Painting your jeep

How many of you have rattle can painted your jeep and how did it turn out?
Maaco wants $500 to $700 to paint mine just so I can go out in the brush and scratch it up.

 

I have painted plenty of parts but not a complete vehicle. I would think if you follow the directions on the can or even call the company for painting tips for their brand the job should come out good. Preparation is the key to a good paint job.

If you can wait until the winter Maaco drops their prices and you can then get a $300 paint job.

 

IMO the biggest problem with rattle-can is lack of hardener. You can do a much better job with 2-part paint (ie single stage acrylic enamel and hardener) and just about any sprayer you can come up with. Plus, you pay much more for the amount of paint you use than you would if you bought liquid supplies.

My local Home Depot has spray outfits for rent... and compressors. You can buy a gun at Harbor Freight for $14.99 http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47016 - at that price, you could throw it away when you're finished.

 

Use refrigerator paint it's epoxy, tough stuff. Limited to color white, black or avacodo. Wal Mart sells it so availabily for touch up is there :JEEP:

 

I was watching one of those Sunday shows on Spike TV, they were addressing this very project. They recommend that you take the nozzle from a can of breakclean or gumcutter and use it on the paint can for better cover. The openings in the cleaning chemical cans are larger and will assist in covering the larger areas needing paint. You will empty the can faster, but it really works well. I painted a hood for my 'yoda pickup, and it turned out really nice for a beater truck.

 

To date, I've painted the front (everything in front of the tub) and many other parts on my CJ. I also painted a Plymouth Horizon for my sister... All with rattle cans. Invest the $2 in a handle making it like a mini-air gun. I also like the idea of a bigger hole in the nozzle.

Thing to remember, air cans put the paint on significantly thinner than a standard paint gun so you'll need more coats, particularly if you want it to hold up to wheelin and wash-up afterwards. I used 3 or 4 coats of primer and about 6 coats of final - if you put it on thin and even it won't run. Don't buy metalic paint as the metal flake is more difficult to "float" in the paint, especially in the thin coats.

 

I used some rattle can yellow made for touching up cabinets in laboratories. I found a cap that had a fan spray pattern and it helped quite a bit. I used five cans on the entire exterior of the cj5. Not the best paint job, but considering the condition the body it's not bad. A second coat would help.
You would be better off with a cup gun and compressor, or an hvlp for the large surfaces. And I'm sure in the long run the appropriate paint would last longer.
The beauty of a rattle can job is the ease of touching it up after a weekend in the brush.

 

This owner used a paint brush. Less to mask.

 

I used a paint roller and some paint from the hardware store. People thought I was nuts, but it works and I am nuts anyhow. I fifgured at some point I was gonna roll it on its side anyhow. My biggest mistake was not roughing up the paint underneath so now its starting to peal away on the hood and fenders. It also does not hold up to sunlight very well as its fadded. I'd really like to redo it and strip it down to metal and put a few good coats of spray on primer and then spray the yellow and red on.



However I just scratched the area where the club decals are on some rocks so maybe I'll just continue to do touch ups.

Kevo R)

 

So you guys are the ones I had to deal with when stripping paint off of my jeep to put real paint on it R)R)R)R)R) Sheesh

 

FWIW we painted the deuce top to bottom with a brush. 2 coats. Wanted to go for the "field expedient" true-to-life quality.

 

I used five Preval hobby type sprayers(glass bottle and aircan) squirting Gellespe coating type OD paint. Lasted four years so far but it needs another coat.

 

I have rattle canned trucks before.
I have bought rustoleum in a big can and sprayed it with a real spray gun.
Finally, I painted the CJ5 with expensive PPG 2 part paint.

Rattle can is fine if you don't really care what it looks like and want easy touch up. But that and the rustoleum I sprayed faded pretty fast making touch ups stand out. You have to mask nearly as well for spray cans as for real paint, so why not use it?

With past experiences, I would go with a cheaper, 2-part real automotive paint (I have used Omni brand for small projects, also by PPG) . For touch ups you can get a small gravity feed touch up gun and touch it up almost as easy as spray cans, and it will match better cause it won't fade as bad. I got one off ebay for like 12 bucks and it works well enough. Yes, you will have extra prep time mixing it up and breaking out the air compressor, but with the hardener it will hold up better anyway, probably requiring less touch ups.

Of course you have to have somewhere to spray, I was lucky that they had an auto hobby shop on base that had a paint booth. The one here is closed by the safety nazis. You also have the outlay for the equipment, air comp and gun. I got a Sharpe after recommendations from this board, off ebay for about $60. Buy the best, biggest comp you can afford, assuming you don't already have one. I have a 5hp 30gal craftsman, worth every penny.

My 2 cents.

 

I agree with the first part. Still have to mask everything and without UV stuff, spray paint fades significantly (if this matters)... I painted a truck about 12 years ago with a kit I got from a local FLAPS that only cost $85. Turned out well for an inexperiennced painter; I just didn't like the color - metal flake blue.

I disagree with the second part. I've sprayed everything in open garages or the driveway. That is part of the cost of DIY - may get a bug or two in the finish...

 

Yer right, I shot my primer and even finish coat on stuff like the dash and such right in the backyard. When it came time for the finish coat on the tub, I went to the booth--cause it was there.

 

Here's a pic of my 58 in 1978 Rustoleum Chestnut Brown.
http://home.earthlink.net/imagelib/...ictures/MikeStaves58CJ5_03.JPG&target=tlx_new

My 61 is getting a camo job something similar to this...

http://www.soldiercity.com/product-exec/product_id/9040

 

Are those later model fenders on your '58? They look different than my '56, and they have reflectors.

 

At the time it seemed like a good idea, I was young, what did I know. They were traded last year to one of the guys in Vegas for a set w/o lights. Those are still sitiing in the garage waiting for Grumpy to be reserected. If you look through some of the other pics on my website, you'll see that the reflectors were replaced with the correct marker lights.

 

If yer gonna take it out and scratch it up, theres no sense dropping a bunch of denaro on a good paint job. I went cheap anticipating scratches and such. Local Mack truck dealer. Standard Mack truck green in straight enamel. Cheap. Buddy of mine sprayed the parts in the back yard. Used the money the body shop wanted to paint it for a compressor that I'm still using. have to admit though, I miss the twice a year, black primer and duct tape paint jobs of my early days. Hard to beat.