Earlier I started a post asking how to flatten Rustoluem paint (sold as Tremclad in Canada). I wanted to "flatten" their Dark Blue paint. Here is how I ended up doing just that. I bought 3 tins (not spray cans) of flat black, two cans of Dark Blue gloss, and I can of flat white ... mixed them all together, thinned (5 parts paint to one part mineral spirits which should work out to 20% by volume) and painted my rear fenders. I ended up with a very nice (in my opinion) vintage looking "greyish blue" that has a semigloss look to it. I experimented a little with the mixing until I came up with what I thought was a good colour. My car is solid but far FAR from paint ready. I want this car out NOW (actually yesterday) so I figure Tremclad will protect my car, won't cause any damage to it, costs next to nothing and the car can be stripped and repainted at some point down the road. This one last bit of info might get a chuckle out of some of you ... I am painting the entire car with an HVLP (are you ready) touch-up gun. I am painting it in my home garage and the touch-up gun gives off virtually no overspray so no complaints from the neighbours. The fenders were painted in my garage, but they were sitting on those 2x4 wood stands when I did the painting. There is so little overspray using this HVLP touch-up gun that the wood stands didn't even turn blue from overspray...they still look like plain old wood.
Sorry. Far from ready for a "real" paint job. And there are some here that will argue that Tremclad/Rustoleum should not even be considered auto paint. I don't want to take the time to iron out all the wrinkles, dings etc right now, so I can't justify paying for even a cheap paint job done by a body shop. The reason for the "flattening" was to try to hide some of the numerous flaws in the body. Painting it with Tremclad allows me to get back on the road for somewhere around $120 in paint (including spray can prime), and I really like the "vintage" look of the colour and its "flatness". If anyone is thinking of attempting this with other Tremclad/Rustoleum colours I highly recommend mixing up tiny amounts to try first...who knows their Red might turn pink and look like crap. (yeah yeah, I know ... since when is crap pink).
Thanks, Not trying to match anything. The car was blue (door jambs etc still are) so it would be easiest for me to stay with some shade of blue. The only blue's that Tremclad sells are gloss and I really wanted a flat or semigloss. So I monkeyed around and came up with what looks to me like a vintage shade of blue ... not too bright (kinda like me) and not too glossy. The chrome on the car is not perfect either so this should hopefully add to the "gee look a that old car, wonder if that's original paint" kinda look (all of the original chrome parts are going back on). Just out here having fun and ahhhh ....(heh heh) being cheap.
That should be etched in granite and every hot rodder should have a copy. I've always thought a trial run is good to check clearances, fine tune the engine and chassis followed by at least a partial teardown for final detailing and paint. Using that logic on my wife when I decided to start driving my '32 I've proceeded to put well over 60,000 miles on it over the last 10 years and still haven't "found" the time for the final detail/paint. She told me once I started driving it it would never be "finished". Further I've got NO plans to do so in the forseeable future. I'm having more fun that the law allows. Frank
OK ... here's the real story. I "can" always strip the Tremclad and do the real body 'n paint thing ... but ... as of right now I have absolutely no intention of doing that in the near (or not so near) future. The car that is getting "tremcladed" is a 1938 Olds coupe and it will be my true daily driver till the snow hits. I have purchased a trailer hitch that I will modify to fit and this thing is gonna haul the luggage to the cottage, the trash to the dump, the dirtbike to the pits etc. I just got two coats on the main shell today, I fully intend to have it back on the road by the end of this month. I am running a carbed 305, T5, '68 Camaro rear, Jeep Cherokee leafs, Mustang II front etc. Reliable and easy to get parts for. Haven't picked rims for it yet, I really like the Salt Flats by American Racing or the new "flat spoke aluminum Cragar wheels.
People always seem to get their shorts in a wad when people talk about Rustoleum saying you can't paint over it or you ruined the car or whatever. I've used it on all kinds of stuff using (mostly) the "satin black" they have. It's freakin' bullet proof and looks great when used correctly. People would never be able to tell it from the high dollar satin finishes or powder coats if I didn't tell them. If you ever want to strip it back down, Aircraft stripper turns it into the consistency of pancake syrup in about 3 mins. From there you can just power wash it off. It's not my favorite way to spend an afternoon but it's not difficult to remove if you use the right method. People act like if you put it on it will NEVER come off. It's paint... It comes off. It just doesn't SAND well because it's an alkyd enamel. Like I said... It stands up to anything but Aircraft stripper. My 32 chassis is painted in it right now and looks great!
Looks nice and you are on the right track for your particular situation. What works for someone else in their situation might not be optimal for you. On those days when you want your semi-gloss car to appear more shiny, in fact perfectly patina'd shiny, wipe it down with a 50:50 mix of kerosene and water.
This is the gun I used. El Cheapo Crappo was on the label of the box it came in I think . Something like $25 taxes in from a tool booth at a local flea market. The fenders turned out nice but the car shell (being larger and harder to deal with) didn't turn out as "evenly" as the fender. I have two coats on the shell, I am going to give it a light sanding (gotta knock down some of the bugs and dust) and then I will give it two more. This is an experiment kinda deal so I am learning as I go. After the two more coats I intend to give it one more light sanding and then a machine polish. I don't think the machine polish will bring out a shine because the paint just doesn't have the ingredients for a good shine, I am hoping the machine polish will just give the paint a nice even finish. I am off to prime the headlights and taillights today. I'll post some pics of the shell after the next two coats (that I hope to lay on tomorrow).
Any updates? ... I got the car finished, been driving it. I got caught in some "early" snow and had it out again the day after Christmas (roads were dry). Still need to change the rims and haven't yet machine polished out the paint although I did try a spot on the hood and it appears that the machine polish is going to do a great job of evening out the paint. Here is a pic I took of it after it was finished and assembled. Would I do it again ... absolutely. I love the "vintage" look of the paint and I don't have to worry about dings/dents/bird shit/bug splatter etc. Bottom line is that I am back on the road and lovin' every minute of it.
Another pic (this one showing the color in the sun). Due to the fact that I am not using a real (full size) auto paint gun and the fact that I am not a real painter, the end result does have some glossy and not so glossy areas. That is what I am referring to as "uneven" paint. As mentioned, I did machine polish an area on the hood and the paint ended up looking great. I never found the time to polish the entire car yet ... having too much fun driving it. The rims absolutely have to go though .... they are dead straight (no wobble) but the are dead ugly too.
cool I made a satin black with Homehardware paint 3:1 flat to gloss and a little bit of hardener seems to help
Nice job. I like it, and also agree with you on getting it out to drive.... Good thinking on that paint mix, and nice job with that paint gun too !!
I used rustoleum flat black with their matte finish clear on the frame of my truck and it looks nice. real easy to touch up after u drop aspark plug on it and chip it!
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