rattle caning, and smoothing out the paint

[dcbullet]

I have a follow up question to this topic, becuase I'm going to rattle can paint my hood, hopefully this weekend. I know that real automotive paint takes a while to dry. When I got my car painted, they said don't wash and wax it for a month.

Is the same true for rattle can or does it dry alot quicker?

I'm trying to figure out the timing of using the rubbing compound (if needed) and then final waxing after I have sprayed the color.

I guess the same question applys to the primer. How long should I wait to sand after spraying the primer?

Thanks in advance.

[big_blue_72]

i don't think i would try to buff out rattle can paint . automotive paint you can wash it when ever your just not supposed to wax it fer 6 months.auto motive primer u can sand within a hour to 2 hours rattle can maybe a few hours depends on how the temp is, you would be better off goin to a macco or miracle and just have the hood painted.

[Fordfool]

Ok, I might very well rattle can the primer on my "new" truck. What is the best rattlecan primer? Or what will work good I should say....

[FORDification]

Years ago when I was doing bodywork on my first '67 Olds Cutlass, I wanted to use rattlecan primer, but wanted something that the local bodyshop would be able to paint over. I asked the bodyman if there was one that he'd suggest, and he told me to use Martin Senor brand. It was a bit more expensive than WallyWorld stuff, but I have to admit it held up pretty well over several winters of daily driving.

Never did get that car painted.

[Joe Kriston]

I think a quality primer is as important as the paint...I was told by a body man(or mebbe I read it in a book) that there are two kinds of primers...One hardens by way of 'drying' while the other hardens through a chemical reaction process...The one's that harden through the 'drying' process take a very long time to set...This is why resto shops often take months to paint a car....they give ample time for the layers of primer to dry and shrink...

I had a quick paint job done after an accident on a '93 pickup I had,and the paint job looked beautiful when I picked it up...Over a period of time,however,I could start noticing all the sand marks underneath the paint,and was told the primer was still shrinking after it was painted...Moral of the story: If you're just going to paint your hood rattle-can coaster-wagon red,leave it primered for a few weeks to ensure that it's really cured and then block sand it just before painting it...I'll be interested to see how it turns out because I'll have to find and paint a tailgate for my truck...

[big_blue_72]

a good rattle can primer is SEM or TRANSTAR.both sand easy and are both a highbulid primer so fills scratches better always go over your with 600 wet paper to get the scratches out works great

[dcbullet]

I wanted to follow up to this topic. 2 or 3 weeks ago I painted my hood with rattle can paint. This was my first time ever painting anything except suspension parts. I'll say that it is a skill to do it well. A skill I don't have yet.

In certain parts of the hood, it looked pretty good. In others, it was very rough. This was a result of the spraying technique, rather than the prep work, because the variations in quality would be right next to each other.

In those areas that turned out well, I did follow up with 2000 grit then some polishing compound and it looks pretty darn good. So I would say unequivically that you can wet sand rattlecan paint with good results. It's just a matter of getting a good consistent spray over the whole hood that I'm stuggling with.

So I'm going to wet sand the whole hood to smooth it out and give it another coat or two. I'll let you know how it goes.

[rjewkes]

I've been thinking on this over the last couple weeks. And keep coming to the conclusion rattle can to keep metal protected from elements. and later sand/prep and get like a wagner cordless airless and hit the bigger(biggest pannel beside bed floor)such as the hood with it.

[boots]

i got my truck 7 months ago down the road and when I got it you could see it had been rattle canned silver. looks alright though. I will re-do the paint with rattle can soon enough.

[flyboy2610]

I have seen snap on type spray can triggers, they make the spray can look like a spray gun. I haven't tried one yet but I plan to.
Treat the the spray can like a professional spray gun and use the same technque the pros do: Keep the can in motion, start spraying before you hit the part you want to cover and don't stop until you are past it. Start at the top and work down. Use several light coats.

[jzjames]

I 'rattle-canned' my entire truck with spraybombs from walmart at $3.50/can. Cheapest paintjob around. I used Duplicolor Engine Enamel because I thought it would be more durable, having the 'High heat' feature and 'ceramic addative'. It has really fit the bill. It is so tough, doesnt scratch off, and if I ever need to touch-up, Ive got the matching color at the nearest auto supply dept. Take a look in my gallery for before and after. jz

[flyboy2610]

Nice job! I hope mine turns out that nice!

[jzjames]

dcbullet: Yeah, painting the flat horizontal surface of the hood is probably the hardest part, mainly because as the paint in the can gets less, spraying in a downward angle causes the paint to come out of the can alot "dryer" and sucking air so to speak. When I did my hood, I used the first part of the new cans and then switched to another new can. You'll notice it goes on smoothly when the can is fresh. jz

[greenbank]

How many cans, would you say, did it take?

[jzjames]

Like I said, I did my whole truck. I did alot of careful prep work, sanding ALL the cracks and crevices with 220 grit paper. I cleaned and sanded the door jamb areas to the point of the door gaskets, the underside of the front driprail, etc. I used a little primer on bare metal parts, and then sanded that lightly. I painted one panel area at a time, taping it off with masking tape and newsprint.
The cab took about 10 cans - $35.00. Probably about another 10 cans for the box. jz