Roller Paint Job Diary

There's all kinds of 'sweet spots' in this method

First of all, the process should be renamed to Roller Paint and Blow Job. That's the way to make sure it works!

You roll out the contents of paint mixture in the roller until just before the roller 'feels' dry (still has some paint but not much) then gently blow on the bubbles from the first stroke to this current last stroke.

I went 35% paint and 65% paint and it worked like a charm!

There's a small problem with the roof. How do you get your lips close enough to gently blow the bubbles off! I didn't. I used a small brush to reach to the end of the rolled row and just let the brush 'float' across (no pressure). It should be wet at the tip before you do that or the paint will streak according to the bristles.

By the time I finished one side of the roof and the driver's side then got the doors done on the passenger side, the paint was touch-dry on the roof.

I checked where I brushed out the bubbles and there were no brush marks, the paint laid down flat.

The original documents comment about blowing any 'remaining' bubbles, but the 8th document mentions that using a small brush works too.

Just so you don't have to fish around for the documents (thanks to wagonmaster to shrink them down from 88 megs to 840,000 bytes) Right click to download them. Its the actual thread with pictures.

http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2871&postcount=49

If you wait too long to blow, the paint in the bubble softly sags out and starts a small sag. It eventually flattens out, but I used the same little brush to spread these 'bubble drops', just floating it over them.

Very nice results!

Oh yeah! The temperature was around 22C (69 to 71F), humidity 35 to 39% (dry for here), and wind was SW 25 to 30 MPH), sunny too!

 

ya know norman i know its a day late and a dollar short but i was just wonderin ,,,,why you could,nt have used catalyzed acrylic enamel ,,,put on a couple a coats let dry hit it with 400 and repeat as needed and sand and buff???now for the doorjambs you did scuff the livin snot out of it and use adhesion promoter right ??? bulldog ,,jamb-it or equivalent,,,,, a number of years ago a buddy of mine i worked with was paintin his bike and i got him paint (white) cuz the stupid company (airline) went with a different shade of white,,, so anyways i give him a gallon of dupont centauri with hardner,,,he stirs it up and proceeds to pour a paint job over a bucket,,,,,hold pour let it run,,, pour again let it run etc,,etc,,,i saw it and could not believe how good it looked not my cup o tea but amazingley nice and cheap and when it kicked ie; it had the catalyst in it ,,,very durable

 

80, I like that Dupont paint, but I got a chance to see this car where 'No Man Has Gone Before..."

The door sills were like new to start with, so I treated them like the hood or roof, polished, shiny. I prepped them and then primed, after using the Rust Reformer from Rustoleum, then I put 2 coats on with the rattle cans. I took the little 'Ford' badges off with Mineral Sprits and bought new adhesive tape to put them back on after the car is done. They look mint!

As I was going through this whole thing, I kept wondering how would anybody ever know what the original color was, and I'd go to that spot and prep it and paint it. You'd have to be cruel and vicious to find a spot anywhere to find the original overspray on the inside of the fenders or doors. This Chestnut brown is just a bit lighter than the original tan color, but with not metallic specks. Its tough paint, and its got the Rust Protection.

PLUS! I worked off my ponch and built up my pecks and abs. I'm a lean mean roller-machine, now!

I don't mind the extra effort, because I know I can fix a scratch or chip in a day, and the car will look good and won't get back into the rust cycle for at least 10 years. I did what the factory couldn't or wouldn't to it (rust inhibitors, undercoat, body sealer they didn't do at the factory or didn't do well, etc.)

When I re-insure it, the Public Insurance company allows me to put a higher replacement value on the car. They want evidence and receipts, and so far I can easily show that I can support a $8,000 to $10,000 valuation. Once they give it too me ($40 dollars per year extra), that's it. They can't write it off for a scratch or a small fender-bender.

It's the rust protection that I like in this paint and the UV protection. We have a lot of road salt and intense sun. No fading over time and less chance of premature rust.

 

you know 80 ctlass might have somethin,
ok lest see if i can xplain myself...
tremclad=good roller paint
rusteoleum= not so great
automotive paint, rolled on and color sanded, might be ok for thos of us that are kinda hesitant to roll rust-eze (since it doesnt last as long.
so why not get some automotive paint and color sand the mierda out of it?

 

I can't comment on that, but it would probably work.

Well its looking like a car now! Not a basket case! It might be too cold (13C) or too wet (rain forecast by the time it gets to 13C), but I can wetsand and get it ready for the third coat. I had a few runs and sags (paint was a bit too wet in a few spots), but it looks sharp.

I kept the same 35% paint / 65% thinners and this second coat grabbed onto the second coat like burrs to flannel pants! Laid down flat and shiny and got good color coverage - the glazing putty doesn't show through. These are really thin coats.

Again, the humidity was 39%, Temp was 23C (73F) and sunny, wind was about 15 to 20 MPH.

Its dandelion fluffy seeds season and the tiny black flies seem to like to sniff the thinners. But I caught them fast enough before the paint was too dry and got them off with my fingernails.

Near the end, I noticed some specs of dust and paint, and realized it was time to change the roller. So the next 5 coats get a new roller each. I did use the tack cloth first thing, but since I'm working outside, I should do that anyway and then each panel (door, hood, etc.) just before I paint. No big deal, they'll come out with the wetsanding.

 

you say you measure 35-65 mix, what do you measure in? or do you eyeball it?
Rafa

 

man...i hope your doing a PICumentary on all this

 

he'll send us the negatives to view...
or some projector slides...

 

I use a one quart canning jar that I marked off using a measuring cup with water and a permanent black marker on the outside.

I started with the paint % on one side going up from 30% of the jar (40 oz jar X .30 = 12 oz) and then in 5% (1 oz more or less - mas o menos) going from bottom to top. Then I do another column going top to bottom for the thinners. It saves me doing the math when I pour in the thinners, especially since the jar is coated with paint on the inside and dribbles on the outside!

 

so mas o menos you would recommend doing 35-65 on all coats right? how lond does one Qt last (i.e. Hood or Roof?)

 

Give me a break guys! My buddy picked up the camera yesterday to check it out and bring it back tomorrow.

 

were just yanking your paint roller bud... :2_thumbs_up_-_anima
we know it aint easy to transfer kodak 110 film to digital....?!???
well be waiting on the pics, or at least i know i will!

 

One quart of the jar, not the paint can, does the whole car and one half of the roof, including the rocker panels and under the rear quarters, and touch up the door sills.

So one can of paint could do two complete coats once it's mixed with the thinners. Now, this is only a small Fairmont Wagon, not a great big Colony Park or Country Squire wagon. I think you'd get the bigger car covered with the quart jar, but you'd use a bit more to do the running boards, etc.

I bought 4 quarts to make sure I had some from the same batch if I needed to touch up anything later. Since I have to reinstall everything, the chances are pretty good that I'll scratch something.

 

Kodak 110! They still make those?

 

well the only reason i thought of the catalyzed acrylic enamel was due to probably more resistant to fading tougher chip resistance etc,, etc,,,and obviously solid colors only,,,,a few years ago the ppg paint guy stopped by ta see me and i was paintin some baggage carts with some waterborne enamel just to get rid of it and i could shove three in the paint booth and roll away,,,(i used to work on airline ground support equipment ) and in our conversations he mentioned about using other paint and obviously it is rollable ,,,,i declined on that because at that time i was just trying to get it used up and i hated spraying it with a gun,,,,they actually looked good for being rolled and they were gonna be rode hard the second they were back in service on the ramp anyways,,,,,,,but the point being like we discussed was you had the same protective qaulities with a catalyzed paint wether it was rolled or sprayed just more work making it look good if ya roll it