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I have just been reading the paint thread (work is quiet), getting tips and hints Ref sanding and smoothing and saw the link here regarding rollering!! Are we honestly saying we can roller / brush paint primer, top coat and clear coat? And then with ALOT of work (but no cost) get a paint shop sandard finish? This is very interesting news, and I am extremely interested in investigating the possibilities of this.
Craig its easier than that.
There is no clear coat.
Synthetic paint used on commercials and plant / farm machinery is good for rollering as is rustoleum.
Good choice of classic colours and plenty of videos on youtube.
You see, you guys are talking a foreign language to me now - rustoleum! Self levels! All sounds like the devils work to me!!!!!!!!!
One thing I am concerned about is the time of year? Working on the principle of a 6x3 gazebo with the sides on and rollering / brushing will I get a good finish this time of year or will air moisture have a negative impact?
Like I said earlier the process relies on thickness of paint and cutting back to achieve gloss finish. So your topcoat/layer will typically look pretty poor after painting (orange peel/ dust/insects) rustoleum is an enamel paint, so it kind of flows into itself over time (self levels, think old school coach paint). It also takes ages to dry compared to spraying, hence why it attracts so much contamination.
Rustoleum is about £34 for 2.5 litres ( plenty)
Everyone uses Harris high density foam rollers with rounded edge (typically £5 in home bargains etc)
Hope some of this helps
Consider you are doing 2 cars Craig? 3k worth of paint and labour could potentially be spent on some pretty fantastic equipment, such as a professional apollo electric hvlp sprayer for around £300
A few other notes of caution - I didn't put enough effort in to the prep before priming so there some high spots which, when cut back, left me with the primer showing through. I'm not too worried but if you are after a showroom finish this might annoy you. Also, getting in to some of the more fiddly areas to get rid of the orange peel or brush strokes is a grade 1 PIA.
Tekaloid is another option. Coach enamel originally for narrow boat painting. There are some good blogs around and it seems quite popular in the Landy and VW circles.
The downside is that it needs to be dust free for 24 hours but if you have the skills the results are amazing.
Today was spent mopping with G3 scratch remover, a wash and chamois down and then a polish with Autoglym Super Resin polish. This is the result:
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My take, it's not a "factory finish" paint job but if you have a limited budget and plenty of time rollering isn't a bad way to get some colour on your car.
My take, it's not a "factory finish" paint job but if you have a limited budget and plenty of time rollering isn't a bad way to get some colour on your car.
I think you're hugely underplaying what an incredible job you've done. We're literally talking about more than £1000 worth of savings. Even £2000 depending on where you are in the world. Yes it's not PERFECT but unless the pictures are incredibly forgiving to the point of lying id say it's one hell of a finish that any one with very little skill and a very large amount of patience can get - again I stress; for thousands less than a spray finish.
Personally I will be spraying my car, but only because I have experience spraying cellulose, a decent set up, a good (Anest Iwata 400) spray gun and a booth at work I can use. Otherwise I'd certainly be trying this.
Thanks TynoPrime - I think Scottie said his paint job looks good from about 10ft away and this is about the same. As always with these things, if I were to do it again I would do some things differently but I'm reasonably pleased with the results.
Chris - I fancied matt but was told "It will look like a kit car" by my kids so had to cave on that one. Anyway, time to start doing more to the inside, just don't tell the wife!
Interesting drive to Lincoln the other week from our home just outside Cambridge. One Merc went past three times as the woman in the passenger seat tried to work out what the bloody hell it was.
That looks just great ! I find it inspirational seeing what can be done - lots of work pays off. Something original and looking so great. You be very proud of yourself. I would be
Looks great
Yellow is not the easiest colour to paint and for me the level of shine you have achieved fits the car well.
Classic cars with a 2k lacquer shine are not as convincing.
Thanks to everyone who has commented. I took a trip to the Ace Cafe last night (it was a Porsche night but then you can't have everything) and the car certainly turned few heads. BTW - they have a kit car night there every now and again.
Barber - I think the main thing I would do differently is in the prep before painting. The gel coat finish from the moulds isn't perfect and the car would have benefited from a skim of filler over it all. There are also some very specific high points which have gone back to primer where I've sanded. I have seen people using a rattle can to find the high and low points and would probably do this before applying the primer if I were to start again.
The other thing I would probably do differently is be less aggressive when taking off the orange peel. I used either 240 or 320 grit paper and dry sanded. With more time and effort I could have got away with 400 wet sand and kept more of the top coat on and not had to go through so many grades to get to the final finish.
Ah, the benefits of hind sight. One of my better qualities is my perfect hind sight :-D
Will do. The next Kit Car day at the Ace Cafe is 10th September (11 'til 4). Unfortunately I fly back in from South Africa that morning and suspect I won't have the energy to get down there but I will try and get back there soon. Fueltopia sounds fun...
Hi Fatbloke, Been following this with interest as am halfway through my build, Question what size wheels and tyres have you fitted, offset and or spacers as i am at that stage and finding sizes that look the part and give the same ish rolling diameter a bit of a minefield
