Painting a car with spray can paint?

[BC Huselton]

Has anyone painted a car with Molotow Premium Spray Can paint by Belton. It has a very high quality reputation among street artists. It will last for years on train cars and sides of building. The can has several fan size spray tips and they also have a UV protection Clear. Thinking of applications that are Satin for the 33 and 35 mostly...Patina type paint jobs. Can do an entire car with 20 cans @ $7.00 each. They say you clean it just like SEM Hot Rod Black. Distributed from Canada. If you get a "Ding" scuff it with 600 and spay over it.

[redfogo]

Spray paint sucks to get an even layer. Maybe it would work but I wouldn't do it. If you are looking for cheap affordable paint I have used https://www.thecoatingstore.com and it works awesome and you probably spend as much as you do on as many cans as you would need to paint the car.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Please post pictures

Jeff

[TheBabyBadger]

Don't spray paint your car. I promise, whatever version of "decent" you think it may come out, it wont. It will run, it will have zebra stripes, it will look like you killed a beautiful car. The paint dries to fast to "melt-in." When a painter is spraying, especially base, they use a high pressure to atomize the base and each stoke has a certain overlaps that melts into the layer before it. Too much space, you get zebra stripes. Too tight and the metallic looks like a bass boat.

Spray paint is not designed to cover full cars. it has a tight spray pattern to save materials and be used for small jobs. You can buy cheap base and clear from a local paint store and spray it out of a gun, even a first timer will do a job 100x better than rattle can.

The cars we are building take HUNDREDS of hours of paint prep, body work and actually painting the vehicle. Don't try to shortcut the MOST visible part of the car... the paint job!

[NAZ]

Lots of people have painted their cars with a rattle can and have the calloused fingers to prove it. I rattle can painted my chassis (I'll never do that again) and it looks great after a real painter fixed it for me. A few years ago Dupli-Color painted a hot rod they named Rattle-Can Rod as a promotion for their line of products and gave it away to some lucky guy. And I'm sure you'll find YouTube videos showing how you can get a "show car" finish out of a spray can. You could probably get a local graffiti artist to paint your car and give it some edgy originality. Don't let anyone discourage you from taking the leap if that's what you want. We all have non-conforming ideas at times and unlike my chassis, just maybe this one will work out for you. You may be the first FFR member to rattle-can his ride. But it's probably a good idea to research some fiberglass friendly paint strippers before you start this project. Just saying'...

[redfogo]

Please post pictures

Jeff

It was my 1st time ever painting a car or spraying out of a paint gun. But did it with a harbor freight paint gun. Came out great enough for me only flaws were my own lack of skills.

I painted a subaru mind you but it's all the same. My 818 is not ready for paint yet.

Here is a link https://m.imgur.com/a/nCOUk

Paint has been on for a year now it's held up in rain snow and hail. Car is a rally car I use for racing in SCCA so it's got real dirty and taken good hits to the paint.
gc-9406.jpg

[AC Bill]

If it's for current budget restrictions, and plan to paint it professionally down the road, I'd go for it.

I drove my roadster in gel-coat, with only rattle can paint touching up the sanded seams, for almost 5 years. The odd patina affect, had many people believing it was an unrestored original.. I awlays remember the statement made years ago, that, "You can always tell the kit cars from the originals, because of their shiny paint"..

[KDubU]

Being not a painter in any way, my concern would be what happens if/when you wanted it painted by a pro? More $$$ to fix/cover up? Again no idea but that is what would going through my head. The paint you reference is supposed to be good stuff and I guess if one is good using them then you could get a cheap paint job but I would do what Bill did and drive around in gel coat with the seams sanded and touched up.

[GoDadGo]

I admit that I rattle canned my engine block and aluminum bits "That You Don't See With The Hood Closed" but never the exterior of a car because it is a Really Bad Idea!

https://youtu.be/PCngiKoopkA

You can always do what John George did and get the body prepped and bring it to Maaco because you will be surprised at how much care they will put into "A Factory Five" over what they normally do. Its sort of like guys at my friend's body shop are taking a lot more care and time (3 weeks so far) to shoot up my son's hood and fender (2000 Camaro) than they did fixing the bed and tailgate on my middle daughters Winter White GMC Canyon Go Girl Truck.

I stopped by Friday to check on Baby Go-Dad's car and they were in the process of shooting the hood, front end and the entire right side of the car instead of just the hood and fender as I had expected. The painter said he just didn't feel right about just slapping some paint on "That Car" so my bill will be a bit bigger and my son's smile a bit brighter.

You can see the shape of the car and the extent of the Pre-Paint damage in the video below:

https://youtu.be/q7sEYGTyEn0

Please Don't Rattle Can A Factory Five Unless It Is The Underside Of The Body!

Trust Me Because Any Shop Will Feel Honored To Paint A Factory Five No Matter What Model It Is!

[Jim1855]

I'm following this thread.

I hope to do the bodywork and paint on my car, at least that's the plan and since I fully expect to break things and being able to fix things is good. I hope to keep paint and body as cheap as possible. I hear about $10k + paint jobs - jeeesh, that would buy half of a new motor or a replacement body, a bunch of suspension pieces and a wheel or two.

Not being a "paint" guy, I wonder what's wrong with a fine nape roller and a gallon or two of latex. I do like the comment on cutting the seams and a bit of matching red for the "patina" effect.

Welcome to Saturday morning. Maybe it's the 12th cup of coffee.

Jim

[Jeff's First FFR]

Amen!!

[BC Huselton]

More info on the site about the various tips that generate different patterns from Molotow spray paint. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zXbT9X3mCY

Just seems like the spray can paint technology and pigment quality has come a long way...including durability. The work and the price of quality (Jeff) paint job is a big investment and may add enough cost to a project to cause some potential builders to "take a pass!" Just thinking of fun paint options that make it more cost effective to build the car.

I have seen a lot of Matte and Satin cars that you really cannot touch after they are painted...or others us wraps. Just a potential option like "Dipping!"

I am going to give it a try on my Grandson's Push Kart...let him paint it ! I will report back how it goes. Trying things out with the kids has always been a big reason for me to build these things.

No a spray can paint job is not intended to compete with a top line base/clear job. However, 20 cans at $7 each saves a lot of $ and you still get the thrill of explaining why you painted it with spray cans. BTW, you can wet sand this all off with 400 paper, seal it, and do a big money paint job later if you like. It will not pop through.

[TheBabyBadger]

BTW, you can wet sand this all off with 400 paper, seal it, and do a big money paint job later if you like. It will not pop through.

You can sand ANY paint job off down the road... but why do the work twice? Not to mention, if you're conserving costs, sandpaper is expensive. Expect to use at least 30-50 pieces ($100+) to sand that rattle can off. If you're concerned about cost, leave it in Gel Coat. It's non-porous and it will save some one a TON of trouble down the road when you're ready for paint.

If the eventual plan is to paint it right, you're really just adding unnecessary labor and cost to your overall budget. IMHO. If you do decide to rattle can, post some pictures of the finished product. It will be interesting to see.

Good luck!

[scottiec]

Man I am interested in this thread. Doing body work and paint myself. I want the car to look good, but I am always open to options.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Watched a couple minutes of the video. Looks like just the ticket if you want to do a graffiti themed car... otherwise, I'll be anxiously waiting for those pictures from the first of you to give it a go

Jeff

[Jacob McCrea]

Respectfully, having spent about 2 years spraying all sorts of automotive finishes at a body shop, this strikes me as a bad idea. But if you are bound and determined to try it, I'd first visit a body shop and get a damaged hood or door - something with a lot of area - and spray that before you create something that is very time-consuming to reverse. Also, for what it's worth, in the time it would take to hand-sand a few layers of durable spray paint from a body, you could probably learn how to do a half-decent job with proper products the first time.

[Clover]

I had a friend in high school who thought it would be fun to paint the bottom of his car blue. We masked it off, prepped the surface, ect. and sprayed. Honestly, at first it looked better then I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a trainwreck but it came out okay. I think he told his parents that he just left it parked and came back to it like that. I'm sure his parents then questioned how their kid ended up so stupid but figured the painted car was better then the crashed car so they just let it go. It started chipping off pretty quickly. I would think that if you wanted to do it, you would want some type of primer so that it would actually stick long term. I also want to warn you that your hands will hate you. I'm not that old but my hands get sore just doing a set of wheels with a rattle can now.



I had thought about dipping my car for once it is ready but I doubt I will. However, you don't use rattle cans to dip a car, you get a spray system and gallon jugs where you build up a base and then do a couple coats of clear with pearls or metallic mixed in. I have never done a car myself but I have done a few sets of wheels that came out really nice and I have seen a car dipped that came out really nice as well. It is only good for around a year and a half though before you need to redo it. It also only costs hundreds instead of thousands for a traditional paint job.

[TheBabyBadger]

Respectfully, having spent about 2 years spraying all sorts of automotive finishes at a body shop, this strikes me as a bad idea. But if you are bound and determined to try it, I'd first visit a body shop and get a damaged hood or door - something with a lot of area - and spray that before you create something that is very time-consuming to reverse. Also, for what it's worth, in the time it would take to hand-sand a few layers of durable spray paint from a body, you could probably learn how to do a half-decent job with proper products the first time.

Agree 100%. Another thing to keep in mind is you will have almost ZERO UV protection. Clear coat is the UV protection on automobiles, and even an industry leading PPG Production clear is only good 5 or so years without waxing. And it's about $500 a gallon... For a reason.

At the end of the day, it's your car, do what makes you happy. Guys like Jacob and myself (in the Collision industry almost 20 years) are just trying to give you honest feedback to prevent what will more than likely become one helluva headache/migraine.

The old adage comes to mind: Just because you can, doesn't mean it's a good idea (or: Doesn't mean you should).

poor-quality.jpg

Oh... also worth noting: Get a painted door, or paint something the size of a door and let it sit about 6 weeks... Now, try and see how long it takes to "strip the paint off" with 400 grit. Your idea is genuine, but you're getting bad information on the "ease" of this. I promise.

[John Dol]

https://www.dipyourcar.com/?ref=271

Have you seen this. Might be a better option then a rattle car. I talked to a guy that had his Cobra painted with it for several years, and it looked great from the pics.
Gave him time to save up for the real paint job. It just peels off when you don't want it anymore.

John

[TheBabyBadger]

https://www.dipyourcar.com/?ref=271

Have you seen this. Might be a better option then a rattle car. I talked to a guy that had his Cobra painted with it for several years, and it looked great from the pics.
Gave him time to save up for the real paint job. It just peels off when you don't want it anymore.

John

John - Product looks legit. REALLY good alternative! and it PEELS OFF... no sanding.

[Big Blocker]

FWIW, I saw a car at a show that was painted with a roller . . . could not tell it was not done professionally with a spray gun. Owner stated that it did take a lot of paint to accomplish the project and finish polishing took 2X longer to achieve the finish but it was flawless, in my opinion.

My 1st choice would be the "plastic dip" products that can be removed easily if needed, instead of a rattle can paint.

Just my 2¢.

Like Jeff, I'd love to see the finished product . . .

Doc

[Presto51]

Well after giving some thought I just have to jump in on this, with a little bit of different idea.

I will assume that you will prep the body, you know sand the parting lines, doing all of the body work, and then, I will guess, you will apply Slick Sand, or some high build product, and block sand etc.

After all that, give some thought to wrapping your car. It peals off after a while, somewhat UV protection, large choice of color, finish options.

I was a collision production painter for about 24 years, I'd stay away from the "rattle can" approach and go look at the wraps

Ron