Re: earl, maaco, do it yourself auto paint, or both?

"Z.Z." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> pete selby wrote:
> 
> My brother once painted his old Ford Econoline with enamel with a brush. It 
> actually didn't look all that bad.

I thought I was the only one who did this.
Found a large paint store and purchased Spectra Tone commercial enamel
paint for metal that they recommended. Bought the best brush I could
find. (3" I think)
Rented a paint sprayer from the paint store the first time, but years
later used a brush to repaint.
Recently used the same brush again, with the same original gallon of
paint, thinned somewhat and thoroughly mixed.
This time I used Buffalo Milke wipe on car wax after about one week to
improve the gloss. Kind of an amazing result considering the methods.
Clear coat is available only in spray, so the wipe on wax was my cheap
alternative.
This was for a 1977 Toyota pickup truck, so appearance wasn't
critical, but it came out looking quite good.
Started as touch up over a rusted area and wound up painting all.
Only took less than two hours. If you were more careful with prep, you
might get even better results. Actually painting over metal is
surprisingly easy because the paint flows very well over the smooth
surface. You need a gentle smooth even  touch and I'm sure some
general painting experience helps.
I used Rustoleum silver over Rustoleum rusty metal primer on the steel
wheels.
The old paint on the body was so oxidized, no primer was required to
obtain good adhesion. If the primer on your car is too smooth you
should lightly sand the surface first.
What sort of amazed me was how well the edges could be "cut in" with
precision and without masking by slowly and very carefully watching
the paint at the last bristles.
A good quality paint job can cost $3,000 or more. While this one
wasn't high quality, the appearance is vastly improved and the out of
pocket cost with materials on hand was zero.