First, a Before pic:

A few sheets of sandpaper, 3 rattlecans of primer, 3 rattlecans of black, 9 rattlecans of body color, 5 rattlecans of clearcoat, some miscellaneous things a few weekends later we have this!:

Ta da!

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-Brady

Pretty damn good for the money!

Wow! I like it!

You did a good job, given the tools! =D Really, it looks good.

For a rattle can job that looks good.

sweet looks good that is for sure

Looks Ok for what you used and if your happy with it, thats all that makes a difference. Just a few comments though...if you have a spray gun (or bought a $50 one), you could buy a gallon of Kirker Acrylic Enamel Auto paint for $60 and it would have a glossy finish. With your spray cans.....IF.....you ever want to do a real paint job, you will have to remove every spec of what you did put on because auto paint wont go over it. And for almost the same as what you paid, you would have at least a glossy finish from Maaco. Ive done spray can jobs myself in the past, and even a few with a brush, so Ive done everything.

Kinda looks like the stainless steel finish of the Delorean. Kinda cool.

I have to agree with roger though, you might regret this down the road, if you want to repaint properly. The rattle can paint, isn't going to last long.

Kevin

quote Originally posted by Lambo nut: Kinda looks like the stainless steel finish of the Delorean. Kinda cool. I have to agree with roger though, you might regret this down the road, if you want to repaint properly. The rattle can paint, isn't going to last long. Kevin

DeLorean... that is exactly what I told Brady when I saw the car in person. It's very "metal" looking.

I really like the color choice and scheme. And I have to agree with the last 2 comments about using a spray gun and auto paint. The cost would not have been much more and it would be a longer lasting paint job. I personally thought the rattle can paint job was going to be cheaper than it turned out to be. Which shouldn't surprize me.

But it's done, and I really like the color choices. When I first saw a small test sample of the paint, I was concerned that it might be too metalic and too reflective. But it looks really good in both the bright sun and in the shade. Good job indeed.

quote Originally posted by xenon2000: I agree about the quality difference. But the cost difference that you point out is really only valid if you have all the equipment already. Brady does not have an air compressor, spray gun, paint prep materials, etc. While it could be argued that the extra cost of buying the equipment is worth the difference in quality and the option of future paint jobs, it would still have cost more upfront. So while I too think $160+ is more than I personally would want to pay for a rattle can paint job. I think it was probably the fun and cost effective solution for Brady. Our local Maaco in Oregon does not do that color and a dual color scheme and painted trim, mirrors, heat vents, etc... would have made it at least double to quaduple the $160 cost, if they would even do the same gun metal grey color.

Yup, that's true. I don't have the equipment or space. Of course the more money and better equipment you have, the better the paint job is going to be. It did come out costing a bit more then I wanted to try and get away with, but that blue masking tape isnt cheap and I had to use way more then I estimated. But at least I think the car looks much better now, especially for the cost, then it did with the clear coat flaking off and cracking. After 20 years, it was finally its time.

PS... somebody make me a new Avatar :-)

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-Brady

Holy Shoot! You painted that car with spray cans????? That's got to be one of the all time cheapest jobs West of the Mississippi. The others East of the Mississippi are done by Earl Shieb.
While the job looks acceptable, I would have concerns on how long the paint will last. Spray can paint is different than automotive enamel but if the end result pleases you, that is what counts.
On a budget of $164 and several days of work, it might have been better to consider having Maaco paint the car for $199. While you don't get a great paint job for $199, if you bring Maaco a thoroughly wet sanded car with smooth surfaces ( and tailights, all moldings and side marker lights removed), the results can sometimes be very acceptable.

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87GT 3.4 Turbo- 0-60 5.2 seconds -Best
Engine Controls, ECM goodies, Chip
re-programming & odd electronics stuff

don't let peaple get you down the funny parts is everyone is saying go to macco but look here and get a laugh
//www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/052363.html
read what everyone said when i said i was going to get a paint job there . just so eeveryone know macco it cost 350.00 if you want a sealer coat not 199.99
edit sorry wrong link

I THINK IT LOOKS GOOD AND IF YOU LIKE IT THAT IS ALL THAT MATTER ! I

[This message has been edited by fierobrian (edited 07-19-2005).]

quote Originally posted by fierobrian: everyone is saying go to macco

I never said go to Macco...

quote Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: Holy Shoot! You painted that car with spray cans????? That's got to be one of the all time cheapest jobs West of the Mississippi. The others East of the Mississippi are done by Earl Shieb. While the job looks acceptable, I would have concerns on how long the paint will last. Spray can paint is different than automotive enamel but if the end result pleases you, that is what counts. On a budget of $164 and several days of work, it might have been better to consider having Maaco paint the car for $199. While you don't get a great paint job for $199, if you bring Maaco a thoroughly wet sanded car with smooth surfaces ( and tailights, all moldings and side marker lights removed), the results can sometimes be very acceptable.

I think the paint is pretty solid. I tried to remove some overspray from a trim piece and even using brakes parts cleaner I could hardly make a dent in it, so its still there (but hidden under the hood). The 2 closests Maacos here both have poor reputations, the one in Washington is good but wanted the car for at least 3 weeks. Also they wouldnt do my body and seperate trim color.

Plus, I like the idea I can do touchup myself without any special tools at my own convienence.

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-Brady

Just so you know, I am not knocking your car, or paint job. It looks a whole hell of a lot better then it did to start with!
But, the paint you put on, will not have the UV protection, the regular auto paint would have, and therfore is not going to last long, that's all.

Kevin

Here is an attempt to show the color of the car in non-direct sunlight.

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-Brady

wow! Looks cool

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http://www.iamanascarfan.com/

I am the signature virus, please put me in your signature so I can spread

Really good job for rattle can. Definitely an improvement. My idea of a cheap paint job is good old farm and fleet tractor paint. You'd be very very suprised what you can do with that stuff. Put half of a ½-pint can of aluminum into a gallon of white and you get a very very kickass color. I painted a car that way when I was in high school. I told people it cost me $1500 and they all believed it. Tractor paint is tough as nails and cheaper than spray cans. All you need is a decent air compressor and a crappy primer gun. I did wetsand it between coats. ( Use a primer gun. That stuff will really muck up a good paint gun )

You can use that stuff on engine blocks too, but you have to put a lot more aluminum in to keep it from comming off.

We painted our horse stall fronts with Van Sickle gloss black and a paint roller. Talk about some tough stuff. Gotta use the hardener if it's gonna spend any time in the sun, though.

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1986 SE 350 V8

Don't worry about the possibility of reaction if you ever go for a respray, there are plenty of primers that won't react with the paint you have just put on.

The car looks very good considering your budget, very impressive.

You should be very proud of your self, that car looks awesome!

JG

quote Originally posted by THE BEAST: You should be very proud of your self, that car looks awesome! JG

I agree! That's a lot of work.

Maybe to counteract the faster fading properties of the paint, a car cover would be a wise investment if it isn't garage-kept. Not sure how that stuff will respond to wax, but keeping a few layers on top should help too.

As for Maaco . . . yes, they advertise $199 (or more, depending on the level of service), but that's not what you'll end up paying. My "$400" Maaco job cost $600 something after their hidden fees! Admittedly they smoothed out a couple of dents, but for example, they hadn't included the clear coat in that $400 price tag. And as was mentioned previously, don't tell anyone if you got it done at Maaco, cuz they'll tell you you shoulda spray bombed it. =P

Again I say, good job! And yea, had you wanted to move up to automotive spray paint, I'm no expert, but I think you probably woulda have found yourself lacking in tools and space, one way or another, like you mentioned - air compressor, etc.

For the $199 Maaco job, they do it in cheaper single stage enamel, so no clearcoat is needed. You also dont need the sealer unless you had a peeling problem, and you dont need the ' added ' hardener (they put it in all the jobs anyway in case they have to redo something). I get several of the $199 jobs done a month on car lot jobs, and have for the last 15 years or so.

Im not knocking the car at all, it does look nicer, in fact I see a lot of the import guys painting their semi gloss colors on purpose at car shows. Seems like thats sort of a newer fad.

We can stop talking of Maaco now as it was never ever considered as an option here due to their reputation locally :-)

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-Brady

Oh come on now, orange peel just adds character!

I paid Maaco $600 for a paint job. I asked them to repaint our silver Crown Vic-silver again. I guess they have a sense of humor because they painted it PINK! The paint was rough to the touch and had runs all over it. After quite a bit of argueing, they agreed to repaint it--which they did. The second paint job was only a little better than the first--it was indeed silver but looks like total crap-1 yr later. It is dull and rough.
Here is a picture of what Maaco did for $600---y'all use them if you like--I never will again!

It looks alot better than it did, and if you don't have the funds to get a professional job, I think you did alright. Now, your next project will have to include latex house paint and only one sponge roller. Good luck.

It looks great to me. What brand/type of paint did you use. And did you just do this in your garage or what? Thanks!

quote Originally posted by fieroeater: It looks great to me. What brand/type of paint did you use. And did you just do this in your garage or what? Thanks!

Primer: Duplicolor Filler Primer
Body: Duplicolor Gunmetal Grey
Trim: Duplicolor Gloss Black
Clear Coat: Duplicolor Truck/Van Hi Gloss

It was partially painted in my carport until the wind blew the plastic down, then I moved the car to a friends' barn/shop which at one point was used as an actual body shop.

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-Brady

awesome bah bee

Great updated avatar signature!!! Very creative.

What about a close up shot? A full res, but cropped, close up shot of the paint. So we can really see the detail of the paint.

quote Originally posted by xenon2000: Great updated avatar signature!!! Very creative. What about a close up shot? A full res, but cropped, close up shot of the paint. So we can really see the detail of the paint.

Hmmm... see what you think of these:

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-Brady

Very cool looking so close to the paint. A lot of texture and sparkle.

Not trying to convince anyone to go to Maaco but I've gotten some near excellent jobs at the local shop here on cars that we've done good prep work on. Bring them a good surface to paint and the job comes out great. Bring them a rough worn finish and they'll just paint right over it!!!.
Trouble is that many Maacos employ cheap low priced ignorant labor so the results can be very inconsistant from place to place. It just so happens that the son of the owner of the Maaco here does all of the painting and he is quite skilled with the gun. The "grunt work" is done by the labor force previously mentioned .
Getting back to the subject of this post, the "rattle can" paint job shown here looks pretty good and if it makes the owner happy, then he's found his solution.

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87GT 3.4 Turbo- 0-60 5.2 seconds -Best
Engine Controls, ECM goodies, Chip
re-programming & odd electronics stuff

quote Originally posted by HellYes: My idea of a cheap paint job is good old farm and fleet tractor paint.

He's not allowed to use tractor paint on that one. No 4.9 swap.

(yes I'm kidding dammit!!!!!)

edit: Forgot to mention... as said... for a rattle can job it looks good! I did my first job ('66 Chev pickup) with rattle cans. Still came out better than it was in all it's 42 color glory!

[This message has been edited by watts (edited 07-23-2005).]

Beautiful job on that paint. I'll just add that I tried a similar project, one test fender. It looks great, and no-one beleives it is rattle-canned. Unfortunately I did find that that the rattle can paint chips to easily for my taste, especialy at the edges. I love the color, but will use my spray setup and real automotive paint for the final project. I also used duplicolor brand, metalic blue over grey duplicolor primer. Finished with Duplicolor clear and polished out all orange peel. Looks like glass, but is too fragile.

I hope yours holds up better, but at least repairs to the finish will be super easy!

Again, Great Job.

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My house is almost done, and my 85 GT wants more power! Soon to be - 3800SC!
Check out my Fiero project page!

[This message has been edited by Helo-mech (edited 11-13-2005).]

That looks fairly nice for a rattle can job, but seeing as you went thru the steps of sanding, primer, base, and clear, and spent $164. Why not pick up a cheap $50 paint gun, and buy $170/gal Single Stage Enamal, and have it painted with actual automotive paint? Looks like you already had a nice little paintbooth setup going there. I'v charged as little as $250 to paint a small car before, and believe you me, the results were nothing short of what you'd expect on a $1000+ paintjob.

[This message has been edited by 4mulaFire (edited 11-13-2005).]

hmm... this only encourages me to spray can my 88 coupe.. (just a daily, i have an 86 SE as my project..)

Thanks. And the best part is... only $5 chip repairs, which is nice come winter time when all the roads are kicking up rocks.