Any one have car painting advice ?

I have a decent HVLP sprayer and experience with it on buildings and fences. I would like to tackle a 95 Ford Ranger ! There is a lot of dings and dents that I can fix without any issue as I have experience with removing dents, body panels and bondo but I have not painted a whole car before. I would appreciate any advise you guys might have ! The bed is getting pulled so I can get in between the cab and bed as well as painting the frame and underbody with pro 15, any suggestions or ideas on the frame paint ? It is a very rusty but solid frame so I figured grinding the rust off and hitting it with a tough paint that seals out salt and water would be good on the frame.

Thanks Guys
Pete

Pete, Duro extend rust converter on the frame, Rustolium make a similar product but no where near as good.
What type of paint are you planing on for the body? If it is an Airless HVLP I don't think I would attempt to spray the body. You can buy a $20. gun at HF that does a good job.

I painted my jeep using a satin rustoleum I got from Wally world and it has held up really well. You need to clean everything very well. When using oil based paint I put on a thin coat and let it dry a while so it gets sticky, then you can put it on pretty heavy.

It is the purple 20 dollar spray gun from HF that I purchased. I had not decided on the paint for the body yet but I am leaning towards Valspar/Majic tractor and implement black. I have used it with hardener on my drive shaft as a test and it still looks like new without scratches. $30 a gallon for the paint and $30 a gallon for clear coat.

Pete

I kind of like the look of black primer. Camouflage is OK too. That wrinkle paint would be pretty cool as well.

Dupont Imron over Dupont Corlor epoxy primer is still about the best. Kind of expensive and probably not worth it unless you are going to sandbast or dip the frame.
Grinding the frame though is not a good idea, unless you are talking about a wire brush in an angle grinder. Mini truck frames are thin to start with,
it has already been comprimised by rust, and can't afford to lose additional thickness.
Water blasting or power wire brushing are your best options if you are not going to dismantle the vehicle, followed by the use of an acid to remove the remaining rust and clean and etch the surface so the paint will stick. Some variation of phosphoric acid such as Ospho or Metal Treat would work well, or even oxalic acid from a house paint supplier. Remember; always do what ya oughta, pour acid into water. Allow the acid to dry, then wash with water before painting.

http://www.rickwrench.com/index79master.htm?http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html

I really enjoyed reading this and I'd like to try it with my old GMC when I get ready to restore it.

Not really relevant, but sort of interesting: Back in the day, a customer of ours had a '61 Dodge that was about 7 years old, and the paint was pretty bad. He painted it a medium blue - with a roller! From 5 feet away, it looked fine. Close up, you could see the roller marks, but it still was an improvement.
I don't recommend the roller method, though.

That is a good point ! I will use my wire brush then I had not really considered how much the grinder would remove. When I used pro 15 on a test piece and it is bullet proof from what I can see however I am a little worried it won't stick without rust because that is how it cures ( by sucking the moisture out of the rust and killing it while blocking water air and salt. Does anyone have experience with the stuff ? Will it stick without rust ?

Pete

Are you talking about POR 15? http://www.por15.com/ Yes, you can use POR 15 without acid, but you still need to remove flaky rust with the wirewheel. Don't worry about getting too much rust off, that is not going to happen.

Check out the chassis coating system they off lower on the page.

Sounds weird but really worked. In about 1969 I bought a 1950 Plymouth for $70, very rusty, etc. My job was spray painting buildings, metal roofs, etc. I just scraped off the really loose visible rust, gave the rust-bucket a coat of barn roof primer, followed by a pretty shade of blue enamel. First car I ever painted. Looked good for years until the car fell apart. Loved that old 6-volt Plymouth. Don't make them that way today -- thank God!

Yes that's the stuff I will check out the chassis coating. Thanks Dune for the advice !



Pete

Jack Straw do you have pics I have never had good luck with rustoleum except with there rusty metal primer that stuff is amazing if you buy the professional grade consumer grade sucks. If I could get it to last I would try rustoleum on the body again but usually it wears off and looses color really fast when I use it. Any idea what I am doing wrong ?

Pete

Pete,
I used quarts of Rustoleum, it was a satin finish because I wanted to hide flaws and I don't like a a gloss finish. I put a hardener in it that I got from TSC. It has been 4 years now, it is dirty from sitting in the woods and it is wet, but I think it has held up well...you could wax it to help preserve the paint.






The fender is getting rusty, but I don't blame the paint....the jeep was a rust bucket when I started.

Thanks jack straw I am gonna try this out with hardener and see what happens.

Pete

Good Luck Pete, and of course post pics!

Thanks guys for the tips I will be sure to start putting up project pics of the new firewood truck progress.

Pete