I have painted a fair number of aircraft, including 25 million dollar bizjets, where the owners inspect the finish as if they were going to eat off it. So I didn't hesitate to repaint the small hood on my van.
I went to the NAPA paint/body store and bought the most expensive matching color and clear paint they had. Spent about $300 for just enough paint to do the hood. Did all the usual prep work, followed the instructions to the letter, sprayed, and was happy with the result.
Four years later, the clear coat has peeled off over 50% of the surface. I'm a little irritated the materials were crap and the job needs to be redone. I'm sure there are true pro automotive paints available somewhere, but my research didn't show any with proof of superior lasting ability. Granted, I'm in the desert with lots of intense sunshine.
Most of the car painting vids I've seen are on cars that will be garaged 99% of the time and not exposed to the elements.
If I repaint, I'll do the entire vehicle with an aviation polyurethane and screw the color matching. Imron or JetGlo is about $1000/gallon.
You might consider finding an enamel or appliance-epoxy spray paint color close to the beige on the side of your truck. I doubt you'll find a rattle-can brown that will match. The beige on the hood will be far enough away from the beige sides so a slight mismatch won't be readily apparent. I don't know of a long lasting clear urethane that holds up for years, unless you get into the mega-buck paint systems. I've tried the spray can urethanes on polished plastic headlights but they peeled after a year.
A friend and I went to the local kwicky paint shop. They wanted $800 to put a single coat of cheap paint on my van, $2000 for their deluxe paint and service. They had a viewing window allowing us to see newly painted cars coming out of the paint booth. We laughed our butts off. horrible masking, overspray all over, orange peel, dry spots, runs, paint over dirt, etc. And, they were rolling these cars outside after an hour of drying time. Monkeys with cans of spray paint could have done a better job.
I went to the NAPA paint/body store and bought the most expensive matching color and clear paint they had. Spent about $300 for just enough paint to do the hood. Did all the usual prep work, followed the instructions to the letter, sprayed, and was happy with the result.
Four years later, the clear coat has peeled off over 50% of the surface. I'm a little irritated the materials were crap and the job needs to be redone. I'm sure there are true pro automotive paints available somewhere, but my research didn't show any with proof of superior lasting ability. Granted, I'm in the desert with lots of intense sunshine.
Most of the car painting vids I've seen are on cars that will be garaged 99% of the time and not exposed to the elements.
If I repaint, I'll do the entire vehicle with an aviation polyurethane and screw the color matching. Imron or JetGlo is about $1000/gallon.
You might consider finding an enamel or appliance-epoxy spray paint color close to the beige on the side of your truck. I doubt you'll find a rattle-can brown that will match. The beige on the hood will be far enough away from the beige sides so a slight mismatch won't be readily apparent. I don't know of a long lasting clear urethane that holds up for years, unless you get into the mega-buck paint systems. I've tried the spray can urethanes on polished plastic headlights but they peeled after a year.
A friend and I went to the local kwicky paint shop. They wanted $800 to put a single coat of cheap paint on my van, $2000 for their deluxe paint and service. They had a viewing window allowing us to see newly painted cars coming out of the paint booth. We laughed our butts off. horrible masking, overspray all over, orange peel, dry spots, runs, paint over dirt, etc. And, they were rolling these cars outside after an hour of drying time. Monkeys with cans of spray paint could have done a better job.
Last edited: