Curious if anyone else has tried this.

I'm currently rolling on Rustoleum enamel paint using a foam roller and oil-based paint brush. It's turning out alright for the most part; Only on the second coat. Found out a foam brush doesn't work very well when I was putting on the first coat. Anyone else with experience doing this?

 

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How much does this paint job cost? My car needs paint BAD and I'm broke... If it looks good and is cheap I'd do it

 

"Looks Good" is in the eye of the beholder.

In my opinion, if you have the skill(or at least the desire and determination) to get the body straight enough to make a roller paint job "look good", then you should do the body work, and while doing that save your pennies, sell your blood or semen, whatever. Take the proceeds, and get the cheapest MAACO single stage paint job thrown over your work. This will look much better than what you are going to get going the Rustoleum route.

But this is strictly opinion, and I will give credit to anyone that undertakes the Rustoleum challenge. At least you are trying to make your car better.

 

if you color sand and buff a roller job it can look good

 

The stigma continues...

 

Well then, forgive me for trying something new.

 

You need some prep work before you do this. You need to make sure the exterior is clean; VERY clean. I'd recommend having it in primer before rolling on the paint.

As for the paint, it's protective enamel by Rustoleum, using 1 part mineral spirits to 4 parts paint. It's oil based. The first coat will look crappy...this is to be expected. Make sure that you're using a foam roller, and a brush made specifically for oil-based paints for the small and delicate portions that your roller can't get to (I'm looking at you ground effects).

I cannot stress enough that you should not fill the roller up completely with paint when you start rolling. You need to roll off a lot of the excess paint, as you'll get incredible runs otherwise (I found this out the hard way).

The paint will take longer to dry than conventional auto paint that's sprayed on; Give it at least a day between coats, if not longer. It will flatten out and become smooth as it dries. The second coat will go on much more smoothly than the first, and will really start to shine. I'm currently going to apply the third coat this morning, so I'll let you know how that goes.

One of the key points in this is that it's cheap to do compared to normal paint jobs, but keep in mind it's all about how much effort you put into it. Another plus is that you don't need to tape off as much, as there isn't overspray to worry about. Keep all corners near where you're painting covered.

One last thing...don't do this at night. Or anywhere that bugs are a problem. They like this paint, a lot. They don't look good on said paint.

 

Yeah, that's a dent in the front fender. Not sure how that got there...still learning the story of this car as I tear things apart/replace things on it. Previous owners used it as a burnout car at a local speedway :X

 

you can do a decent job like this .BUT I must point out that the amount of work required to get it even passable is LESS than if you sprayed it on. I have seen some jobs done with a wagner power painter.we call them a 20 footer.anyhow I would recommend this; spray/roll it on thick enough to be able to sand it after it cures with 1500 or 2000 grit wet or dry paper.this will allow you to remove any runs,orange peel ,fish eyes ,ect. and in the end ,no it will never look professional,but you can do a fair enough job to maybe be happy with the outcome.

 

Not new. The roller threads started years ago on here.

You could buy a gallon of enamel for $40, and a harbor freight HVLP gun for $12 on sale.

Nobody is against you painting the car yourself, we're just wondering why you would do it like you paint a bedroom.

-- Joe

 

[quote=Firebird_Sadie;5628286]Well then, forgive me for trying something new. I'll just go and delete my account and drive my car off a high ledge somewhere and rid the world of the disgrace that is apparently me.[/quote]

If you do a search here you can find other threads using everything from Rustoleum to Krylon.

I'm curious. Do you always threaten suicide when someone tries to give you constructive criticism and advice?

People here will tell you that yes, you can paint your car that way, but you can probably do a better job, that will look better and last longer,and done the right way for about the same time and money if you really wanted to.

That said, I have seen some brush/roller paint jobs that looked really good. I just don't think they look as good or hold up as well as sprayed on automotive paint.

Good luck with your paint job.

 

Well that's a bit dramatic....and so early in the morning. Your lack of homework, research, and respect for your vehicle led me to my d-bag reply. Please do not get aggravated when you defile a thirdgen then create a thread needing assistance when your half-arsed attempt fails. Please strip your car to metal and start fresh.

 

Nah nah, my sense of humor tends to fall flat on it's face. Did my homework and research, thought I'd give it a go. Searched the forums for people who have rolled on paint before, but didn't see much in the way of great detail.

So, I decided to give this roll method a shot. I've sprayed with a 2-stage compressor, an electric spray gun, rattle cans, you name it. This was just a new way to apply some paint...albeit a very unique way.

 

Curiosity and income that knows no bounds are the main idea behind this...and to see if you really can do a smooth job with a roller job.

We're going to put that to the test. The idea is that after the entirety of the paint cures, I'm going to put some form of clear coat of protectant on it to keep it from turning into swiss cheese at highway speeds (although it's somewhat thick anyways).

 

Been done. It requires numerous coats and lots of sanding.

-- Joe

 

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Yet you still decided to paint your car using a roller. An "income that knows no bounds", homework, and research most assuredly would've steered you in a different direction...the correct direction for properly painting a vehicle. Please choose your Mazda 6 as your canvas for inspiration next time.

 

 

I forgot that you were resident master painter; I'm sorry to let you down, sensei, but rolling it on was fun! Learned a lot of interesting things by doing this.

Besides, not all of us can afford to own a thirdgen AND a nice, economical daily driver.

 

This is a temporary paint job for awhile (Maybe 1-2 years max) before I strip it back down to metal and spray it again. Still have a long way to go on some interior components/exterior dents, but this works for now.

 

Well, this ought to do for now. Didn't turn out too bad for what the total cost was worth.

 

Well that's because a lot of members are young and just starting out with their lives.

I spend more on my horses than any of you guys on your cars i'd bet!

-- Joe

 

I'll take your word for it. More or less I'd like to avoid turning this into a pissing contest, but I'm not going to back down when someone slanders me anyways.

Regardless, for only $160 it didn't turn out too bad.

 

I must say you didn't disappoint me by following up this debacle using the same boring rhetoric that's used every other time, by ever other guy that does it wrong. The "it's only temporary" and "I'll just strip it and do it right when I have the money" reasoning. Tiresome. I'll leave you alone, but end by saying you created a thread on an enthusiast website about applying paint to your car with a roller. I really hope that if you say the previous sentence to yourself a few times, you just may understand.

 

I'm not slandering you. I'm questioning why you chose a process that is known to be difficult and yield less than stellar results. Actually, I'm less concerned with the roller than the fact that you didn't use automotive paint.

You could have picked up a $12 gun and $40 worth of single stage paint and learned more in the process.

There is some legitimate applications for a roller, such as high build primer. I don't do it like that, but I know it's acceptable in some applications.

I'm not an expensive paint ****. I have no issue with cheap paint, as long as it's automotive paint. Even the cheap enamel they sell at tractor supply is automotive grade. (and arguably better than the crap they used in the 80s).

edit: it just dawned on me that I saw "rustoleum automotive enamel" the other day for $22 a quart. It's a single stage but not catalyzed (like 2 stage). Is that what you used?



-- Joe

 

That would be the paint I used, yes. There's no way I'd put wall paint on a car :X

Do understand, though, that I wasn't after you for slandering me: That was directed at haps. It's okay though, we can't please everyone after all. Just makes me curious as to why someone gets so worked up about someone doing something to their own car that doesn't pertain to them. Honestly, I think it turned out alright, and by the comments of others over here in my area they seem to think it's pretty decent too.

 

Hrmm. You know, my bad. Everyone else used house paint (even recent posts). So I just assumed based on the brand.

I noticed the 'automotive enamel' the other day for $22 a quart and I was like 30 second away from picking up a quart of 'jet black' to play with.


I honestly still don't understand why you didn't use a gun. The amount of time you spend sanding and leveling after using a roller is just absurd.

But I guess worse case scenario, i'd just 320 the whole car to scuff it and hit it again.

-- Joe

 

It was a test run to see how rolling it on would work. Nothing like learning a new skill, and besides, if I can do a decent enough job like this, maybe it'll become a new fad for some others. Make a little bit of extra cash on the side painting civics with rustoleum, ya know? Cheap (but not necessarily quick), but it looks alright. Shines right after application too.

 

I don't think that anyone was slandering you and I know there was no pissing match. I think we were telling you that there is a "right" way and a "wrong" way to paint your car and you didn't choose the accepted "right" way.

I think your car looks OK (If you like battleship grey) but I have to qualify that by saying it looks OK for the way you did it. It could have looked a lot worse but you can't expect to get respect on this forum for the method you used when even you know it's wrong. I'm also sure that there are some other young financially challenged 3rd Gen owners on here that will emulate you and do the same thing with the same results.

The bottom line is... If you're happy about the way it turned out, that's all that matters. It's your car. It's just that you could have put the same amount of money and time into doing it the right way and possibly learned even more.

Good luck with it.

 

Probably a lot better than beforehand, but I really.. don't like that color. On any car.

 

You seem to be in some sort of denial that this is commonly done. We aren't criticizing you for trying something "different from the norm" , we've seen this technique plenty of times. Sometimes the results are better than others, but in the opinion of more experienced members, the good results take more effort than doing right and roughly the same cost.

On to the results.
I'm sorry, but regardless of how smooth that paint came out, it looks like grey primer with a stripe on it. For anyone else doing this, red is the easiest color to look decent on a low budget job.
For yours, the only thing I can say good about it is that it would make a good base for giving it a fighter plane or Star Wars theme paint.

 

i second that our horse trailer cost more than my house in town. lol

 

And one more thing I think it looks fine from the pics. Just to say for my self I used Implement enamel on mine its super thick. Its kubota orange in color. Get down on it its orange peeled. I spray it all the time when rebuilding a trade in tractor. Orange peel is its nature you should say. To each there own.