Nobody will know unless you tell them.

 

I'm cool with the idea, but pics would help.

 

Rumor has it the boat guys started the technique. It really took off with a thread on a Dodge forum though. It will take you days to read through it all.
https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/22026/1.html

That thread impressed me enough to fool with Rustoleum myself. I did a couple of bikes with it and have one in progress even now. This one came out alright. Of course a coat of 2K clear on top didn't hurt. But everything under that is Rustoleum Pro paint. (Sprayed)
Pre-clear:

With clear (and decals)

Like Dr says above, don't tell. Annnnndddd, where's the pictures?

 

Like Dr says above, don't tell. Annnnndddd, where's the pictures?

But that would ruin all the fun! It amuses me you can get a paint job that looks good enough for a driver for a couple hundred dollars...might well paint my mustang that way myself...or at least try it that way to start with and if unhappy with the results just sand it down and go conventional.

 

We need pics! ?

 

OK, help me out please. I've got a photobucket album with some pics but can't figure out how to get that link in here.
TIA

 

There is a link to the right of every photobocket picture...specifically there are 4 links...the last one is the image link...copy and paste it.

 

https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d188/pathwayrev/Mustang/Sally above left_zpsqeyaklpi.jpg

 

This is the HTML code:
"IMG]https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d188/pathwayrev/Mustang/Sally%20above%20left_zpsqeyaklpi.jpg[/IMG"

without the quotation marks and brackets on their place

 

Looks good for $250.00! Another alternative for painting on a budget is the Duplicolor quarts that they sell at auto parts stores. Buy a $50.00 paint gun at Walmart and go to town You'd be surprised at the results. The problem with Rustoleum is that is chips very easily. You will probably start to see rock chips on the front of the car very soon but, buy a couple of rattle cans and you are good to go again. $2000.00 for the cheapest Maaco paint job??

 

Any webpages or guides for the duplicolor job?

 

Yeah, I've got the gun, compressor, and all the pieces. But spraying anything but water out in the woods just isn't going to work. Way too much stuff in the air and falling from the trees. Never mind the bugs.
Yes, this will chip. But as you say, a rattle can in this stock color will take care of it quickly and easily. Also, I've got a small bottle of the mixed liquid and a foam brush ready to go.

 

 

Cheap paint does not stick very well and degrades quickly. If I were to do a cheap auto paint job, I would use an industrial enamel like Hy-Lux acrylic enamel. Reduce about 30% with acetone and add the catalyst. Roughly $50 a gallon plus 20 or 30 for the catalyst. Only comes in basic colors. Infinitely better than Rust O. Would have to be sprayed for a good finish. I am extremely well experienced with this sort of thing, so I do know what I am talking about.

 

Alkyd enamel and acrylic enamel spray and endure about the same for me. I forgot to say that I do add the enamel "hardener" when I use Rustoleum. Around I can find it at Tractor Supply Co., which also happens to have some budget-friendly enamel paints. Not so great color chopices.
People have been happily applying stuff like "John Deere blitz black" paint to hot rods for years and no one blinks an. Mention Rustoleum and somem folks lose their minds. It's kind of weird. Enamels are not high-production paint shop friendly but work a lot better than people give them credit for. More than a few "survivor" paint jobs out there from years back that are enamels. Very few lacquers.

Speaking of which, the Duplicolor stuff is lacquer and sprays like it's about 75% thinner. Takes like ten coats before you get any coverage at all (with the metallics I bought to try out). I like lacquer. I like how it sprays and I like working with it. Sometimes. But the Duplicolor stuff will end up costing you double or more than if you just bought some decent enamel or even regular automotive lacquer. If anyone sells that any more. The paint isn't bad, just they reduce so much it's a terrible value for the money.

 

I Painted my 56 Willys with it and it looked great for 3-4 years then faded really fast. Clear coat might help good luck looks good.

 

When I was stationed in Italy, I painted a Fiat 600 using Rustolium rattle cans. It took about 10 cans to cover. It was bright orange, and for about 6 months it looked great. Then it started chalking up. I tried buffing it out and using a cleaner wax but nothing would stop the chalk. I later sold it for about what I had into it and rotated back to the states.

 

For right around $225 you can get a gallon and quart of TCP Global proper single stage auto paint. Reducer, hardener, the whole bit enough to do a Mustang.

 

For that matter, Eastwood has any number of single stage paints ranging from $120-220 per sprayable gallon, but I wouldn't buy less than 3 gallons myself(2 coats with a 3rd mixed 50/50 with a 2k clear would still allow enough left over to paint a hood or something should you choose to change it out later)

I havent yet used any Eastwood paints, but everything else from them that I have bought has been great.

 

The problem with Rustoleum (and enamels in general) is it doesn't have any UV inhibitors in it, so it will fade and chalk with time. If you limit time in the sun it will prolong the time until this effect happens. If you spray a clear coat on the car then it will be protected from UV and can still achieve a high gloss.

I spray tractors and implements with enamels because they're extremely durable, but even those I still clear coat to keep the gloss.

 

Again, not everyone can spray. I can't because of my setting in the woods even tho I have all the gear. To buy an adequate compressor, a decent gun with a couple of tips, cups....
And that outlay of $$$ is for a one-time project.

I spent $19 plus shipping (Amazon) for a quart, used three and could have done it with two if I had more experience.
UV rays aren't such a problem in western Oregon where we don't tan, we rust. But even if it does get chalky I hit it with some sandpaper and roll on another layer of Rustoleum. Total cost: $25.

 

Oh I agree, I am a fan of the roller paint jobs...but I do have to ask...what does being in the woods have anything to do with it? It doesnt matter if the paint is rolled or sprayed, bugs, dust, leaf particles will get in it either way if painting outside...unless I am missing something?

Oh...and there is no such thing as a one-time project...its why I always buy tools instead of renting...if I do something once, I am more likely to do it again in the future, even if its not the same car.

 

About 20 years ago, I was coming out of my apartment and saw an old lady downstairs painting her VW Beetle with a roller and green house paint! Surprisingly, it was an improvement since it had been 3 colors and primer before. Its still looked the same a year later when I moved. Kinda looked like spray on bed liner : )

 

I painted the front half of mine with Rustoleum and a roller back in 2016. I only did the front half (in front of the windshield) because it had been crashed and had unpainted replacement panels. The color doesn't exactly match the crappy old paint on the rest of it, but I don't really care. I used Rustoleum because I'm poor.


Before:

Right after painting:

It's far from perfect but it still looks as good as the day I painted it, plus a few rock chips because it's a daily driver and road trip machine. Oh yeah, and it's been parked outside in the sun and rain the whole time.


A couple months ago:

I would do it again, and someday I'll get around to painting the rest of it. Might actually go with something more interesting than white though.


I've also mixed Rustoleum to color-match some old weathered paint on an MGB GT project, to paint a repaired panel without painting the whole car:

 

The foam roller technique started off with body guys using it to lay down high build primer without having to move the car into the booth. They could spot prime right in the middle of the shop floor and get on with their job. High build gets sanded anyway, so the finish wasn't important. Doubt I'd use it to do a complete job, just a lot of work afterwards to make it look good.

I've used Rustoleum as a repair paint, my 71 Cougar XR-7 was an exact match to Appliance Almond. I used Duplicolor Auto panel paint on my '72 T-bird, wet sanded and buffed it out for a nice finish.

 

There is a guy from Sweden (I think) named Magnus Marthinsen that painted his Mustang the same as my New Holland tractor....I don't mean the color, I mean the exact paint.

 

That thing came out nice...it makes me wish I had an excuse to flare my fenders and quarters.

 

You moved your project forward in the best way you could and from the fuzzy pictures it doesn't look bad at all. It's longevity and such is a matter for the future. Kudos to you for finding a way.

 

Haha...looks like Photobucket caught up with a free account posting(wasnt blurred and watermarked when he first posted it). They did the same thing to me until I finally just paid the yearly subscription. I might have gone somewhere else except for the fact that I have half a dozen different car builds over a dozen years on different forums and dont want those threads to lose the detailed pictures. I figured the $50 or whatever photobucket charged per year was worth it so other people have the information they might be interested in from those threads.

 

The low budget circle track guys would roller with exterior latex sometimes. Longevity wasn’t an issue as there was bumping and banging enough so it needed to be touched up every week or two. Tractor paint was also used. I used the TCP but I wasn’t thrashing around for a top spot so I wasn’t touching it up every week.

 

I remember when I was in my early 20s, looking out my front window and seeing the neighbor across the street taping up the glass on his 66 Tempest hardtop with masking tape and newspaper. Before I knew it he was mixing some paint in a bucket with some other liquid then began painting his car yellow with a 4" brush for the large areas and smaller brushes for the hard to get areas. He did remove the bumpers, grill and windshield chrome molding. I was laughing thinking about it. When he was done you could see brush strokes in the paint. It didn't look like he was stingy with the paint when he was applying it. The car sat for about a week after he finished painting. It was a mess. There was little luster and I could still see brush strokes when it dried. What happened next was the neighbor began rubbing the paint with rubbing compound and an orbital buffer. He spent several days rubbing out the paint. Panel after panel the car began to shine. Up close the paint looked fantastic and deep. They neighbor I found out later that he used a single stage automotive paint and, a reducer and a hardener, enough so it would harden but at a rate that he could finish painting the car by hand.

So I guess don't laugh until you see the finished product but then you may just be amazed.