# Car Paint Cheap



## 2high2aim (Jul 8, 2007)

I have been looking for the ideal way to paint my car. I have no knowledge of painting and want to do it by myself. So I was reading on the internet and the person said he used Rollers to paint his car, with enamel paint. I was wondering would it cause the paint to chip or crack?. Also I just found out that my friends dad has a spray gun so should I attempt to spray are is it to hard for me to do it. How do go about this also my Mexican friend said go to Mexico to get a cheap paint job. My most major consern is price. I need a paint job done cheap what are your suggestions.

Oh yea and any of you guys wondering how the guy did it with a roller here is wat he said,
"First off, get a can of tremclad real orange (or what ever color u want) in the can, not spray, yes tremclad, it is a acrylic/enamel paint which is very durable. next prep your car as if was any other paint job, fix all the rust, ect....no need to prime the car since the tremclad allready contains elements which allow it to be painted over bare metal. next, after prepping the car get a small 4" professional FOAM rollers, it's tiny and has one end rounded off, and the other cut straight, and is a very high density foam. u also need a jug of mineral spirits to thin the paint. The thing i really like about this is that there's no mess, no tapeing the whole car, just key areas, and u can do it in your garage, since your not spraying there is virtually no dust in the air, just clean your garage first, also it does'nt really smell at all, dries overnight and it super tough paint. also it you decide to paint the car professionally later, just prep and paint, there's no need to strip the tremclad. i have done this to a few cars, and i can say it works amazing, u just have to be paitient. next u thin the paint with mineral spirits so it just about as thin as water, a little thicker. get out the roller and paint away, don't get the paint shaked when u buy it, enamel is stirred, otherwise you'll have bubbles in the paint for a week!!! after u do 2 coats, wet sand the whole car, then repeat, 2 coats, wetsand, 2 coats wetsand. i painted the charger using a can since your not spraying the car u use all the paint and not spray 50% in the air, use progressivly finer sand paper each time. it's not really that much work, cause u can stop and start any time, u can do just a door, or the hood, ect. do one panel at a time, and don't stop once you start. once your done the final coat, wetsand with about 1000 grit to a totally smooth finish, and then using a high speed polisher i use a buffing bonnet and turtle wax polishing compound. do the whole car with this, and i'm telling u, depending on the amount of time and paitence you have, the results are amazing. laugh if you want, but for $50 ($30 for paint, about $20 for rollers, sand paper, ect...) it really looks good. also you can do these steps overnight, paint one evening and by morning u can wet sand. i have personally done alot of painting, mostly single stage acrylic enamel, and i've sprayed several cars in my garage with really good professional results, just it stinks, it's a real pain to do, easy to make a mistake, messy, and expensive. The tremclad is awesome paint, the "real orange" is an amazing hemi orange, and almost looks like it has some perl in the sun, awesome color right out of the can. I used this technique on my 1974 beetle also, here are the results:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/Picture10.jpg
the car before:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/IM000475.jpg
another after pic:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC00164.jpg
here is a car i sprayed (71 beetle, midnight blue metalic):
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC00194.jpg
here is the car before (71 beetle):
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/Picture1.jpg

here's a few pics of the charger done:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC02764.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC02769.jpg

i painted it with a "profesional" high density foam roller. The trick is in how you thin the paint, get it as thin as possible without running, and the paint "self levels" it comes out like glass, wet sanding just makes it better, it all depends on how much time u have. i have sprayed a few cars in my garage with a single stage acrylic enamel and it's a pain, messy, stinks, ect... the tremclad is almost odorless and is really easy to work with. u can paint one day, wetsand the next and immedieatly recoat. once you got all the coats on, just wetsand and buff with a compound, then wax and your good to go. i've done 3 cars this way and the 74 beetle i did 6yrs ago, still looks awesome. the paint is cheap like $30 a gallon, you can get it tinted to any color u like. on the charger i used about 3/4 of a can, when u spray even with a HVLP gun, u still waste about 30% of the paint that just goes in the air. Tremclad is basically rust paint, but it is the new type which is a enamal. i still strip the car of chrome, bumpers, handles, keylocks, basically everything, and then just tape only using tape where i might get paint on something i don't want painted. the paint is tough, like stove paint when it's done, i've spilt gas on it in like really hot weather, and it resists stone chips really well. i had to repaint a fender on the beetle like 2 yrs ago, so i just got a small can of paint 3 yrs later and the color match is exact. 

i'm up in Canada, here it's called Tremclad, in the US it would be the rustoleum or something like that, it's a rust paint, buffs really nice, but make sure it's the new stuff like a enamal, or acrylic enamal. goes right over anything and does'nt react with any old paint, right over bondo, don't use any primer, just the paint. on a car i used to have i had it professionally painted 4 yrs after i painted it and they put a base/clear on it with no isues. it's really easy to do just be paitient, take your time, test on something first and perfect the tequnique, as a hint if you try it first you paint the surface, and then really lightly "skim" the surface with the weight of the roller only to remove any lines bubbles ect, then just leave it for a minute or two and you'll see it just "self levels" totally flat to glass. then wetsand it really fine, use a spray bottle and keep the paper really wet, finish with a 1000 grit or so and then buff with a random orbit polisher using turtle wax POLISHING compound, NOT the rubbing compound, its' to harsh. it is critical to use the proper roller, it's about 4" wide and about 1 1/2" thick, and really high density white foam. it really works and is much tougher paint than todays single stage or base clear, very hard to scratch, but easy to buff. i get compliments on my paint jobs, and they never believe how i do it. "

By the pics he has it looks really good and so i was thinking of having a gloss black enamel painted 240 with red flakes (sprayed on with the rattle can from duplicolor) or just a metallic red enamel 240. What you guys think I should do try spraying it, rattle can spray it or just go and roller it???? Need help from pros or anyone who has done this.


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

you can get a paint job for cheap, but it will either look like shit or start cracking within a few months. i've read up on the roller paint job and have thought of doing it myself, but it takes a lot of work and time to get it the way he did. i've seen people do it and it come out horrible. as for spraying it yourself, its not exactly the easiest thing to do. if you've never painted anything with a gun before, i suggest you get some practice in before you attempt it on your car. just save your money and get a good, quality paint job from a professional.


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## paNX2K&SE-R (May 24, 2002)

The first thing you need to do is read every post of the 160ish pages over at the mopar forum and learn from all the people who have done it. it does seem like a lot of work but not very difficult. There are however some tricks to doing it so it comes out right. I'm seriously considering hitting my SE-R up with the Brightside black. The Australian Miata guy in the mopar thread had some really good results with it.


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## 2high2aim (Jul 8, 2007)

Yea I know. I am going to try it with some other piece before I do it on my car. Its just I was wondering which way would be easier. I dont care if it takes a longer type as long as it looks good and lasts a long time. Well if any of you have done any type of painting what would you suggest me doing???


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## Nismo240 (Jul 24, 2004)

if you've got the money, get it painted professionally. i know the guy who originally did the roll on paint has it still looking good, but you may not have the same results. if you want to attempt to paint it yourself, get some practice in on some spare body parts like hoods, fenders, etc. before you attempt the car itself. i look at it this way, if its a car you don't care about how the body and paint looks, try out the roll on paint. cause if you don't care, you won't feel as shitty if it turns out bad.


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## 2high2aim (Jul 8, 2007)

LOL your funny yea I am on a budget but I do care about the appearance of my car that is why I am painting it. Well thanks for your input.


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