 | Home > Maintenance & Modifications > Help with painting / touch ups whole car |
 
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| TexasRover Member Since: 24 Nov 2022 Location: Paris Posts: 1081   
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First off it's all about the preparation. Sanding - a lot of it, degreasing, maybe some filler, more sanding and a dust free environment.
For the paint you have to use an edge primer on any bare aluminium. Then I successfully used synthetic coach enamel and a good quality Brush to achieve a near perfect finish. Good enough that only I see it's a brush job. Rolling typically makes for s thinner layer so you need to apply more layers and as the paint won't level as well the finish can be disappointing. The best finish you get with spraying but it is much more expensive to get the right kit and then there is all the protection for where you work and for yourself. It's also a skill with either sagging (too much) or orange peel effect (too little) ruining the finish Personally I would do the brush again, but you need to source the right paint |
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23rd Feb 2024 7:03am |
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| I Like Old Skool Member Since: 23 Feb 2015 Location: Manchester Posts: 814  
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Are you sure it is Rioja? I think Rioja is quite a lively metallic paint and metallic finishes are not normally hand paintable as far as I am aware and also require a lacquer top coat.
I have painted some parts of my Defender to match original panels with some success. A pair of doors and a wing in Coniston Green. I used a foam roller which gave a really good finish IMO, much more even and closer in finish to the adjacent sprayed panels than I would ever achieve with a brush. I think choice of paint type is also critical. I get mine from The Paint man and it is quite slow drying and oily in nature so does self level to some extent before starting to dry. This also helps avoid any need to rush the job as you can go back and overlap painted areas as you work without getting any edges showing. https://paintman.co.uk/product-category/co...aint-reds/ |
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23rd Feb 2024 9:55am |
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| X4SKP Member Since: 29 Nov 2013 Location: Berkshire Posts: 2295 
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Hello JackNorris
If your brief is DIY then all the options you list are possible, but vary widely on end result. If your brief is actually not necessarily DIY then you could add in Wrapping. Any route is as follows: 1. 75+% Preparation. 2. Masking (unless you strip the vehicle down). 3. Access to a Space to do this or you manage to hit our 2 weeks of summer with low wind. 4. I would avoid Rattle Cans other than for the smallest of areas. 5. Metallic is also very hard out of a Rattle Can (i.e don't bother). 6. If you want a single colour and finish all over then either Roller or Spray. 7. Roller done well is OK (on the appropriate vehicle) but you need the right paint and prep and Roller. 8. Spraying is best (if your Compressor is large enough really above 50Lts is advised) + Technique. 9. Some have managed DIY Wrapping but not for the faint hearted and certainly two person for most. Good Luck...  SKIP
https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic83242.html |
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23rd Feb 2024 10:18am |
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| MarkBrown Member Since: 03 Oct 2022 Location: Mid Wales Posts: 474  
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I sprayed mine with synthetic enamel paint, this takes a good two weeks to fully harden but a good finish can be achieved.
I've noticed after two years that it's starting to fade and really needs a good polish, but then that's vehicle maintenance I suppose. It's also easy to touch up with the same product. As said it's all about the preparation, the major advantage of a Land Rover is that the panels can be removed and worked on individually. If you want to have a go at spraying yourself ( I'm not a paint sprayer ) my DIY tips are: Get a decent size compressor, mines 100l. Have plenty of light. Don't spray when it's too hot. Don't spray when it's too cold. If you spray outside on a sunny day, the flies and bugs will stick to the paint. A cheap gun works fine, but a more expensive one is most probably better. Use several in line water traps and keep them and the compressor cleaned and drained. It's a Land Rover, so the finish doesn't need to be perfect- depending on the rest of the car. Beware of overspray paint dust on other things, like your greenhouse, car etc. Mix the paint consistently. Use Etch primer on bare aluminium. Aim for perfection and settle for that's fine. Practice a bit first, an old panel is ideal to observe the spray pattern, distance and quantity to apply. I had the best results on a damp free ( no dew ) mild clear spring day, done inside the workshop with the doors open and a suitable mask. Then shut the doors and leave overnight. I'm no expert but it's got to be not damp weather or moisture will mix with the paint and bubble eventually. I use two air lines and three moisture traps drying them every time. This seems to work. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. |
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24th Feb 2024 8:40am |
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| Balvaig Member Since: 19 Feb 2016 Location: Fife Posts: 732  
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All sound advice above.
However your biggest problem is colour matching. All paint finishes degrade in UV light and buying the paint code colour will never be an exact match when applied adjacent to an existing finish. You will need to mix your choice of paint with pigments and test spray/ brush a sample piece and test the colour match when dry. I believe professionals now use a colourimeter to mix paint to the colour of the car finish. For the amateur it is very much trial and error. Always worth a try though, as long as your expectations aren’t too high. I have always enjoyed the challenge of achieving a good colour match and finish. |
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24th Feb 2024 12:41pm |
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| I Like Old Skool Member Since: 23 Feb 2015 Location: Manchester Posts: 814
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^^^This. Colour match is difficult but finish is equally as hard.
My paintwork (original(?) and 25+yrs old was battered, faded/oxidised and had some patches of bubbling due to Ali oxidation) was a diamond in the rough, but you have to understand that doing a shoddy, rough paint job to try and match old paintwork is never going to work. The way to go is to do the absolute best job you can achieve then try to age/distress it to match the old stuff. In my case this consisted of getting the finest gloss finish I could muster, lots of fine flatting between multiple coats. Once this had dried well for 3-4 days minimum I washed vigorously with a sponge which I dropped into the dirty, muddy puddle at the bottom of the drive. I also got a bit rough when opening the doors and walking past the car with pointy objects. It wasn't perfect but the swirls, scuffs and scratches, together with the existing dents in the second hand panels that I didn't fill/smooth before painting gave a passable impersonation of old paintwork and the colour match was close enough for the eye to be deceived unless the car was freshly washed. Now, about 4yrs later once a bit of minor corrosion has returned you really can't tell the difference unless looking closely. Do the best job you can. |
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24th Feb 2024 8:35pm |
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| spudfan Member Since: 10 Sep 2007 Location: Co Donegal Posts: 4701 
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Matching paint can be awkward, sometimes it will be easier just to get the exterior completely resprayed. If you patch up paint and it does not match 100% you will notice it and it will annoy you. 1982 88" 2.25 diesel
1992 110 200tdi csw -Zikali 2008 110 2.4 tdci csw-Zulu 2011 110 2.4 tdci csw-Masai |
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26th Feb 2024 4:13pm |
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| TexasRover Member Since: 24 Nov 2022 Location: Paris Posts: 1081
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One benefit of a Series/Defender (of the right age) is that the panels and the paint does not need to be perfect.
I learned when I lived in 'the south' (Americas/Middle East/Far East) having a clear coat is a disaster. Much better to have an old fashioned thick single pack paint you can bring up with polishing. Add a land rover feel to that and its just a marriage made in heaven. |
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26th Feb 2024 4:22pm |
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| Inguz Member Since: 06 Sep 2020 Location: In the wild Posts: 101 |
I’ve raptor coated mine. I spend a lot of time off-road and this was the best option for avoiding pinstripes and scratches. I initially did it in black, but it’s too hot in summer so will change to orange.
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26th Feb 2024 8:43pm |
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| I Like Old Skool Member Since: 23 Feb 2015 Location: Manchester Posts: 814
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No, just NO! |
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26th Feb 2024 9:23pm |
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| JackNorris Member Since: 16 Mar 2020 Location: Milton Keynes Posts: 70
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Thanks all for your help, some solid in-depth reading here.
Raptor - Not a fan, friend has a raptored 90 but I prefer to stick to normal. Colour match - Happy to cover the whole vehicle again tbh. Still having a read through and pulling info out, Paintman looks good and I've heard of him before. So does black chequer follow same rules or can this be a bit different? Im assuming not a case of a hammerite rattle can? |
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28th Feb 2024 10:26pm |
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| julian Member Since: 17 Feb 2017 Location: Devon Posts: 122 
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I spray alloy for work (not cars).
I use epoxy primer, but, without equipment, you'll be best off with rattle cans of etch primer. You really need to pay attention to the primer, as your paint just wont stick to bare alloy. If you have sound top coat on there currently, youll want to abrade (key) it. You can use "paper" or a pad (think of those green plastic wire things you get on the back of kitchen sponges) - you can get them in different grades, but, what youre wanting to do is take the shine off the current finish. If your next layer of paint is thick, then you can use a rougher grade (which will be quicker) but if youre putting a thin layer over, you dont want to be showing the sanding marks though. A proper respray would be wiped down with panel wash etc. but if its kind of clean, and you sand it, then, for the finish you are thinking about, im not sure its worth getting another bottle of "stuff" for. I mean obviously if you've got a big smear of something, and you can leave contaminants with the sanding, but we are talking degrees of perfection.... If you need to use filler, prime, then use the filler, and block it back etc, then use primer on top of the filler again before your top coat. Standard primers are not waterproof, so dont leave filler (or primed steel etc) out in the wet as it will suck up moisture. Epoxy is waterproof, but its 2 part, so you would be mixing it, and then all the bother that comes with that etc. You can brush on epoxy, but you wont get a nice finish. Fine for chassis stuff etc, but not much good for stuff you want to look at. My own defender is a work in progress, but bits that ive done have been epoxy and then a single stage 2k top (ie single stage gloss, not base and clear, but still 2k) You can probably roller this, but its probably not worth it. I guess ive just written a load and said very little of use to you! The key points - Primer (as other people have mentioned) Key the surface Dont think that primer is water proof, and remember that filler will suck up water. And id say dont bother buying every product that anyone mentiones. Watch youtube and youll be convinced you need to spend a fortune... which you do, if youre painting sports cars, but dont get carried away with "products" I do stacks of these kind of things (theyre from the late 70s, early 80s, and come to me battered, so need beating and filling etc - the ones in the photo in primer have had all the work done)  Click image to enlarge They end up like this - Click image to enlarge Also loads of this kind of stuff (but thats all new metal) - Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge (etc) |
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29th Feb 2024 12:37am |
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| TexasRover Member Since: 24 Nov 2022 Location: Paris Posts: 1081
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Wow great looking work. Honestly a good paint job (on anything) is very satisfying, but hard to achieve without following all the right steps.
I just recently painted the bed of my DCPU using 2-pack marine paint. Rockhard stuff and being the inside it just needed to look better. The PO had glued something in there and I spend a lot of time getting rid of that first. Also the fuel pump hatch needed proper fixing, together with some more holes here and there. I had already stripecoated the worst of the wear and sharp corners. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge |
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29th Feb 2024 8:58am |
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