I am going to attempt to roller paint!

[Jscotty]

My E30 is black and its covered with little dents and scratches. After reading all of the other threads on this topic I feel confident that I can do this. I am going to keep it the same color so that I don't have to bother with all of the cracks in between the panels and the door jambs. There are a few spots where the paint is cracked (as a result of botched body repair work) which I had planned on grinding down to the metal and then making it even with some bondo. But as far as the rest of the car goes, I have a few questions-

1. Do I have to grind my dents down to the metal in order to use the bondo to fill them in?

2. Should I strip my entire car down to the metal or can I just wet sand the existing factory paint and then start rolling the rustoleum on top ?

3. If I can go over the factory paint with the Rustoleum how many coats will I need? I read in the other threads that it was recommended to do about 6 coats, however, that was starting from the bare metal. Will I still need to put 6 coats of Rustoleum on top of the factory paint?

Thanks in advanced for your input.

[EWAustin]

1. yes
2. NOOOOOOOOO (just sand the existing paint)
3. I dunno, I've never done roller-paint on a car. I use real car-paint.

[mazur]

lol, when you start sanding you won't want to go down to metal.

[OptimusGlen]

don't go to bare metal.

instead of spending $20 on paint rollers, spend $40 on a paint gun, then find someone with a compressor. I painted my rabbit with Rustoleum paint, but sprayed on, pretty durable stuff.


Sorry, no detail pics uploaded right now, it's kindof a satin finish though, easy to spray with.

[Jscotty]

Spray painting is not my thing. The last 2 times I attempted to spray a car, I ended up with a lot of drips, I made a mess in the garage from the overspray, and on top of that, I still had the "spray can" look. Plus I didn't like the lines around the windows that was left by the masking. It takes a great deal of skill to properly mask off the rubber and the chrome without the paint seeping through. Also if you happen to get the masking tape on the old painted surface itself without realizing it, that will be a part of the car that didn't get painted.

At least if I roll it, I can take my time, I can do the car in sections and if I mess up, I can sand down the bad area and repaint it. Spray painting is faster and easier but its usually a one-shot deal. Rolling it will not require me to wear a bee-keeper suit and a respirator. Plus if I get distracted or sidetracked and I have to leave my project, I can simply close the can of paint and leave my roller in the bucket of thinner vs. having to clean out the sprayer, the nozzle and soforth when I know I will be back in a couple of hours.

I think I would spray it ONLY if I had the time and the tools to completely disassemble the car down to the body. That way there would be no masking and if I had to redo the car, I can pull the car out to the driveway and sand blast the paint off.

And I can attest to the fact that rustoleum is some pretty durable paint. I have painted some stuff that was probably not intended to be painted but it came out looking fantastic and it has been holding up strong for years. I painted the inside of my truck bed with it after one of my idiot friends used my truck to pick up his motor cycle and carelessly put the kickstand down on my spanking brand new finish.