Yep - Thats right.

I'm rolling on the paint and I have to add it's dosen't look too bad either. I've choosen Taubmans Ultra Enamel - Charcoal Grey. It's usually not in stock and you have to order it especially. It can be sprayed on but cannot have a filter in the gun because it has actual metal flakes suspended in the paint.

The finish:
Well - it's not going to win car shows but it is easy to patch up those errant car park and "push throught the bush" scratches that a true baja is likely to recieve. With a little care and a cool afternoon the paint rolls on very nicely. As the finish with this type of paint is flat then there is very little to worry about in the way of lines, errant bugs, dust and dog hairs. The trick is to evenly mix the paint before pouring into the tray.

How to do it:
Buy a tin (4l) of quality outdoor (UV Stable) paint and a set of the nastiest arse rollers you can find and go hammer and tong. Tape up the areas you don't want paint on like rubbers, chrome and glass and lay on the paint. When the roller is cactus use the last of the paint somewhere as a base coat and throw it in the bin. I've used about 8 rollers and I'm on my third coat. Before I started I sanded back to bare metal with a sanding/grinding wheel on the angle grinder and rolled an etch primer on followed by two, even coats of finish over the top. I start doing all the hard to get areas and then long passes on the roof, bonnet, down the sides and then sub frame. As you get better at rollong the paint on the finish becomes more uniform and 'sprayed' like.

If you want a good finish cut in the more difficult areas with a quality brush and finish over with a small roller. Gently rub back each finished coat with a $1 sanding block and finish with a optional spray coat. I'm considering spraying over my final coat with a coat or two of clear to give a durable gloss finish. Each metal particle actually shines in the light which looks very cool when wet and in the sun.

Benifits:
Well apart from saving a tonne of money it is now all one colour, looks good, easy to repair and is easy to do. Reject shop knows me by name now and the local paint and panel shops have a good giggle when I've told them what I've done and why.

Note: Only do this with old clunkers - not your fav KG. My baja had about three different colours on various sections and I just wanted it to be tidy. Flat Matt Grey is not the safest colour so I'm going to jazz it with some colourful Pink Floyd style reflective stripes for safety.



[ Edited on 21-8-2006 by The_Bronze. ]

thats come up great how about some full piccies

Yeah would love to see some pics. I rollered on kill rust on the inside of my kombi and gloss black and came up trumps.

Here are some pics from my kombi.

[ Edited on 21-8-2006 by megalania ]

I'll throw up some more pics when I've got the sides done properly. At this stage I've only got one coat and in places two on the sides. Beautiful colour and has the texture of shark skin to touch. The sparkle is brilliant in the sun and it looks a million dollars when it is wet.

I'm doind a little bit every afternoon for a couple of hours. I will end up using over the four litres and have ordered another in after much arguement with the local mitre 10 who claims it discontinued. Talbmans says it isn't. Eventually they reordered it.

Yes - As you pictures show - never underestimate the power of a roller. The key I think is to spend the time cutting in carefully and mask the really hard areas like around rubbers. Rolling the paint on is the easy bit. Spraying is of course much faster and has a better finish but rolling gives a unique sort of texture and requires less skill.


I bit further back - I recovered all this again yesterday afternoon and started the 2nd coat on the sides.

I've rolled the paint onto the black parts of my Manx SR. The tub and the roof. I've used Bumper paint which uses acrylic thinners as a solvent which ruins those cheap plastic rollers in a short time. I have used and re-used a small house type paint roller which gives a nice bumpy finish and which is not eaten by the paint.

Yes - I go through a lit of roller. If I can't spray the final coat i will use a god quality roller that dosen't fall apart after 1/2 an hour. When they falloff and into the dirt it's a real pain pickingout the chunkes of grit and grass out of the paint job

I don't use the woolen type roller because as the paint dries it grabs the wool / felt and hold it on the surface of the paint.

The foam type rollers seem to be better but cheap one die fast. I hate washing stuff up so use it till it's last and throw it in the bin.

if you like the wet look why dont you put on a clear coat

You can buy 2pak that goes on without any brushmarks...its been developed to use on boats/industrial
applications ..you use synthetic(cheap) brushes and foam rollers ...Ive seen jobs you cant pick that it hasnt been sprayed ..all in the thinners the experts tell me

I used killrust epoxy enamel. Can't understand the reasoning why epoxy is in the name as epoxy is a reaction chemistry. Probably a marketing device. However it suits my needs extremely well as it is easy to apply and repair and is not so toxic.