You could get Rustoleam in rattle cans with the trigger nozzle that can give a decent finish, from my experience it’s mostly in how well you prep the surface. Might take a couple cans to get the roof Home Depot and other hardware stores would have a selection of colors.
Besides washing the car, how do you prep the surface? Total novice here
You sand all the surface that will be painted , then spray a primer coat that needs to be wet sanded with 600 grit or higher wet sanding paper . Then spray the rattle can paint on it .
Simple thing to do - call a few paint shops and tell them you just want a cheap painting of the roof that looks decent . With all the other problems with this vehicle it seems to have and you plan to replace it I would not spend anything on it.
That was with “gloss” paint.
If the black finish was dull and textured, the difference would probably have been more like 10 degrees.
You must use a solvent to clean the surface before you do anything.
They make a product called Prep-Sol for this purpose.
But brake parts cleaner works just as good.
Then you can start working on the surface.
Tester
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Lol, I got one of those cheap Earl Scheib paint jobs on a car about 20 years ago and I swear the paint started bubbling up and peeling off within like 2 or 3 months of getting the work done. I swear they didn’t prep the car at all
If you don’t pay them to, they won’t prep it much. If you want automotive paint, you can sand, wash with prep sol, rinse well, the prime it. Last, take it to Earl and he will do your top coat. Remember to mask everything you don’t want painted, including gaskets, handles, and windows.
I heard that putting clearcoat on top costs extra at places like Earl Sheib and similar like Maaco etc. I found out a one-stage cheapie $300 paint job is just minimal prep and no clearcoat just paint. Gotta pay $1,000 and up for the good paint jobs where I live
You don’t rinse the surface after applying the Prep-Sol.
Wipe the surface with the Prep-Sol, and let it flash off. (evaporate)
Tester
I can only say this: when I got my new pickup in 2004 I had a spray-in bedliner installed. While my truck was being done a guy came in with another pickup and he wanted the sides and back sprayed (from the beltline to the rocker panels). His reason was he did a lot of off-roading and the spray-on would better protect his truck from scrapes from roadside bushes, etc. (as well as parking lot dings). I sold my truck in 2015, and the bedliner was still unmarked. This wasn’t a Rhino, it was a Lineex. They told me the only maintenance it needed was to clean with WD40 - that would bring back a like-new shine.
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Yup, someone told me if I had it rhino lined, the lining would outlast my car
I expect it will work ok, but I think you’d get better results w/this method.
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Have you priced this job ?
I remember that article . . .
Somehow, I suspect op isn’t willing to put in that much work . . . ?
I might be interested, if I had some extra time. This seems possibly doable
what’s the goal?
To make my car less ugly when I have to look at it every day when I drive it
In that case, I suggest NOT painting the entire car at this time
Only the roof of the car is really ugly and crappy looking due to paint loss. The rest of the car looks OK for a 12 year old vehicle
Carbon fiber vinyl wrap.You can buy it in rolls and its a cheap solution compare to repainting a roof.
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