Repainting without respraying

I spotted a car for sale just now that claims it's in need of a respray. It's already been rubbed down but just needs the respray. I'm not seriously interested, but it got me wondering about repainting...

Resprays seem to cost $$$, mainly for the faff of masking off everything. Is it feasible to paint it by hand in some other finish, say Hammerite, or would that not prevent corrosion? Is that likely to key to existing (rubbed down) paint? Let's assume we're not too fussed by how it looks (perhaps black is a better coverer of sins in this respect?).

Does a repaint count as a 'modification' for insurance purposes? I assume if it's repainted in something like the original colour then the DVLA doesn't need to be informed, but they obviously would if the colour changed. What if it's painted in something that's not a uniform colour (such as the 'flower power' VW Camper designs around, that sort of thing)? Presumably it's only the base colour that counts for the DVLA?

Does the (lack of) paint finish have any bearing on an MOT?

Thanks Theo

Reply to
Theo Markettos
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Theo Markettos gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

And the high degree of surface preparation and atmospheric control required to get a half-decent finish from the very thin coat of paint. The paint itself's far from cheap, either, for H&S and environmental reasons - because it's being sprayed, there's a LOT of wastage. It also has to be massively thinned down, so there's a lot of solvent to evaporate.

Hammerite's a useless waste of money.

It's not the paint itself that "prevents corrosion", but the exclusion of water and oxygen from the metal.

When it comes down to it, a car body is steel. Same as your garage door. Same as your wheelbarrow.

Dulux is fine for them, so why not your car? Exterior grade is, obviously, going to last longer than interior. A brush is going to put a thicker coating on than spraying.

Of course. It's just paint.

The exact opposite. Black shows _everything_.

Depends. If the non-standardness of the paint has increased the value, and you want that covering, then yes. If it's just a repaint for maintenance purposes, I'd not bother.

Yup.

Nope.

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Reply to
Adrian

paint it with a gloss type roller and good (trade) quality household gloss and it will look quite reasonable. it will be a vehicle of little value as a result though. Mot is not interested in general appearance. I would not think that insurance would be interested until you make a claim, in which case they will mark down the value a lot. Dvla only need the basic colour. I hand brushed a car years ago using 're-paint', it stayed like it till my sister wrote it off a few years later. Same with my first transit, looked fine, and so easy to cover up scratches!

Mrcheerful

Reply to
Mrcheerful

"Mrcheerful" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

You'd have a hell of a job getting the details done respectably with a roller, iwht - I've always used a brush and had perfectly good results - and there's more than enough paint to flat any brush marks out.

You wouldn't do it to something worth more than the cost of the respray, though...

Insurance would just write a car of that kind of age and value off, respray or brushed Dulux.

Reply to
Adrian

========================================== You can achieve a very good finish if you use a traditional coach paint. I think Tekaloid is still available and was highly regarded. Berger was also very good - maybe still available. Hammerite tends to produce pin holes when brushed and it's difficult to achieve a uniform finish.

One possible source:

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Cic.

Reply to
Cicero

There is a long-running thread in the VW T25 forum about this

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. Apparently it can bedone quite successfully, using a paint called Rustoleum. You do need tobe prepared to put in some work flatting it back though. As for brush painting, it is a traditional method, and here the paint to use is coach enamel. A useful source of tips on this is
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Again it can be donesuccessfully with time, patience and some work flatting back. But even if you were to spray it, you still need to spend a lot of time prepping and flatting first. Any type of paint is damned expensive these days, so no paintjob is cheap, but cutting out the professional labour cost can bring it down.

As regards insurance, they wouldn't be interested - it's not the type of "modification" that affects how fast the car goes or how nickable it is. DVLA should be informed, but there's not much enforcement here either - my Elf has gone through at least two MOTs in red where the V5 says brown (I know, it's filled in and ready to send when I un-SORN it), and discussing this has led me to check the V5 on my VW - as I suspected it says white, when I know it has passed at least two MOTs in about 60% citron - and that's not a colour you don't notice! (Again that will be corrected soon, after I change the engine as I have a V8 conversion lined up ;-)

Reply to
asahartz

For decent brushing enamels Try

T & R Williamson Ltd

BR81 spec paint

Tel 01765 607711

Fax 01765 607908

36 Stonebridgegate, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 1TP

Website

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Reply to
Tom Burton

Masking up doesn't really take that much time - it's the preparation that does. Any tiny blemish just shows through. And the paint and equipment needed to spray it in safety ain't cheap either.

I remember seeing a Ford van which had been hand painted in black by the skilled house painter who owned it. It looked better than many factory finishes.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Oooh, thanks for those. I haven't read all 40 pages of the linked threads, but much seems to be summarised here:

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It sounds like it might even be feasible to do it outside at this time of year, which was my other worry (looks like it dries fast enough not to mind too much about being rained on).

Presumably the Rustoleum would work for brush painting too: the paint needs to be of the right consistency such that it gels to a flat surface and doesn't show roller sponge marks - I can't see how this would be different for a brush (apart from the quick drying time I suppose).

It also doesn't seem to have the annoying 'recoat within 8 hours or wait 3 months' that Hammerite does.

About 35 quid inc post for 2.5l paint that claims to cover 25m2. A supply of rollers, wet'n'dry etc, and some white spirit (mostly from Poundland). Let's say 50 quid. Plus a supply of Saturday afternoons. This car is cheap enough that it might be worth my while...

Thanks everyone for your comments, they're really useful. Now, what colour shall I paint it? :-)

Theo

Reply to
Theo Markettos

In general the lighter colours are more forgiving of blemishes than the darker ones. Black being positively the worst.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Yes, that "re-paint" is very good, isn't it? I have used it on a couple of low value cars and vans in the past and the results were more than acceptable- in fact, they looked extremely good. The biggest part of the job is in the preparation, though- the more work you put into that, the better the job.

Don't even think about it if the car is still worth money.

Reply to
Partac

One option is to rub it down to a more or less even shade of primer and spray some lacquer over the top.

Reply to
Mark W

Theo Markettos gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Seriously, forget Hammershite. It's awful stuff.

Reply to
Adrian

If you _really_ don't care what it looks like, matte finish NATO green is cheap and covers a multitude of sins. I brush painted my Land Rover with some I bought cheap off eBay and am more than happy with the result. Cost about 15 quid to do the whole thing and I still have a quarter of tin left over.

Reply to
Willy Eckerslyke

Stealth bomber matt black. Or satin, seems to be trendy at the moment, see that Merc Black Arrow thing for details

Reply to
Abo

Many years ago my brother hand painted his red MG TA in the road using cellulose with a slow thinner, or maybe Brushing Belco. I don't remember which. What I do remember is him saying that each brushload of cellulose had to be applied quickly, as it was so fast drying. It couldn't be brushed out as it is with ordinary paint or enamel. Left a very rough finish with runs that were removed with a lot of water and Wet-or-Dry. A couple of coats like that, which were thick by spraying stds. Then two more coats of clear cellulose, with rub down and polish, made the finish look much better than new. Had a real deep gloss to it. Far better than that of most new cars of the day. Except maybe a Rolls Royce. :-) Mike.

Reply to
Mike G

========================================= I tried Brushing Belco once and found it awful stuff - impossible to brush out normally. I think it's one to avoid unless it's improved greatly in recent years.

Cic.

Reply to
Cicero

Probably because you did not 'cut' it enough with thinners. I found this out years ago from an 'old boy' I had some paint which seemed ok to me, it was liquid and thick, but it would not go on nicely, he 'cut' it as he put it , with an equal quantity of thinners and it transformed it, when brushed out it just flowed out any brush marks and was damn near as good as a sprayed finish, fabulous coverage too, that pot went on for years !!!

Mrcheerful

Reply to
Mrcheerful

========================================= You may be right, but it didn't compare very favourably with either Berger or Tekaloid, both of which produced perfect results straight out of the tin with minimal effort. As usual, it's up to every individual to experiment for themselves to find out what suits them.

Cic.

Reply to
Cicero

The problem I've found with paints or enamels, is that the finish only appears to be surface deep, so if you don't achieve a smooth coat first time, you either have to accept it or rub it down, and have another go.

The secret to painting with cellulose, is to lay it on quickly with a good soft (camelhair?) brush. IME, the bristles on an ordinary brush, are too stiff for cellulose Don't brush it out or worry too much about how smooth it is, just get a good coating over the surface, however uneven that coat is. Runs or sags, as long as they're not too heavy, leave them. They'll be removed in the rubbing down stage. After it's thoroughly dry, rub it down to a smooth finish, then polish. Can be hard work but done properly the finish can be better that that of a new car. Especially if the last coat or two is clear cellulose. Mike.

Reply to
Mike G

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