Rustoleum?? LOW Budget paint jobs for LOW Budget Builds

[av8tr33337]

I'm a long way from doing any painting. But every few months I get the itch to do some investigating and contemplating the possibilities. Since my build is low budget I have done some extensive research on the Rustoleum paint job.

I Know all the arguments, "won't look good, won't last, will fade". OK I get all that. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I'm not really ruling out a Fotina paint job at this point, but if I'm looking for something just a step above Fotina, then the Rustoleum paint job, in my opinion, is a good choice.

You can roll it on or spray it with a HVLP gun. You can use enamel hardliners with it for faster curing and they have a clear coat as well. If your spaying it on you can even throw some metal flake in.

Keep in mind that what you save in $$ is going to be absorbed in your blood sweat and tears because there is some labor involved. You should wet sand after every couple of coats with a total of about 8 coats. Throw on 3 or 4 coats of clear if you want. Then wet sand with 1500 - 2000 grit and polish.

I know that several guys have gone this route and it would be nice to here from them on how satisfied they are with the look, finish and longevity of using the rustoleum products. Valspar also makes the Enamels and some may have used them as well.

Here is a really good source of info from guys who have done it.
http://rolledon.forummotion.com/
Every thing from rolling to spraying, and answers to many questions that are sure to come up.

I'm just throwing all this out there because I would like peoples feedback, good or bad.

[old yelr]

Check out UPNADM's thread called "1981 Chevrolet C50 Pick-up Conversion". He paints everything with rust paint. It might give you the info you're looking for.

[vht]

Years ago my uncle painted his Luv truck, he was a body man, and it held up good.

[N.T.Q]

I used Valspar to paint a truck 10 years ago and it looks like it was painted yesterday

[av8tr33337]

Originally Posted by N.T.Q

I used Valspar to paint a truck 10 years ago and it looks like it was painted yesterday

WOW that's very inspiring. The more I investigate the more I like the Idea.

[LEEVON]

The rustoleum will fade, no way around that. Pony up just a meager few dollars, especially if you're going to spray it and at least get an acrylic enamel single stage. I'm not saying you can't/shouldn't/don't just that if you are planning to park this outside and have any significant amount of time in it, might as well spend another $50-100 and do it much better. I've seen the rustoleum jobs, they are impressive for cheap paint after a massive amount of layers and wet sanding but they just won't hold up.

To be fair I think you can add hardener to the rustoleum though. And here is a good resource:

http://rolledon.forummotion.com/

[_Ogre]

if your going to fix the body, most of the time and effort is in making the body smooth and look good.
by this point even a good paint job is the easy part.
if you fix the body right, it would be a shame to waste all your effort with cheap paint.

if your not going to fix the body and cut out the rust, the rust will pop right back.
in this case cheap paint might preserve some of the metal for the next guy.

the few cases where i have seen decent cheap paint jobs was on later model vehicles
that maybe had faded paint or mismatched panels, then a quick scuff and cheap paint gives you a one color vehicle.

[meter swinger]

A buddy sprayed his drag car with rusto using a harbor freight gun, reducer and hardner and it turned out well.
Have you looked at plasti dip? Check dipyourcar.com