Driveway Two Tone

[BiltByMe]

I'm looking to two-tone the cab of my '70 GMC with a small budget. I don't have access to a booth or a high volume air compressor to run pneumatic guns so I would be doing it in my driveway. Based on previous projects on bumpers and other various panels that I have straightened out, filled, and shot, I think I will be able to get decent results with a rattle can. I will probably have to sand completely down to bare metal but would like to avoid it if at all possible. Does anyone have any recommendations for what kind of paint I should use as well as a good way to make the paint last? I'm also in need of the divider trim piece for the back of the cab.

[tinydb84]

I wouldn't use rattle can. Even if you can get it to not be tiger stripped it wont hold up. When you want to paint it in the future you will need to strip it bare.

Look up the new Eastwood guns. They have a lower CFM requirement. You can get Kirker or Summit paint for very cheap and it will actually last.

[mongocanfly]

welcome....
I've used duplicolor rattlers for small jobs before with decent results. ....

if you have a air compressor lowes sells a fairly cheap gun that works well enough.....

[Black_Sheep]

Rent an air compressor and get a cheap HF spray gun when it's ready for paint. The end result will look a lot better than rattle cans and be much more durable.

[cornerstone]

Welcome to the forum! I agree with the others..... but...... If for whatever reason you can't, don't want to or are just intimidated (I was), google "roll on rustoleum paint job". There's a guy who documents the process he used and follows up just about every year to show how it held up. I was quite surprised at how good it looked then and now, many years later. Of course this method will look better with lighter colors, so consider that also. If nothing else check out his website and it will be educational for whatever method you go with. Also you can add hardener to the enamel so it will hold up way longer than the rattle cans!

[MARTINSR]

I agree with the suggestions to get a compressor or rent a booth or something.

HOWEVER, if you must use rattle cans, there are now 2k rattle cans. I have did some tests with them and they are amazing!

Here is the first I did. http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/2k-a...ew-144268.html

Here is a complete compressorless job on a fender, I have this fender out in my back yard, it still looks as good as when it was painted 9 years ago!
http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/comp...ew-158502.html

The real difficulty would be larger panels. But if you can break them up somehow, you could pull it off.

Now the price, these cans are expensive so you would end up spending nearly the same maybe, but look into it.

Brian

[jeff_wilson70]

If you want to avoid spraying altogether, I have always had great success with one part self-leveling epoxy boat paint. Either Pettit or Interlux makes it and it is available at your local boat store. Its a little expensive (approx $50/qt depending on color) The paint is very durable and they make a brushing thinner or spray thinner that you thin it with. It can be sprayed or rolled. My best results came by rolling it with a foam roller and tipping it very lightly with a brush. But with any paint job on any surface, your paint job is only as good as the surface prep before you get out the brush, roller or sprayer.

To give you an idea of how well this stuff works, here is a pic of the boat that I used that paint on. Done completely with a roller and brush.

[Mollzyie]

Just browsing this thread .... any advice on the minimum gallons for compressor? I was told 40 a long time ago .


Btw ... that's a cool little boat .

[mongocanfly]

I used a 25 gallon for yrs...did ok..ran a lot when in use...I now have a 60 gal 7 1/2 hp....good investment for me ....so I think a 40 would be good for general use....

[Mollzyie]

I'm sorry I should of been more specific. Minimum for running a paint gun .... that 60 sounds nice 👍🏼

[mongocanfly]

using a paint gun is what I was referring to with the 25.....and the 60....

[scott123]

In the little shop I have a small 20 gallon compressor. I hooked it to a larger tank for some more volume.

The compressor runs an awful lot. This method will take years off the life of a compressor as the motor will run near constantly when painting, or using anything that requires a lot of continuous air.

I'm not a paint guy but when attempting to be one (LOL) lots of air is a must.

In the service a lot of years ago we sprayed a CJ7 with spray cans. We sanded and sanded. Primed and primed. Blocked and blocked. We had a competition. I sprayed one side and my buddy sprayed the other.

The biggest issue was tiger striping as it is hard to get a good overlap. As soon as there is compensation for the lack of overlapping (complete paint coverage) the chance for runs drastically increases.

In the end the Jeep looked good. His side better than mine. The paint help up for a year or so, maybe 2. After that is started to fade. If you drug your hand across on a panel it would show color on your hand.

It was a case of spray paint and a case of beer deal.

Like the above post said, check out youtube, there are a number of videos. Most turn out really well.

Scott

[Mollzyie]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

using a paint gun is what I was referring to with the 25.....and the 60....

Lmao mongo .. very nice man . That's good to know as I look for a decent air compressor . I get a lot of use w my little pancake one but I'm on the look out for a bigger one . If I find a nice 25 gal I'll get it . Thanks 👍🏼

[nikwho]

I tend to want to try to urge you to buy a cheap compressor on Craigslist, then a $10 Harbor Freight HVLP paint gun, BUT, typically I have found (no disrespect intended, whatsoever) that when someone comes on to this, or other, forums and states their intentions, they are just looking for advice and have mostly committed to completing the project as stated in their original post, despite the urging from others to complete the job in a more correct way.

So, with that said, I still think that you should beg, buy or borrow a small air compressor and spray some kind of decent paint with an HVLP gun. But, if you're not going to, I would say that you should buy a more expensive rattle can paint, that's going to be arguably higher quality. I would say that you should buy a rattle can paint that has the higher quality spray tip, that makes a nicer fan spray pattern, as opposed to just spraying out in a semi controlled mist. Then, I would say that you should find a quality rattle can clear coat, to help protect the paint from all of the days that it will sit, baking in the sun. I would NOT sand down to bare metal, unless the current condition of the paint is so bad that it would be absolutely necessary. The quality of the paint under your rattle can paint is almost certainly of better quality than what you will be spraying on it, so you will want to leave that there. Ive invested in a nice Iwata (and DeVillbiss) paint gun and a large dual stage 240v 80 gallon compressor, that lives in its own vented room outside of my garage, that has an air dryer that cost more than my first air compressor, and a quality regulator. It definitely makes a big impact on your final outcome. Though, I have rattle canned an entire vehicle before, when I didn't have any good tools or an air compressor. That rig was my '85 Toyota 4Runner, which came out pretty dang good, all things considered.

What color are you wanting to two tone your truck? Are you looking to only paint the top of the cab and A posts? You'd likely get away with a pint of quality paint, which just might be $20 or $30 more than buying a bunch of rattle cans.