flat black paint job?!?!
 

so im thinking about painting my 2000 f150 flat black. the main reason for doing this is cause theres some rust happening on the lower part of the doors and on the roof. there are also a lot of little scratches that i would like to clean up. unfortuantly i cant afford a decent paint job...so i was thinking this would work for a temp. fix till i can get the couple grand its gonna cost to get it painted right. all i know is i need to get that rust taken care of before it gets worse.

ooo yeah basically im just interested in whether you all think it would look like crap or if it would be half way decent looking...thats the only thing im worried about :)

:) Probably a much better question in the paint forum....but you'll probably take a beating over there too. Here are my thoughts on it... paint is one of those things that you can pretty much abide by the rule of "you get what you pay for"...whether that is in materials, time spent, or skilled labor.

I looked at (for a long time) at doing a roll on paint job using rustoleum on my 76 Ford F150...to stop rust, because I didn't want to spend a lot of money, and to make it look decent. if your interested in doing this, you can search the internet for $50 paint job or roll on paint job. it is the same basic tipping technique used by boat painters....it is very, very labor intensive, but can yield good results if your willing to put in the time. There is a lifetime worth of thread reading on the mopar site about this process...with many pictures to prove the paint...there is also a guy (From the thread) that made a step-by-process of how to do this on a site called $50 paint job.

If you just looking to cover up rust and protect the metal until you can repaint it, then looks probably aren't your main concern...and what your suggesting might be ok. I think you should ask yourself 1)what you want to accomplish, 2) are you ok with the "looks" of it while you wait, and 3) are you going to be able to take the crap everyone gives you for doing it while you wait.

you also need to consider what you paint it with...because this could cause more work for you later. if you paint it with something that won't work later, it could result in a lot more work (and ultimately more money). differnt paints react differntly to each other...and the layer you put over, might not like the layer underneat, causing bubbling, non-adhesion, and any sort of chemical complications.

do you have the space to do it, or will you attempt this outside...are you going to spray bomb it or use a gun...are you ok with the rest of the area being covered in overspray?.you ok with stinking up the house.. have you ever painted before? I'd say based on those things, you'll have your answer.

regardless, some on these boards will think your an idiot for even considering it...others will applaud your "creativity" in solving a temporary problem with a temporary solution. To me...it's your truck, your money, and your time...what do you want out of it...and are you willing to live with those results until you can afford to get it painted right?

hey thanks! yeah i kinda realized i should put it the paint forum....after i had already posted it. but im new...so hopefully everyone will forgive me :)

I'm sure it won't be a problem...welcome aboard!

What he said!

I use tasteful spray-bomb camo instead. Lots of interesting patterns are easy to apply, and camo is easy to touch up. (It's a great way to sell cut-off pickup bed trailers BTW.)

IMO flat black is a mistake. It results in a porous finish that is difficult to clean and which is subject to discoloring from things that get worked into it.

You can buy paint which matches factory color pretty well. Some rust killer primer, a little tape, a lot less effort that doing the whole truck, and you can spot paint it, wet sand it & go. It might sound like more work, but how could it be vs. sanding the whole truck???

but wont you be able to see the difference in the color? unless im not understand what your saying right

Are you going to use aerosol cans? A gun? Think of the durability of it. If you use a paint that cant harden and withstand a few rocks getting thrown up...and chipping it to the metal and in turn...rusting again your just spinning your wheels. Coat the truck with that roll on bed liner lol I'm joking. But unless you can lay down some good coats of good hard paint i think its pretty much not worth it.

well i'll go on the side of unconventional here and probably get laughed at for this but:

why not go with a Line X or rhino liner all over the truck. go with any color you want and it alot cheaper than a paint job (not rattle can paint job though). i know you wanted a temporary paint job and this is the farthest thing from it but i was just throwing an idea out there. might not be the look you like or something but never know

http://www.linexfortworthtexas.com/f3502small2.jpg
http://www.linexfortworthtexas.com/Yukon9.jpg
http://www.linexfortworthtexas.com/Yukon12.jpg
http://www.linexfortworthtexas.com/Yukon13.jpg
http://www.linexfortworthtexas.com/cherokee2web.JPG
http://www.linexfortworthtexas.com/jeep1web.jpg
http://www.linexfortworthtexas.com/Blazer9.jpg


got some other ideas for line x stuff these guys probably have done it.. come on who hasn't had the idea to line x a prison shower.. not lying look at the photos at the bottom.. lol..

Photogallery

line-x is a great tough finish, but definately not a cheap option. You could use the DIY kits, but they don't really compare to a professional line-x spray job.

As for flat black being porous and hard to clean, it can be. The proper way to get the flat black look is with a flattner additive to the paint or a non-gloss clear coat over the flat base.

I would be more concered with the rust issue. Get that properly fixed first or else it doesn't really matter what you put over it, the rust will come back. You didn't say what color the truck is, but how about a contrasting color on the bottom of the truck where most of the rust repair would be.

triton is right. think about the rust repiar, not the paint. forget the black dull finish. fix the rust and fix it right. body putty and sand it down smooth. then get some rustoleum red oxide primer and brush or spray over the area. do all the rusty spots and repiar one at a time. dont worry about "how it looks" when in progress. when you get done, spray paint the bottom foot of the truck a contrasting color, or get a close match for your original paint untill you paint the entire truck. the repair procedure is much more imortant than the paint.

flat black looks good but is hard to keep clean i have a buddy who painted his ranger and he ended up hating it because of how hard is to keep clean

Flat black is VERY hard to keep clean. Dirt and road grime will stain it quickly, a pressure washer will leave lines in the paint where the jet hits it.

I would go with a Gloss or Semi-gloss myself...

well my truck is black right now.and yeah i know i have to get the rust fixed. the good news is it hasnt rusted threw yet.

we had actually talked about doing the bedliner thing on it. but im not a big fan. i will probably just fix it and try and match the black as best i can.