Rustoleum Red paint job

[Lemield]

I posted some pics in the Body and Paint section but I thought that you 67-72 folks might like to see a couple of pics too.

Six coats of paint applied with a foam roller.....

DISCLAIMER:

My truck is a work truck and I never planned to restore it....I just wanted to make it look a little better for myself and my neighbors.....so.....this seemed like an interesting and inexpensive challenge...I think it looks pretty good...I have not buffed it yet....not sure if I will...

Before and after....

[bigguy69]

looks good!!

[Racie]

Wow...pretty cool for a daily driving work truck...

[68gmsee]

Looks a heck of a lot better... About 10 yrs ago I did that to my old 69 that had original patina when one of my sisters told me I needed a new truck. She said that "old thing" was falling apart.

After it gets totally dried out and hardened up I'd at least give it a waxing to protect it from mildew, bird droppings and if you park under some trees, from tree sap.

Rustoleum is pretty hard and durable but some chemicals can leave surface stains. Especially on lighter colors.

[QKENUF4U]

good ol 10/10 truck. 10mph n 10ft away it looks great... guy back home changes his car colors couple times a year doing it your way...
the bed on my truck is SPRAYED and looks better than the factory paint...

[lakeroadster]

Looks good, thanks for posting!

I am wanting to do my truck in red Rustoleum also and really like the way yours turned out.

Could you list specifically which Rustoleum red you used? Was it their "safety red" in their "professional" paint (silver can) or their "red" in the regular paint (white can)?

Did you primer first? If so what product and color primer did you use?

[Lemield]

Originally Posted by lakeroadster

Looks good, thanks for posting!

I am wanting to do my truck in red Rustoleum also and really like the way yours turned out.

Could you list specifically which Rustoleum red you used? Was it their "safety red" in their "professional" paint (silver can) or their "red" in the regular paint (white can)?

Did you primer first? If so what product and color primer did you use?

Hi John,

Since you are local, you are welcome to come look at the truck.

I used Rustoleum Sunrise red in the white quart cans. I used about 1.5 quarts. I did not prime it first.

The truck is pretty smooth....I am showing pictures of the nice side...the other side has a BIG dent in it.....

I have about 25 bucks worth of paint invested in the project.

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

[kwmech]

Never sprayed a whole truck. But if you use the Safety Red with black primer, you'll get an awesome deep red color

[turner15]

Ya you can sand and buff that out to look as good as any other paint. I'm doing my square boy flat black with that paint then hitting it with a billo or scotch pad. That look is very cool

[Lemield]

My camera makes the paint look almost orange...but trust me...it's RED....VERY RED.....

[dfwright]

That was $25 + labor that was very well spent! It turned out great!

[Cdshinne]

Glad i caught this thread I need paint on my 72 k20 and i am thinking about going this route since money is tight and i am going to drive this truck in the winter. Is it really as simple as just rolling it on, or are there any tricks to keeping it smooth? What about going with the spray cans?

[gregg72340]

Nice Job, Is there a specific foam roller to use or just a plain old one

[Lemield]

I used the cheap white 4 inch foam rollers from Walmart.....I also used a cheapo plastic roller tray. I ended up using 1.5 quarts of paint total.

The paint will self level if you thin it down to the consistency of whole milk. I just put it on and checked for runs and drips....it takes a little practice to get the technique down. I was able to thin a batch of paint, apply a full coat and clean up in an hour and 15 minutes.....I only put 6 coats on because I got tired of painting.....

I suggest practicing on an old hood or fender......

If you google Rustoleum paint jobs, you will see a lot of info out there....

I have not had good results spraying it....probably because I don't have a paint gun....I did spray can the rockers on the truck since they had some sort of a textured finish on them that the PO applied...I wanted to keep those and put a thicker coat of paint on them for chipping protection....

[Zoomin]

Why six coats? I guess a quarter of a quart per pass is spreading it on pretty thin.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Lemield]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Why six coats? I guess a quarter of a quart per pass is spreading it on pretty thin.
Posted via Mobile Device

When it's thinned, it doesn't cover very well....it takes at least 6 coats to look good with dark colors....at least it did on mine....I wanted to do 8 coats but I was sick of painting and wet sanding.

[Alex Hayley]

Subscribing to this thread. I might have missed the answers to my questions. Did you remove the trim? How long did you let the coat dry before applying the next? Did you only wet sand after all 6 coats were dry?

[Lemield]

Originally Posted by Alex Hayley

Subscribing to this thread. I might have missed the answers to my questions. Did you remove the trim? How long did you let the coat dry before applying the next? Did you only wet sand after all 6 coats were dry?

I masked around the trim because it's a work truck and I'm lazy.

I applied the paint in the afternoon when I got home from work and let it dry 24 hours. I did 2 coats then wet sanded with 1000 grit...then 2 more coats, wet sand again with 1000 grit then two more coats. It still needs to be color sanded and polished.

[vectorit]

I must say, that when I saw this thread title I was expecting to see something hideous.

But, what you did for your circumstances it really turned out nice!

Being a work truck, I think you went the best route. Plus your time and attention to detail really shows too, and I bet your neighbors appreciate it as well! Which is always a good thing to keep harmony in the neighborhood.

[Lemield]

Thanks for all the positive feedback folks!

I truly expected it to not look as good as it does.....I honestly thought the whole concept for a roller paint job was hokey....but I figured I really had nothing to lose. From a purely economic point of view, it's pretty hard to beat....

[barryvanhook]

If I recall correctly, there was an article in Hot Rod magazine on this very topic 2 or 3 years ago.

Barry
but I think they did a white paint job

[Swifty]

Originally Posted by Lemield

I applied the paint in the afternoon when I got home from work and let it dry 24 hours. I did 2 coats then wet sanded with 1000 grit...then 2 more coats, wet sand again with 1000 grit then two more coats. It still needs to be color sanded and polished.

1st i think your truck looks amazing for what you did! Is it glossy in person? Is there any orange peel?

You said you preped it like any other paint job but you didn't primer...? I didn't read that you applied any clear coat. Are you going to? If not, how is the paint protected? Also, you keep talking about the paint looking milky? Did you thin any of it out yourself or did you just take the paint can and empty it into a pan and roll it on the truck like you paint the walls in your house? Did you use a brush for the tight areas?

Thanks for your time and the write up! After seeing your pics i will be doing this to my truck very soon!

[Lemield]

Originally Posted by Swifty

1st i think your truck looks amazing for what you did! Is it glossy in person? Is there any orange peel?

You said you preped it like any other paint job but you didn't primer...? I didn't read that you applied any clear coat. Are you going to? If not, how is the paint protected? Also, you keep talking about the paint looking milky? Did you thin any of it out yourself or did you just take the paint can and empty it into a pan and roll it on the truck like you paint the walls in your house? Did you use a brush for the tight areas?

Thanks for your time and the write up! After seeing your pics i will be doing this to my truck very soon!

Hi Swifty,

No primer necessary as Rustoleum goes right on to the metal...it's designed to do that. No clear coat necessary either....Paint didn't look milky....you thin it with mineral spirits until it's the consistency of milk...thickness wise...I just poured some paint into a plastic roller tray and then added mineral spirits until it was thin enough then applied it with a foam roller like you use to paint your walls...the key is thin coats, wetsand every two coats with 1000 grit. It's not orange peely or anything...it's really smooth...as far as protecting it goes, I put on a good wax....but even if it fades, I can repaint it really easily. I used a foam brush for the tight areas.

[Alex Hayley]

Thanks! Got more information when I read the other posts you made about your truck. It looks great!

[Gene]

Wow, just wow.. I expected to see something totally different. Nice job! We sprayed a friends truck back in high school with about 20 cans of Krylon and it turned out kinda sketchy, we called him captain Krylon. Yours looks awesome.