Thanks for the quick response Marq. I was hoping to have you chime in! Does orange peel begin to disappear as the paint cures to it's final hardness? It seems like the paint is showing less orange peel as it has longer to dry! Weird....

This thread / topic is absolutely amazing on how far and wide it's reached. Personally, I would like to know the website/user count/statistics before and after around the beginning of the second thread. I am sure website traffic jumped!

I am pleased that instictively you feel the same way I do. I felt that I should wetsand, yet inexperience kept me second guessing. Having the White Primer has one down fall - it's tougher to gauge the 'thinness' of the paint. I will have to cut the enamel a bit more. I kept the paint to the consistancy of milk, in fact it was very runny and seemed really thin (could see a seperation of mineral spirits and paint even after lots of mixing!)

To address your direct statements, there is a considerable amount of 'see through' on the truck. The white primer under it really deceives the eyes (and camera) to make it look like there's so much more Yellow than there is. The areas where the paint flashed after running, shows the runs are twice the yellow then the remaing paint around it. Tonight, I tested a small area on the back quarter panel with some 600 grit and the spray bottle. The difference between the wetsanded and non sanded area (to the touch) didn't feel hardly any different.

So, my thought (and instinct too) is to wetsand the truck down. If I get some white primer coming through, that's fine. Just wetsand now, cure a day or so, then coat 2. Let that sit in the direct sunlight for 8 hours, wetsand again with 600 and let it sit another day. Then, third coat and let that cure for 2 days in the sun. With taking the coats back, I can get that 'the dog pee look!' LOL

With the 'intense' direct sunlight Arizona provides for curing, and taking back paint by wetsanding after every coat, by the 4th or 5th coat I should have a good foundation to bump the wetsand to 1000 or 1500. Then, I will do a rub w/ mineral spirits to see what kind of finish I have. If I am not satisfied, then one more coat and some 2000 grit.

Lord knows it's cheaper to let the truck sit (not being driven) and take the time to do this than to drive it everywhere and fill up the tank every 3 days. The truck is my daily driver, and it only sees about 25 miles round trip to the office.

I am hooked on this thread and can't wait to post completed pictures! I will keep the camera close by and the progress/experiences listed here! I hope you all don't mind lot's of pictures!! <------ Is this a mullet toss or a mohawk? Inquiring minds want to know!

Marq, below is the outcome of my Royal Blue/Smoke Grey rusto job. I'm pretty pleased with it except for some orange peel in the grey. It seems to me that the flat surfaces are harder to deal with. The blue came out almost flawlessly. In the pic, I haven't wetsanded or polished. Now I'm experimenting on my tunk lid with Black as I will paint either the whole car black or just the top part and have a Black/Blue car. I'm having a hell of a time trying to get the black on with coverage. It gets a little disapoiinting when I keep wetsanding down to the grey. I'm thinking I should just put like a good 6 thin coats before I wetsand. Better yet, maybe I'll check out our local boat supply store to see if they have Brightside. Any direction would be apprecieated. Thanks to all. This thread rocks!!!

-Ted


[image][/image]

Here are some before, and current pictures I have of my car. Its been a long road with 3 active kids, but I am making great progress. I may even have it all put together this summer.

And here is the car currently.

How thin are you guys applying your coats? What does the paint/mineral spirits look like after mixing it by hand. Is it really super thin and almost like the mineral spirits are seperated (kind of like a oil and water type separation?)

Thanks!

John

My mixture was 50/50. It looked just like the paint but thinner. I didn't see the oil/water separation that you describe. On my Malibu I used 7 coats of each color before I was done.

-Ted

http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f301/tedgriffith/65chevelleMalibu292/Rusto%20Paint%20Job/

That's a great write up Marq, and i have read your previous 'novels' you have posted before! And I have yet to be put to sleep!

I think that it's not as much orange peel dissappearing as it is my eye getting used to seeing the paint on the truck. As the first day or two, i wwas all over it with a fine tooth comb and looking at it from every angle. I was being my own worse critic. So, Orange peel is what i saw and that is what I got used to. As others have previously stated, I have looked at other cars in the parking lot and they don't have much less orange peel. The first coat of primer dried over night. The second sat in the direct sunlight for 3 hours (can said it could be wetsanded in about 5 hours normal drying) and then was wetsanded. I then waited about 2 hours after wetsanding to apply the first coat of paint. So, it may not be as cured as a O/N dry, but it was very strong and hard to scrape with a fingernail.

Check out this picture I took last night. You can see some blue visible from where i sanded the primer coats down exposing the original blue (old paint) and where there's some white areas(primer) - this yellow paint layer isn't as thick as may look. I think that is the white primer giving off a misperception. Also, look at the reflection of the light on the hood, it's dull but shows how little orange peel there truly is. It has been two days of sitting in the sun baking. Tomorrow I am going to begin wetsanding. The previously tested area I sanded already hardly got much sanding to expose white primer.

It's so cool though, just one coat and already people began stopping by and commenting on how good it looks. Imagine 5 more coats and a mirror finish!! I CAN'T WAIT!

Thanks for the input so far all! It's *VERY* appreciated!

John

can the rustoleum primer be used as a filler/primer?
safe to do many coats and sand back down liek the paint?
any problems using the white clean metal primer over original painted surfaces or over previous surface rust that has been sandblasted?
i still really want to spray the aluminum and spray clear over it.

Marq,

I have a 66 chevy van that i am going to roll with tremclad but first am going to roll on some primer to even out the base. My question is, do I mix the primer with the mineral spirits? If so, to the same consistancy?

Thanks

I did not cut the Primer with Mineral Spirits. I opened the Rustoleum can and after mixing, found it to be really thin to begin with. I didn't want it too thinned out by adding MS. Honestly, I think this would be too thin to use as a filler. Perhaps a different primer, thicker style would be better for filler purposes.

I bought three quarts of white primer, ended only used 1 1/4 quarts for 2 complete coats on my truck. I ended up decided on two coats of the primer, and then paint. The first coat of primer went on and showed some original paint. By the second coat of primer, the original paint was not visible.

Depending on what color paint you will use (a bright color like red, yellow or silver) would definately benefit from white primer. I would even consider a white base with something like Grabber Blue, just to make it pop!


I just checked and I didn't take any pictures of just the first coat of primer. Only after the second coat. Here is a before and after picture:





Hope the two of these shows the difference two coats of primer makes!

Keep us posted and take lots of pictures!

John

I never thought about diluting the primer with paint, that would have been a good thought. Well, that's the whole thing though, this is a learning process and will be a trial and error kind of undertaking.

One question I have to you guys, I have decided to change the flat black to a lighter color. Being an Arizona truck, summers will be brutal with the black. What other color would you recommend to go with the Yellow? How bout a silver or light to medium grey? Eventually, I want to make the interior grey. Would a complimentary color be the choice or a primary?

Would a white look better than Grey? I don't necessarily want it to look like a huge golf cart!


Any suggestions would be apppreciated!

Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions Marq. Based upon your thoughts, I have made up a couple Photoshop (poorly done mind you) attempts to see the options you mentioned. This may give a different perspective to see it on the truck itself.

DECIDED COLOR:




So far, I have 3 coats yellow put down.

John

White single choice
	This One!
Votes accepted starting: 05/12/08 01:44 PM You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

Other... (please List) single choice
	Don't like either of them!
Votes accepted starting: 05/12/08 01:44 PM You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

Burnt Orange single choice
	This One!
Votes accepted starting: 05/12/08 01:44 PM You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

LUV24BY,

I would have to say to go with the same yellow, because you have the black tinted windows to compliment them. Just !! BTW, looks great so far!!!

I like the yellow or the orange but not in the color sceme you show them in. IMHO if you mix the two keep it suttle nice the tweetybird.