I want to rattle can my bronco

[Dave]

One of the reasons for the differences of opinion in this thread MAY be changes in the quality of rattle can paint over time. That industry claims that that their technology has changed to the extent that you can get a heckuvalot better paint job from a rattle can than you used to be able to. True? I dunno, but the pics of rattle can jobs in this thread look pretty darn good to me.

That is very true. Sherwin-Williams makes some very some very high quality paints in rattle cans in their automotive line. You can even get custom colors loaded into rattle cans. The nozles shoot a pretty nice uniform pattern. I use their primers quite a bit for small jobs. But at $10-$12 a can it would be a pricy paint job. And as stated earlier the quality of the job is a function of the prep work.

I just bought a quart of epoxy enamel in John Deere green. Paint, hardner, and thinner was about $50. Two quarts would probably do a Bronco.

 

[Devin]

I painted my baja with Rustoleum Industrial enamel. I rolled it on straight from the can with a foam roller. The key to doing so it looked right was to roll it on just like you would spray it on... over lap 50%, keep the roller loaded and keep moving in one direction per panel. You cant go back and try to touch up or smooth out a spot without starting over on that panel.
Heres pictures of it without sanding or polishing it. If I did it again I would add a hardener agent.

Holy crap! That was put on with a roller? That looks damn good!

 

[bax]

Go get you some rollers Devin

 

[storer23]

Thanks for the answers guys, this is great. One more question, I'm thinking of going a metallic route, but the guy at the paint store said that spraying metallic paint out of a spray can is difficult at best. Any experience with that, or opinions?

 

[FerrumCampitor]

ooh ooh I know this one!

Mettallic is hard because you have to always paint in the same direction so the flakes lay down uniformly. Otherwise, when they reflect light, the colors will look different. i.e. If you paint a fender off the truck hanging up with the front UP and you paint it in a side to side motion, but you paint the door on the truck using same side to side motion, after all is said and done and assembled, one will look darker than the other because of the refraction of light off the mettallic flakes.

 

[bosshoff]

Krylon

I don't have any experience with expensive rattle cans like Sherwin Williams, but I have bought my share of the hardware store stuff. I have always felt the biggest difference between the different manufacturers is the nozzle. The oversize nozzle on Rustoleum products sucks. It develops runs out of the nozzle, which in turn drips onto your fingers. The drops of paint also get carried onto your work. The nozzles on Krylon products seem to be the best. In my opinion, Krylon (sold in chicagoland at Ace Hardware) makes the best spray paints. I also like how many of them dry in 15 minutes.

 

[Seymourpus]

Without UV protection all paints fade. Clear coats provide the best UV protection when applied over base color.

Notice your Bronco getting faded over the years until you polish and remove a layer of faded paint? That is one stage paint. Color and clear, sort of. Color hates light. Especially sunlight.

Why do we have to paint our houses and cars every couple of decades when cavemen paintings in 5,000 year old damp dusty caves still look good?

And what 3 ingredients did cavemen use to beat Dupont?

 

[DanWheeler]

Do any of you guys with nice paint jobs actually wheel your Broncos?

I couldn't handle spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on a professional paint job just to see it get scraped off by a tree or rock.

With a rattle can job you can do repairs in a few hours instead of a few days. More time you could be spending doing other repairs or wheelin!

 

[DanWheeler]

And what 3 ingredients did cavemen use to beat Dupont?

charcoal, berries and saliva?

 

[blackbeauty]

charcoal, berries and saliva?

I was thinking dung had to be in there somewhere, but that would be 4 things? ;D

 

[Mark]

I was thinking dung had to be in there somewhere, but that would be 4 things? ;D

...and urine. just kidding...
courtesy of the google...
Chemical analysis of cave paintings discovered at Altamira (Spain) and Lascaux (France) show that the main pigments used by Palaeolithic artists were based on iron and manganese oxides. These provide the three fundamental colours found in most cave paintings, namely, black, red and yellow, together with intermediate tints. The oxides were dug out of the local soil, possibly even from the cave floors. Carbon from burnt wood, yellow iron carbonate and chalk may also have been used. Surprisingly, there is no trace of white (today's commonest coloured pigment) at Lasceaux, where the natural colour of the rock was used as a pale background. However, white pigments do occur in some prehistoric paintings found in Africa.