Roll on paint job in the future: black or white exterior with blue interior?

[Bob98SR5]

For my biodiesel Benz project, I am seriously considering trying my hand with a roll on paint job. How ghetto-licious, but I'm down to try this.

here's a partial shot of the interior color. Look to the right of this photo and you'll see the front of the seat. Since my work blocked photobucket, i can't post a good shot of the car, so this'll have to do for now:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1383/1464142521_d51bf62267_b.jpg\

Edit: here's my car:

http://4runners.org/image/300d_turbo/money_angle_02.jpg

So my biggest problem is that I have a dark blue MB Tex (synthetic) interior. This was a very common interior color for mid-80's mercedes, especially those with silver exteriors. If I had a choice, silver would be my first choice. But I dont have the money, equipment or the facility to do a spray job. So that's why I am seriuosly considering a roll on paint job. So vote on this great inauguration day: Black exterior or white with the blue interior?

[paddlenbike]

I would just drive it and save the money for when the economy really turns bad.

[Bob98SR5]

ken,

and this is coming from the guy who wanted to buy the huge junker! :flipoff: nah, i see the pragmatic approach, but you should see the sh#tty rattle can paint job.

bob

[slosurfer]

I voted "black", but need to clarify. I mean paint it "black" using roll on chalkboard paint. Then you can "decorate" it anyway you want using sidewalk chalk (you know, draw on some guns, and mayber a hood scoop). When you get tired of it, take it to the carwash and spray the chalk off and you have a new "slate" to start with. :thumbup:

[paddlenbike]

ken,

and this is coming from the guy who wanted to buy the huge junker! :flipoff: nah, i see the pragmatic approach, but you should see the sh#tty rattle can paint job.

bob


I do want a huge junker. Mind if I park it at your place? :)

Given the choice, I would go with the white exterior. Black sucks to keep clean, sucks in the summertime and it is easier to hide paint blemishes with white.

[gilby4runner]

I voted "black", but need to clarify. I mean paint it "black" using roll on chalkboard paint. Then you can "decorate" it anyway you want using sidewalk chalk (you know, draw on some guns, and mayber a hood scoop). When you get tired of it, take it to the carwash and spray the chalk off and you have a new "slate" to start with. :thumbup:

NICE! Get a box of sidewalk chalk and let the local kids have at it! LOL

[slosurfer]

I voted "black", but need to clarify. I mean paint it "black" using roll on chalkboard paint. Then you can "decorate" it anyway you want using sidewalk chalk (you know, draw on some guns, and mayber a hood scoop). When you get tired of it, take it to the carwash and spray the chalk off and you have a new "slate" to start with. :thumbup:

NICE! Get a box of sidewalk chalk and let the local kids have at it! LOL


Once, I get the van's body fixed up, it will get something similar but with a twist. I want it to still look good, so I have some ideas. :hillbill:

[Bob98SR5]

chris,

do you have a compressor and spray gun?

[slosurfer]

The compressor I have is too small to run a spray gun as it's a jobsite compressor. I do not have a spray gun either. :(

FWIW, the roll on chalkboard paint also comes in white. :flipoff:

[corax]

you live in So-Cal (think heat), and, it's already been said, black is heinous to keep clean. I'd go with a third world relief worker white. Maybe put a big red cross on (bio-diesel, huh? you are helping to "heal" the planet)

** is that an actual pic of your car? the paint that's on it doesn't look that bad to begin with

[slosurfer]

most bio-diesel mercedes I see on the road, seem to be painted with bumper stickers. That would probably be the easiest route. :laugh:

[fustercluck]

http://weburbanist.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/grass-covered-car-camouflage.jpg

Hehe. Bob, just wait until late spring and drive it up here. We'll shoot it in my shop.

[Good Times]

I think white is an easier color to work with overall.

What happened to your pink/rainbow idea you told me about last weekend :flipoff:

[YotaFun]

I voted white.
Withe the cali sun, black would fade and be way too hot, white keep you cool, but gets dirty.

[fustercluck]

....'course there is the matter of the 2x4 roll cage I see in the first pic. Maybe spraying paint is too sophisticated for that neighborhood. Hehehe.

[Cebby]

White with blue interior is a normal combination. Black, not so much.

[Bob98SR5]

I think white is an easier color to work with overall.

What happened to your pink/rainbow idea you told me about last weekend :flipoff:


selective memory, i see...its in YOUR garage, douchebag. thats YOUR paint :flipoff:

[Bob98SR5]

White with blue interior is a normal combination. Black, not so much.


yeah, youre right. i saw white and blue today on one of the forums i visit. looks good.

steve and lance saw my stellar paint job. the plan now is to paint the entire panel and see how it'll look. i'm pretty sure I need to do both sides. that'll be the project for this weekend. if that turns out chitty and too much of an ordeal and/or turns out crappy, roll on time it is.

bob

[Robinhood4x4]

If you go roll on, go white. It'll hide the bondo blemishes better.

[fustercluck]

.....if that turns out chitty...

bob



I see we are practicing our Español.... :flipoff:

[bamachem]

Spray vs. Roll vs. 2-Stage vs. Single-Stage vs. Epoxy... etc

Honestly, it depends on what results you'd like to have. Do you want a stellar $5000 paint job via DIY or are you looking for the equivalent of a $500 Maaco repaint?

The reason I ask is because not only does it imapct equipment selection (and budget) but it also impacts the effort and labor you put into it.

First question - metallic paint or non-metallic. If metallic, it pretty much has to be sprayed, and should be a 2-stage paint (base color + clear). Plan on spending around $300-$400 for the primer, paint, clear, hardner, etc that you will have to buy from the paint store. Spending that much on paint, you don't want to cut any corners on the prep, so it's going to be a long, LONG, tedious process to get it ready. I'd plan on a minimum of 30-hours prep for something like that if the car is in "pristine" condition body-wise and just needs a refresher coat.

If non-metallic, you can go 2-stage or single stage (or 2-part expoxy single stage). Honestly, I've sprayed single and 2-stages, and I've rolled some premium marine epoxy on a boat. If I were going to paint a project car, something old and a daily driver just to get it to look good, but not worried about it being showroom stuff, then I'd have to lean towards doing some Interlux Perfection epoxy using the foam rollers and do a roll & tip. I did that on my boat and got FANTASTIC results. I would not hesitate doing it on a car. Paint isn't cheap, (about $50/quart online and sometimes $75+ locally), but you have no equipment to buy and no overspray to worry about. If you do it in a garage (suggested for a car), then get a good respirator and make sure that you have some good filtered ventilation (use a box fan and an AC filter to get supply air in the garage.

If you're dead set on spraying, I would suggest getting a used compressor at a pawn shop, craigslist, etc, and spend the money on a good gun. You'll need a filter/dryer set for the compressor, and you need to make sure your GFCI circuits in your garage can run the comp w/o cutting out or you may have to change some of them out or just run a cord from an interior non-GFCI circuit in the house to the garage to power the compressor. You'll need a good carbon filter respirator at a minimum, and some goggles to protect your eyes, and lot's of platic drop cloth to protect your garage and stuff from overspray.

Again, for a project car that just needed a freshing up and not show-quality finish (but a very nice finish with a very durable paint), I'd suggest the roll & tip with the marine epoxy.

Let me know which way you're going to do it and I'll give you more detail on the process, tips, etc...

[bamachem]

As far as end results go, I just want something that looks good. I know good is a relative term, so maybe “good from 5 feet” is probably the best description. The current paint job is a mess. The seller had everything below the pinstripe painted (poorly). It was obviously done prior to selling. There’s a few big drips underneath the door handles, paint on the body trim, and worse yet, some of the paint is starting to chip off near the places where the painter didn’t tape or didn’t want to tape/clean so well.

Paint: while I’d love a metallic silver color, I think to be reasonable, white would be my only good choice (blue interior). Not sure what would go well with a blue interior except white! So let’s say white for the exterior color.

As far as equipment, I really like the idea of rolling on paint b/c I know now based on what you wrote that it’ll be very an expensive and labor intensive process to get it looking good. My wife would freak out if I spent that much on this daily driver. I did some homework many moons ago re roll on paint jobs and I did see that some people migrated from Rustoleum to boat paint. Now can that (or should it) be clearcoated and polished mirror smooth? I am concerned about that orange peel look that might show through b/c the current paint has some definite areas of orange peel look.

So that’s actually a good segue: as far as prep work goes, I imagine you have a DA sander. As I don’t have a compressor, I do have the Corky Cable random orbital buffer. I have no problems buying a good electric DA sander if it means the difference between a good and bad paint job. How did you do it?

As far as making the paint job as smooth as possible, did you sand in between coats? Can you do that on that boat paint? How many coats did you use?

I’ll check out the paint company’s website as well.

Any additional tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Good from 5' away - definitely go with a good quality paint - ONE MADE FOR ROLLING -and then roll & tip.

http://4rnr.net/CH17/paint/yellow-boat-2.jpg

That's Interlux Perfection in Fighting Lady Yellow. Three coats of color on top of two coats of primer - all rolled. I sanded with 220 after each primer coat, then 320 after the first color, and 400 after the second color coat. Final coat was smooth, and looked good. It was 85+ here when I rolled it, so it set up before having a good chance to lay out completely flat. Cooler/drier conditions will give better results by giving the paint a chance to flatten out - which it is chemically formulated to do. Gloss is nice, and durability is amazing.

If you go with white, or some other light color, it will set up smoother than the dark colors and it also won't show imperfections as bad. If you go with white, I expect you to be very happy with a roll & tip.

There is no need, and therefore no compatability, to clear coat the marine epoxy paints. They have excellent gloss with extreme durability. They are also extremely easy to touch up.

For prep, I have a small random-orbital electric palm sander. I also have a sanding block. I hit the smooth, flat surfaces with the palm sander, and then hit everything else by hand.

For any paint work, 80-90% of the time invested should be in prep work before any color goes on any surface. It take dicipline to stick to that mantra, but the results pay off well. You have to sand, fill, prime, sand, fill more, prime, sand, spray/dust with black spraypaint, then wet-sand (black will stay in any crevices that need attention, then fill/prime and wet sand - all before the first color coat.

However, once you get to the color coating, it goes quickly. You have to be ready and have everything at your fingertips before starting. Mix small batches so you work with fresh paint. You have to put it on in small areas of about 2-3 sq.ft at a time with a 4" foam roller (home depot or lowes stuff works very well) and then come back with another dry roller to "tip".

The tipping process is necessary to smooth out the paint to an ultra-thin coat without any bubbles or runs. The way it works is you pick a body panel to paint - roll on the paint in a small area. Next, you get a dry roller and roll the fresh paint in a direction 90* to the direction the paint was rolled on. This ensures and even coat. At that point, I then use VERY light pressure and roll both directions 45* to that to get all bubbles, etc out of the paint. From there, the paint will self-level and give you excellent results. It has to dry at least 12-hours, and preferrably 24-hours before wet-sanding to prep for the next coat.

Another MUST that you have to do is to wash the car after each wet-sand, then let it dry. Once dry, and RIGHT before you are ready for a color coat, you have to wipe it down with a clean, lint-free cloth soaked in reducer (specific reducer for the paint - don't cross brands or types). This will give you a perfectly clean and dust/oil free surface for the paint to adhere to.

On your final coat, let it dry at least 12-hours, then if needed, you can wet-sand with 1000-grit, then 2000-grit and polish with a high-quality glaze like 3M or some other name brand. However, I seriously doubt that you'll need to do this, and by doing so, you will dramatically increase your invested labor in the project. However, you can attain an absolutely perfect glass-smooth MIRROR finish by doing so. Gotta be careful doing this though, the paint is THIN, even with 3 or more coats, so don't sand hard and definitely don't sand for too long in one spot. Every stroke of the sandpaper or buffer is just removing some of that hard work and $ that you spent to put the color on in the first place.

Best of luck, and ask away if you have any other questions...