call me crazy...

[Rjackel944]

...but im doing the $50 rustoleum paint job..on my 1985 early 944. So this is going to be my progress/information thread especially since I couldnt find anything on this topic on this site.

Heres my reasoning.

1) Being 16 years old, I do not have $3000+ to paint the car professionally (friend of mines dad owns a body shop, and he said the cheapest he would go is $2000)

2) why would I spend 3X the amount i spent on the car to paint it

3) I have more time on my hands then money, so why not. Its my project car and Im learning so much about how to do it (sanding sanding and more sanding lol)

Im using rustoleum high performance protective enamel. SAFETY ORANGE!!! its thinned to where its a little thicker then water. 1 gallon(little much) is $38.
LOTS OF SANDPAPER. paint thinner and high density rollers.

So far i have most of the car sanded with 60 grit. May seem a bit heavy, but there's still a little adhesive stuck on the body from the vinyl graphics the PO had on.



After the whole car is done with 60, then im going to move on the 120 then 220 then 400. to get it as smooth as possible before any paint gets put on.

anyway,
I started out by testing the paint on the headlight covers, sanded 60 then 120, 220, 400. heres some pics of the first coat on the headlight covers.




After a few more coats, and the recommended wet sanding every 2 coats, ill post more pics.

-Ryan

[BillyT]

Good luck with your project Rjackel944, The professional charges a great deal because you will quickly find that is is not so much the parts as it is the labor. I too am tackling my own paint and body and have quickly found myself spending many hours in the garage.

Good luck with your restoration

Bill

[sailchef]

Let them call you crazy, and then ask them for a ride to the bank so you can make this weeks deposit.

Like BillyT pointed out it's all in the prep, and sanding between coats. Lots of sanding.

I saw a website where a professional shop did this and documented the job to show that it could be done. They must have put on 5 or 6 layers of paint very thin and it didn't start to really look good until the 3rd or 4th layer. The finished job really was amazing. They kept it under $100.

Patience is the key to success here, take your time and don't rush it, even if it takes a couple months to do it right.

Keep us posted.

[NY65912]

I too contemplated the $50 paint job.
I did some panels of scrap sheetmetal, wet sanding etc.
It works amazingly well. I'm still thinking of doing it on my project.

[Rjackel944]

wow. lol I imagined getting nothing but negative feedback on this...

couple things i discovered while testing the paint on the headlight covers:

1) I need a higher grit paper for wetsanding between coats: 400 seems to be cutting too much. Im gonna go pick up hopefully 800, if not 1000 (last time menards didn't have 800)

2) I think I either need to thin the paint more, or wetsand between every coat. seems to be alot of orange peel...

PATIENCE. yes lol I am for sure taking my time. No sense in rushing it after all this work. lol

Thanks! Can't wait till its done!

-Ryan

[500_19B]

Careful wet-sanding and buffing will go a long way towards making paint look very good. You certainly can get a nice result and I have seen some pretty nice looking jobs using Rustoleum. I’ve seen even nicer jobs using spray cans. However, the long-term durability of these options vs. a quality activated automotive paint are simply not comparable. But for the $ difference, and what you are really looking for, it may not be an issue.

So, this is not meant as a flame, because I think you will end up with a nice looking job if you take your time, but, here are some points to ponder:

1) You have proceeded a long way with your prep. Have you considered taking it a little further (i.e. remove mirrors, side glass, rear hatch – all easy) and then ROLLING on an activated HS primer (spraying is better, but that is more complicated in terms of equipment etc), and then sanding that as per the paint manufacturer’s directions and then having the car taken to a paint shop where they can do the top coats? It will not be nearly as cheap as a Rustoleum job, but you will have a very good quality job (assuming good products are used and you find a shop willing to work with you). The cost may not be nearly as bad as you think this way as the VAST majority of the cost is the disassembly and the prep.

2) Alternatively, is it conceivable to do a spray job yourself? You will need to spend $ on spray guns etc and most importantly GOOD breathing protection. However, you will either have tools that can be used in the future, or you can re-sell it all and recover a good portion of the cost. Doing it this way, your major expense will be the materials, which is not inconsequential for quality paints though.

When I did my 944 project, I spent months on the prep. At that point, it seemed to be false economy to put anything less than a high-quality activated paint system on the car. I did everything myself and the result was as good as anything I’ve seen in person – and way above anything I’ve seen in Rustoleum (one thing about this whole endeavor is that I have become very sensitive to the quality of paint jobs and find I can now mercilessly pick apart paint jobs that I formerly would have thought were just fine). It may not make sense in your situation or even be viable or worthwhile, but give it some thought before you continue.

No matter what you choose, kudos to you for making the effort to improve your car. You are not “wrong” whatever you decide, I just wanted to offer some other perspective. Good luck!

[trconway]

Hey good luck with this. I considered doing this too but would kinda like to keep my original color to avoid painting the trunk and engine compartment. If I could get the Rustoleum in a custom color I would do this too.

Tom in NJ

[Jesset100]

Excellent! I can't wait to see the your car done. I'm 45 and i'm tempted to do this as I can't get myself to spend more for paint than I paid for the car.

[pksystems]

I'm doing Tremclad Real Orange on my '66, once all the rust repair/cage work is done
It's pretty close to GT3 orange

[Rjackel944]

yeahh i cant wait to have it done either, but i dont want to rush it!! the quality of the finished product is based mostly on the sanding and prep. and wow its alot of work..

yeah the tremclad real orange and safety orange are really close in color and i was going for that look on the GT3 on my 944 lol with the black rims and all.. that car looks sickk!!

well i tested the "prep and painting" process on the head light cover, and got pretty good results, even tho i used ACETONE instead of mineral spirits. i couldnt get all the orangepeel out of it, but its only noticeable REALLLY CLOSE UP so im just going to deal with it on that one headlight cover..

but now ive switched to mineral spirit thinning and im getting alot smoother finish. looks wayyy better!! man your not going to miss this car going down the road!! she is B R I G H T!!! lol

lots and lots more work to be done..but its going to be worth it lol,

-Ryan

[Rjackel944]

heres some pics of the ACETONE thinned headlight cover(not perfect)

[orcadigital]

Not at all meant to hijack, but I was of a mind to try the same thing on a 914 that i picked up as a parts car (and is now running and a combination daily, autoX, and DE car for my mom). I had all the intentions of doing the roller, and started by using spray cans for the jams and harder to reach places. Then it spread, and soon the entire car was rattlecanned. Sunburst Yellow Rustoleum at ~$4.00 a can from walmart. Took 14 cans, but I had to redo the rear trunk as I had something underneath that was causing the paint to bubble (was 2+ cans wasted). Did minor bondo and bodywork, mostly cleaned up some of the PO's mistakes.

I know the durability isn't supposed to be as good, but I like that if it gets a rock chip from the track, that I can fix it extremely easily. Oh, there is no wax on it yet, I have been lazy, and have had other more pressing projects.

The numbers are magnetic of course.

My best advice is to sand, sand, and more sand. When you have exhausted all the wet sanding options available, rubbing compounds, used a DA Orbital then by hand. It looks like a very decent single stage paint job, does not have the depth of gloss of a new car. But it didnt back in 76 either.




Was hard to justify even a $1k paintjob on a car that cost me $900.

[orcadigital]

Oh, and I did it in a barn with dirt floors...


A lot of prep, but mostly because the car was originally several different colors, and there were a lot of small dents and dings and previous bondo work. The hood actually came from another car as it was closer to being usable.



I did use a good quality primer (self etching, still spray can though) by Martin Senour.



This was a little after finishing, still no wax, but shows how nice the shine is, not bad for what it was, and was an enjoyable experience. No front spoiler and the rocker is just hanging there, but you get the idea.



Good luck and I will be checking back to see your progress!

[Rjackel944]

wow that looks really good!!! once its polished and waxed you'll need sunglasses to look at it! ha

yeah ive been having a little trouble with orange peel, but i think i might be mixing the paint wrong.

does too much thinner contribute to orange peel? because im mixing it 50/50, but i think i should go more 60/40.. what do you guys think?? its not really humid because its fall and im in northern chicago-land.

Thanks!!
-Ryan

[orcadigital]

Orange peel with the roller method would be either from not thinning it enough, or not lightly running the roller back over it as a final step to help the self leveling process. The entire theory of the roller method is to have a very thin layer of paint that self levels, in order to minimize the sanding required to smooth it between coats. You then do a lot of coats to build up the thickness of the paint.

A spray gun atomizes the paint to give even layering, and a spray can does a similar thing with much less efficient results.

Either thin the paint a little more or make sure you are running the roller over the paint after applying (within 5 min or so) to help the self leveling process. The paint should still be fairly transparent through the first 4 to 6 coats, if it isn't, you are probably not thinning it enough.

I did spray cans, so it was a bit different, my goal was to get as much paint on as smoothly as possible, so I had enough material when sanding down the imperfections and orange peel that come with spray cans.

[Rjackel944]

i defiantly agree with that, although when i got some 1000 grit sand paper, it works alot better. lol, although im shut down for the winter, its just too cold now..

[jury]

Hi Ryan,

I´m doing the Rustoleum roller method on my project...

R / Outlaw project...

Good luck with the sanding, its hard work but the results are pretty good. its not 100% perfect but not bad all things considered, look forward to seeing your end result

Thanks
Chris

[GradyM]

Dont think I saw anyone mention this but I could be wrong.Rustoleum spray bombs are obviously not a catalysed paint therefore gasoline,brake fluid,UV etc. will deteriorate it in a hurry. You will have to be extremely careful about what gets on the paint finish because it will not stand up.

[Rjackel944]

well, i started painting again today. i got 2 coats on the hood. finished the last coat on the spoiler, and a coat on the sunroof. plus i got a lot more sanded. I notice i was sanding wayyyy to far down. So from now on I'm just sanding the clear coat and a little paint with 150 grit on the power sander. It worked great on the sunroof!

I'll have some picture updates in a few days when i get more done.

Looking forward to getting my car on the road soon!!!

-Ryan

Also, I started her up today, and it didn't even have to turn over once. It literally started right up when I turned the key. Are all 944's that way?

[Rjackel944]

3 coats down!! Its comin together!