Hi. I have a 1986 F250 Lariat with a paint job that is rapidly turning into solid rust. Especially the hood. Friends and I are thinking about painting it with rattle cans after we sand it down this summer. Has anyone done that? If I prep it well and prime it, will the paint job last me for a while and look half decent? Right now she is a brown and black spotted pony. THX

 

No it won't last and it will look crappy. For the price of all those cans, just take it to MAACO. Do your prep and have them prime and shoot.

 

Check out this link. Me and my buddy are doing this to his truck with awesome results. And it really only costs like 50 or 60 bucks.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ml#post9296932

 

Hi Tikka. That's sweet. I am curious. How long dod the prep take you?

 

Yeah, it'll never work



I will give you that maaco is a better value, though. I spent way more on cans than I thought I would I did 3 coats of primer, 3 of paint, and 2 of clear. That's a lot of cans....

 

We paint stuff with rattle cans all the time but We use a 2 part clear to keep it from being eaten by fuel etc

I don't know if I would do a whole truck ? but the green looks good

 

Looks good Ted! I've seen some nice jobs even with a roller. I rattlecanned my first 45 years ago, and have done others. People try to use cheap cans that don't spray worth a crap and don't take the time to do it right. Here's a nice little write up on rattle cans: Aerosol Can Paint | How to Paint Your Own Car, Auto Body Discussion Forum and Videos

 

I don't have the equipment to spray the paint myself and I won't let anyone else work on my trucks. So my 54 is getting rattle canned when I get that far.

A rattle can paint job can look good. Here's my brother's minivan he wrecked last year. I repaired it and painted it with spray cans. I did it all in my driveway. I did mess up the fender a little. It was a little too windy in my driveway when I sprayed it so it took too many coats to get good coverage so it's a hair too dark. The rest of the van has a coat coat of dirt/dust on it so it looks worse then it is. But it's a metallic pearl which can be a little hard to match perfect. I primed, painted and clear coated it with rattle cans, then I wet sanded and hand buffed the hood. Never got around to the fender. But who cares it's a caravan!!

I'll be a little more picky on my 54's paint job.




Before:






After:






Here's a quick color test I did on my 54's dash. Zero prep, didn't even wipe the dust off. I think it'll look pretty damn good when I actually do the body work, prime, paint, clear, wet sand and buff it out.

 

Hey, Ted, this is Ted I have been following your build on FSB. I like it, but I think you need to post up some more progress. I need a fix

Do you have a build thread here on FTE?

 

I did a rattle job on a bug I had with the krylon expoxy appliance paint.

It only comes in 3 colors white, black, and almond.

While it looked fine from 10 ft it looked a bit weird close up. All in all it was worth the $40 I spent. Considering it was a bit rusty, and had to many different colors to just leave alone.

Afterwards I felt if I added a a few more cans to the job, and did the paint job in the cool of the morning the results would of been much better. Probily even rivaling a real painted car close up.

 

Hey,

My project is pretty much on hold for the winter just like every year. I try to pick up a few parts as I can over the winter. But cash is tight.

I wasn't sure which forum to post my build in on here because it has parts from the 50's, 70's, 80's and a couple from the 90's. So I posted it in the Projects forum. I have a link in my signature.

Or it's here. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...4x4-build.html






I've learned a few things about rattle canning a vehicle.

1. Prep. It's just like a "real" paint job. The paint job is only going to look as good as the surface it's going on. So if you spray it on a rough or wavy panel then your paint job is going to be rough and wavy. You need to do the body work just like with any other paint job. Make sure the surface is clean. And use a sandable primer and block sand it before the paint is applied. And don't paint over rust!

2. While spraying you'll want to spray it safely indoors if possible. If spraying outside do it in the shade. And a big mistake a lot of guys make when spray painting is they don't put on enough coats. I always start with a very light mist coat for my first coat. Then I will apply another 3-4 medium wet coats if I'm spraying clear over it. And 6 coats if not using clear. I was told when I thought I had enough put a couple more coats on it. Just make sure to allow enough time between coats or it will turn nasty and lift/wrinkle.


3. After the paint has fully cured. I'll wet sand it with 600 and then 1500 grit paper. And then polish with a couple different polishing compound.

 

I think what you stated is exactly why most people dismiss rattle cans. They see all the jobs where people don't take time to do it right. Also, I am not sure on thicknesses, but my theory on why you should do so many coats is that rattle cans lay on thinner than a regular spray gun.

Thanks for the link!

 

My problem was not prep. It was the paint flashed to quickly to even out. I had 3 coats over the car, but this type of paint is not very good for wet-sanding. I tried it on some pieces I painted years after, and it didn't quite work the way I was hoping.

 

That's one reason you don't want to spray bomb in the sun. Hot panels and spray paint don't mix very well. What was the paint doing when you tried to wet sand? Did it just load up the paper? And how long did you wait until you tried to sand.




The problem I had on my brothers caravan was every time I sprayed clear on it it seemed like every bug in the county thought it would be a good place to land. I had to sand down and re-apply the clear coat a couple times. When I do my 54 I think I'm going to build a temp spray booth in my driveway.

 

I did my truck one piece at a time, and I did it when the weather was perfect. I would shoot for right at 70 and no wind. Sometimes this was at 6 am, other times it would be 3 in the afternoon or 11 at night. What a pain.