Paint your car for $98??

Hot Rod (cringe) did an article entitled "Paint your car for $98" this month. They used Rustoleum, thinned it 50/50 with Mineral Spirits, and applied it with a roller and a paint brush, they then color sanded and buffed it, and they say it came out pretty good, they said they would classify it as a 3-4 footer, not perfect, but good for a daily. Well, I was intrigued, so I went to ACE and bought a quart of Rustoleum, thinner, brushes, and high-density foam rollers, and some sand paper, for a grand total of $38. I did my hood, and the initial finish was scary, but after two hours, it has self-leveled quite a bit, and I think the color sanding and buffing will make it look good. I'll get some pictures as soon as I can, and I'll keep you posted.  
Real Cars Don't Power The Front Wheels...They Lift Them.

I'm interested in seeing how this goes, this sounds like a good techinque for the Silver Buick.  I look forward to seeing it.  
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The Silver Buick- '77 Skylark coupe w/ a Fuel Injected Buick 455&TKO-600, '72 Centurion Conv't - 455w/TH400, '67 T-bird 4Dr (suicide) w/428&C6. Needing to replace a '69 Firebird 400.

http://www.bangshift.com/forum/index.php?topic=6189.0

Yeah The only problem is the very limited color choice. Even with custom mixing, you are still limited to the primary colors pretty much, and no metallics. However, the same method could probably be applied to virtually any type of paint, except you would be spending alot more in paint, catalyst, and reducer for automotive paint, and even then I still don't know how a metallic would turn out, due to the relatively (and I use that word loosely) uneven coverage as uposed to spraying it. The article says that Rustoleum is basically old School Enamel paint like that of the 50s and 60s, and if you think about it it doesn't matter how it is applied, it's the finish work that makes or breaks the job.  
Real Cars Don't Power The Front Wheels...They Lift Them.

A shiny grey is all the Buick needs, it will be my Daily Driver, it always has been my beater, so 3-4 feet is all I need  
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The Silver Buick- '77 Skylark coupe w/ a Fuel Injected Buick 455&TKO-600, '72 Centurion Conv't - 455w/TH400, '67 T-bird 4Dr (suicide) w/428&C6. Needing to replace a '69 Firebird 400.

http://www.bangshift.com/forum/index.php?topic=6189.0

It was a great article and kudos to Campbell for trying it but I'm afraid how long that paint will last. It's probably another case of "you get what you pay for," that paint will probably look horrible after a little exposure and weather.  

I am in the midst of performing this right now on my '65 Rambler.  Luckily they make an "Antique White" which is darn near the exact shade of beige that my car already is.  It is a light color and will spend 90 percent of it's time in the garage so I think it will last a while.  I will post pictures soon, still in preliminary the sanding stages now.  
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/726781

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/726791

If its an outdoor paint it should last in the sun. I have to be optimistic because I will try it if it works.  
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The Silver Buick- '77 Skylark coupe w/ a Fuel Injected Buick 455&TKO-600, '72 Centurion Conv't - 455w/TH400, '67 T-bird 4Dr (suicide) w/428&C6. Needing to replace a '69 Firebird 400.

http://www.bangshift.com/forum/index.php?topic=6189.0

i think chip foose may want in on this! think of the marketing.signature series "chipoleum" you can get at home depot,complete with card board cut out of a smiling,wealthy chip!!!  

I live in Tucson, Arizona, so Ill probably be first to know if it fades with sun exposure, so Ill let you know on longevity, but as for the paint, wait 24 hours before you color sand it, or else it will gum up and leave deep scratches (come on, ask me how I know)  
Real Cars Don't Power The Front Wheels...They Lift Them.

I have a few pictures of the paint now. This is the second coat, with only minimal sanding to take out some big runs and bugs and stuff that got in the paint (I had to do it outside) As you can see in the second picture, the orange peel is severe, but not so bad that it cant be cut and buffed.





 
Real Cars Don't Power The Front Wheels...They Lift Them.

Use lacquer thinner It dries faster .Rustoleum holds up quite well to the elements.  
Power is bliss Torque devine

So when you opening a shop? Prices cheaper than Earl Schieb(sp?) or Maco?  
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The Silver Buick- '77 Skylark coupe w/ a Fuel Injected Buick 455&TKO-600, '72 Centurion Conv't - 455w/TH400, '67 T-bird 4Dr (suicide) w/428&C6. Needing to replace a '69 Firebird 400.

http://www.bangshift.com/forum/index.php?topic=6189.0

haha well, for materials yeah, but this type of paint is way more labor intensive than a quick scuff and spray, I have spent countless hours getting the car straight (no Bondo) and primering it with high build and then block sanding the whole car, and then by the time i get all the coats done, and the color sanding and buffing, I will probably have well over 200 hours in it, It has taken me a solid two days to get the fenders, hood, and front end in two coats, color sanded, and then a third coat. However, I think I've spent less than $200 on all paint, tools and supplies so far, so I think if you have the time and skills to do it, but not the wallet to have the paint shot on, this is the right stuff. and I thinned it 50/50 with Mineral Spirits because I found that any thinner than that, and it runs off the sides of the car and on to the concrete, and any thicker, the orange peel turns into what looks like textured drywall, so you have to give and take.  
Real Cars Don't Power The Front Wheels...They Lift Them.

I'm also going to be painting my car with this method in about 2 weeks.  I read some of the messages on the board that hotrod got the idea from and the pictures of the cars posted look nice.  Just a warning the royal blue in extremely bright (I tried it on a test panel).  Here is a link to the original posts.
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1  

Using regular automotive paints will NOT work using the roller method. they are meant to go on much thinner than a roller can apply them and overapplying the product will lead to other problems. mainly solvent popping and die back (hazing in the paint not due to weathering. Most modern clearcoats are only manufactured to be applied at about 2.0 - 2.4 mils thick. Thats the thickness of 2 sheets of the plastic wrapper on a pack of smokes. Its thin, but too much can cause problems.

Metallics cannot be used as they have to sit on the top layer of paint and must be oriented properly so they dont appear blotchy or striped. obviously, rolling wont be able to do that in a uniform fashion.

Im not anti this method at all, even though i find it too backyard boogie for a shiny paint job. I have done it before, but it was on a friends 73 Montego that we did a flat black job on. we sprayed it out of a gun and it came out sweet. the Rustoleum takes so long to try that the paint laid out super smooth and even. i used laquer thinner for that job though as mineral spirits take forever and a day to dry. One thing that wasnt mentioned in the article is that you can use enamel catalyst in Rustoleum if you want to speed it up a little bit. i dont know how it will work if you want to roll it on, but if you spray it life will be easier. If you use catalyst in the flat colors though, it will make them slightly glossier, so be forewarned if thats what you want to do.

Brian Ferre (the instructor in the article) has been a teacher of mine as well, super guy and a bitchin custom graphics painter. In fact, if it wasnt for him i wouldnt be working for DuPont now.