Well not YET. here's my plan:

DOORS, FENDERS, HOOD will be WHITE (Maybe the Cowl and sunvisor too)

Body, nose cone, and everything else will be BLACK.

Pretty much just going to rattle can it for now and see how it turns out.

my question: How many cans do i need to pull this off? so i can figure out how much it will cost me, if it's not too bad i'll be painting my baja TOMORROW!

Thanks guys!

7 cans?

Rattle canning a 1 piece hood took me 3 cans to get it to look decent. 1 can primer, and 2 cans color. The color is difficult to get it to look even over the whole job.

but it CAN be done! (no pun intended...)

i'm getting the special "FLAT" style nozzle cans, they cover more area more evenly.

i think i used about 7 cans of paint to cover my bug.

i would suggest getting a few cans of clear coat just to top it off.

after about 5 months half of my school bus yellow turned into a nice light pumpkin color.

next time im going with the cheap two quarts from the paint store and a spray gun from harbor freight.

Why not roller it? On cheapo paint jobs I've had better luck thinning down house paint and rolling it on than with rattle cans. It lasts a bit longer, goes on thicker, and reduces the masking involved. I bet a gallon would do it.

Kyle

Kyle, how do you make it smooth? How to get into crevises (sp?)?

If you want to do it really nicely:

Hot Rod Mag $98 paint job

Myself, I used a brush for the tight spots, and if you thin it just a little, it will look pretty smooth. I wouldn't do it for a show car, but for a rough and tumble Baja it's just fine, cheap and easy. Sorry I don't have any pics, it was on my buddy's '75 deVille. It's held up nicely for about seven years.

I'm getting ready to spray mine in the garage with the harbor freight HVLP type gun. let me know if you wanna work something with that, share the cost of getting the sprayer or something.

Ken

the only thing i'm waiting on is fiberglass, gotta fix a few holes and broken pieces on the fenders and sand it then i'm good to go. pretty sure i can get it fiberglassed in a day or so then i'll be ready for paint... if the rain ever lets up and i ever get paid

My question is, why not pick up a gallon of single stage, a cheap wide-angle spray gun and go to town? Make it look halfway decent. I mean I understand it's a Baja but, why not take a little pride in it?

KooK wrote:

My question is, why not pick up a gallon of single stage, a cheap wide-angle spray gun and go to town? Make it look halfway decent. I mean I understand it's a Baja but, why not take a little pride in it?

1. money is an issue.

2. i don't have an air compressor.

3. painting your baja with rattle-can doesn't mean you're not takeing pride in it. many vehicles are painted with spray paint, and some can look as good as a professional paint job if you take the time and effort to do it right.

add to my list of things to carry in my bug:

one can school bus yellow spray paint. lol

Preston wrote:

1. money is an issue. 2. i don't have an air compressor. 3. painting your baja with rattle-can doesn't mean you're not takeing pride in it. many vehicles are painted with spray paint, and some can look as good as a professional paint job if you take the time and effort to do it right.

1. Single stage isn't expensive.

2. That's an issue and understandable.

3. That I have a hard time buying. I'm not trying to put you down here but I don't think I've ever seen a rattle-can job that was done that looked great. I guess I'm not saying you couldn't do it, but it'll take some time, a lot of cans, and a lot of wet sanding (from what I figure).

no i understand, but just ask Bugzyla, most if not all of his paint jobs are rattle-can and they look factory, aside from the color choice. i've been looking for an affordable air compressor for a while, but every time i find a good deal i don't have the money, it's all going car into payments and insureance at the moment.

i'm just sick of looking at my yellow baja and I want to get it looking like what it's supposed to look like.

Another reason i don't get single stage paint is because i plan to actually USE my baja offroad so i want to be able to touch it up whenever and wherever i feel like, and that's most easily done by spray paint since i don't have the required materials for single stage.

when i'm ready and have the money i'm going to have Bajawarrior paint my baja anyway, and they do a beyond professional job in my opinion and i know for a fact that they take great pride in thier work.

So the rattle can is most likely going to be tomporary.