Re: $50 paint job!!

Foam roller. Actually it's a valid way to paint if you have the time to do the inter coat sanding. I have seen a couple vehicles painted with the same method and they look just as good as the high dollar jobs. I think I would opt for regular automotive paint though.

Once upon a time weren't cars painted with a brush at the factory?

Wondering how auto paint would behave when applied this way. Wouldn't you have to thin it differently than you would for spray application? And wouldn't it require a lot more paint to do it this way?

No... I think "dipping" was the old fashioned way.

I'd like to know as well... I don't think Rustoleum makes a "clearcoat" that would do very well.

I do imagine that there are probably a few different types of paint that would lend itself well to the application though.

I'm quite interested to know more, as I've got an old van in great shape that simply needs some paint.

Well there is an example of a roller paint job sitting in my FILs barn. He painted his 69 Scout that way a dozen years ago. He didn't thin the paint and didn't do much sanding so it has some orange peel. Doesn't look bad though. He used DuPont Enamel from a local body shop (it was a wrong color mix but it was very close to IH red) I think he used 2 quarts which isn't that bad. I would probably thin it more and then color sand it to smooth it out. In reality it is nothing more than putting the paint onto the surface. The difference between a high end paint job and an Earl Sheib special is in the prep, detail work and quality of materials. If you are willing to put the time into it I would bet you could do as well as the high dollar shops AND save a bunch of money to boot.

here's how i painted my car for about $50, it's actually very easy and the results are amazing. First off, get a can of tremclad real orange (or what ever color u want) in the can, not spray, yes tremclad, it is a acrylic/enamel paint which is very durable. next prep your car as if was any other paint job, fix all the rust, ect....no need to prime the car since the tremclad allready contains elements which allow it to be painted over bare metal. next, after prepping the car get a small 4" professional FOAM rollers, it's tiny and has one end rounded off, and the other cut straight, and is a very high density foam. u also need a jug of mineral spirits to thin the paint. The thing i really like about this is that there's no mess, no tapeing the whole car, just key areas, and u can do it in your garage, since your not spraying there is virtually no dust in the air, just clean your garage first, also it does'nt really smell at all, dries overnight and it super tough paint. also it you decide to paint the car professionally later, just prep and paint, there's no need to strip the tremclad. i have done this to a few cars, and i can say it works amazing, u just have to be paitient. next u thin the paint with mineral spirits so it just about as thin as water, a little thicker. get out the roller and paint away, don't get the paint shaked when u buy it, enamel is stirred, otherwise you'll have bubbles in the paint for a week!!! after u do 2 coats, wet sand the whole car, then repeat, 2 coats, wetsand, 2 coats wetsand. i painted the charger using a can since your not spraying the car u use all the paint and not spray 50% in the air, use progressivly finer sand paper each time. it's not really that much work, cause u can stop and start any time, u can do just a door, or the hood, ect. do one panel at a time, and don't stop once you start. once your done the final coat, wetsand with about 1000 grit to a totally smooth finish, and then using a high speed polisher i use a buffing bonnet and turtle wax polishing compound. do the whole car with this, and i'm telling u, depending on the amount of time and paitence you have, the results are amazing. laugh if you want, but for $50 ($30 for paint, about $20 for rollers, sand paper, ect...) it really looks good. also you can do these steps overnight, paint one evening and by morning u can wet sand. i have personally done alot of painting, mostly single stage acrylic enamel, and i've sprayed several cars in my garage with really good professional results, just it stinks, it's a real pain to do, easy to make a mistake, messy, and expensive. The tremclad is awesome paint, the "real orange" is an amazing hemi orange, and almost looks like it has some perl in the sun, awesome color right out of the can. I used this technique on my 1974 beetle also, here are the results:

the car before:

another after pic:

here is a car i sprayed (71 beetle, midnight blue metalic):

here is the car before (71 beetle):

here's a few pics of the charger done:

well that's my 2 cents worth, sorry for the long post. i was borred lol i painted the orange beetle in 1999, and it still looks like the day i painted it, the 71 blue beetle i painted in 2000, and built the car for my dad, i used the same paint on my charger, maybe one day i'll spring for a good paint job, prepping is 90% of the work, stripping the car, sanding, ect.....painting is overrated!!! So if you have TIME, then i'd say go for it, the worst that could happen is that it does'nt turn out and your out $50, but if your paitient, and expriement with lets say just the trunk pannel and if you like it do the whole car, if not just get it done by someone else for $4000. i don't know about you guys, but i would rather spend the $4000 on other parts like getting the mechanics sorted out and new chrome, cause when u have really nice paint and crappy bumpers, door handles it just sticks out more.