Can an entire care be done with spraycan touchup paint?

C

cabe

New member
I am a poor college kid with no money and an old white '91 MR2 with paint in really bad condition. I normally wouldnt think of cheaping out and using spraycan paint for my car, but over the holiday break I used clearcoat over black metallic touchup paint to do my computer case.



The paint doesn't go down smooth at all, so I figured I'd wetsand it later. A week later (last night) I wetsanded and polished it with my rotary, and WOW, it looks like glass with no hologramming. I feel confident enough about spraying, wetsanding, and polishing this stuff on my car, but was just wondering if the touchup paint itself is durable enough.



I've heard about people doing their entire car with this stuff and heard that some of the concerns are fading from UV, but then I'd be painting my car white (like a pearl or metallic white) which I don't think UV would really affect, plus there would be a clear coat over it which is supposed to protect against UV. I also remember hearing something about professional quality paint in spraycans?



Well I look forward to hearing from you guys!





-Chris



[about the wetsanding and also using a rotary]

I've read so much on here about how to wetsand and use a rotary that I got the impression it was a near impossible feat to accomplish, but I found that by heeding the advice on these forums and just taking your time then it's really not that bad.
 
I've seen entire cars done in rattlecan and I've even seen a few entered in car shows. Its not the preferred method but it *can* be done if you don't mind putting in the time and effort to make it look good. You won't get the depth that a $5k PPG job will give you, but just like detailing, most of it comes down to prep.
 
The problem with using a spray can to do the entire car is you won't get as even of a coat and the coat is usually much thinner than a regular paint job.
 
Right. I meant to add that it's also not going to be as durable as a good paint job, either, but if it's just a temporary fix or something to get you by while you finish school then you can make it look decent with appropriate preparation.
 
I think I'll try doing just one panel first and see how that comes out. I'll probably have to wait till spring when it warms up though.



[off topic]

Wow it's a small world.. I see that ceezer is from sumter. My best friend just shipped out of shaw AFB (which is in sumter) to the middle east! :eek:
 
You can see a few stories on Duplicolor's website from people doing entire cars. One guy used 81 cans on his street rod. Unless you just go for a quickie job with just a few cans, for the cost of 30+ cans it might be worth it to just go to Maaco or something.
 
:eek: What a terrible thing to do to such a great car. JMHO.



My 91



Right.jpg
 
Go to a junkyard and buy a cheap hood with dilapidated paint and practice on that. If you get one that is bent, you can probably talk them into selling it for like $10, especially if it's a light one.
 
Grimm said:
You can see a few stories on Duplicolor's website from people doing entire cars. One guy used 81 cans on his street rod. Unless you just go for a quickie job with just a few cans, for the cost of 30+ cans it might be worth it to just go to Maaco or something.
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Yeah, for the cost I bet you could do the prep work (and masking, etc.) and have somebody like Maaco/Earl Sheib shoot the paint. OR you could buy/rent a cheap spraygun and a compressor. Used equipment like sprayguns can be dirt cheap.



Or at least get one of those gizmos that are like a trigger for spray cans, IMO it'll make for a better job than trying to hold it down uniformly with your index finger.



When you consider doing it piecemeal, remember about overspray :)



My buddies and I did some DIY paintjobs back in the day and while we sure didn't get pro-level results they did (sometimes) look better than we expected. But man-oh-man is a paintgun better than spray cans!
 
If you are going to try to repaint an entire car yourself, do it like the mopar thread where he used rollers. The amount of chemical exposure and dust from however many spray cans it takes to cover your car is really not very good for your health.



I used to frequently use Duplicolor auto touch up cans for painting model cars, but even when spraying in a wide open area with the wind blowing, I'd still be high off the fumes or rubbing goo-gone on my skin to clean off any overspray. At least with a roller, you can lay down a thicker coat and save money while not exposing yourself to the overspray.
 
I have heard that if you have a solid car not requiring any body work, or do it yourself first, and go with a simple paint, that Maaco does do a pretty good job. But some of them are worse than others I've heard as well.
 
check out that rollering thread. i've done a bit of experimenting with it and if you have the gear to wetsand and buff you can get GREAT results. and it's much cheaper than using rattlecans.
 
I did read about the guy who rollered rustoleum onto his car, but I don't think I could do a metallic/pearl + clearcoat that way. I think when the time does come to paint my car I'll just prep it myself and have someone else shoot the paint.



Primer from a rattle can should work fine right?
 
cabe said:
[off topic]

Wow it's a small world.. I see that ceezer is from sumter. My best friend just shipped out of shaw AFB (which is in sumter) to the middle east! :eek:
Click to expand...



Yeah, I'm a contractor here on base to the fighter squadrons.



I haven't read that link yet but have heard about the roller method (seems to be popular among some of us air-cooled Vdub enthusiasts). Like I said, the final product is all dependant on prep and patience.
 
cabe said:
.. I think when the time does come to paint my car I'll just prep it myself and have someone else shoot the paint.



Primer from a rattle can should work fine right?
Click to expand...



That sounds like a smart appoach :xyxthumbs



There are a few advantages to shooting primer with a gun, but it's not like doing the finish coats. You oughta do fine using the spray cans, just get the right primer, there are all sorts of different types and they aren't all compatible with the same stuff (either under them or on top of them). Study up on this stuff between now and whenever you do it and I bet you'll do fine.
 
Earl? Earl Hicky is that you? All kiddin aside, I knew a guy that painted his Olds 442 for 8 bucks, K-mart had a sale on spray paint, a dollar a can. It looked ok.
 
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