Painting 150 Don

[aussietanker]

i have also been thinking about this a lot ... esp after reading an article posted earlier by Cobber ... ;D (thank you cobber - somehow i missed it - didn't get to see it until a recently - would really love to get a good quality photocopy of it if possible ;D) ...

vintagecaravans.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=Memorabilia2&action=display&thread=1176706221

in this article it says in relation to the 150 Don ..

The exterior finish in this van is excellent. Paintwork is hand brushed and has a coach like finish.

...

this kind of got me thinking ...

the original finish was "hand brushed" rather than spray painted .... i can hand brush it myself whereas i would need to "pay" some one to spray it and or buy/hire the gear ... i don't have a spray booth - but ii can find a suitable space to brush or roller paint - so for lots of reasons i am leaning towards hand painting now ....

so the question now is "with what do i paint it dear henry, dear henry, with what? - must be getting late at night

does the reference to "coach like finish" mean that enamels were probably used? ....

i think acrylic would be easier, and more forgiving - but enamel would be tougher, and more "original" ...

would a two pack (brush on) enamel paint be the best option ... any ideas, comments, strong opinions etc from the more experienced "restorers " re this approach ..

and any thoughts about using marine paints anyone ....

thanks
A|T

[cobber]

G'day A/T,

PM me with your address and a photo copy of that article plus anything else I can find re. Dons is on it's way.

I think you're right ..enamel paint would have been used "back then" and it would be easier than acrylic to brush on even now.

As I discovered with ol'36, water based acrylic is plurry hard to brush on without ending up with brush marks everywhere. Having said that, most paint professionals say that modern acrylic will outlast enamel on exterior surfaces that are subject to flexing.

That's all I know.... not much eh ?

Cobber.

[Deleted]

Hi Don

Although most people dont consider brush painting to be all that difficult.. and it isnt if all you are doing is painting the side fence.
There is definitely a few tricks of the trade that can mean the difference between an almost spray coating like finish and a finish that looks like it has been done with a rake.

Surface preparation. clean , smooth and free of grease, silastic, oily fingerprints and dust.
Undercoat .. apply evenly and treat it as if it was the finish coat. if ya can see brush marks in it .. then you will see brush marks in your top coat . best to undercoat and give it a chance to dry and then give it a light scuff with sandpaper before dusting off and applying top coats.

top coats
Pick a warm sunny day and stick the van out in full sun to warm up the surface.
Dont try and paint when there is a lot of moisture in the air.. like early morning or late arvo.. or... raining . Even if the van is under cover the paint will " suck in" moisture and your "Gloss finish " will end up blushing and looking like an old school blackboard.
Another trick is to stand the paint tin in hot water.
This warms and thins the paint which helps to make the paint flow on evenly and level out without brush marks.

Mask up and Use a good quality brush to cut in around the door , hatch and windows. You can choose to roll the rest of the paint on . Again use a good quality short napped roller and apply by cross thatching then finish with long even strokes going "with the grain".

If you brush the van use a good quality brush that isnt gunna shed hair or bristles on every stroke. Give it a couple of coats. Again allowing the paint to dry thoroughly between coats and lightly sanding and dusting off between coats to get rid of any lumpy brush marks before applying the next.
When applying the top coat try and "lay off' with the brush as you finish each section.
By "laying off" i mean lay the brush over on an angle and dont apply any weight to the brush. End result should be near as good as a spray job.
Paint.?? Others will argue but i have been saying for years "Oil based enamels" Gives a car like finish. easy to wash and comes up shiney.
wash up in mineral turps.
Rollers" you can buy them in 3 packs. they are cheap so by about 3 packs of them. when you are finished doing as much as you can for the day. just thow em in the bin. You can waste a lot of turps trying to get a roller spotlessly clean. Just use a new roller each time you attack the van. lot cheaper and a lot less messy.
Brushes arent so bad just fill up a one litre tin with turps and stand your brushes in there.
Make sure you clean em up thoroughly when changing from one colour to another. Remove aqll excess turps from the brush before kicking off with the next colour or coat.
Best done by flogging the brush backwards and forwards on the nieghbours fence of some other sacrifical area .
The side of the dog is always good .. and it makes a change for the kiddies . they just love lime green cattledogs ;D
If you seen the side of my shed you would think that "Ken Done" had been practicing on it.

Having said all that . you would think the TD i built and painted would be perfect ... well it aint. I done a lot of painting after work at night in the shed, under fluro light, tired and cranky and the whole thing looks crap.

Mistakes?? .. tear-arsing, laying on too much paint, working at night under artificial light. The list goes on... But hey it sure looks like its 50 year old now.

last words of advice

Disposable paper overalls are the housewives friend.
Watch ya dont stand in the paint tray when rolling.
Dont lean on wet paint.
Dont leave a brush and paint sitting on the ground unattended. Kids never miss an opportunity to "dabble" in the art of painting when your not around.
Dont kick the tin off the top of the ladder....
I have done all of the above... and anyone who says they havent done at least one of these is a liar.

Oh and have a nice day. ;D

Reddo

[hwyman]

Hi all;

For what it's worth, I have found placing your paint brush in an old plastic shopping bag wrapped tightly keeps the paint and the brush from drying for up to a week. Handy if your painting over a few days. Just unwrap it, dip it in the tin and away you go again.

Hwyman

[Don Ricardo]

G'day A/T,

Good to see you're getting yourself organised to paint the 150.

I agree with everybody else - enamel with a brush or roller is the way to go. They will give you the best finish, and enamel is definitely what the Dons were painted with originally (probably wasn't much else back then?). You probably remember Mark T's post a couple of months ago quoting from a "How to" book which indicated that the excellent finish on the 'highest class' V V's resulted from many coats of paint and very good preparation, and this was definitely reflected in the finish on the Dons of the era.

I think that Reddo's painting tips are excellent (wish I'd heard about some of them earlier!). I endorse his comments about painting at night and under artificial light. I've done that a few times when I've been under pressure (like we are leaving for our holiday tomorrow morning...), but have almost always regretted it. Paintwork which looks great under the light in the shed looks appalling in the light of day, believe me. My other comment is to try and keep your painting environment as dust-and-foreign-object free as you can. Impossible to achieve totally, but the closer you get to it the better your finish. As Reddo says, you will get a better finish if you sand the surface after applying each coat of paint and then thoroughly dusting the surface, but that means you need to carefully clean up all the dust before applying the next coat of paint. (A question for you entomologists out there: Why, is it that gnats have a death wish to be embalmed in fresh paint?)

Hwyman speaks the truth about keeping your brush in a plastic shopping bag - the paint doesn't dry out and you can use it next day. One of my sons also discovered this trick which does save some time at the end of each day. However, I would be a little cautious - I wonder if the paint left on the brush from the previous day might possibly end up a bit gluggy and lumpy, which could affect your finish.

Good luck,

Don Ricardo

[aussietanker]

Thanks Cobber .... pm sent .... ;D

reddo ... that post was not only incredibly helpful - it also had me in stitches for most of the day just thinking about it ....

and BTW ...

any chance of borrowing your dog in about 3 weekends ... if "bluey" isn't an appropriate name for him now ... it sure will be after i've finished with him ..... the 150 Don has a deep blue flash that runs down it's side ;D ;D ;D..

and to hwyman and the great DonRicardo ... again thanks for the tips, advice and encouragement .... all useful stuff ....

it sounds like enamel is the way to go .....

nobody has any thoughts about the benefits or other wise of using marine paints

regards
A|T

ps reddo ... pls let me know about the dog asap ... if he isn't available i will need to cancel my sons ice hockey match so that i can pencil him in on the day instead ;D ;D ;D - problem is he ain't obedient - and never stands still for long enough to really "wring out " a loaded brush ;D