Rattle can?! Paint job?

Welcome back! A whole new look on diy "do it your self"
Because i am poor i am contemplating on Rattle canin my whole truck silver.
I have seen people do flat black and other colors, i have been really crafty with the so called spray can. I am wondering what kinda of prep i need to do. As of right now my whole truck is gel yes gel Coated, all around. "Fantastic when your getting dusted and sand blasted. But i want a new color.
So what would you guy's Recommend on prep. Primer. I want to go with a silver.
Thought's Comments?

 

Don't rattle can it. I made this mistake with a motorcycle a few years back. It looks great when you're done but the rattle can paint is very soft and it doesn't take long before it's pitted and looks like crap. Plus, if you spill anything on it, like gasoline, the paint wipes off. If you're going to spray it yourself, use a HVLP gun and automotive paint otherwise it won't hold up. My motorcycle only got maybe 2,500 miles a year on it, was garage kept and it looked horrible within a year of the new rattle can paint job. Just my $0.02.

 

Its not bad if you do it right. I did mine 2yrs ago and its just fine. Its not a daily drive so I wasn't concerned with a show finish. The truck is used in the woods and sits out side in the weather year round.

 

if you take your time it will look good. but its still a rattle can paint job

 

I saw a guy on you tube painting his car and he recommended Rustolium Enamel instead of regular paint. I am not sure what the difference is between the paint and enamel, but apparently the enamel will be more durable.
We have an old Ford Explorer at work that had the whole roof peel and rust because of magnet base strobe lights on the roof. I painted it with Rustoleum Automotive Enamel. Sanded down good with a orbital sander, primed with a sandable primer, sanded again to get rid of ridges and high spots, primered again, sanded, painted several coats of the enamel, and then after wet sanding between coats several coats of clear coat. I have now wet sanded the clear coat and the next step will be to rub it with a polishing compound and then wax it. It looks a lot better than the old rusty roof, but by no means professional. Fortunately it is white. A metallic color or silver might be a lot more complicated to get a smooth even finish.

 

Without spending much money, I think you can do better. How many cans will it take to get a couple of good coats? 20? I have no clue, but 20 * $5 = $100. For that, you can pick up a quart of good enamel paint and a budget paint sprayer. IMO, the sprayer will give better results vs the can. And in the end, you have a little paint sprayer than can be used for other things. Sand it well. Multiple light coats. In a garage if you can to keep it from turning pollen green! Wear a respirator if indoors - and not a particle mask - they're only like $20. It's also handy for changing diapers or the litter box! But in the end, $50 for a sprayer, $30 for paint and thinner, $20 for a respirator if you need it. That's cheap.

Another option maybe - if you have a community college that does teaches auto body, you could get on the list there. Those guys are always looking for an opportunity to lay down a coat of paint.

 

It came out good. Yes i was looking more for a silver color. I have seen some people pull it off. I think i will let it sit till i pull off my fenders of get to a point where i don't care what it looks like any more. thanks for all your in put guys !

 

We did this to a kids car in HS, wow it came out like shit!

 

Silver will show a lot of imperfections. The better the prep work, the better the paint will turn out. 90% of your battle will be the prep. If you take it down to the metal you'll have to seal/prime. If you want to do a scuff and paint take 400 and 600 grit sand paper to it, 800 if you want it real smooth. Get your self one of the handle attachments for the spray cans so you can lay down even coats and prevent yourself from suffering hand/finger fatigue. My 88 p/u will be going on it's second painting here shortly (with rattle cans) and once I get better at it myself, then I'll paint it with a legit gun. Again prep, prep, prep.

 

my whole truck is gel coat :C

 

I'm half done with my rattle can job. you can check out my build to see how it looks. I would have rather done a roll on but i couldn't find the color i wanted. i think the rattle can has come out decent. The truck gets beat up on trails and in the woods so i really don't care about a show finish or even a super durable on. scratchs can be fixed in a minute with a fresh spritz of paint

 

For my 1982 Toyota Pickup I am using Eastwoods Rust Converter for a base to neutralize the rust, then going to spray an SEM High Build primer, then will wet sand with 800 grit. Finally I will use Spray Max 2k color match single stage paint. The primer and single stage cost me just over $200 with shipping for 5 cans of each. The Eastwood rust converter was $18 per can. The great thing about all of these is they are rattle cans. It saves you about $600 without having to buy an air compressor and HLVP sprayers. I have not yet painted yet, but you can follow along here (Pictures below): http://www.seanmcclure.com/blog/index.php/2012/10/31/rattle-can-paint-job-for-my-sons-truck/

 

Where is the link to your build?

 

He hasn’t been around since 2013,

If you turn your phone sideways

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/valons-84-beater.260797/