Zinc primer, acrylic base coat, and 2K clear coat.
What I learned:
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Don’t cheap out on the paint and clear coat. The difference in quality between box-store products and real automotive ones can’t be overstated. They’re as much of higher quality than they’re more expesive.
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Buy more product than you think you’ll need. Just do it.
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Surface prep, surface prep, surface prep. Paint and clear coat don’t hide imperfections at all. If you can feel it with your fingers, you’ll see it through the paint.
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Avoid “smart 2K” products where you don’t need to mix in the hardener. I’ve tried them twice and both times got terrible results. It’s not that they don’t work, but they’re really finicky if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing.
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Close the doors so bugs don’t fly in, and wet the floor/ground to keep dust from getting airborne.
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Cover the entire vehicle before painting. Overspray dust goes everywhere and settles on every unprotected surface - ask me how I know.
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Keep an eye on the spray nozzle and wipe it down occasionally. If it starts gunking up, it’ll spit droplets and ruin your finish.
How much money did you spend, and how much time overall? Would you do it again?
Around 300 euros and like 4 evenings. I’m going to do it again as I have a replacement door already waiting.
TBF, it cost me ~$5k to do similar on my truck - with pro gear and adjacent experience. 🤘🏼 Good on ya!
Ouch. That’s half of the value of my entire truck.
Yeah, it was a terrible idea that got away from me before I knew what was what. The sunk cost fallacy is a real mofo sometimes. 🥲
Did you sand in between? Just curious
Ive done smaller things and with ultra fine grit for sanding between coats, ended up with a gorgeous finish (mailbox, exterior lamps, etc)
I had sanded it to 600 grit after primer but not since that. I might wet sand it with 2000 grit once it’s fully cured and then polish it. It does look pretty good already tough. It has evened out significantly while drying.
That’s the best rattlecan job I’ve ever seen. Congrats.
How many cans did it take?
Way more than it needed to - but if I were to do it from scratch knowing what I know now, I’d say: 3 cans of primer, 5 cans of base coat, and 3 cans of clear coat. That’s 1 coat of primer, 3 coats of paint, and 2 coats of clear coat.
Jesus, thats like $500 worth of paint…
I repainted a small drafting table lamp and it took an entire can. (3 cans: 1 primer, 1 paint 1 clear coat) I was shocked.
Then I had to do it again because I didn’t do it right the first time. (Too far away gave a dusty finish.)
“rattlecan”, love it!
How did you mix hardener into a rattle can clear coat? Can you share links to the products you used?
I used Wurth zinc primer, SprayMax Acrylic base coat mixed to match my truck’s color and SprayMax Clear coat.
With the 2K clear coat you take the red cap and attach it to the bottom of the can. Once you press it down it breaks the hardener capsule inside the can.
We need a before shot for sure.
I didn’t realize to take one before I started sanding it but here’s one from when I bought it. There was in total 4 dents on it and few stone chips that had started rusting.
Interesting tip about wetting the floor, I really thought loose dust flying around would be the undoing of all thjs
There are a handful of dust specs embedded in the clear coat, but I consider that acceptable for an 18-year-old truck painted with rattle cans in an open, windy garage with a gravel floor.