Mustang and Ford Performance Forums banner

My $50 paint job log

6K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  Parker Lewis 
#1 ·
I just recently purchased a 96 GT with a ton of problems. Aside from mechanical issues the car was in dire need of a paint job. While I'm saving to fix the important issues I decided to take the paint problem into my own hands. Unfortuantely I have zero experience with paint or body work- or anything car related to be honest.

So after doing some research on the internet I discovered the "$50 Paint job" idea. I also did some research on the legitimacy of the job and there have been plenty of successful turnouts. For those of you who have not heard of it here is the original post that I found on the moparts forum...

here's how i painted my car for about $50, it's actually very easy and the results are amazing. 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

well that's my 2 cents worth, sorry for the long post. i was borred lol
i painted the orange beetle in 1999, and it still looks like the day i painted it, the 71 blue beetle i painted in 2000, and built the car for my dad, i used the same paint on my charger, maybe one day i'll spring for a good paint job, prepping is 90% of the work, stripping the car, sanding, ect.....painting is overrated!!!
So if you have TIME, then i'd say go for it, the worst that could happen is that it does'nt turn out and your out $50, but if your paitient, and expriement with lets say just the trunk pannel and if you like it do the whole car, if not just get it done by someone else for $4000. i don't know about you guys, but i would rather spend the $4000 on other parts like getting the mechanics sorted out and new chrome, cause when u have really nice paint and crappy bumpers, door handles it just sticks out more.


... from my research in other forums I know I'm going to get one of two responses. The first being "WOW IS THIS FOR REAL?, I'M GIVING IT A SHOT!". The second being comments like "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR" or "IN A FEW YEARS YOUR PAINT WILL SUCK BLAH BLAH" and those comments may be correct but when your strapped for cash and have a dull, ugly, flaking paint job- this seems like a no brainer.

Anyways, if you haven't guessed yet I will be attempting this $50 paint job on my car. I have already started some sanding on the hood, bumper and front fenders. I am always looking for pointers and have TONS of questions on things as I go so if you have any advice I am more than willing to listen. Specifically on what grit sand paper to use on certain materials, tips on body work, what kind of compounds to use and the art of wet sanding.

I will post progress pictures in my next post.
 
See less See more
1
#3 ·
Here are some shots of the sanding I've done on the hood, the extra two front fenders as well as the Cobra bumper. All were done with a 5" Black and Decker rotary sandery with 100 Grit sand paper.





If anyone is willing to share there .02 cents on what needs body work or any pointers with the sanding feel free to speak up. I can also get some better pictures to help in your assessment upon request- just let me know.
 
#6 ·
This sounds very familiar to what I saw some old guys do on a '63 Impala when I was a kid. They used lacquer paint with the same technique and it look awesome. Was a helluva lot of work though! A buttload of wetsanding and buffing but the finish was great.

Bill
 
#12 ·
Any updates on this? Also, when a car is sprayed the paint for the flexible parts of your car, i.e. non-metal parts like the bumper covers, ground effects, etc. get a flex additive mixed into the paint. The Charger and Beetle in the post at the top are all metal parts, so I wonder how this paint will work on your mustang's bumper covers and other parts that need to flex a little bit due to temperature changes, etc.? Definitely a cool idea, and I know this post is old but if you have any updates let us know.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top