Spray-painting a car in the street for 50 euros: the experiment that turned out decent
He spray-painted the bonnet and roof of his car in the street for 50 euros and 15 cans of acrylic. The result, "totally decent", opens the debate on cost.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Spray-painting a car in the street for 50 euros: the experiment that turned out decent
A bonnet bought second-hand for 20 euros and a roof with paint flaking off in patches. That was the starting point. The man behind the experiment set about sanding in a loading bay, with a small sander and 400-grit paper, and decided that glossy black was the hardest colour to get right. It was. It was also the only one that didn't clash. The result, after 15 cans of single-stage acrylic at 3 euros each, is summed up by him with a phrase worth a whole report: "totally decent".
The story matters less for the car than for what it says about the real cost of things. Against the 500 or 1,000 euros a professional respray costs, here we're talking about 50 euros in materials and about three hours of work a day in spare time. The calculation doesn't include labour, of course. Nor does it include the risks: pollen, mosquitoes, dust, a run from painting by eye at night, and the absence of primer, which is the most repeated technical criticism.
The method: sand, sand and paint like a printer
The process holds no mystery, but it does take craft. First he sands by hand with 400 grit, then moves to a small sander, then carefully hunts down rust spots down to bare metal and gives a final hand sanding. The bonnet, whose paint was already fine, only needed a touch-up. The roof, however, took the first failed attempt: a run from painting at night without enough light, and a layer of stuck-on pollen that had to be sanded down again with 1000 grit.
The technique he describes is that of a printer: continuous, fast lines, without going back over paint applied ten seconds earlier, otherwise strange gloss marks appear. The problem is that the can loses pressure and runs out, so you need to have the next one ready and shaken to carry on the line without the change showing. Starting with 15 cans, he reckons 10 would have been enough if the first attempt at the roof hadn't gone to waste.
The criticism: no primer and no booth, the paint won't last
Scepticism was the majority view at first. The technical arguments repeat: without primer the paint doesn't adhere well; outdoors, dust sticks and leaves lumps; without a booth or oven the finish isn't uniform; and black is precisely the colour that shows up any flaw. One case mentioned in the conversation tells of a car painted this way that a year later looked like it had leprosy, with paint peeling off for lack of primer.
The technical answer came from another angle: primer is mainly used to isolate polyester filler and prevent bleed-through, and adhesion depends on the surface being clean and decontaminated, for example of silicones. In other words, the debate isn't so much whether you can paint outdoors as in what conditions the surface is prepared. That's where the experiment defends itself: sanded down to bare metal at the rust spots, and a fine final sanding before each coat.
The real cost: 3 euros a can versus 500 or 1,000 at a body shop
The economic comparison is the heart of the matter. The author found cans of glossy black acrylic for 3 euros, after searching quite a while for the cheapest of the type he wanted. Against that, a body-shop respray for a car of this value seems disproportionate. His reasoning: on something that doesn't affect how it runs, he would have spent at most 100 euros. And he adds that with the savings you could buy another car.
Some raise the next step: the compressor. The objection is twofold. One, the outlay: between 150 and 200 euros plus the paint, which costs practically the same in a can as in spray form. Two, the space: a compressor takes up room and gets used once. And three, quality: the cheap guns that come bundled with the compressor are bad, and you need a good filter so no oil or water gets into the paint. The author himself admits that next time he paints a car he might well use a compressor, though he points out there's a gulf between what people tell you and reality.
Durability: one year already pays off
The question left hanging is how long it will last. The author is explicit: if it lasts a year, it's already worth it — people spend more on washing their car. The paint is single-stage, not two-stage, so it has no clear coat; if it loses its shine, you just polish it. The bonnet, moreover, will probably end up being replaced with one in the original colour.
The consensus, with caveats, is that the car is better off than before. Those who defend it point out that a vehicle of that market value doesn't justify a 1,000-euro investment in paint, and that a cheap body shop would probably do a botched job just as bad or worse. Those who criticise it say an old car is an old car and anything done to it will look like a patch-up. Both things can be true at the same time.
The detail that throws you off isn't the finish. It's that the author got started without knowing whether it would work, with the sole conviction that he wouldn't spend 1,000 euros even on replacing the engine if it broke down. Fifteen cans later, the roof that was flaking off in patches is black. Up close you can see the marks. From a distance, you can't.
A bonnet bought second-hand for 20 euros and a roof with paint flaking off in patches. That was the starting point. The man behind the experiment set about sanding in a loading bay, with a small sander and 400-grit paper, and decided that glossy black was the hardest colour to get right. It was. It was also the only one that didn't clash. The result, after 15 cans of single-stage acrylic at 3 euros each, is summed up by him with a phrase worth a whole report: "totally decent".
The story matters less for the car than for what it says about the real cost of things. Against the 500 or 1,000 euros a professional respray costs, here we're talking about 50 euros in materials and about three hours of work a day in spare time. The calculation doesn't include labour, of course. Nor does it include the risks: pollen, mosquitoes, dust, a run from painting by eye at night, and the absence of primer, which is the most repeated technical criticism.
The method: sand, sand and paint like a printer
The process holds no mystery, but it does take craft. First he sands by hand with 400 grit, then moves to a small sander, then carefully hunts down rust spots down to bare metal and gives a final hand sanding. The bonnet, whose paint was already fine, only needed a touch-up. The roof, however, took the first failed attempt: a run from painting at night without enough light, and a layer of stuck-on pollen that had to be sanded down again with 1000 grit.
The technique he describes is that of a printer: continuous, fast lines, without going back over paint applied ten seconds earlier, otherwise strange gloss marks appear. The problem is that the can loses pressure and runs out, so you need to have the next one ready and shaken to carry on the line without the change showing. Starting with 15 cans, he reckons 10 would have been enough if the first attempt at the roof hadn't gone to waste.
The criticism: no primer and no booth, the paint won't last
Scepticism was the majority view at first. The technical arguments repeat: without primer the paint doesn't adhere well; outdoors, dust sticks and leaves lumps; without a booth or oven the finish isn't uniform; and black is precisely the colour that shows up any flaw. One case mentioned in the conversation tells of a car painted this way that a year later looked like it had leprosy, with paint peeling off for lack of primer.
The technical answer came from another angle: primer is mainly used to isolate polyester filler and prevent bleed-through, and adhesion depends on the surface being clean and decontaminated, for example of silicones. In other words, the debate isn't so much whether you can paint outdoors as in what conditions the surface is prepared. That's where the experiment defends itself: sanded down to bare metal at the rust spots, and a fine final sanding before each coat.
The real cost: 3 euros a can versus 500 or 1,000 at a body shop
The economic comparison is the heart of the matter. The author found cans of glossy black acrylic for 3 euros, after searching quite a while for the cheapest of the type he wanted. Against that, a body-shop respray for a car of this value seems disproportionate. His reasoning: on something that doesn't affect how it runs, he would have spent at most 100 euros. And he adds that with the savings you could buy another car.
Some raise the next step: the compressor. The objection is twofold. One, the outlay: between 150 and 200 euros plus the paint, which costs practically the same in a can as in spray form. Two, the space: a compressor takes up room and gets used once. And three, quality: the cheap guns that come bundled with the compressor are bad, and you need a good filter so no oil or water gets into the paint. The author himself admits that next time he paints a car he might well use a compressor, though he points out there's a gulf between what people tell you and reality.
Durability: one year already pays off
The question left hanging is how long it will last. The author is explicit: if it lasts a year, it's already worth it — people spend more on washing their car. The paint is single-stage, not two-stage, so it has no clear coat; if it loses its shine, you just polish it. The bonnet, moreover, will probably end up being replaced with one in the original colour.
The consensus, with caveats, is that the car is better off than before. Those who defend it point out that a vehicle of that market value doesn't justify a 1,000-euro investment in paint, and that a cheap body shop would probably do a botched job just as bad or worse. Those who criticise it say an old car is an old car and anything done to it will look like a patch-up. Both things can be true at the same time.
The detail that throws you off isn't the finish. It's that the author got started without knowing whether it would work, with the sole conviction that he wouldn't spend 1,000 euros even on replacing the engine if it broke down. Fifteen cans later, the roof that was flaking off in patches is black. Up close you can see the marks. From a distance, you can't.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (86 replies).
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