Hey guys...
im thinking about rattle-canning my car for now as i dont have the cash for paint and body and i dont want the car to rust away now that summer is here... the car is in great shape mechanically and i drive it every day but with nothing but a little primer on it im afraid it is not sealed enough.... i have tried body work before and it definatly not for me so i am planning on saving money to get it done but seeing as im still in school and just changed my pre-major im not going to be making any serious cash for the next 5 years... i know when it comes time for real paint and body im going have to strip whatever i put on... my question is to what type of paint i should use... flat black is the color choice for now cause it looks mean and is in style for now but should i just go with a rust-olium paint or what? (although i would think that would be really tough to remove.) Which types of paint would seal the car up enough to keep away rust but be the easiest to remove later? i know it will not be super easy to deal with later but the number one prority here is to keep the body in good shape. any help would be great =-)

 

you can get hot rod black for under $100/gallon including the catalyst. it's not quite flat black but more of a satin. eastwood sells it for right at $100 and you can get it from kirker for quite a bit less.

i wouldn't use implement paint (john deere blitz black) since it's pretty much impossible to paint over. rattle can paint will cost you a small fortune and won't provide much protection and crappy coverage. you can get a cheap gravity feed gun from harbor freight for under $40. spend another $20 in masking materials and prep supplies. find a friend with a portable compressor and go to town on it.

 

primer isnt water proof or really even resistant unless its an epoxy primer.

if you want to do anything id buy a gallon of epoxy to coat the car in, or like said above buy some flat single stage from eastwood etc

 

I'd just take it to Maaco. The one here is doing cheapo paint jobs for like $300 right now. Won't look absolutely fantastic, but it'll be acceptable.

 

I agree with Tad on this one. At least with Maaco the person has shot a car before, would probably give you a good 10-footer. Unless you just want the adventure of painting your car.


I have to ask, what is a pre-major?

 

For what you want to spend, I agree - Maaco. $200-$300 and you got some protection on there.

 

I'm with rmodel on this. Most primer is junk and if possible, I'd rather see the car correctly sealed with an Epoxy Primer. Do this then lay down some rattle can flat black if you'd like. At least it would be sealed. Shoot 2, 3 or even 4 coats then sand it down with 220 to degloss for a flat look if you'd like. Below is just before we started sanding.

Epoxy Primer WILL protect your car. Leave it or sand/degloss it for a color of your choice. I shot our car in Epoxy last Sept, moved it outside and covered it with 2 tarps until almost Feb this year... in Eastern Canada, right on the North Atlantic with the winds, snow and salt air. With any regular primer rust would have popped through and the primer would have been scratched to hell. When we brought the car in there wasn't a mark in the Epoxy and NO rust!

 

I don't know what type of epoxy you used but mine didn't have any gloss to it. One problem with leaving it just in epoxy it that the sun can fade it and make it look chalky. I used Kirker epoxy, $90 for 2 spray able gallons, cant beat it.

I agree though epoxy is the best primer for protection. Here is my car after a year setting under a tarp just in epoxy primer. You can see some surface rust in a few places but thats just because of lack of coverage and I only sprayed one coat.

 

+1 Primer as I was always told is actually worse for your sheet metal, as it absorbed moisture. Keep an eye out for a Maaco $199 deal. It will cheaper in the end run than using cans.