Paint buffing question

[Mr Morlock]

I think it looks terrible. Instead of wasting time and effort in doing it the wrong way why not invest some effort in doing it the right way. You cannot effectively cut all paint and believe it or not automotive paints are not the same as marine or house paints etc.Many forums are pushing bad techniques and for that matter show little appreciation for doing things well. A bad home paint job is always going to detract from a car and also affect its value.

[meanmx]

I think it looks terrible. Instead of wasting time and effort in doing it the wrong way why not invest some effort in doing it the right way. You cannot effectively cut all paint and believe it or not automotive paints are not the same as marine or house paints etc.Many forums are pushing bad techniques and for that matter show little appreciation for doing things well. A bad home paint job is always going to detract from a car and also affect its value.

Wow, another first class positive comment

[green_comet]

He's the sole reason I avoid posting on this forum...

If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all... Pretty simple.

[sailaholic]

I have been thinking on that point lately and sometimes wonder if Morlock is a very cleverly subtle troll?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[meanmx]

I have been thinking on that point lately and sometimes wonder if Morlock is a very cleverly subtle troll?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Just a grumpy old man

[lizard]

Unless the boat paint is 2 pac which I would say not it will be a oil based enamel ?

If so this paint NEVER dries that is how it remains flexible.

You could add enamel "ADD" which is a hardener and warm the paint up to 45c before rolling it on this will help flatten the roller marks out and leave a nice gloss but DONT sand it leave it as is.
In my opinion you will never be able to polish boat enamel as said it stays soft.

For a cheap and cheerful paint job the cheapest way out is to spray with acrylic enamel this can be sanded and polished .

[Pamex]

Morlock, because even a home paint job costs a bit of dough. If you do it right, as you suggest.

Let's look at some break downs for the wrong way spray job, if you don't have any equipment yet.

Paint $200 No clear included.
Compressor $50 - $600 depending capacity, how dodgy you are, where you get it from
Paint gun $30 (for a basic one)
Thinners $50

And because we're being dodgy, we're not going to sand the car back or prep it and more importantly we're going to have no ventilation in the garage (that gets fun) and we're not going to tarp it up and just pray the neighbours don't complain.

Add to this most people don't have sufficient lighting in the garage. And you NEED that.

Oh... wait... you want to do all that too? Well crap. That's expensive then.

If you already have a set up, or you're going to be doing a few cars over time, the outlay is worth it. For a one off spray job? No way.

I have a compressor, paint gun, etc. and even I'm getting a pro to do my paint.

I like my neighbours. So the cost outlay to do it properly is too much.

[bigdog]

Giselle, There are several US threads on rolling paint on cars using Rustoleum brand paint -Here's a link to one of them:http://www.rickwrench.com/index79master.htm?http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html

The results are great and you can definitely polish the finished coats. Your results will depend on the product you use, and you do need to be careful that the paint is cured and hardened before you try and cut it back.

And to answer Morlock - I have painted many cars over the years and have never regretted the process, even when I've got it wrong, it's part of the joy of working on cars (something that seems to elude you). As a 12 year old lad my father showed me how to brush paint a car (as most cars were painted pre WW2), and my 10 year old brother and I painted our FJ Holden school bus car black with oil based enamel and a 3 inch brush, sanding with wet and dry between coats until we had a glorious smooth black finish as good as any that came from a spray gun. A lot of work, but we were stoked with the end result. Here's some old (poor quality) progress shots of that car (I don't have a finished shot unfortunately). We cut out the rust, welded in new metal, beat and shrank the repairs, applied a skim of bog then primed and sanded - just like the professionals did, except we used brushes Oh, and I'm sure Dann would approve of the bootlid/rear window/roof removal to add lightness. This car was dríven 15km a day for four years without missing a beat, for a total cost of $50 plus fuel and oil changes, and taught us both a lot about cars before we were old enough to get a driver's license:

[Mr Morlock]

Pamex is right- there is not really an easy way to paint cars and get a half decent result. Its not cheap to do and it takes time. It can be done and there are guides which cover the processes. If someone just sprays a boot then a premixed lacquer in a can gets around the need for a gun and a compressor etc but it depends much on the preparation. For a car you use automotive paint systems. And big dog- nothing wrong at all with amateurs painting cars and some amateurs are very skilled- I do not recall suggesting that people should not paint their own cars.

[Giselle]

I think it looks terrible. Instead of wasting time and effort in doing it the wrong way why not invest some effort in doing it the right way. You cannot effectively cut all paint and believe it or not automotive paints are not the same as marine or house paints etc.Many forums are pushing bad techniques and for that matter show little appreciation for doing things well. A bad home paint job is always going to detract from a car and also affect its value.

And what, may I ask, is the right way?

I took it to an auto painter and was quoted 3,000.

The car cost me 3,000. (Hard top, long nose, mechanically sound, great interior!)

as Pamex pointed out. buying the gear for a home spray job will cost $1000. To reiterate- the car cost $3,000.

I considered buying a spray kit, but I'd only use it once. Waste of money.

Unless the boat paint is 2 pac which I would say not it will be a oil based enamel ?

If so this paint NEVER dries that is how it remains flexible.

You could add enamel "ADD" which is a hardener and warm the paint up to 45c before rolling it on this will help flatten the roller marks out and leave a nice gloss but DONT sand it leave it as is.
In my opinion you will never be able to polish boat enamel as said it stays soft.

For a cheap and cheerful paint job the cheapest way out is to spray with acrylic enamel this can be sanded and polished .

Yes it is, and this has been a concern, which is why I'm not buffing it for at least a month. I did some research and got mixed information. Some say they've been painting cars for 20 years and it's unbuffable. Some say they've been painting cars for 20 years and it IS easily buffable.

I take some solace in the fact that it's marine paint from what I understand to be a premium brand, rather than some cheap sh*t from the local arts and craft store.

I figure that boats take a lot more abuse than cars. They sit in salt water all day!

At the end of the day, it already looks better than the rest of the car, even without the sand/buff. I'm painting over spray-can paint after all. The benefit of doing a home-job is that I can fuckup and fix it as often as I want. Colour matching is no stress

Depending on the buffing results I may try a clear coat. Or hardener like you suggest.

For the test panels I've decided to try a "follow the manufacturer's instructions" approach. I'll take it from there.

Haters 'gon hate.

Thank you everyone who provided helpful replies

[Crapweasel]

I'm in for progress shots!

While I wouldn't do this to my current car, I can easily see the logic employed here, and it actually sounds like a fun project and something I'd consider as a DIY on this kind of thing. I'm not very good with spraying, but can do ok with a roller.

Ignore the haters, each to their own. Keep this thread alive with the wins, and the fails - who knows, you may very well be onto something here.

Thumbs up from me for coming up with a different approach.

[Pamex]

I'm sorely tempted to try rollering the car. I probably will end up doing it before I do a proper job when I have the money down the track. I'll probably contact you closer to the date to see if you're happy how yours has held up.

I'm using a painter that originally trained with us at work when we had a spray booth and panel shop, way back in the day. He'll do a great and lasting job, but he costs. Hence I can't quite do that just yet.

In the early stages of the TC resto I'll be brushing paint on as Bigdog wrote up on. This is more to keep with tradition, as Dad brushed paint on every few years when he changed his mind on colour. And yes, all previous layers are still on the car. Heheh.

One of the benefits of rollering also, is that you don't have to annoy everyone with compressor and gun noise on weekends and at nights.

[lizard]

[quote="][

I take some solace in the fact that it's marine paint from what I understand to be a premium brand, rather than some cheap sh*t from the local arts and craft store.

[/quote

The only difference in marine paint is it has a different label more expensive + a bit more UV stabiliser

[Mr Morlock]

You paint cars with automotive paints because it is formulated for cars and it works best - no amount of argument gets around this. For many it would not be too hard to borrow a bit of equipment for a spray job. $3K to paint an MX5 is certainly not out of the question - plenty of restorers spend well over $10K for paint and body repairs. I know a number of guys with compressors and guns are cheap now and even buying a compressor is not out of the question. Having air on tap is something many DIYs will use ongoing for years. If someone does spend $1000 for diy and its done well it probably gets paid back in the longer term and will look good. There was a post maybe a year ago of a forumite that sprayed an MX5 and he detailed all costs. An MX56 for $3K - brilliant- well worth investing in the paintwork. What do you get for that money. A late 80's 911 for $30K an old MGB for $15K. Incidentally bad paint at some stage may have to be removed completely ie effect of auto thinners and auto paints over what substrate?

[93_Clubman]

Dodgy Haro rollered his NA6 a couple of times over a few years - it came up well:
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