painting fenders using a spray can

[wazzabie]

so I got a quote of $500 to paint some new fenders. I'm thinking about doing it myself using rattle spray cans. These are new GM NOS fenders however. I can get the spray cans that match my trucks color. I'm not sure how many can are needed or what the quality would be. Thoughts?

 

[ktmoutfront]

Depends on the color. If it has a lot of mica in it, it will be more difficult to make it even. A good clear coat over it will be needed.

 

[wazzabie]

it is a metallic

 

[Greg Ducato]

Just my opinion, but I would get a couple more quotes from painters before I went the rattle can route on a pair of high dollar fenders. My son just had two fenders and a hood done locally by a very reputable shop for $400 metallic, base coat clear coat.

 

[sweetk30]

do your self a favor NEVER go back there to paint 2 fendors for 500


go shop around. ask friends. someone can get ya done for 1/2 that at least.

 

[ryoken]

sigh.......


if it's metallic it wont match even with a base/clear, let alone a rattlecan.... it has to be blended....

real paint ain't cheap, doubt you'll find anyone to do it for less than $400... that's probably what I'd charge ya outta my garage... 6, 700 minimum if i was gonna blend into your doors & hood and make it disappear...

 

[ktmoutfront]

Is thisntruck a wheeler or something you are trying to make look really good. If it is supposed to be nice, pay the money for the blend. If it is a wheeler, rattle can it and be done.

 

[ryoken]

amen....

 

[79rustyk10]

If youre gonna go out and run into trees and **** like that, sell the NOS fenders to a resto guy and find some decent originals or some $50 each sortafit, tinfoil ones.

If the thing is a resto project you want to be nice, do it right.

 

[ryoken]

right way.....


sand EDP coating..

prime...

trim edges, inside, etc with paint...

install fenders

buff doors and hood thoroughly with orange compound

damp/dry towel those with denatured

sand fenders with 400

sand doors and hood in the areas next to fenders with 600

blow off

damp/dry towel everything

mask to paint front clip and doors

tack rag

put temporary masking to isolate fenders

get a couple coats on fenders with base

pull temp masking

coat fenders, bringing color out onto hood and doors... going further into the doors on each coat, fading about 1/2 way across door

clear everything

 

[Roadhazardguy]

^ That's the only way to do it right, and with quality paint. But like said before, If this is a wheeler sell those to someone who is restoring a truck and buy some old fenders then do a cheap paint job on them.

 

[bp71k5]

...buff doors and hood thoroughly with orange compound...

What's that stuff?

 

[ryoken]

lacquer compound... it's the grittiest you can get.... 3M super duty is one of the main ones used... but orange color is usually the indicator.. gives the clear a good surface to stick to on the blend panel...

 

[bp71k5]

lacquer compound... it's the grittiest you can get.... 3M super duty is one of the main ones used... but orange color is usually the indicator.. gives the clear a good surface to stick to on the blend panel...

I see. I'll have to find some of that since none of the stuff I've found (Kragens, Oreilly's, etc) so far cuts very well. Although with my luck it's probably banned in CA.

 

[Jessie James]

I spray painted a fender on a car - several actually - and they always came out looking "off". From a distance you couldn't really tell, but when you walked up to the car it was obvious.

But s*** for $800 I can get my whole truck painted!!!

 

[ryoken]

I see. I'll have to find some of that since none of the stuff I've found (Kragens, Oreilly's, etc) so far cuts very well. Although with my luck it's probably banned in CA.

the 3M superduty is pretty standard stuff.. should be able to find it most places from auto parts store to marine stores to autobody supply...

compounds and polishes are something of a black art... if it's white, it's basically what is called a clearcoat compound.. but those vary GREATLY... and none come close to the cut you get from a lacquer compound...

now, with that courseness, obviously comes more of a potential for swirling.... many amateurs can swirl the he!! out of a car with orange... but they can always be removed with polishes and glazes... I can do a car in orange and make it pretty swirl-free, but i've been buffing stuff for 30 yrs.. from the resto and collision shop to ion's of buffing boats...

thats why you need to do the blend panels with orange, that consistent courseness of orange.... clearcoat compounds just don't have that "bite" capability, and eventually you'll have clear peeling.. throw in the fact, that the clearcoat compounds vary greatly in how much petroleum is in the compound... thats why so many of them have a different look/feel to them... and varying buffing tendencies... whereas orange lacquer compounds are a very "dry" product, no petroleum...

the varying oil contents can also lead to contamination problems when used prior to painting, for obvious reasons... possible fisheye, etc...

they certainly have their place... detailing, etc... you just have to know what approach you want for a certain job, grit-wise... there are shortcuts to it all too... dragging a quickie cut of orange over something to get an innitial cut on it, knowing your gonna polish it out with some oily clearcoat compound, etc...

I use the heck out of superduty.. everything from polishing aluminum rims to wetsand/buffs of fresh paint.. I like to think i can do ANY polishing project with superduty, finesse it and a good carnuba wax...

 

[blazinzuk]

compounds and polishes are something of a black art..

Funny thing here is alot of folks have mentioned wanting you to paint their trucks. I can shoot paint just fine I want help with the prep and finish work LOL.

Now to the original post, it will never look right. I have done it and have had friends who have done it. Its at best a 20 ft paint job, the difference will be fairly obvious.

On an older paint job (more than 5 year) its very hard to get everything to match exactly without blending it.

 

[ryoken]

the autobody minutia rattling round my knoggin is rediculous... grit preps, adhesion, step-savers, products and chemicals, procedures, etc...

I've lost a little track of all the "latest and greatest" product out... but what I know, works and can be applied to anything in this day and age... and there really hasn't been anything ground breaking in the last decade or so anyway..


wazzabie.... the main issue you'll have is the metallic.... solid color wouldn't be nearly as much an issue..... I can usually look at a car, and tell you the proper spray technique to match it.... from manufacturer to manufacturer, GM to Volvo... different spray techniques yield different results...

give it a shot with a rattlecan... just don't expect perfect results.. if it turns out crappy, you can always get it overcoated later.. it is possible to do a better job, blending the rattlecan and clearing out the doors... which is basically the procedure i described earlier, just not using a gun....

 

[wazzabie]

Thanks for all the help. It is a partial restore + it will be a wheeler. I have no intention of running it into trees. I'm just going to take it on easy-medium trails. Nothing extreme.

Eventually the entire k5 needs to get repainted. The hood is ok but the doors and rear quarters are bad. The paint for the rear quarters are cracking and flaking. I actually am not to bothered by some scratches in the paint. I'm not looking for a 10 pointer.

 

[imiceman44]

Thanks for all the help. It is a partial restore + it will be a wheeler. I have no intention of running it into trees. I'm just going to take it on easy-medium trails. Nothing extreme.

Eventually the entire k5 needs to get repainted. The hood is ok but the doors and rear quarters are bad. The paint for the rear quarters are cracking and flaking. I actually am not to bothered by some scratches in the paint. I'm not looking for a 10 pointer.

well then spray can it is untill you are ready for a full paint job.