Published on August 10th, 2012 | by Gearhead Diva
This Roller Paint Job is a Surprising Win
If you own an older car, don’t deny that the thought of trying this at one time or another hasn’t crossed your mind. We see plenty of the outcomes online and they’re typically quite frightful. But this guy seems to have pulled it off and breathed some new life into his faded and hail-damaged ’90 Corolla.
Unsure of how a roller paint job would turn out, he decided to try it out on the trunk lid first. After sanding down the area, hammering out the dents as best he could and using filler to get a smooth finish, he proceeded to apply 2 coats of Rust-oleum enamel paint mixed 50/50 with mineral spirits.
With the test area complete he was pleased with the results and decided to go for it on the entire car. As much trim as possible was removed, the car was masked and he used a rattle can of red paint over areas he had repaired and primed so he had a more even base.
As expected, the roller left a heavy orange peel but it seemed to subdue after a few minutes of standing. He sanded every other coat for a smoother finish starting with 600 grit after the second coat and moving to 1000 after the fourth. The car ended up with 6 coats of paint which he felt comfortable was enough paint to wet sand and polish without burning through.
He wet sanded with 1500 grit sandpaper and then moved onto a polishing compound to take out the sanding marks. To get the shine back, he used Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound followed by the swirl remover.
Not bad for less than $200. See the entire process along with photos by monumenticus on imgur. Via Autoholics.
Photo credit: monumenticus
About the Author
Gearhead Diva Purveyor of the illest car stuff on the net, decreaser of stance and performance suck world-wide, proud superfan of mods and now recommended by 4 out of 5 people that recommend things.
