Help me pick a color/color scheme problem (Durabak involved)

[CyberSniper]

OK, I bought some Durabak. 2 gallons of the smooth blue. It's supposed to have UV protection in it but the can doesn't say it. I bought it off eBay. $220 for two gallons.

Anyway. The blue is really light. I was under the impression that it was moderately dark. Well, it's old Pontiac engine blue (from da seventies, eh). I was hoping it was near GM Midnight Blue #29 (factory truck color). Or at least close to Krylon Navy Blue.

Here is a picture comparing the Krylon Navy Blue (on the left) to the Durabak smooth blue (on the right).

To give you a better idea, here is a picture with the interior with two coats on it (still wet):

The back of the cab (window level and below) is painted with the Krylon Navy Blue and the top of the truck is painted factory GM Midnight Blue #29. You can see how light the Durabak is.

Anyway, I originally bought two gallons because I planned on painting the exterior up to the bodyline with the Durabak. Then the top I'd paint Krylon Navy Blue. Well, now that I found out how light of a blue it is I'm not sure I want to. Plus, it'd look funny if it was dark blue on the top and light blue on the bottom. It'd look like a shark. Certainly would stick out like a sore thumb in the green and brown world it lives in.

So, what should I do? I'm open to suggestions for what color to paint the top part if I were to continue to do the smooth blue durabak up to the bodyline. If I don't paint the exterior of the vehicle with the smooth blue durabak I'll have a ****-ton left over. Should I paint the whole thing with durabak or will that look too ghetto-licous with all the baby blue?

 

[mikey_d05]

Make the best of it and give it a blue camo paint job

 

[bigcountryk5]

the duraback looks alot closer to GM Corporate blue you could do the top half in it maybe i know the GM Corporate Blue is not quite that lite of a color but it is alot lighter than what is currently on the outside of your rig and i think IMO it would look pretty good.

on a side note if you don't mind tell me about the durabak. i.e. are you satisfied with the finish, what's the finish like? how did you apply it, prep etc......

 

[CyberSniper]

Make the best of it and give it a blue camo paint job

They don't offer another shade of blue in the smooth kind. Otherwise I'd seriously consider it.

the duraback looks alot closer to GM Corporate blue you could do the top half in it maybe i know the GM Corporate Blue is not quite that lite of a color but it is alot lighter than what is currently on the outside of your rig and i think IMO it would look pretty good.

on a side note if you don't mind tell me about the durabak. i.e. are you satisfied with the finish, what's the finish like? how did you apply it, prep etc......

Well, the goal was to paint the lower half with Durabak so it didn't get scratched as bad and look like ****. Plus, rust prevention/sound deadening/heat control (sides, interior, underside).

My daily driver looked like this and after two years of wheeling looked like this (even worse now but the sunlight helps the scratches show up)

So, painting just the top half with that Durabak is kind of counter-productive. It'd increase the cab heat and wouldn't do much for scratch prevention.


I got done doing the first coat of the interior at about 7pm tonight. 85° and 60% humidity. It cures using moisture (urethane, like what holds modern cars' windshields in) so it should've cured fast. It looked like ****. I was always chasing runs with the brush. The stuff is really thin... thinner than latex house paint. The can says to brush in one direction only and not to "work it in". About 8:30 I headed back out there to put the second coat on. It was still tacky enough where you brushed up against it the stuff would stick to you like Rustoleum. The "smooth" stuff is reportedly thinner and takes longer to cure than the stuff with the chunks of rubber in it.

After the second coat it was all one color. For some reason it develops thin membranes on top about the size of a pencil lead and leaves surface imperfections if you rebrush spots (seen these develop in the can also) that look like an air bubble or a piece of dust on regular enamel car paint (forms a "head"). Otherwise it's smooth as glass.

My "prep" work involved using a wire wheel to scuff the paint up pretty good about three months ago, primer where your feet go, and then just before I put the Durabak on I went over everything with 180 grit on a D/A sander. What I didn't get with the D/A sander I got by hand. I then hosed it out with the garden hose and let dry. You should really wipe it down with Xylene but getting Xylene around here would be like getting non-medical nitrous: it'll take 3 weeks and a bazillion dollars.

I bought a mini edging roller for house paint to try on flat areas. It should turn out pretty nice. I think the only reason they tell you to use one of those expensive texture rollers is if you've got chunks in your Durabak. The smooth stuff is basically like painting liquid urethane/latex.

As of about half an hour ago it was still very wet. With any luck with the dew being down it should be dry enough to sit on by tomorrow morning. Tomorrow night I'll put a third coat on the floor and the second coat on the back of the inside of the cab.

 

[WhiteBurb]

I'm surprised that its so hard to get xylene there. I picked up a small can at Sherman-Williams for about $5. It was more than enough to do my rocker panels and front bumper.

 

[CyberSniper]

You can't even get Dupont paint here... It's PPG or nothing. I should've tried Sherwin-Williams again... thanks for reminding me about them. Last time I tried to get some from there they gave me a funny look like I was looking for something to huff. They've expanded their line of products they carry (used to be basically you bought your rollers, brushes, and sandpaper while they mixed your paint...nothing else in there) so maybe they've got it now.

 

[jekbrown]

whatever you do, don't use Krylon "True Blue"... thats what I'm using and I don't wanna look like a "wanna-be" just cause you get your rig done first.

j

 

[CyberSniper]

Hey, I was going to use the "True Blue". I bought a can of the True Blue and a can of the Navy Blue. I painted one panel on the back of the cab each color. I decided the "True Blue" was too Mustang Electric Blue wannabe-ish. hehe.

Who knows, maybe I will paint the top half the "True Blue" color since the Durabak is a bit of a bright and outlandish color. I already bought 3 cans of the Navy Blue though...

hehe, maybe you will end up a wannabe just like me...

I was informed that if I paint the front fenders white it'd look like a Smurf. Maybe I will and then get a windshield banner that says "Fugly Smurf".

 

[Skigirl]

If you bought a small can of red and a small can of black in Durabak, you could mix the color close enough to match your paint. You can also paint durabak, which may be your easier and cheaper option.

Durabak can will say "blue 18" if it has UV protection. If it doesn't say 18 on it there's no UV and it oxidizes fast.

So if it's not 18, lay it down and paint over it.

 

[jekbrown]

i like the true blue... i wouldnt paint a whole rig that color tho. Im sticking with simple gloss black for the sheetmetal that survives... the true blue is for the cage, bling steering/suspension parts and things like that. Sort of a secondary color. Have to have something bright so I can be on the cover of petersens.



j

 

[CyberSniper]

If you bought a small can of red and a small can of black in Durabak, you could mix the color close enough to match your paint. You can also paint durabak, which may be your easier and cheaper option.

Durabak can will say "blue 18" if it has UV protection. If it doesn't say 18 on it there's no UV and it oxidizes fast.

So if it's not 18, lay it down and paint over it.

Rattle can enamel? Will lacquer hurt it? How deep does it permeate into the Durabak? Will the paint "rub off" the Durabak? How long do I need to wait before I can paint it?

I've got the smooth kind. Kind of like the plastic coating on plier handles.

I was told by the guy I bought the Durabak from (John Dempsey, baretyes on eBay, pretty good guy) that I could get it tinted but I'm worried about how compatible it will be with urethane. At $110/gallon, I don't want to screw up.

Supposedly if it's the "smooth" kind of Durabak it automatically has the UV protection in it. Or at least that's what I've been told thus far. It doesn't say it on the can though.

 

[Skigirl]

There's a Durabak guy who is very helpful at: Cote-L Distribution Company
4064 S. Atchison Way Suite 301 Aurora, CO 80014 Tel (303) 690-7190 Fax (303) 690 9662 [email protected] I think the guy's name is Jake. I'd call him and ask all your questions.

IIRC, he said that Durabak is inert, so as long as it is cleaned well then wiped down with xylene (which he said was a must), then any paint would stick. Having said that I'd probably stay with a polyurethane and not a laquer, just because laquer has some different properties (from my limited knowledge) than other paints.

I don't know if the smooth durabak products are all 18. Another question for Jake. Even the 18 type ones oxidize over time tho. I have quite a few layers on my exterior (I just rolled the stuff on until it was gone), so I just scrub the oxidation off with a scrub brush and clenaer / degreaser.

I don't think the durabak can be tinted. I think it needs to be painted. Ask Jake how long you have to wait to paint, or if you need to wait at all.

 

[walla2k5]

I'm surprised that its so hard to get xylene there. I picked up a small can at Sherman-Williams for about $5. It was more than enough to do my rocker panels and front bumper.

I think KETONE will do the same thing.....Still around $5.

 

[CyberSniper]

I went to Sherwin-Williams on my lunch break today and picked up a gallon of Xylene for $11.40+tax.

I'm now contemplating painting the top half of the truck white and the lower half of the truck that blue. It's starting to grow on me. Even if I have to rename it Papa Smurf.

It seems to take paint pretty well. But, I wanted to leave it natural so if I ever need to replace an area I can wire wheel it, wipe it with Xylene, and lay some more on top. Can't do that with paint.