Roll and Tip painting

[Barn Owl]

I didn't want to highjack Scott's tread $50 Paint Job? so here is a new one. I am glad this painting topic has been brought up, I have a sailboat that I want to paint and will probably use Roll and Tip method to do it. I have often wondered if this painting method will work on a bus. Anyone done it?

Some examples:

"Roll and Tip" with Sterling L.P. Topcoat


You tube:

Shop Clip #3 Roll and Tip Painting

How-to Roll and Tip

[bevans6]

If you can paint a boat with it you can paint a bus with it!  I had never heard of that before, but a little googling and there it is.  Cool technique.  I wonder how much you thin the paint?  Other sites suggest you can use two part automotive paint normally used for spraying.  Single part paint would be a lot easier I think.

Brian

[bottomacher]

We used to do that when varnishing the mahogany on a boat. DO NOT attempt to do it in sunlight. You have to work pretty fast and keep a wet edge- hard to do on anything wide. If you can do a whole bus this way, you should consider professional arm wrestling.

[Barn Owl]

Most all have the same claims as the one site: "A first rate roll-n-tip crew is capable of delivering a paint job on a boat that is unequal to a conventional spray job.
By rolling and tipping ......, a first time amateur can achieve professional looking results without the high cost of spray equipment or the health risks associated with spraying solvent based paints."

My biggest hangup at first will be how to remove old paint and prime aluminum. All that I read indicates that a small oversite in prep leads to a lot of time and money wasted in painting.

The boats I have seen have a deep glossy paint job, and being a boat, seems the paint would need to be durable and flexible. All conditions more harsh than a bus would see.

[Barn Owl]

Bottomacher,

Would this technique carryover to other types of paint? I am OK with a 50ft away paint job result. It would be much better than I have now. Also my budget and value of my bus will not allow anything but what I can do in my driveway.

[bottomacher]

You can use  (the CORRECT) thinner and some some retarder on nearly any kind of paint, roll it and brush it, and the results will normally be pretty good. Even with water based paint. I have even painted sections of airplanes this way, in the hangar when overspray would be catastrophic, and they didn't look bad. The main thing to remember is to KEEP IT WET, and work as fast as you can. I would practice on something unimportant first.

[Scott & Heather]

wow..that was super glossy with just one coat. impressive. now I want to do this on my camry    Basically it seems that you're letting the paint flow together...using the brush to eliminate bubbles. I can't imagine taking the time and effort to do this on a 40 foot coach...but some of us have time on our hands...you never know..very cool. slightly different method than I'm using in the $50 paint job. I'm tempted to use a brush though for my final coat...

[Barn Owl]

Looking on some of the boat bbs forms this method seems very common amongst that group and the results are amazing. Some of the photos they have posted are of boats that are quite large looking, so there must be a way to do a satisfactory job even on large areas.

Scott looking forward to your results.

[john9861]

Just remember guys the design differences between auto & marine paints. Marine paints have the high gloss finish built in. Some auto paints are too but others require the clear to achieve the high gloss. And what about the metallics? Wonder if we can roll & tip (backbrush) & still get the look of the metallics. At any rate remember the old auto lacquers that with multiple coats & heavy buffing would appear to look ten foot deep at a glance. This could get very interesting considering the many technigues that can be administered...

[jjrbus]

The high cost of spray equipment?  Air compressor, the bus has one.  Air dryer, the bus has one. Air hose, 50 ft HF $20.  Spray gun, HF $20. respirator HF, $20, northern tool, $30. Not sure I would trust HF respirator.  Jim

[papatony]

You have to have a special primer for alum. this would work on primer too I guess.

[TomC]

I spray painted the aluminum and steel wheels of one of my trailers in the truck yard.  I parked away from the others and used the air supply from the truck.  The truck has a air/water separator, and for pressure control, just used the trailer service line, first pushing in the red button (making sure the glad hand was sealed off in its' holder), then pulling the trailer hand brake till I had the correct pressure for that paint (like 60psi-or whatever is suggested).  I simply put the truck on high idle, and painted away.  Good Luck, TomC

[Lin]

Spray painting is faster as long as masking is not an issue.  I would guess that is why it works so well for new vehicles; it is done at a point in the assembly line when no masking is required.  That situation changes when attacking old jobs.  I once agreed to a deal with my wife that was she would do the masking and I would use an airless to paint a room.  I don't think that she will ever make such an offer again.

[BRUISER]

The high cost of spray equipment?  Air compressor, the bus has one.  Air dryer, the bus has one. Air hose, 50 ft HF $20.  Spray gun, HF $20. respirator HF, $20, northern tool, $30. Not sure I would trust HF respirator.  Jim

the issue I have had with painting using a gun setup is the masking it off.

for me I have to paint outside so finding a perfect week where I can tape it off and let it stay taped off for a week while I paint on different days is the hard part.. if I could fit bus into a garage then it would not be an issue

so anyone that has to paint outside I can see why rolling would work out for them, plus no over spray..