Painting questions (1 Viewer)

[El Cazador]

So, the first thing I would like to do to the '74 FJ40 I just got is to get the body off and painted. Everything, well nearly, is disassembled; in parts here and there about my garage. So my questions are:

1. If I have someone paint it for me are they likely to want to do it if in parts? I suspect money talks, but with my budget I'm barely able to whisper here.

2. Is it better, or not, to paint the individual parts (fenders, window frame, hinges, etc.) or assemble and paint that way?

3. Have any of ya'll all painted your own trucks? Not talking about buying a case of spray cans, but trying to do an honest to God paint job? I've done a little metal spray painting (shop equipment like lathes, milling machines, etc.) but never a car. I just wonder if its practical. I have access to professional equipment. Paint ain't cheap and I'd hate to screw it up as I'm something of an amateur perfectionist.

I have to laugh at myself for taking this on. I've got the body on the frame and the engine in place and that's about it. The rest is spread around the garage and on shelves. The biggest jigsaw puzzle I ever attempted to put together.
Vic
Redlands, CA.

 

[Poser]

Since 1995, I have painted my truck four times, because of crashes, rolls, and the such.

This last summer, I left the windshield on the tub, but I did not have to replace the glass this time


The hood comes off, the half doors come off, the fenders come off, and are all painted seperate...


Keep your expectaions real, and you will be fine. If you are shooting this in a garage...you cannot control some things like you could if you are using a booth...take your time, be sure to completly prep everything before you even think of throwing paint at it....then check it again, and again, because as the time draws near to paint, your mind will start to wander...


Did it the first time in '95, when I was 25...turned out fine, and I had only applied clear coat on woodworking projects in school previous....Since then, I have a buddy that has painted all his life help, and I am AMAZED at what we can do on any given Saturday....This last time, over the 4th of July this year, I took the truck apart Friday July 1, prepped and painted on Saturday, assembled it Sunday, and was driving it Monday the 4th!


I am trying to find the pics of this, I had a friend out there that took some pics, but I cannot seem to find them right now...


You can do it!


Hell, you have this support group here!

 

[El Cazador]

Disassembled, prepped, & painted in three days?!
You're my new hero.

 

[Poser]

It is a wheeler man, not a show piece....


It only looks nice for a couple days...and then it is 'to the rocks!!'

 

[krzyabncanuck]

I totally agree with Poser, best way to do it is apart, esp if you are changing color at all, like Poser I did my 40 in my garage and it turn out pretty good, but it is my wheeler. Alot of it is in the prep, get the prep right and you are golden.

HTH

 

[bandy rooster]

hey check my bandy rooster updated thread... did it myself... and i'm a boob.


it will give you much hope

 

[NuOkie]

When I painted my 40 I set up a temporary paint booth using 1"pvc for a frame, covering it with plastic, taping furnace filters on one end and a box fan sucking air out through a filter on the other. This keeps bugs and dust out and all the paint overspray off of everything.

I painted the tub on the frame and the other parts all seperate. New paints are pricey but if you mix them right and do the prep work (most critical) it will come out good and you will be able to take the credit.

Also get a good respirator.

Good luck with your puzzle.

KJB

 

[Steve C]

ppg dcc single stage paint

http://www.ppg.com/cr-refinish/phase1/frmProductInfo.asp

This, with some 2000 grit sand paper, and polish will let you do a good paint job in your garage. Runs, dirt, bugs, drips can all be sanded out then polished.

If you are going to do it yourself, I would recomend that you make sure that you have really good lighting where you paint. You need to be able to watch the paint on the surface flow together so that you get a nice wet coat without too many runs.

Plus, ditto the respirator. I would recomend a supplied air respirator. It's kind of a budget buster, but it's worth it.

 

[Muspos]

While my newest Cruiser is wearing a new coat of rattle can to help protect against the salt until it is warm enought to have paint stick, I completely agree with Poser on this and I think the idea about the home made spray booth would work very well. At least it would have kept my tools from getting overspray all over them last time I painted my cruiser in the garage. I painted my previous cruiser in my garage and it looked really nice when I was done, I did however have a few spots in the clear coat from debris. I had the door almost shut and had two large fans blowing the air out of the garage.

Go talk to paint shops in your area and make friends with the guys, I had a guy sell me paint at his cost and that saved a lot of green. Plus they may let you rent a booth. Also check with schools and colleges in your area alot of times they have booths you can rent or students that are eager to paint.

Enjoy!

 

[NuOkie]

I went to the ppg site and I recall using the OMNI AU MTK. It was very forgiving (when I blew masking paper over some parts). Seemed to flow out nice and smooth. Still shiny after 5 years and I did no buffing. Need to fix some tree scuffs and a nice gouge from the basketball goal attack durning a wind storm. GRRr

Keith

 

[camcruiser13]

do it your self, i used one stage paint and a sprayer, took things apart like poser said and did a couple coats over the course of a few weekends out in the driveway, aprtmnet none the least, land lord said nothin turned out nice too. see pics of more details

 

[boogerz]

I'm pretty close to having my '74 ready for the painter. I've painted it twice before. Actually, I was the helper to the friend who painted it. We worked in the attached garage and sealed the doors off the best we could, but the house still smelled of paint for quite a few days. That was using single stage alkyd enamel, which I'm told is old school. This time I connected with the dude at the auto body supply house when I told him what I was painting. It turns out he had a 4 Runner so he's enthusiastic about my project, which really helps when trying to get free advice. Anyway he says two stage base coat clear coat is the new thing, only you wouldn't do it yourself unless you spend big $$$. Air supply breathing apparatus, HVLP, containment booth, technique,all sorts of other stuff including environmental issues. I still may not go base coat/clear coat but I'm definitely paying to have it done this time. Don't take that as my advice, go with what your own capabilities allow.

To answer your first question, no. Find a shop that will work with you if you plan to bring him the car in pieces. Restoration painters are more expensive than most paint & body shops, which make their money off insurance jobs on collision damage to relatively new cars that they can move through very quickly. They likely won't be interested in a restoration. Hang out at drive in night with some of the local car clubs. Most guys love to answer questions and offer help. You'll get info on local painters you may be able to work with.

I plan to take my truck in with a few loose pieces like the kick vents and window frames (no hardtop). I'm going to have the tailgates and bare door skins bolted on, minus window frames, glass, mechanicals, etc. I plan to build the doors myself simply because I don't want the painter to get overspray all over my new weatherstripping. But I'll have the doors bolted on so I don't scratch the new paint trying to tighten/adjust the hinge mounting bolts. My bib, fenders & hood will be on the car. The reason, after the past two paint jobs I found that the engine compartment doesn't stay looking good very long at all, so this time I used rubberized indercoating in there, under the truck and bedliner inside the cab. All I need sprayed is the outside of the body. I figure the undercoating will resist rust and look better longer, and make for easy maintenance.

I painted all the individual bolt on parts. I got the best results using Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer for fighting rust, it really works and lasts for years.

Everyone has their own goals, mine is to get the vehicle looking as like new as I can and make it last as long as possible.

Sorry for such a long post.

 

[Roboosfj40s]

So, the first thing I would like to do to the '74 FJ40 I just got is to get the body off and painted. Everything, well nearly, is disassembled; in parts here and there about my garage. So my questions are:

1. If I have someone paint it for me are they likely to want to do it if in parts? I suspect money talks, but with my budget I'm barely able to whisper here.

2. Is it better, or not, to paint the individual parts (fenders, window frame, hinges, etc.) or assemble and paint that way?

3. Have any of ya'll all painted your own trucks? Not talking about buying a case of spray cans, but trying to do an honest to God paint job? I've done a little metal spray painting (shop equipment like lathes, milling machines, etc.) but never a car. I just wonder if its practical. I have access to professional equipment. Paint ain't cheap and I'd hate to screw it up as I'm something of an amateur perfectionist.

I have to laugh at myself for taking this on. I've got the body on the frame and the engine in place and that's about it. The rest is spread around the garage and on shelves. The biggest jigsaw puzzle I ever attempted to put together.
Vic
Redlands, CA.

My 40 is an all around use truck plus DD. Nothing wrong with a case of good quality rattle cans. Scratch, gouge, sand, primer, paint and Wah La! Fixed. But there are some really purdy shop painted trucks and I do see your preferences. I am just justifying Rattle cans when I can bomb through the jungle or drive it on the street. After all It is a FJ40. Good luck and if you do it a garage watch out for the bugs sticking in the paint lol! Oh and if were me painting I would do it diassembled. No better way to protect the metal that normally does not see paint.

 

[olymon]

I know this is bringing up an ancient post but what about some rustoleum? I also thought about using some boat topside paint that has strong UV protection in it. I just want to change my cruiser color from four different colors to 1 . I'm tired of looking out in the back yard and seeing the multi colored 40 sitting out there. I just want to get it the same color and cheap. I have a basic sprayer and I'm not looking for perfection on this thing.

 

[Splangy]

You'd be better off with some cheap automotive paint like PPG's Omni line.

I know this is bringing up an ancient post but what about some rustoleum? I also thought about using some boat topside paint that has strong UV protection in it. I just want to change my cruiser color from four different colors to 1 . I'm tired of looking out in the back yard and seeing the multi colored 40 sitting out there. I just want to get it the same color and cheap. I have a basic sprayer and I'm not looking for perfection on this thing.