Dupli-Color Paint Job - How To Thread

If you've seen pictures of my X before you'd know that the paint is questionable in some areas. It was fading and ugly and uneven. Most of this was occuring on the hood of the truck.

After many hours of research and weighing pros and cons I finally made an executive decision. I chose an inexpensive and readily available source to paint my hood.

Dupli-Color Perfect Match.

They offer OEM colors for Ford vehicles. Mine being Cayman Green.

This is how things started. Faded and not attractive.

I began my journey by sanding down the hood with 4 different grits of sandpaper.

60
I didnt have a picture of 60 grit.
80

120

220

Then I wiped it down with a wet cloth.

A few days later I sanded it again, wiped it off, and taped everything.

Then I shot two coats.

I let it dry for about 45 minutes and pulled everything off.

Sorry for the bad pictures. They were taken with my cell phone. Tomorrow Ill take some more in the sunlight. I also painted my grille and trim flat black last night. So Ill take some shots of that as well.

 

[HKUNZ]

Theres a few swirls here and there, but its a good 10 foot paint job. Nothing terrible by any means.

 

[Flounder]

As for the clear, assuming your base has no metal flake:

When you're ready to clear it, wet sand it with very fine sandpaper. Then, wash it down and lay on a coat of clear. Allow it to dry, shoot another coat, allow that to dry, and then very lightly (with an even finer paper) sand it down. You're not sanding to remove the paint but instead sanding to level the surface. Buff to a shine.

Folks--clearly not you!--often overlook how easy it is to get a great finish with spray paint. The biggest issue you'll come across is the nozzle on the can, which can belch out a larger drip instead of a fine mist, resulting in a darker "dot" on the painted surface. But, with a little sanding and respraying, you can even get past this.

Really, really great job!

 

[HKUNZ]

Ill take that advice and put it to use here soon. Im heading back to school tomorrow, so It may be a few weeks. But ill be sure to get that sand paper. Thanks for the tip!

 

[mehedgec]

Looks good. If you didn't repaint the hood we would have twin Explorers with the flat back grills and headlight trim.

I was browsing through this section of the board for painting prep info. I'm going to do my entire truck in flat black to match the grill

 

[FarmTruk]

That turned out really nice. The color match is dead on.

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

You can minimize the problem of spraying drops by buying some better nozzles. Around here, you can go to "head shops" and buy a wide variety of rattle-can nozzles with different spay patterns. Last time I bought them, I think they were a nickel each.

~Rev

 

[HKUNZ]

Thanks yall. I hope it turns out as nicely for you guys as it did for me. Its doing well here in Wilmington with the abuse of being the daily driver, and designated driver vehicle, and salty air. It can take a beating haha

 

[Maverick265]

That looks great. I tried painting my explorer but I water spots in the paint even with a water seperator. How did you not get water spots in there?

 

[HKUNZ]

What do you mean by water spots?

 

[sjr033]

Maybe he means "fish eyes" not water spots

 

[HKUNZ]

Oh like orange peel?

 

[Joe Dirt]

The nozzles do matter, but preparation is the name... As is finishing well, with sanding and surface processing.

...and PATIENCE! When you hurry on a rattlecan job, that's when it goes south in a hurry.

THIS was my spraybomb fix on my now gone 1999 SHO

 

[HKUNZ]

I looked at your thread, and I'm very impressed. I didn't put nearly that amount of effort into my truck. Strong work!!

 

[Lacky01]

I imagine he's talking about water droplets in the paint as he's spraying. When using a spray gun with compressed air, the air tends to have moisture in it usually from being compressed. I havnt run into that problem for whatever reason. Hopefully someone more knowledgable than I will chime in.

When set up correctly, and with the right prep work, its possible to get very professional results without dropping a bunch of cash.

 

[Dudedude11]

Looks great , quick question Did you take the grill off to paint it?