did i bone that one... Yeah you want to use enamel hardener, Japan drier isn't bad... its basically just naptha which some people on the internet are saying just thin with naptha instead and get the same results... i was using that in a pinch there in north carolina because the enamel wouldn't dry (in crazy humidity) and i couldn't get hardener.

THIS is what you want http://www.amazon.com/Valspar-4625-Enam ... B000LNY1MY

f me, total retard moment up there, thin the enamel with whatever it recommends on the can, different brands are different but most use regular mineral spirits (not the low-voc, gutless whatever crap they sell as 'paint thinner') or maybe try naptha, its the main ingredient in jap dry? i dunno... then add the prescribed amount of enamel hardener.

if its your first time trying any experimental paint process, i'd do a whole trial paint job on an old fender, refrigerator, lawnmower, something like that... I had a hood laying next to my garage just for this purpose. maybe shoot the inside of your bed or something...

[sykanr0ng]

man there was a brand that i used to get at true value, it was in a wierd lookin can, like auto body supplies come in, not like a turpentine can... i don't remember what brand it was but that was the best.

i used that stuff from home depot about 2 years ago and it was ok... i was also painting in N.Carolina at 100% humidity and 100 degrees... but it didn't work like the old stuff... smelled different too.


AH ok, i'm an idiot... wow.. i meant enamel hardener not japan drier... holy crap how did i bone that one... Yeah you want to use enamel hardener, Japan drier isn't bad... its basically just naptha which some people on the internet are saying just thin with naptha instead and get the same results... i was using that in a pinch there in north carolina because the enamel wouldn't dry (in crazy humidity) and i couldn't get hardener.

THIS is what you want http://www.amazon.com/Valspar-4625-Enam ... B000LNY1MY

f me, total retard moment up there, thin the enamel with whatever it recommends on the can, different brands are different but most use regular mineral spirits (not the low-voc, gutless whatever crap they sell as 'paint thinner') or maybe try naptha, its the main ingredient in jap dry? i dunno... then add the prescribed amount of enamel hardener.

if its your first time trying any experimental paint process, i'd do a whole trial paint job on an old fender, refrigerator, lawnmower, something like that... I had a hood laying next to my garage just for this purpose. maybe shoot the inside of your bed or something...

Saw this in one of the comments on that Amazon page:

"It contains isocyanates, so remember to wear a full-face respirator, long gloves, and a Tyvek full-body suit. It can be absorbed into your body through your eyes and skin. Ideally, use a positive pressure suit. "


I don't know if that is true but.....
That is getting far away from the idea of "Poor Mans Paint Job" at this point it is a full auto body shop level of job.