Painting an old car with brush.

[dodge28]

About 45 years ago a co-worker told me of an older gentleman painting an old car using a bristle paint brush. The paint can was sitting on a stove with low heat. The result was beautiful. The paint used in those days were called Duco and came in mostly black colour .  Has anyone done such painting ?  Can it be done with modern type paint ? I like to hear some comments.

[edinmass]

That was the painting method pretty much for everything pre-1925. They would hand rub it out afterwards.

[CHuDWah]

14 minutes ago, dodge28 said:

About 45 years ago a co-worker told me of an older gentleman painting an old car using a bristle paint brush. The paint can was sitting on a stove with low heat. The result was beautiful. The paint used in those days were called Duco and came in mostly black colour .  Has anyone done such painting ?  Can it be done with modern type paint ? I like to hear some comments.

 

I've never tried it but I've read about painting a car with a roller.  They claim good results, at least nice driver quality.  It's cheap but labor intensive.  Ask Mr Google or The Duck - they have lots of info on it.

[Angelfish]

There was an old lady that my mom knew that did it, she couldn't be bothered with automotive paint or a roller or polishing.  She just bought a can of brick red house paint and a brush.  The car may have been a mid sixties Plymouth.

[The 55er]

8 minutes ago, Angelfish said:

There was an old lady that my mom knew that did it, she couldn't be bothered with automotive paint or a roller or polishing.  She just bought a can of brick red house paint and a brush.  The car may have been a mid sixties Plymouth.

This story brings back some old memories. Back when I was in high school another guy had a well-used 1960 Plymouth sedan. It was light green and he painted it dark blue with a brush. He started out painting the words THE BEGINNING on the front of the hood and THE END on the back of the trunklid. It was very labor intensive but after several weeks the car was all one color. I might add that even from 20 feet away anyone could see that he used a brush instead of a spray gun. 

[Rusty_OToole]

As Ed said that was the standard way of painting cars until the mid 20s. The English Morgan company was still brush painting some of their cars in the 1990s.  You can buy the brushing enamel from an English concern, others have good results with Yacht paint that is made to be applied by brush.

 

There is a method of painting that is cheap, works well and can be done at home. You use Tremclad or Rustoleum enamel, suitably thinned, and apply 2 coats with a foam roller and foam brush. Wet sand with 600 wet or dry paper. 2 more coats, wet sand with 800. 2 more coats, wet sand with 1000 and polish.

 

Some have used the same method with the yacht enamel with good results.

 

For fun I have painted small items the size of a fender or door with spray bombs, building up coats of paint and wet sanding between coats and the results were surprisingly good.

[Rusty_OToole]

The can of paint on the stove was called "hot painting" and had a brief vogue in the late 50s and early sixties. It would still work, the idea is to thin the paint with heat rather than paint thinner or turps. It works best with enamel.  If I was doing it I would put a pot of water on the hot plate or Coleman stove and set the paint can in the water. You want to warm the paint not burn it or set it on fire.

Edited August 17, 2023 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[JACK M]

1 hour ago, Rusty_OToole said:

You want to warm the paint not burn it or set it on fire.

I have a neighbor that will tell you not to do this with rattle cans. He had bandages for a couple of weeks.

[JohnS25]

A friend of mine painted his 87 Toyota truck with gray Rustoleum paint. After a few months of neglect ( never washing it) it looks just fine. I don’t think that I would do it on anything that I cared about. But for his old beater truck it looks good. Much better than the spray can flat black that was on it when he bought it 

[Rusty_OToole]

Jack I have warmed spray cans under the hot water tap and never had a problem, but you are right, with enough heat they can go off like a bomb.

[Rusty_OToole]

Just now, JohnS25 said:

A friend of mine painted his 87 Toyota truck with gray Rustoleum paint. After a few months of neglect ( never washing it) it looks just fine. I don’t think that I would do it on anything that I cared about. But for his old beater truck it looks good. Much better than the spray can flat black that was on it when he bought it 

The secret is to build up thin coats wet sanding in between and finally, polish and wax. It is a lot of work but the end result can be very nice looking.

 

The guy who started the whole idea had a newly restored 1969 Charger. It was all done except for paint when he ran out of money. He had a choice, wait for a year while he saved up for a $5000 paint job or do it himself for $50. He chose to do it himself using Canadian Tire Tremclad Orange in place of hemi orange, applying it as I said, with a final polish and wax.

 

A lot of old cars that originally came with plain enamel finish, without metallic or clear coat, would look as good as they did when they were new.

[Gary_Ash]

Tractor Supply carries “Majic” brand enamel in a variety of colors, mostly tractor colors like gray, blue, red, black, white, yellow, and green. Price is usually $60/ gallon. Use their hardener to reduce drying time.  Apply with a high quality natural bristle brush for best results, light coats to reduce runs and drips.  Follow Rusty’s advice for sanding between coats.  I used Ford tractor light gray and a brush to paint the chassis of my Studebaker Indy car when I decided the initial paint sprayed by the body shop just wasn’t the right color and the car was all assembled.

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

As Ed said that was the standard way of painting cars until the mid 20s. The English Morgan company was still brush painting some of their cars in the 1990s.  You can buy the brushing enamel from an English concern, others have good results with Yacht paint that is made to be applied by brush.

Craftmaster Paints – The UK's leading traditional paint supplier

 

Craig

[41 Su8]

I had a '63 Ford pickup that had a Chevy box (different color) with aluminum siding covering the rust holes.  A real beater.  Parked it in the sun until the metal got real hot and painted it with a 4 inch brush.  The paint flowed real nice, no runs, no drips, no errors.  Didn't even sand it.

Edited August 17, 2023 by 41 Su8 (see edit history)

[28 Chrysler]

There is a guy in Vegas that has a red Corvair that was painted with a roller and looks good.

Most larger wooden boats are brush painted with an enamel and looked like they were sprayed, you would be drawn and quartered for any over spray.

[dodge28]

Thanks guys, your inputs are quite informative , I appreciate it.

Cheers.

 

[Frank DuVal]

7 hours ago, JohnS25 said:

After a few months of neglect ( never washing it)

You mean how most of us use our daily drivers! I washed mine tonight, it rained.🤣

[hidden_hunter]

17 hours ago, edinmass said:

That was the painting method pretty much for everything pre-1925. They would hand rub it out afterwards.

It sounded ridiculously labour intensive as well, some of the Cadillac marketing talks about 40 coats (yes fourty) and then having weeks of drying time 

[Lee H]

If you were Henry Ford, spraying or brushing was far too slow…you just dipped the T fenders in vats of paint.

[RetroPetro]

[RetroPetro]

[yachtflame]

I used chilled Rustoleum paint on one of my frames. Sandblasted the frame and brushed on Rustoleum primer that I had set in the freezer over night. As I was brushing on the thickened paint, it started to warm up and flow out. It came out smooth enough that a week later I sanded by hand using 220 dry paper. After washing and wiping down, I repeated the process with Rustoleum Black. Chilling the paint gave it time to flow out before the thinners had time to evaporate leaving a smooth high gloss finish.

 I’ve done the same with varnish on several 1930 Mahogany speedboats. I get the boat all sanded and wiped down and wait for one of those crisp dry still mornings after a night time snow. I pull the boat out of the shop wipe it down again and varnish. It’s amazing the finish you get when the coating has time to flow before setting up!

[Rusty Heaps]

I tend to use a roller to paint the entire undercarriage of vehicles and rattle can what I can’t get to otherwise. Using a Whiz roller or similar produces satisfactory results. Thinned oil based paint is my go to product. I have painted fenders and even the roof of this ‘53 Buick, the rest was rattle canned (I wanted to appease the neighbors). I confess, I am a residential painter by trade.

[Robert G. Smits]

If you have been on recent Glidden tours you have seen this LaSalle. Brush painted with wet sanding. It will probably be on this years Glidden also. 

[CHuDWah]

14 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

You mean how most of us use our daily drivers! I washed mine tonight, it rained.🤣

We used to live near a widow who was 90-something and still driving.  She wasn't physically able to wash her car and was too cheap to pay to have it done.  Whenever it rained, she'd pull the car out of the garage and let Mother Nature wash it.  🤣

[nat]

     In the mid 70's a local guy who painted yachts for a living brush painted his early 30's Packard.  I couldn't find a brush stroke or run anywhere.

[Dandy Dave]

I've heard tell about old timers brush painting lacquer. A guarded secret as to just how they did it, and how they got the highly polished shine that they did. One old friend told me some of them used shark skin in the 1800's and early 1900's.

[dodge28]

I am impressed by the inputs of you all.

I will repeat what I said before.

I wanted a hobby to keep me busy when I retire. Many of my workmates who had no hobbies after retirement became alcoholics and did not enjoy life. I bought 1928 Dodge Senior sometime in 1984. I like it because it is all put together by nuts and bolts and can be taken apart , cleaned and put back together. For some reason I am fascinated by wood spokes. It has hydraulic jbrakes,16 inch Drum. I am handy with wood working. This project has kept me busy to date . Lots of work and money spent, but at least I am physically  healthy and active.

The idea is to do the work myself except where I could not do some welding. Now I am ready to do the painting. I do not think I should pay 50 or 60 grand to paint shops. The sheet metal never had a dent and is in beautiful shape and all triple coat primed (high end primer) I am a motor mechanic since the age of 16.

I am 87 years and   6 months old. 

Rusty-Otoole  thank you for the advice. 

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

I’ve done both 1K and now 2K paints. Each has its pro and cons. I used 2K on my truck. It’s just a learning curve to do either. I would do it again as I already have another project next years. It’s a 1950 8N Ford tractor for my wife to restore. It was my late father in law. Just remember that it’s 99% prep and 1% actually painting. When you pick up your paint and or clear, ask for the spec sheets. They will tell you tip size and flash times for the best results. Also buy a good spray gun. Mine is a hf for primer. I spent about $200 for color and clear. Both are gravity fed type. Mike

[Michigan Farmer]

These pictures are from Fisher Body in Flint Michigan

[TAKerry]

23 hours ago, Dandy Dave said:

I've heard tell about old timers brush painting lacquer. A guarded secret as to just how they did it, and how they got the highly polished shine that they did. One old friend told me some of them used shark skin in the 1800's and early 1900's.

Shark skin was used as a form of sandpaper by colonial era cabinetmakers to some degree.

[Rusty_OToole]

Old fashioned nitro lacquer is the easiest to brush paint. You can put it on with a whisk broom and sand out the ripples. This is the secret of these "40 coats of hand rubbed lacquer" paint jobs. They put on 40 thin coats all right but sanded off most of it to get a smooth finish. Now when I say easiest I don't mean the least work, I mean the easiest to end up with a good finish even if your painting technique stinks.

[60FlatTop]

I have painted a lot of cars with a brush. I eventually finished each job by putting a big dab of paint in the right corner of the rear window. That way the self-appointed concours judges could quickly find fault and get on to other things.

 

I do other things like that too. I try to get them to bend over and point their palsied finger at something while the ask in a whiny voice "What's this?". My wife hates it when I imitate them.

 

Sometimes she will be with me and I give her a little nudge. "Watch this" I say with a big smile. Old men searching for perfection in others.

[PWN]

Don't paint it red or someone on the forum will yell at you. 😊

Edited August 22, 2023 by PWN (see edit history)

[dodge28]

Jack Bennet , PWN, thank you I appreciate your comments.

[Frank DuVal]

2 hours ago, Jack Bennett said:

and paint that coat on thick enough that the tank cannot reflect light.

Makes no sense. Reflection is based on the very top of the paint. Matte/Flat/Satin/High gloss is determined by the final coat, not the ones underneath. 

 

The CARC paint currently in use is flat gloss by chemical makeup, not how many coats there are.

Edited August 22, 2023 by Frank DuVal (see edit history)

[Frank DuVal]

Oh I'm sure the paint used by the military back then, like "Navy Gray" aka "Haze Gray" was flat gloss. They just wanted to keep you busy!

[arcticbuicks]

and then of course put whitewalls on after painting it red

[jeff_a]

On 8/18/2023 at 7:04 AM, Robert G. Smits said:

If you have been on recent Glidden tours you have seen this LaSalle. Brush painted with wet sanding. It will probably be on this years Glidden also. 

FUNNY That You Showed That Picture! I was reading this thread in some pizza joint or gin mill....
 

* * * * *

An hour later..........I saw that '40 LaSalle go by. I'm in Salmon, Idaho and this car drove into town. I also saw a 60s Mustang, and a Studebaker Avanti. 55 cars on a VMCCA "Lewis & Clark Tour". Talked to the owners of this LaSalle, and a '35 Auburn Convertible Sedan this morning as they left their motel parking lot. Both owned by people from Texas.

9:00 this morning as the last 2 cars headed to Montana: 

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOYD3ouSnJ8A18fZG7O21itYIkqPbf7WD1e1zKY

Edited August 24, 2023 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

3 hours ago, jeff_a said:

FUNNY That You Showed That Picture! An hour later..........I saw that '40 LaSalle go by. I'm in Salmon, Idaho and this car drove into town. I also saw an 60s Mustang, and a Studebaker Avanti. 55 cars on a VMCCA "Lewis & Clark Tour". Talked to the owners of this LaSalle, and a '35 Auburn Convertible Sedan this morning as they left their motel parking lot. Both owned by people from Texas.

How did the LaSalle look? Could you tell it was brush painted?