My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Decided to give one of the $50 roll-on paint jobs a whirl. Ended up costing closer to $100 with all the sandpaper and a bottle of Meguiar's 105. I think it looks fantastic for the money.

Decided to try my hand at one of those $50 rustoleum roller paint jobs. I think it ended up pretty nice for rolled-on paint.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41506912@N05/8711732553/http://www.flickr.com/photos/41506912@N05/8711732553/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/41506912@N05/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41506912@N05/8712867044/http://www.flickr.com/photos/41506912@N05/8712867044/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/41506912@N05/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41506912@N05/8711740931/http://www.flickr.com/photos/41506912@N05/8711740931/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/41506912@N05/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41506912@N05/8711745893/http://www.flickr.com/photos/41506912@N05/8711745893/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/41506912@N05/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41506912@N05/8711738095/http://www.flickr.com/photos/41506912@N05/8711738095/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/41506912@N05/, on Flickr

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

no wayyyyyy !! wtf that looks sickk

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Good job. I was gonna do that but decided maaco would be better. I don't know though cause I may not afford it. Macco will do the enamel for 3 times that much.

My question is how in the world did you get it to not run when you applied it.

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

You serious? That looks extremely good for $100!!!

You just used one of these?
http://hardwareandpaints.com/images/paint-roller-7.jpg

Any clear coats or anything?

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Anyone else notice how giant the sun is in this pic? lol.

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Nope, no clear coats or anything. Just go old rustoleum paint from home depot.

Here is the process I used....

wetsand existing paint with 320

1. apply 2-3 coats of paint
2. wetsand thoroughly with 600 grit
3. apply 3-4 coats of paint
4. spray a VERY fine mist of flat black paint over the surface and wetsand that with 1000 grit. the black paint gets in all the low spots which allows you to sand the surface pretty smooth. this step is key; if you don't spray the black you'll have a ton of orange peel. the black also allows you to sand out any runs.
4. apply another 2-3 coats. now that you're applying paint to a smooth surface, you'll notice that the paint flattens out and dries much smoother than before.
5. spray another fine coat of flat black and wetsand with 1500.
6. buff to a shine using a rotary buffer (got mine at harbor freight), a wool cutting pad, and meguiar's 105.
7. buff again using a foam cutting pad, and then a soft foam polishing pad (this is per the 105 directions from megs). I used a DA buffer for this step but you'll still get good results with a rotary, just might have some holograms in the paint.
8. wipe down and enjoy

Some pointers...

1. this whole process takes some time to figure out, so I recommend practicing on a spare door to get the hang of each step.
2. i used a roughly 60/40 mixture of paint to mineral spirits.
3. a lot of the tutorials say to put on extremely thin coats. i tend to disagree with this. the coats are going to be thin by nature because of the amount of thinner in the mixture. however, you need to get enough paint on that it can flatten out. if you don't put enough on it can't flatten and the paint will dry with a rough texture. basically you want to put as much on as you can before it runs.
4. you will get some runs. one trick i found was to wait around for 5-10 minutes after each coat to find any runs, at which point you can go back over them with the roller to smooth the area out. after about 10 minutes the paint shouldn't run any more.
5. as you apply the paint it should look wet as it goes on. if it isn't wet looking, you need more paint.....i should really make a video about this as the process will go a lot faster once you get this right.
6. if you have to buy a buffer and or DA polisher (i have a porter cable 7424), your cost will increase. at the minimum, buy a harbor freight buffer, a meguiars wool cutting pad, and a polishing pad. you simply can't get similar results doing this by hand.
7. i used oil-based rustoleum paint and the hard white foam rollers from home depot.
8. IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE A BUFFER WATCH A BUNCH OF YOUTUBE VIDEOS. IF YOU DON'T DO IT RIGHT IT'LL LOOK FUNKY!
9. the megs 105 is, in my opinion, kind of finicky to work with. some of the videos i watched said to make 2-3 passes with a cutting pad, and then another 2-3 passes with a polishing pad (decreasing pressure with each pass). i found that using a wool cutting pad first (3-4 passes) followed by a foam cutting pad (2-3 passes) followed by a foam polishing pad (3-4 passes with decreasing pressure to the point where there is barely any pressure by the last couple passes) worked pretty well with this type of paint.

That's about it. I'll try to answer any questions I can. If you're in the Portland area and would like help learning how to lay the paint flat let me know.

Thanks for the positive comments!

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

are all the trim/molding pieces new?

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

looks pretty solid dude. can you get shots on the side where the sun is hitting it? Honestly debating whether i should go white or grey. buddy did grey and his turned out pretty solid. Pics if you can bro

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

and why flat back paint? why not white?

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Yes I bought some ebay thin moldings. They actually fit perfectly and were like $50 shipped.

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Are you looking for a shot of the sun hitting the paint? Sorry, not sure I understand exactly what you're asking for.

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

You need a contrasting color to show you what parts need more sanding. When all the black is gone, you're done. It's called a guide coat.

Op the results look good. Def a lot of time went into it. Just please if you ever sell the car, let the next owner know its rustoleum. If anybody tries to repaint that car without stripping all that paint off, they're in for a nightmare.

Ahhhh now I see what he was asking re: black vs. white. Thanks for clearing that up.

Of course! No way I'd try to pass it off for normal auto paint.


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Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

did you take any pics of the process?
or video?

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Looks like an awesome paint job for the price! Considered doing it on my Chevelle years ago but I'm too scared to sand the paint on my car now since it's my daily driver and I only work part time and don't have much money to fix it. Never dealt with painting either, if you started out with absolutely nothing, no tools etc, could you still do this for $100? How long did it take you and how difficult was it?

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

I'm new to all this...
why would the OP need to notify new owners of the type of paint used?

why couldn't they just sand it down and paint over the rustoleum paint?

why would they need to take it down to bare metal?

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

The rustoleum will cause a reaction with any automotive paint sprayed over it. The new paint will just wrinkle, bubble and peel due to incompatible materials being used. It wouldn't need to be stripped to bare metal, but if you're taking the time to strip the rustoleum off, you may as well just strip it bare.

Same thing goes for any of these cheap paint jobs, spraypaint, rustoleum, house paint etc which is why so many people hate on them.

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

And that's roll-on? Wow. Amazing job SlowB16.

I took a few pics but they were at night in my garage so they didn't turn out great. If you have any questions about the process let me know and I'll try my best to help.


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

The paint, mineral spirits, rollers, and sand paper will probably run you around $75-80. The meguiars 105 is another 30. In my opinion it probably isn't worth doing unless you have access to a buffer and at least 3 pads (wool cutting pad, foam cutting pad, and a polishing pad). You can just use a harbor freight rotory buffer for the whole thing, but it's a benefit to have access to a dual action polisher for the final two steps.

Do you know anyone with a buffer?

So $80 or so plus the cost of the 105 and buffer/pads.

All in all I'd say it took me around 50 hours total. It's annoying work wet sanding over and over again, but if you're willing to spend the time you can get good results.

Also one nice thing about going this route is that you can do it little by little as you have time while still driving the car everyday. Just wipe down with mineral spirits everytime you're ready to paint to get the surface clean.


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

thx, but I think your tutorial/write up was pretty thorough and it seems very doable by even an amateur like myself.
I'm not looking for show car finish, and if it comes out even close to what you accomplished, then I will be very happy
thanks for the write up

Good luck man. It's really just a matter of being willing to spend the necessary time. Grab a spare door or hood from the junkyard and practice on that.


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

How durable is the paint against chips or scratches?

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

This looks beautiful.

I assume it'll scratch a lot easier than normal auto paint, but when it does just wetsand and buff and it's as good as new.


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

How long did you wait in between coats ?
How long did you wait to cut/polish after your last paint coat ?

I applied one coat every couple hours, or however it took the prior coat to dry. I tried to do two coats each night.

I let the paint dry for a day prior to wetsanding between coats, and let it dry for about a week prior to the final cut and buff.


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Every time I see one of these threads, it makes me really want to paint my car this way.

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Looks good, I want to try the roll on but I've already sprayed it once and had awesome results.
I would make a thread but I painted a bike with it and used clear coat as we'll and 3 stages of buffing.
Don't mean to steal your thread but here's the gas tank of my bike after I was done buffing it.
Sorry for a big pic, phone doesn't let me resize it
http://i44.tinypic.com/egcw0g.jpg

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

WHAT NO WAY. That looks amazing!

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

I used automotive clear over the rustoleum

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Hey,
I am doing the rear quarter of my eg hatch right now.
I sprayed it instead of rolling it.
Had some rust that I had to bondo to the front of the rear taillights (I guess this is a common rust area? Both sides are rusted exactly the same)

I will take pics and post tonight.

My question is,
Is it okay to wet sand the basecoat? I had a couple of bugs land in it while drying...
I was thinking of wet sanding then applying another coat?

Then letting it sit for a day or two then applying the clear?

then wet sanding from there.

anyways, I will post up pics of my progress

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

I only used rolled on paint so I'm not sure how to work with sprayed on paint.

I'm not sure why you're posting about sprayed on paint in this thread I made about a roller job. If you have questions about rolled on paint ill try to help, but you might want to make another thread for sprayed on paint. I'd like to keep this thread clean if possible.

Also, I'm pretty sure when people say they've "sprayed" rustoleum they mean through a gun, not a can.

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

for $100 you could have bought a gallon of Urethane
blah

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Not to mention the added costs of a standard paint job you ommitted: a gun or two and a large compressor to run the guns. Total cost around $1k.

This thread is about how to get a good looking paint job for minimal money, not about a different method that costs 10x as much.

Please remove yourself from this thread if you dont have anything positive or constructive to add.

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

umm that is constructive you shouldn't be painting cars with paint that is suppose to be used on outdoor furniture...

For your information I am a ASE Certified Auto Body Technician with over 20 years painting cars and luxury airplanes

Maybe people do this for proof of concept but it is a bad deal.

The cost of the paint is close to Acrylic Enamel with a Urethane Hardener and to correct the application of this paint will mean stripping the whole car.

You can get a gallon of acrylic single stage with a hardner for $65 and paint it with a $16 HVLP gun from harbor freight. I have seen it done and it works out great.

Dang you are annoying.

This thread is about how to do a roller paint job and have it turn out good. It isn't about other painting methods. You're comparing apples to oranges. Blah




Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

It's irresponsible to make a thread like this without addressing the many negative effects of the $50 paint job otherwise someone could see this thread and think it was an awesome idea without knowing the disadvantages of it.

-The $50 paint job is good if your car won't be going anywhere but the junkyard once you are done with it and you don't plan on keeping it for more than another few years.

-The rustoleum will fade, especially if you live in a state with lots of sun

-There's really no way to clear it for extra protection that will turn out well for you in the long run.

-It's actually more work to do than a regular automotive paint job because of how much wet sanding you have to do in between coats

-To do it right it will easily cost $100-$150 for all supplies

-In the long run it will take a lot more work and supplies to maintain a rustoleum paint job over a normal automotive paint job

-You can't repaint your car with anything but rustoleum after without dropping lots of money to have it stripped properly.

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

Ryank327,

- It's irresponsible to make a thread like this without addressing the many negative effects of the $50 paint job otherwise someone could see this thread and think it was an awesome idea without knowing the disadvantages of it.

-- This is probably the seven millionth thread across the net about the "$50 paint job." Pretty sure almost everyone who does this to their car understands the downsides to this method. Saying I am irresponsible for making a thread about this painting method with some sort of warning or disclaimer is ridiculous.

-The $50 paint job is good if your car won't be going anywhere but the junkyard once you are done with it and you don't plan on keeping it for more than another few years.

-- You can re-do it or strip it to throw some traditional paint on it for minimal cash.

-The rustoleum will fade, especially if you live in a state with lots of sun.

-- And then I will add another couple coats, wetsand, and buff for a grand total of $20 to restore the finish to its show quality, fast and the furious, make 'em say ughhhh shine.

-There's really no way to clear it for extra protection that will turn out well for you in the long run.

-- Doesn't matter when you can re-do the finish for around $20 like I said above.

-It's actually more work to do than a regular automotive paint job because of how much wet sanding you have to do in between coats.

-- I've painted one car through a gun with regular auto paint and I've done this once. In my opinion this is less work. There was a similar amount of sanding because I wasn't able to lay smooth paint with my harbor freight gun and under-powered compressor (which was $400 by the way). The thing that is nice about this is it is a lot less messy and you can theoretically do it outside without a garage....and you don't have to own a compressor.

-To do it right it will easily cost $100-$150 for all supplies

-- Less than $100 without a buffer; around $125-$150 with one. But then you'll have a buffer. If you go the standard paint route you'll need to spend around $1k to get everything you need. There is no way around getting a compressor that pushes enough cfm to power a paint gun, let alone a harbor freight gun that takes a crap ton of air to run.

-In the long run it will take a lot more work and supplies to maintain a rustoleum paint job over a normal automotive paint job

-- Yes, it will take more work but the supplies and cost to freshen up the paint is minimal. I've seen a couple threads where guys show the paint after a couple years and it still looks really good.

-You can't repaint your car with anything but rustoleum after without dropping lots of money to have it stripped properly.

-- $15 in sandpaper if you want to do it by hand or $50 in sandpaper and a harbor freight sander is not a lot of money.



Bottom line is this is honda-tech. Many of us drive cars that are worth a couple thousand bucks or less. My car cost $1,400 (prior to spending another $10k on track-oriented goodies) and it looks 100x better than it did when I bought it. We aren't talking about expensive cars that "deserve" custom multi-thousand-dollar paint jobs. Most people on this website want to know how to improve their car for the least amount of money. This is one option for people with less than desirable paint jobs.

Re: My $50 rustoleum paint job
 

^^ Fvck Yes well said

Im going to John Deer Blitz Black my car this month, but only because its already been tainted with spray aerosol paint.