The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop I guess its better than rust

That is exactly what I did on my '38. I know these old farm trucks are not worth much unless flawlessly restored. I wasn't about to spend the kind of money that takes. Sooo... here's my Rustoleum paint job:

cheap paint job

Great looking truck Wayne!

looks great Wayne, you can be proud of that truck .... needs some mud flaps tho', don't wanna be throwin any rocks at the tailgaters

Bill

When ya stop and think about it the Rustoleum is 'modern' compared to what is was originally.
Wayne, Did you add any hardener or just straight? I was told if you came back in 9 months or a year you can cut and buff it and it will look greatER. Don't wax it just let it cure and then after buffing wax. It takes a long time for the enamel paint to cure I guess.
I like that combo a lot.

I know rustoleum likes to take its time hardening how long did it take? Did you roll it on? What thinner?
Your truck looks great. And I agree alkyd enamels are as good or better than what was on cars and trucks years ago. Won't be long and you won't be able to get it. Unless everyone complains enough I suppose.

Truck, the BlueBird guys made like it was consecutive days but I have a hard time seeing wet sanding the next day. Not with out 98 dollars worth of sand paper...
I just refinished a 50's era cargo cart for a friend showing him the reverse electrolysis process and after epoxy primer sprayed a couple wet coats of rusto holly green with hardener and it sat for several days in the sun and was just ok. I'd of hated to try and sand it. Barry at SPI cautioned me about trying to shoot a second coat. It will lift the first and poof as he recalled the tech from his youth. He said if ya get a run just spread paper out on the ground and keep spraying every few minutes until it melts and flows/washes away cause once you finish thats it.

They did reduce the pi$$ out of theirs though so maybe that helped it 'cure' but it also seems to have caused it's own share of troubles. I read they baked it @ 160F as well so it must be nice to have a free oven to use. It would cost me 98 dollars just to bake a rig once around here let alone 6 or 7 coats worth.
I think I'd rather roll it thick (if I was rolling) and not have all the bubbles, I think it would flow out fine at about 15% as opposed to their 40-50.

I used Rustoleum Royal blue. I thinned it with mineral spirits 50/50. I used a small firm foam roller. I wet sanded between coats with 400 grit on the 1st coat, 600 on the 2nd coat, 1000 on the 3rd coat, 2000 on the 4th coat. You are looking at the 5th coat without any sanding, buffing, or polishing. It took me about 2 weeks to do this.
This photo was after the 4th coat
paint booth


I don't plan to do anything to this paint as I want it to dull and age.

I am going to stain the bed black when the pressure treated wood dries out. I will distress it some after staining to give it an aged look.

Red58, I have made contact with the original selling dealer's nephew. He has a pair of NOS mudflaps with the dealers name on them. I've been trying to get him to ship them to me since last November.

thanks Wayne that means the 50/50 mix makes the difference. So spray or roll I bet results will come out the same.
What were the temps while you worked on it?
I may play with his cart cart more.

It was hot in Florida and windy. Temps were in the low 90's. I was planning to spray, but with having to use a carport, I didn't feel I could control the spray in the windy conditions.

I did spray the fenders with Satin Black Rustoleum. I followed the thinning instructions on the can: 15% with acetone. I was pleased how easy it sprayed and how quick it was. I used a $15 Harbor Freight HVLP gun.

I think the problem with acetone is it will melt some plastic, so I would think being too rich it would lift a second coat. How did it work for more coats? Did that dry it faster? I have heard you can use a bit of a hardner in it too. I did a hood for a generator set, used rustoleum red and yellow mixed for a more orange tinted yellow. I used a small amount of I think xylene on first coat and did some mineral spirits and a small amount of xylene on numer 2 coat. Seems to work okay so far. Just rolling it.

Hey I bet any of these cheapo type paint jobs are way better than a Maaco job.

Gosh look at the now factory jobs that peel off after a few years.

I did a 2nd and 3rd after the paint flashed without any problems. I don't know what would happen if I recoated it now.

I spoke to Maaco and they wanted a bunch just to spray it. That's why I decided to do mine myself.