what steps do youll think i need to take to get the best result for a rattle can job? Im going to be repainting the top half of the truck soon, and i want to make sure it sticks well, and last longer.

any lil tricks i need to know, or anything to make it easier?

 

at the VERY LEAST:

sand the entire area you plan on painting. you dont have to sand down to metal or anything, youre just trying to rough up or weather the existing paint in order to give the primer coat something to stick to.

wash it really good somehow, i dont know the best methods, ive only done it on a couple 70's cars, im sure somebody else knows

primer

sand

primer

sand

more primer if needed

wet sand

dry coat of color, wait 5-10 minutes, do a wet coat

let completely dry

wet sand

repeat the last three steps several times

clear coat at the end, NOT after you sand, but after the final coat of paint.


i may be off in some areas. thats just kind of a general idea i suppose.

oh, and the amount of time and work you put into it is directly proportional to how good it will look in the end.

 

Tiger striping is a big issue. It's very tuff to not get it doing large surfaces from a rattle can.

 

wow sweet thanks kris

im not sure i want to do a clear on the end. since its gonna be abused offroad, i want to be able to paint over scratches that will occur. the paint is also a flat one as well.

 

flat always covers better, dries quicker, and the lack of gloss hides imperfections well.

dont opt for cheap paint, though. spend the money on some good, high quality flat paint. when i rattle canned my 72 gran torino using "flat black" cheap crap from autozone, there was a little bit of sheen to it, which showed my not so great job. however, i only did a one coat deal, and its been sitting in a warehouse ever since.

ALSO: look for FANSPRAY! it is your FRIEND!

 

heh, i did my whole truck in krylon ultra flat.
i just sanded the truck with a palm sander, wiped everything down with rubbing alcohol and a paper towel, got a krylon spray handle thing(so i didnt kill my fingers and it wouldnt stripe as bad) ,then painted it with the spraypaint.

 

oh, and dont you dare try to cover it all on the first coat. many EVEN coats is the key. its not as much of a problem with flat finishes because they are pretty well behaved, but sanding out some heavy runs is not all that fun.

have you ever wetsanded anything before?

 

i also did 3-4 coats of paint(it drys really fast).
if you look in my posts theres pics of my truck after the paint.
make sure you hand sand all the window edges and wheel wells.
i also sanded and painted all my handles while i was at it(didnt take them off).
news paper and blue painters tape is your friend.

 

a) that reminds me, i suggest using a random orbital sander if you have one. and wear a mask, preferably the good kind with the filters.

b) rubbing alcohol is what i was thinking as far as cleaning after EVERY time you sand, but im not sure if paper towel is the best wipe. lots of lint. i'd go with terry cloth or a shop towel. but whatever you do, DON'T use red rags, they shed worse than my orange longhaired cat.

c) you reminded me as well about those handles, they are GREAT! grab a couple though, theyre cheap, and ive had one break on me and spray on my fingers until i gave up on it. and prepare to have sore trigger fingers no matter what approach you use

honestly, everything i know about a good paint job, i learned from model cars. theres a lot more room for error there, though!

im sure i'll chime in again as i remember stuff

 

man, how could i forget that

dont cut any corners here. tape over everything up to the edge, make sure all the tape edges are sticking, take off what you can, but you can do some pretty amazing stuff with blue (or green) painters tape.

pay lots and lots of attention to detail and discipline when you do this, because once youre done, you can be confident that you've covered all your bases and you can go spray crazy!

 

i did my whole truck with one of the handles, and it still works fine.
andrew (RangerBoy03FX4) even used it to paint his bumper and fender flares.
i think mine is one of the better ones, it was 2-4$ at advanced auto(its red and made by krylon).
i used paper towel with no problem, cheap ones too. just wipe any lint off with your hand once its dry.
i dont remember how much paint it took me (about 30-50 cans).
walmart has it really cheap.

 

sounds good man. im certainly not a know it all on the subject, heh. i got on a roll and ran with it and felt damn smart in the process!

 

wow, thanks for all the extra info guys. I know i want it to turn out better than the job i did on the bottom half with bedliner. I didnt get the edges good enough and some of them have started to chip.

Im going with this paint

to match these



Im gonna get a sander, i did the sanding by hand and i obviously didnt do it well enough. I have to get some more blue tape, used a lot of it on the last job.

 

when i discovered wetsanding, it was a good day. a wetsanded object can be deceiving to the eye, but when you touch it, its smooth as glass baby, it'll bring a tear to your eye