Rattle cans rustoleum and cellulose

[Bren]

I have cracked on with sanding the filler on the SD1 - I come out of the garage looking like casper the friendly ghost, to be honest when it is all smooth there won't be that much on the car - it is only to cover the welded repairs.

 

I have been considering how to paint the beast - a pro job is out of the question, I would never  break even and there is no fun in paying somebody else to do the work - besides, even spending £1k nowadays on a full paint job is not much - it would only be adequate at best.

 

To do a really good job I would need a big compressor - at least 150L capacity - expensive new and not much cheaper secondhand. I never fail to be surprised what people will pay for a secondhand example on ebay with no history - I have seen rusty secondhand 50L items sell for £30 less than what you could pick a new one up for. Madness.Maybe that should be the new name for ebay. I have used a HVLP gun before so I am not a total virgin.

 

Rustoleum seems to be a big thing in the states that is getting more popular over here, however I have never used it so I will have to investigate further.

 

I have also considered rattle cans. Dont laugh. I have used these things for years for tarting up cars, the modern stuff is pretty good if you use the lacquer as well, remembering to flat it between coats. I got hold of a tailgate spoiler for my other half's fiesta and sprayed it with rattle cans - you would think that a pro had done it, not a shitter in his garage. At least doing it with these or using rustoleum, I won't have to worry about poisoning my neighbours with cellulose. I was thinking about having a go doing one panel and seeing what it was like - I won't need to do the roof or the tailgate on the car as these are intact.

 

So which one - shell out for a compressor, buy a roller, or get shares in halfords?

[jonny69]

Get a cheap or second hand compressor and the £25 Screwfix spray gun and you can do a proper job. Spray it panel by panel if you have to like I did with mine. It's a big car but you don't need anywhere near like 150l tank if you plan how you're going to spray it. Take the doors, bonnet and boot off and do them separately, then be clever using the trim lines to break the body up into manageable sprayable chunks. Even easier if it's got removable trim. Put plenty of paint on and you'll always be able to cut it back if it goes wrong in any way, like runs etc. Sell the compressor on afterwards and get some of your cash back.

 

Your choice whether you use 2k or celly but either way use a 3M 4251 mask and you won't breathe any harmful fumes in. Your choice on paint though I will say 2k is a lot less effort in both prep and spraying. Twice I've used cheap 2K from Jawel, an eBay seller who quite a few people on here and RR have used - just be aware that their paint doesn't hold a very good shine and a it's few years after I've sprayed mine now and the paint is lifting off the primer where it has shrunk. A real nuisance. Go for more expensive paint like Max Meyer and it won't do that because it sticks a lot better, cures a lot faster and is much more durable. My opinion, but it's worth spending the extra £50 on better paint. An SD1 probably wants about 4 litres of topcoat.

 

Pic for reference - my first spray job:

 

[Station]

Would definitely consider respraying it by hand if you have near infinite patience - if it's the first time you've sprayed it, you'll f*ck it up. I either do a good job, or do a horrible job, depending on whether the date of the year is odd, the temperature is at a certain level, the moisture in the air, whether the panel I've just spent 15 minutes cleaning is actually clean, whether the paint is too thick or runny. Paint runs, cratering, cracking, crazing, flies, dust, twigs, etc. The theory behind firing pressurised vapourised paint across 1 - 2 foot onto a surface that may or may not like it is such a hit and miss affair, I never want to do it again. Metallic paint adds about 10x the pain to the procedure.

 

In other words, give Rustoleum a try, it can't be any worse than a bad spray job (and I've seen good ones that have been done in a day).

[Station]

Also, NEVER buy Holts pre-mixed paint from Halfords. Trusting someone who doesn't know what ATF is to accurately mix 10 different shades of paint off a paint swatch into a 250ml with the worst nozzle (in the world) is hopeless. I wanted Sepia Grey metallic, which is a browny, silvery metallic paint. They gave me a dark grey which spat more different shades than a rainbow.

 

Another thing - if you buy paint pre-mixed from a paint shop, make sure you know the colour before you go in and don't take any shit, otherwise you'll get something that is quite different from what you're looking for. Also ask the price on the phone, as they'll make it up in the shop after they've mixed it.

[DeeJay]

Google Triumph Vitesse respray by aerosol.

Don't know how many cans it took but it looks spot on.

[skattrd]

I think Conrad Conelrad (or whatever he's called now) did his little red convertible with rustoleum. I thought it looked pretty good at Chumley earlier this year as well ... If my beta Spider is staying then I'll be thinking about doing similar as well. There's loads of videos on youtube about it.

[vulgalour]

Roller and Rustoleum is remarkably effective.  Rattle cans are good but far too pricey.  Hand painting with coach paint, 1 pack celly or engineering paint can also give good results if you have MEGA patience.  I reckon Kinnock is bang on the money for what you want to achieve though, that's the route I'd go if I were you, which I'm not.

[mercrocker]

Google Triumph Vitesse respray by aerosol.

Don't know how many cans it took but it looks spot on.

That is FUGGIN amazin!    Spiel says it took "dozens" of cans but appears to suggest they were not your Halfwits dooloopy-color.   If those pics are not retouched then thats just incredibly good...

[KruJoe]

Quick link for that?

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I think Conrad Conelrad (or whatever he's called now) did his little red convertible with rustoleum. I thought it looked pretty good at Chumley earlier this year as well ... If my beta Spider is staying then I'll be thinking about doing similar as well. There's loads of videos on youtube about it.

 

Aye, I posted a before/after pic here. Bit bored with it now and after seeing Volks' patterned Princess am very tempted to ruin it with my 'creativity'

 

 

Quick link for that?

 

This is it, does look good. 

[Station]

The problem with rattle cans is the paint chips easily.

[dieselnutjob]

I have a 50L 2HP compressor that I bought for £30.  It needed £12 spending on it for a new fan and I had to helicoil the head back down properly which took me about 20 minutes and cost nothing.

 

My spray gun is a small touch up gun that I bought new for £60.

 

The filter/regulator is from Aldi and cost £11.

 

I have a neighbour a few doors up who is a pro paint sprayer and got him to come round one evening and try it all out for me.  He sprayed both rear quarters on the wife's 806 which is metallic silver and therefore a right b&*tard.

 

It looks absolutely great.

 

The only disadvantage of the small compressor is that you do a layer of paint and then you have to wait a while for the compressor to catch up.

 

Obviously for pro use this would drive you insane but for spraying one panel on your own car in your own time, it's fine.

[FredTransit]

another vote here for rustoleum (combi colour in the UK) and poundshop rollers. Stock up if you see them, as obviously they wont have em when you want em. I now use coach enamel, any colour (even well matched) for £20 a L from Ken and Lyn. Can get the number later. My tip is to put it on with one roller and pop the bubbles with a dry clean roller as they appear.

[catsinthewelder]

If you could put the contact details up that would be ace.

 

I'd like to paint the Austin with Rustoleum but they don't do it in the right colour and I can't find a source of coach enamel that will tell me exactly what I'm buying (unless it's the wrong colour).

[FredTransit]

Ken and Lyn by phone/post only 01298814813. No website or paypal! They go on the BS colour chart or RAL codes, google em. Or a paint sample you send by post.

[catsinthewelder]

Cheers Fred

[Station]

Might do the MR2 with rollers; I want it in battleship grey, but normal gloss paint - don't want to mess it up though!

[sierraman]

An old neighbour of mine had his car resprayed with what looked like 15 aerosols. I really wish I had a picture of it, he'd done it all in about 25 minutes, in a frost. On a lighter note he had possibly the UK's only 'suede' blue Montego