Thread: Easiest, cheapest paint...

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Shrug....please listen to what Hotrodpaint is saying....
*use primer and paint from the same manufacturer
*buy quality stuff
*get the tech data sheets and follow the directions

Going the cheap route will be worse than no paint job at all since a crappy job will require more work in the future to correct.

Like heart surgery, dont buy on price alone!

You know that is easy to say when you have the luxury of money.
When it takes you six months just to save up 300 bucks, you cant be as picky.

If you look at the pics of my car now you will see that all that work has been done at home for less than $100.00

I straightened the body, doing mostly old fashioned hammer and dolly work, then finished up with a bit of bondo and spot putty. Then I did a good full body sanding, and them primed it with spray cans. I primed it black instead of gray because the paint was .50 cheaper per can. Then I went over the whole car with steel wool to give it a smooth look.

I did all of the prep myself and paid a guy 200 bucks to spray my 87 F-150 black, and it looked fine.

I am not going for a shw car here. This is just my daily driver. With the amount of punishment a car takes in Phoenix I do not want to put a lot in to it anyway.

My Taurus is only two years old, and already has an impressive collection of chips from road debris. Not to mention the fact I am on my third windshield (thank goodness I have 100% window coverage on my insurance)

If I spent 2 or 3 grand on paint, which would involve me saving up cash for several years, and possibly selling off body parts to science, and then I ended up behind a gravel truck, which happens weekly out here, I would just have to kill myself.

Maybe I would feel differently if I could find full time work, but that wont happen unless I move to India and change my name to Apu.

The name of this thread is cheap paint, not "I have 5 grand to drop on paint"

I have had plenty of 200-300 dollar paint jobs from places like One Day, and Earl Schieb, and they looked fine to me.

Let's face it if I had a couple of grand to blow, do you think I would bother trying to do it myself? I would just go to a shop like Arizona Street Rods and let them do it.

I mean look at my car, it is not like it is a 69 GTO Judge worth 50 or 60 thousand dollars.

At best my car is worth maybe 5 grand. Why would I want to spend 3 grand on a car that was only worth 5? That would just be silly.

The name of this thread is cheap paint, not "I have 5 grand to drop on paint"

Let's face it if I had a couple of grand to blow, do you think I would bother trying to do it myself? I would just go to a shop like Arizona Street Rods and let them do it.

At best my car is worth maybe 5 grand. Why would I want to spend 3 grand on a car that was only worth 5? That would just be silly.[/QUOTE]



Without calling my paint store, I would estimate you should be able to buy quality materials, prime, paint it white acrylic enamel, with a hardener, and pay for your sandpaper and tape, for about $500, and it will last for 10-20 years, if you take your time, and do each step right.

You can even lightly sand and buff it, at very little extra expense, and make it look like a $3-5,000 job. What you have saved is all of the labor it takes to make them look nice.

The misconception is when people think they can paint the whole car for $100-$200, and think it will look as good, or or last as long.

The most important part of painting is the PREP. I think that was mentionted above. People think paint will cover bad body work. Well it will but the bad body work just got SHINNY. I don't know if you have any farm stores around you. John Deer has what I'd call good paint and a lot of colors its made by Val Spar primer $30. hardner $30. thinner $15. Paint is priced by color. I know there Blitz Black is $27. a gal. It looks like hot rod primer but its hard as nails and has a sheen to it not glossy.

Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT

The misconception is when people think they can paint the whole car for $100-$200, and think it will look as good, or or last as long.

Oh and as far as lasting long, I can pretty much guarantee that by this time next year I will not only have a different car, but I probably will have gone through a few more as well.

That is just me. Since high school I have had over 200 cars. Not to mention quite a few trucks and bikes, and even a few campers.

So if I can get a paint job which will look ok running down the road at 60, and last for one year, I will be a happy fellow.

Since I have moved here to Phoenix 2 1/2 years ago I have had the following:

1953 Chevrolet 210
1969 Cadillac ElDorado
1965 Chevy C10
1987 Ford F-150
1985 Ford Bronco
and now my 1965 Chrysler Newport

I also had a 1973 Apache Mesa Pop-up trailer.

So no, I am not concerned with a paint job that will last for 20 years.

Chances are within a few months of painting this car, I will be looking to trade it for something else.

try dupli-color, it comes in quarts & gallons, the part houses aorund houston sell it, auto-zone, etc. I have used their primers (good Stuff). they also have a build-up primer. I used their primer on my 34 ford, and spayed over it with PPG (Copper Head Pearl) base coat-clear-coat. have not had any prolbems.

This may not quiet be what your thread is about, but, what I am doing is self-prepping, then priming it myself, then I will buy the paint. I'm then having it done by a paint shop as a foregner, or off the books. It's costing me like $200 for his time to spray it, but, we both win, he earns $200 before he opens up for the day, and I get the finish that I want on my car. That's what I would advise you to do, you may spend almost $200 in paint that needs to be rubbed back down, and hiring compressers and spray guns. But, I have seen a lot of good D.I.Y jobs, but mainly on matt finishes. I guess it's just whether there is somebody local to you that will help you out for a nice price. The paint cost me $150, that was for a high gloss black, that includes my primer and hardner aswell. Good luck with it though, post some pictures up when it's done, I'd love to see it.

Here's a option.

If you're not pressed for time check with one of your local High Schools.
They often need donor cars for class projects.
You supply the materials and the students provide the labor.
I had a Pro Comp 91 Cutlass that needed color.
I let the kid across the street use it for his senior project.
Their teacher was a Body Shop veteran and quite the perfectionist. I ended up with a phenomenal job for just the cost of materials.
I popped for a Pizza party upon completion and a promise to return after the car was finished.
When I returned, I Rolled it off the trailer and lit the tires up for them.
After the smoke cleared and the whooping in hollering subsided I thanked them again for all their hard work. I then asked them to all sign their names on the hood scoop with a paint pen. It was funny as sin, due to their excited state most of their hands shook like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge....

I've used teh DupliColor primer.... it seems to work well, never used the paint but im thinking of buying a gallon to do the undercarriage.... i work for Advance Auto (only for the discount) so i can get a gallon of black for around $40....