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Painting help

908 views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  mg74se 
#1 ·
Hey guys. First off, sorry if this is in the wrong forum, I just joined the site last month and this is my 2nd thread. I don't yet own a truck but will hopefully by mid summer. The question I have is about paint. Since I don't have much money, whatever truck I'm gonna get will most likely have crappy paint. I was wondering whether you guys think I should do a spray can camo job or a nicer 2 tone roller paint job. The truck will see daily driving and 3-4 wheeling trips a month through tight trails (tight for a fullsize) so its probally gonna get scratched up. The problem with spraying is it gets all over, and I don't have a big garage or open field to paint in, just my driveway with 3 other cars in it(worried about overspray). The problem with a roller paint job is it takes about a week, and I'm in school and working part time. Do you guys think its worth all the time and wetsanding for a nice paintjob, even though it might get beat up? These are really my only options, as I'm only willing to put about $80 max. on the paint. I would use bedliner, but then down the road any bodywork or welding becomes a bitch. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.:usa
 
#3 ·
I used tractor paint...you could roll it or shoot it with a harbor freight spray gun. I think I was in about $120 deep including the gun, the paint, and all the tape and supplies I needed to do it, and I shot it in my front yard. (True ******* style right there ladies and gents!) Bits of dead grass, mosquitos, etc. all got in the paint. BUT, I don't have to worry about scratching it, and if I do, I picked up a couple of cans of tractor paint in a spray can of the same color to touch up with. Do a search for tractor paint and you'll see some pictures of my project and a couple of other guys on here that did it. Tractor paint is an awesome low-buck way to go.
 
#7 ·
Now this thread has me looking to buy some tractor paint. Thanks guys. One more thing, hear a possibility of paint becoming hard to buy in the coming months because of some type of EPA regulation with oil based paints. Anybody have any knowledge of this?? Sorry to thread jack, but it in kinda relevant.
 
#9 ·
One more thing, hear a possibility of paint becoming hard to buy in the coming months because of some type of EPA regulation with oil based paints. Anybody have any knowledge of this??
Our company sells tons of aerosol pait (Krylon, Sprayon, Duplicolor etc)..
no such EPA regs in the works.. some local govs have restrictions on aerosol to stop "tagging" tho..
 
#8 ·
I haven't heard anything about any EPA stuff, but it honestly wouldn't surprise me. Did you hear that incandescent light bulbs are being phased out and not made any more? The replacement is those florescent lights that are supposed to last longer. I put a few of them in my place, and I hate the light. It makes everything pale and cold.

Anyways, glad the tractor paint idea helped. It really is pretty awesome. My cheap gun started sputtering, so my paint job came out slightly textured. It holds dust, but it is a little more trail tough plus it looks pretty bitchin...kinda like rhino lining.
 
#10 ·
The EPA based paint rules are different than they originally tried to push through. Yes, the EPA is making stricter rules on the sale and use of automotive type paints, however they are working on making the rules so that a enthusiast can still paint without having to have the use of a spray booth and a fresh air respirator system.

Now if your going for a real cheap paintjob, I did use rustoleum on my 79 Bronco that I had. it turned out real nice. Granted I did abit more prep than most, I sandblasted the body to bare metal, then used rusty metal primer then the color. If you want to do it the way I did it, I used a good paint gun, but you can get by with a harbor freight cheapie hvlp gun. What you need to do is make sure to thin your paint to spray it. and mask off ANYTHING you dont want paint on, if air can get there, you WILL have overspray there. I guarantee it. When i mixed the rustoleum I thinned it with acetone, until it had a consistency that was as thin as I'm used to. When i lifted my stir stick it would run off in a relatively rapid manner. I know its not specific, but on the back of the paint there should be thinning instructions, start there. then play around with the spray gun until you get a pattern right. a gallon of rustoleum is roughly 30 bucks, so you can afford to waste alittle, since you'll still have quite a bit of that original gallon left after it has been thinned sufficiently.

if you want to roll it on, what i've read is that you need to thin it out even more than spraying, and that they take in excess of a week to do properly, since each coat has to dry, and some have done as many as 20 coats!! no thanks, I'll spray my stuff on.

I also dont condone using rustoleum for anything you want nice. Dont expect to have a show winner using it. But if you have a trail rig or a peiced together multi color rig and you just want it one color, then by all means, have at it. I personally used it to try to stop the rust from spreading any further than it was, which it most definately did. I sure miss that truck.

if you have any other questions on painting, or setting up a paint gun, feel free to pm me. I'll help out where I can.
 
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