Hello everyone,

I see from browsing around here that peeling paint is pretty common.

I have a 2002 Dakota SLT and the paint on the hood, roof, and driver's door is in bad shape. The truck is black and the hood and roof have large white blotches. The driver's door seems like the clear coat is peeling so, while it is still black, it is a much duller black than the rest of the truck.

My question is: what is a good (inexpensive) option to paint it? I went to Maaco but they said that they do a "scuff and shoot", and to me painting over peeling paint sounds like a bad idea.

For the most part I don't care what the truck looks like. Obviously I would like it to look nice, but I'm not willing to spend $1000 to do so. I'm more worried about the truck potentially rusting if I don't fix the paint.

Any ideas? What did you do? Is Maaco worth the price or is their service crap? I live in an apartment and have zero automotive painting experience, but I'm willing to put in the elbow grease with a sander if it will help.

Thanks for any help/ideas.
-StaTiK-

 

http://www.rickwrench.com/index79mas...llarpaint.html

"50 dollar paint job" I actually did a spray method with rustoleum on my roof...turned out pretty well. I shot on clear coat as well for added protection.

 

my roofs all effed too, how did you spray it?

 

Great link Rakaric. I use those foam rollers for doors, cabinets and other stuff that I want to keep stroke and lint-free. It never occurred to me to try them on a vehicle. I have a few minor rust spots around the wheel wells and along some of the lower trim. I figured I would just use Bed Armor, Plasti-Dip or some rust-oleum Hi performance enamel spray paint on it (after I remove the rust) but I'm now gonna go with the foam rollers. Probably get better coverage also.

Thanks again for the tip!

 

Well, if you're not planning on entering the truck into any 4x4 shows, then a "Scuff and shoot" might not be too bad of an option. All they have to do is put a key on the existing paint to give the new paint something to stick to. They do have to be careful that they don't sand through the color coat because it is pretty thin. That being said, I've seen some clear coat re-sprays that actually came out pretty nice.

I had an RX-7 that Macco painted back when I was in college; it looked good...

 

Be sure to post [ics if you are going with a roll on because you got this guy wanting to know how it turns out. Planning on buying a new truck in the next year or two and would like to give this a try on my dakota

 

I DO need to address the rust on my Dakota much sooner than later but with the existing mechanical work that I need to tackle, I probably won't get to the rust until the early summer.
I will certainly post Pics when I do it.

 

If you take it to Maaco, just do all the prep work yourself. You can bring it in thoroughly prepped for painting.

Or you can spray it yourself. I use harbor freight sprayers and single stage paint from Orielly's. Growing up, sprayed a lot of equipment (Dad had an equipment rental yard), and maybe a dozen vehicles. I've never sprayed in a real paint booth, but I've sprayed in the garage, and I've sprayed outdoors. I prefer outdoors. There will always be a little dust in it, and a few bugs, but the light is a lot better. Just never try to get a bug or dust off. After the paint is dried, you can knock the bugs off and there will just be tiny spots from their legs. If it bothers you, buff it in a month.

If you look at the pix in my "DIY Bumper build" thread, I sprayed it hanging in a tree in my back yard. The tree dropped some blossoms on it while I was spraying, but it was back side up, so it doesn't matter.