So since I'd allocated today as a day of working on my truck, but I can't, I thought I'd head everyone off at the pass so-to-speak, and spend the day putting this page together, to give you some information about the paint and primer I'm using and the equipment I'm spraying it with.

Fig. 01 - This shows my bumpside fender with two coats of Rustoleum rolled on. The orange-peel is evident, but would have disappeared with a little wet-sanding.

The Paint
By now I don't think there's anyone online who hasn't heard of the infamous "$50 Paint Job", a moparts.org forum thread that has spread to virtually every automotive-related forum online. (Do a Google search for '$50 paint job' and you'll have enough reading to keep you busy for weeks.) This thread describes how to use readily-available Rustoleum paint and high-density foam rollers to give a very nice paint job for very little monetary investment. It's become a low-cost alternative for folks who don't mind investing a little more time than money, since a great deal of color sanding is required, or who don't have the means or desire to invest in all the equipment necessary to do a proper basecoat/clearcoat or single-state urethane paint job. And while it's not a method that should be used to paint a collectible car, it's definitely something worth considering for a work or school car, where a show-quality paint job isn't necessary or even an option.

Back when I was working on my truck in the shop, before I lost the shop, I'd read this moparts thread, as well as many others on other automotive forums, where people were using this method with pretty good results. Although my shop did have a large single-stage air compressor, it still didn't have the air output recommended for an HVLP (high-volume low-pressure) paint gun. I could probably have made it work, by not trying to paint the entire truck in one setting...by painting a panel or two per day...but I was still very intrigued by this Rustoleum method, so I decided to give it a try on one fender of my truck, just to see how it looked. I bought all the supplies (primer, paint, sandpaper, etc.) and got started. I was actually impressed with what I'd seen so far, though I only made it halfway through the process on this one fender before having to stop and move out of my shop and the truck into storage.

Anyway, at the time, I'd wanted to go with a very deep dark blue, but the color that got mixed for me ended up being more of a purple-ish blue...not at all what I had in mind. I told myself that once I got back to work painting the truck, I'd get another batch of Rustoleum mixed up in the proper dark blue.

Fig. 02 - My flat-black choptop truck inspired me to go a step further than a basic flat-black truck. I kept picturing this truck low to the ground, with tinted windows and custom rims....and a paint job slightly different from the everyday flat black that's been overused.

But in the years since I last worked on the truck, and especially in the past few months since getting back to work on my truck, I'd been starting to lean very heavily in another direction, another 'cheapo paint job' alternative. I really liked the look of my flat-black choptop truck and wanted to do something similar...and one of the more-popular flat-black alternatives is an implement paint by John Deere, called Blitz Black. This particular paint isn't flat, nor is it semi-flat...it's sort of in the middle. It's more of a satin/suede paint, manufactured for John Deere by Valspar, and has a sheen to it a lot like what a new barbeque grill might have. I like to think of it as 'flat black...with a little attitude'.

If you do a Google search for Blitz Black, you'll have plenty to read about it (both pro and con) on various websites. However, among the hotrod crowd it's gotten very popular, due to it's ease of application and the overall sheen that's left after it dries.  And it's what I've decided to do with my truck. Here are a couple pictures I found online of vehicles painted with Blitz Black, just to give you an idea of what it looks like. Fig. 03 even shows a bumpside truck with this paint:

Fig. 03

Fig. 04

Fig. 05

Fig. 06

Here are a links to read more about Blitz Black:

• John Deere Blitz Black paint - a wiki-type article at HotRodders.com's Crankshaft Coalition database
• John Deere Blitz Black? - the 29-page HotRodders.com thread that inspired the wiki article above

So how am I going to apply the paint and primer? Read on...

The Paint Gun

As mentioned earlier, I'm building this truck outside in my driveway, out in front of my little one-car garage. There is no 220V hookup in there for an air compressor, so I was looking at either rolling this stuff on with foam rollers (like the Rustoleum), or trying to scrape together enough funds for a cheap 110V air compressor and cheap HVLP gun from Harbor Freight, and just spraying it on in small batches. However, I found an alternative.

While doing some research one night, I was reading on a VW forum [link] about turbine HVLP spray guns. These setups don't need an air compressor, since it just basically blows the air at high speed, using the same motor as a vacuum cleaner, and there is no need for oil or water filters, since there's no oil in the turbine and no air is being compressed to generate the moisture. You don't have to wait for a compressor to 'catch up'...therefore they'll spray all day long. These spray gun setups will handle automotive paints just fine, according to those who have used them (though I haven't yet read about anyone who has tried spraying metallics through one). Now, just like any equipment, you can get high-end versions of a turbine HVLP sprayer like those offered by TurbineProducts.com or the less expensive models like several offered at Harbor Freight.

Here's the one I bought from Harbor Freight and am using:

High Volume, Low Pressure Spray Gun Kit (link to Harbor Freight listing) Chicago Electric Power Tools Item #44677 $129.99

Since this HVLP gun might no longer be available from Harbor Freight a few years in the future, and I wanted to properly document what I'm using, I did a screen-capture of the page where it's listed on the HF website. If the direct link at left becomes inactive or you get a page error, CLICK HERE to view this screenshot.

At first I tried the Buff Primer recommended for the Blitz Black by John Deere, thinning it with the JD thinner according to the instructions on the primer can, and spraying onto a dented hood I got from a local body shop. I was not at all impressed with the huge amount of orange peel I got. Tried different settings on the gun, but no improvements. Then I decided to try thinning it out a bit more, and the orange peel problem was significantly reduced, though still a bit more than I was happy with. I should have tried thinning it a bit more, per what I've been reading on the various forums, where they recommend thinning the paint 10%-20% more than what's called for on the can. If I had, I'd probably have been happier.

However, I then decided to try spraying the Rustoleum primer I had, and was much happier with the results, though there was still a small amount of orange peel evident. Again, in retrospect, I really should have tried thinning it out a bit more than called for on the can for better results.

Anyway, I used two quarts of Rustoleum primer on the cab and front sheetmetal and it laid down very smooth, with hardly any orange peel at all. Once it dries, and I'm able to add a second coat, I think it'll sand down extremely smooth. However, when I mixed up the Rustoleum primer to paint the box, I suddenly started have spattering problems and much more orange peel. After spraying about half the box, I stopped and went in and added a little more mineral spirits to the mix, and the rest sprayed out great...so it WAS simply a matter of not having it thinned enough. When I go to spray the second coat of primer on, I will definitely thin it out more, at least 10% more than called for on the can (which is only 1 or 2 parts to 10 parts primer). I also want to try a smaller tip. The 1.8 tip was installed when I got the gun and seeing as how that's what's normally recommended, I left it in. However, those on the forums who use their turbine sprayers suggest using a smaller tip. So within the next week or so, when I get ready to spray the second coat, I'll be doing some more experimenting beforehand, trying a smaller tip and thinning it out a bit more and will report back how it's working.

I think overall I'm going to be very happy with this, especially considering the minimal investment. There's just the learning curve where I need to figure out the optimal settings, mixtures, etc. to get the best results with the products I'm using. Once I get it figured out, I just might have to write up a tutorial for the tech section, describing what I found out and give some overall impressions.

Stay tuned!