How much paint will I need?

DanMcG

DanMcG

Promoted Users
I know this is a open ended question with loads of variables but I want to get an idea of what I might need. I'm doing a 85 Chevy short box truck exterior and inside of box. I'll also be doing the jambs and inside of the doors. I'll be using Automotive Arts Motocryl which is 2:1 + 10%. I've bought a quart to see if I like it and will be jambing/ cutting in what I can with it. It did seem to cover well with 2 coats.
I'm thinking it will be more then a gallon but not 2. Any opinions or methods to calculate? thanks.
 
I did a suburban with 1 gallon of universal clear, which is 1:1, making 2 gallons of sprayable material.
It was more than enough for 5 coats.
That might be a reasonable comparison to a pickup and bed. Although, I did not do the jambs or roof. I still think the gallon would have been enough.
 
2:1 mix is less than 1:1 mix. It will be well more than a gallon.
How many coats are you planning on doing? That will be a big factor. If you are planning on cutting and buffing at the bare minimum you need three coats. Three coats, full respray including inside the box I would guess 1.5-2.0 gallons of SS. 1.5 gallons of SS will give you close to 2.5 gallons when reduced and activated. I don't know if that will be enough. Inside the box will take a lot of paint. Jambs, tailgate, etc. If you want to use the bare min, order 1.5 gallons and if you are painting in stages, spray the inside of the box first and see how much you have left. That will be a good indicator of if you can do it with 1.5 gallons. If you need more then it's not a problem if the mix is slightly different than what you have as you haven't done any of the exterior yet.
 
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Thanks Dean and Chris, I'll have to give this some thought. I was thinking of doing the bed floor last or maybe not at all since I'm leaning towards using a rubber mat. Holley is making a nice one for these trucks now. And opposite of what you suggested Chris, I had planned on doing the inside bed walls first just to get some spray mileage under my belt before hitting the exterior. It's a new guy thing ;)
decisions, decisions... Guess I'll call chad this week and see what prices are now.
 
Maybe you've thought of this, but I'll bring it up just in case.
I sprayed the bed of my el Camino with Raptor bed liner and couldn't be happier. But, that was the look I wanted.
It is so easy to work with, and tough as nails.
And 1/10 the cost of having a shop do LineX.

Just throwing it out there . . .
 
Thanks Dean, I was never a fan of bed liner but I think it's worth a revisit, I see they have it in white. Interesting.
 
Glad it opened an idea for you.
What kind of shape is the bed in?
If it has normal wear and tear and bumps and dings, it is going to take a lot of work to get it in shape for glossy single stage.
If it is not perfect, the gloss is going to magnify things and it won't look good.

The bedliner is matte finish and textured so it hides minor imperfections to a degree. The surface still has to be good, just not to the same degree.

All my opinion, of course.

And with Raptor, you have a very high degree of control over the texture. It can be nearly flat, or heavily textured, or anything in between.

I have a ridiculous amount of time invested in experimenting with Raptor settings to get different textures and would be happy to share with you if you go that way.
 
No matter what you spray the floor of the bed with, you'd be foolish not to install a rubber mat, unless the floor bed is been done for car shows and nothing will be put in it.
 
DanMcG said:
Thanks Dean and Chris, I'll have to give this some thought. I was thinking of doing the bed floor last or maybe not at all since I'm leaning towards using a rubber mat. Holley is making a nice one for these trucks now. And opposite of what you suggested Chris, I had planned on doing the inside bed walls first just to get some spray mileage under my belt before hitting the exterior. It's a new guy thing ;)
decisions, decisions... Guess I'll call chad this week and see what prices are now.
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The last 4 quotes for single stage Motocryl I've got were all at $302/gallon. That was for a red, two whites, and a brown. I'll be painting a '70 F250 and a mid 70's Argosy 28' camper that are both getting Motocryl.
 
Yeah I did talk to Chad yesterday and he quoted $306 for the gallon of artic white and figured without painting the bed floor I could probably get away with 1.5 gallons.
 
On the '69 Chevy C10 I used 6 qts of the dark blue to paint the inside and outside of the truck (excluding the upper cab and inside the bed). Took 2 qts of the white for the upper cab, lower fenders, doors, bedsides and tailgate lettering. That's 3 coats of color on everything.
 
Thanks 68, I'm leaning towards 2 gallons since I'm pretty much clueless now and by the time I get a couple coats on it I might want to correct the worst of it and add another coat or whatever ya do. (still researching that part)
 
We were going to go with Motocryl on the VW project and then decided to do base/clear. Motocryl quote was the same as you guys, ~$300 for a gallon.
I was stunned that Motobase was $600/gallon. Still don't understand that.
 
DanMcG said:
Thanks 68, I'm leaning towards 2 gallons since I'm pretty much clueless now and by the time I get a couple coats on it I might want to correct the worst of it and add another coat or whatever ya do. (still researching that part)
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If you are using Motobase LV it mixes 1:1 so a gallon gets you 2 gallons of RTS (ready to spray) paint. This stuff sprays and covers very well and if
you have your gun setup properly, I doubt you will have any issues with it. Be sure to test your pattern on paper before applying to the vehicle.

When spraying paint, try to be super consistent with your distance from the panel, the angle you are holding the gun, the speed you're traveling and the overlap. (I like 50% since I can just aim the tip at the edge of the last pass)

Most problems come from the prep work not being done properly, hence the use of guide coat is highly recommended during the blocking stages.

The spray gun not having adequate air supply can also cause issues. The CFM requirement is critical and often overlooked.
 
Dean Jenkins said:
We were going to go with Motocryl on the VW project and then decided to do base/clear. Motocryl quote was the same as you guys, ~$300 for a gallon.
I was stunned that Motobase was $600/gallon. Still don't understand that.
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It's a different product. Take whatever paint code you have for that Motobase and call a jobber and price it out in DBC, lol
 
Dean Jenkins said:
We were going to go with Motocryl on the VW project and then decided to do base/clear. Motocryl quote was the same as you guys, ~$300 for a gallon.
I was stunned that Motobase was $600/gallon. Still don't understand that.
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Are you going with a solid or metallic color?
 
Dean Jenkins said:
We were going to go with Motocryl on the VW project and then decided to do base/clear. Motocryl quote was the same as you guys, ~$300 for a gallon.
I was stunned that Motobase was $600/gallon. Still don't understand that.
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But one gallon of Motobase will get you farther than one gallon of Motocryl too. For one, the Motobase is a higher reduction rate so one gallon gets you two, but you also don't have to spray as many coats because you don't need build for cut and buff, and the Motobase covers very well.

Bonus--Motobase color match, especially for late model colors, is really good.
 
When using Motocryl or any 2:1 single stage , the fact that it is mixed 2:1 is more than offset by the materail savings of only spraying one product versus a base/clear.
 
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