Midnight Sun

Cringe all you want.. it has to be done.

I finished all the exterior body work and the car looks horrible. Bondo here, scratches there, bare metal... Not to mention all the scratches gained from the 20 years of exsistence.

So untill the funds are reached I am gonna rattle can it.

How should I go about this so it doesnt look like total butt?
The type of paint and primer especially.

Also, will this have any adverse effects when I go to get it professionaly repainted down the road?

Will spray paint keep moisture out, or will it rust?

Timz2882

iTrader: (1)

find a sandable primer, u can pick it up at any pepboys (thats where i got mine) and basiclly buy out there stock of it lol and ull be able to primer the whole car and sand it smooth and then paint it any color. but basiclly paint it the same way u would with normal paint tools and air guns but ull be doin it cheaper and alot slower.

fast83camaro

I recommend a light color sandable primer....

What color do you plan on repainting it?

icebird_1981

hey y dont u prime it all down and go to one of those do it your self paint place, all u gotta do is pay for paint and time.

89blackGTA

I have never heard of a place like that. thats pretty cool

Brian

pat12spe

Why would you wanna waste money and primer the whole entire car?? IMO you just need to hit the spots that need it and spray over it until you can get a decent quality paint job. Even if you have to go with Maaco for now you'd save money and have it look ok until you get a decent paint job.

icebird_1981

um that is what i ment.

deadbird

For rattlecan jobs I would have to say Duplicolor Truck & Van paint. A variety of modest colors (along with standard colors) and, Dulpicolor is a Laquer paint which can be color sanded (1000-2000 grit or compound) and buffed for a somewhat 'nice' gloss finish. A t-top car will require roughly 11 cans (depending on coverage thickness) @ $4 a can. Or, if you dont care, go too Wally-world an give you car the 98¢ treatment. Even coverage is the key to looking like partial **** or total just-don't-give-a-f coverage. The Duplicolor will give a fair, half-azzed attempt at looking nice with a slight amount of elbow grease at the least though.

9D1BURD

I think someone on here just recently rattle canned his hood. Maybe he will chime in.

It looked great IMHO.

kerryismygirl89

How would one go about spraying (painting) the car yourself? Do you just wait for a non-windy day and spray it in your driveway? There's probably a whole tech article on this, huh?

89blackGTA

that is exactly how I did the roof and bumber of my car.

89blackGTA

new(rattle can)

kerryismygirl89

Wow... not too shabby. Maybe I'll try that since I can't afford any type of paint job now...

Midnight Sun

I already did that, and it just looks ugly. It looks like it just got randomly sprayed with stuff, so I just want to get it all one color.

Do I have to use a different kind of paint and sandpaper when I do the bumper as opposed to the rest of the car because it is plastic?

The coin is sort of up in the air on that one. probably just a different shade of red, or maybe a midnight blue. Will it make a difference?

fast83camaro

I was just gonna say, don't paint it with a dark-color primer if you are gonna paint the car a light color....

Midnight Sun

Well whatever primer I put down is gonna be taken off when I have it painted anyways.

This is by no means a permanent job. I just want a good rattlecan primer and paint to make my car all one color to hold me over a few months.

FSTFBDY

iTrader: (33)

why not just get a bottom line base/clear and shoot it yourself. Thats what Im doing for now untill winter hits and I strip it back down for House of Kolor paint.

Black bottom line ppg base/clear is gona cost me $125
metallic Blue would be $220

The House of Kolor silver base and cobolt blue cany topcoat is $880. but Im in a hurrt to get some color on the car and hit the local 1/8th mile track befor winter hits. We droped the motor back in saterday... hopeing to paint this weekend or next

Ward

iTrader: (1)

This was my sister's 87 SC, before she wrecked it (she's freakin stupid btw). It was painted entirely with rattle cans, primer and paint. I think my dad used about 20 cans of paint overall, but I'm not exactly sure. He used dupli-color, because he likes lacquer. He's been painting cars for a long time, since lacquer was the industry standard. The old paint was sanded down with 220 grit, and primed over first. Then, all dents and blemishes were filled/fixed. Then the primer was sanded smooth to 600 grit paper, then the car was painted. When doing a car with rattlecans, do one body panel at a time. Its not like painting with a gun, where you mix up one big batch of paint, which is all the same color. There may be minor color differences between 20 individual cans of paint. Start on like a fender, then paint that entire fender before moving on to the next body panel. This way, if you do get any differences in color/shade, they will be between the body panels, and less noticeable. After the car was painted, it sat for a week, for the paint to properly cure. Some people say 2 weeks, but in 90+ degree heat here in dallas, one week should be plenty. The paint was then buffed and polished, which made it look every bit a smooth and shiny as a good base-clear job.

Ward

iTrader: (1)

Pic

89blackGTA

I used the same stuff on both, .98 cans from wally world. I used a finer sandpaper on the bumper though.

Where are you getting that price. My buddy has the gun, compressor, shop and all the crap to do it. If I can paint my car for less than $200 and not have it be a macco I will be very happy.

Brian

FSTFBDY

iTrader: (33)

If your buddy has everything Deff. go this way. Do not rattle can.
I have 3 local Places I can get paint supplies.
2 Car Quest Stores one even carries house of Kolor in stock
and a Hovus

both can mix/match etc....

devianb

lol, I have sort of the same issue. I'm gonna have to primer a lot of spots on my car as well. Light grey is the best to see any imperfections, although they do have black, brown, yellow, and red primers.


I thought Steve Cauffiel's car actually looked pretty good with all primer.

TekViper

Ward that looks like a very sweet paintjob, u dont happen to have any other shots do u? closeups, other angles ect? looks good.

JR86-TA

I do not understand all of this nonsense... Wether it is Rattlecan or SprayGun, it is all the same... Compressed air and paint... So, in theory, you can get as good a paint job out of the can as you can through a gun... Now then, here is the catch... As with the gun, it all depends who is doing the job... There are those who stink and those who are good... There are those who will put in time and those who won't... I have spray painted my whole interior and I personally think it turned out great... looks as if I had someone with a Spray gun do it... Anywho, before anyone calls me a liar and what not I will just give a simple recipe to follow...
Choose what color you want to paint your car... Let's say black just for the heck of it... Get black primer... lots of it. It is best if you can find a good filler primer, but sandable primer is fine since you are wanting to get a pro job later. It helps if the primer is gloss but it doesn't matter that much. Spray one metal surface at a time... like the fender.
Block sand it... and I stress BLOCK sand. You will see where all the dings and nicks are in the metal because they will be glossy as opposed to the flat black where the metal is straight.
Fill the dings and nicks in the filler putty/a.k.a. bondo. Spray primer again. Block sand again. Keep doing that process until you are pleased with the straightness of the metal. Then spray your color. I would say do about 4-5 coats because my experience has been that Rattlecan paint is rather thin... Wet sand the paint with 800 then 1000 then 1500 grit sandpaper to get rid of the orange peel (odd how similar rattlecan and guns are huh?). Then buff away until you get the shine you want...

Now, the plastic peices are a different story... You need to get Addhesion promoter and flexible primer and flexible paint... but the theory is still the same...

Now, any of you can call me a liar and what not... who knows, I may be wrong about the fact that rattlecans and spray guns are the same... However... most people who have guns also have a proper place to spray, unlike those who have cans... so, naturally, if you spray outside, you will get dirt, dust, and sometimes even bugs into your paint, but if you are getting a pro job eventually, who cares, right?

Good luck with the painting.

shaggy56

I have seen first hand a professional body guy paint cars for insurance claims. He is a friend and has trained to be full fledge body guy. I have seen him do body work and its not that complex of a process. Technically I dont see why you cant do a decent job with spray paint. Really the only difference between the spray paint method and spray gun method is your would take it one step farther and apply a clear coat afterwards. Honestly as long as you dont go crazy when you spray say drips or runs it should come out professional. Its hard to mess up really. I have seen him and he has done it for years still by bad luck get some drips or what have you but its not a big deal. After every paint job or what have you he does a wet sand with very fine sandpaper to get that smooth glossy look even on horrible drips that can be fixed and smoothed out. Ive even heard him say at times you can skip priming the car by just roughing up the original paint to get the new paint to stick well. Ive seen his work and it looks great.

GarageToys

iTrader: (6)

If you've got access to a paint gun and compressor: check out eBay. There's a company that sells gallons of acrylic enamel for $34.99. Just type in "auto paint" and you'll find them. They have a bunch of colors. I'd go that way instead of spray cans.

Midnight Sun

Where can I find this stuff?

And... what exactly is "orange peel"?

Packy

not sure it was said, but, I think if your gonna rattle can it try to get all the paint from the same lot number. That way the final color should be even thru out

TekViper

orange peel is when your paint ends up having the texture of an orange.

irocbirdbuilder

Hey dont knock maaco i had mine done in there shop. It was actually done by a freiend of mine that works there and he was the only one to touck it. Came out real good no runs, drips etc. I was totally blown away, a paint job is only as good as the guy shooting it and i persojnally think it only looks good when the body is straight and rust free like mine was.

bandit454

I'm not going to touch on this too much, but you will never get a spray paint out of a can as good as a air gun. They are two totally different methods. A spray gun does not just spray compressed air, the spray gun also atomizes and other things, if you don't understand then do a search on spray guns and learn how they actually work. If it was that simple you would not have spray guns costing upwards of $300-600 and would not need a body shop, everybody would do there own. There is a big difference in spray guns, and a lot more in paint cans. If you are wanting something to get by, maybe the spray can will do you. But add up the cost of the cans versus basecoat/clearcoat, laquer, etc, that some colors you can paint a car for $75.00 doing it yourself. Even if you don't have experience at doing it it will turn out 10 times better. I know that someone will disagree, but I will challenge anyone to a paint square off, one using spray can paint, the other doing the air gun. My two cents worth.

Midnight Sun

Just keep in mind guys... This isnt a permanent paintjob by any means.

I plan on shelling out the cash for a pro job, just not yet. Go before show..

Aside from that, I dont want a new paintjob while I am taking the hood and fenders off regularly to put an engine in and such.

Cause I will just scratch it.

I just wanna rattle can it all one color to stop rust and make it decent looking for the next few months.

BTW. Where can I buy that adhesive spray for the plastic bumper covers?

1tinindian

You won't need any flex agent or adhesion promoter for the bumpercovers for the short time that you plan on having it that way before the good paint job, just make sure you have it wet sanded with 400 grit sandpaper and wiped down good with a grease & wax remover, and spray your color, no primer needed for these areas.
Trust me, I have been a painter since 1984, painting everything from RF-4C Phantoms in the USAF, to several hundered customer cars at a custom auto body shop, to 4 of my own cars that have won awards at numorus shows, including the Trans Am Nationals.

Good luck and keep that 83 on the road

devianb

I don't think spray cans hold a constant pressure like with spray guns using a compressor. I will admit, I painted my interior guage panel and stereo face plate using just spray paint and it came out pretty decent and fairly smooth with little sanding.


You can have good or bad jobs with the the spray can or paint gun. It depends on the skills of the user and the patience they put into it.


Light, even strokes is the way to go while taking your time allowing each coat adequate time to dry. If it doesn't work, just sand and try it over again, not like you can't redo it, which is what I'm going to do with my guage panel, to make it look even better.


At the time I put it in too soon and got a permant thumb imprint on the guage panel. its not really noticable unless I point it out, but I know its there.


I didn't do much sanding, but I thought it looked alright for then.

irocbirdbuilder

Thats kinda like what i did with my interior except i did the rear guage bezel and the spokes of my steering wheel, radio and door panels i love the way it looks different for a thirdgen but looks like it came that way.

SC82TA

I've never painted a large surface such as a car....but even with little things your finger might get tired of holding the spray button down...so I suggest you get one of those spray can holders where you can use your spray can in a similar way to a spray gun. Keeps your finger from getting tired and it helps you put down the paint better. They will be at an auto parts store in the section where they have the bondo and sandpaper and or near the paints.