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Any one use house paint on their truck??

Steamynachos

Member
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Calgary Alberta
I went to home depot yesterday and had some paint matched using their electronic eye and it came out perfect so I painted my troop seats with it and they came out great. Has anyone tried to paint their truck with house paint the stuff I got was a oil base exterior paint for use on wood and siding would this paint work or would it just flake off? it would sure keep the price of painting your truck down.
 

nf6x

Feral Engineer
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Riverside, CA, USA
I haven't done a whole truck yet, but I had some paint made for touch-up just like you did. I brought a radio with clean 383 green CARC to Home Depot and had them match the color with a flat exterior grade paint.

Remember, if the paint job isn't sloppy, it isn't military! ;)
 

colyork

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dexter maine
I did mine that way two years ago,still looks good except for a couple places on the bed were it Chipped off. I also did my 105 the same way.
 

weldergonecrazy

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Location
St Cloud, Florida
I had a '63 IH Scout model 80 that the previous owner painted with maroon latex house paint and a brush...it looked like SIN, but kept the nasty little rust gremlins away. I dumped a lot of money in that little truck, all I had left ot do was a little body work and a real paint job, but alas life interfered and I sold it for a song and a dance. :(
 

Steamynachos

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Calgary Alberta
what kind of roller would you use to make a Carc like texture? so would this paint actually keep the rust at bay like real auto paint? but it's probably not as durable.
 

Steamynachos

Member
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Location
Calgary Alberta
By the time I got the paint over the border due to shipping hazmat fees and taxes and other fees it would be over $130 a gallon for me plus nobody will take the time to fill out the paper work to ship it to me. Sherwin Williams wont sell me Carc because the US. says no sales to outside US. civilians other than military. So I am kind of limited to my paint options :x house paint seems to be a decent alternative as long as it is durable.
 

m-35tom

Well-known member
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eldersburg maryland
i painted a m37 with a roller once, looked good from about 300 ft away...........it costs me about $1000 for primer and paint to do a m35, but i expect it to last for at least 80 years.
 

OPCOM

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Dallas, Texas
I used exterior latex house paint on mine. People said it looks good. OD green base coat, then rattled the cans according to paint by the numbers.
 

Recovry4x4

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RDM has been talking about the newer latexes saying they will work real nice. I'm sure when he gets a little time, he will respond.
 

joey

New member
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North Bend Oregon
Iv'e thought about using marine paint. On our tugs i use "psx1001" and for preprime we use shermin williams "corathane 1." It seems to work pretty well for rust. Im not sure what colors they have. On the deck we use amerion epoxy but its hard to paint with. i think "235" but im not sure Also there is coralseal wich will change small amounts of rust into black primer, but i never really use it.
 

m.walker

Member
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Location
Independence,Mo.
house paint

Mines walmart exterior house paint that's also for steel buildings , been on for 2 1/2 years .I had mine matched by machine to olive drab that was on the truck . Not as durable as car paint but cheap and easily repaired . The nice thing I painted it in the back yard with rollers and brushes , no special paint booth or equipment needed ! My M52 looks better than the M55 I had which came from the military brush painted ! I didn't care if it wasn't show quality but I don't think it turned out too bad , considering I had less than $75 in everything including rollers , brushes , pans , and paint . Mark
 

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jrosbo

Member
172
5
18
Location
Vandalia Illinois
Paint

Places like Ace and other paint retailers have machine grade paint that they can mix in any color using the computer thingy. I painted an M416 with some from Ace about 8 years ago and it has held up fine considering everything the little trailer has been through. My 101 with the pump is painted with Ace brand Machinery paint as well. The trick is to add a hardner like Japan Drier and follow the directions on the can.
 

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maddawg308

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Appomattox, VA
My new winch truck looks like it was painted by hand, using a brush or roller in one hand and a beer in the other. Not a bad job, they stuck to the standard camo template, but you can tell its rolled on. You can see the brush strokers in places, and the camo is clean edges, where a sprayed on paint job would be "soft".
 

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rdixiemiller

Active member
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Olive Branch Mississipi
RE: Paint

Time for my 2 cents worth.
Some of the newer latex flat paints are incredibly durable, easy to use, no hazardous solvents, and water clean up. I painted a steel I beam sign frame with a flat red 14 years ago, and it is holding up well. I am going to get some matched to 383 and try it on an M105 body I have. This stuff is rated for steel siding on metal buildings, so it should work just fine. I will probably use an airless sprayer for the big exterior areas, followed by a cup gun for the interior.
There are some advantages of a latex over an oil base acrylic or alkyd enamel. The latex is much more flexible, so it doesn't tend to freeze off in sub zero weather. Latexes tend to oxidize slower than alkyds. They are water clean up, which is a plus. They touch up well.
Disadvantages are few, but marring can be one. You can't add hardener like you would with an oil base. Latexes don't have as good a solvent resistance, which is something to consider if you paint youir fuel tank with it. I would imagine it would be hard to get a nice semi gloss finish on your prized M38A1 with latex.
Latexes can be really hard to sand off, something to consider for a future repaint.
I would not be afraid to use a latex 383 to paint a deuce or a trailer. I probably wouldn't use it on something if I was looking for the Viet Nam and earlier semi gloss.
 

Michael

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Location
Fulton, MS
Several of you have confessed to using house paint, but no one has said how they prepped the truck before painting. I would think water based house paint on top of bare metal would cause rust. I painted an old school bus with white house paint once a long time ago. Didn't do any prep except maybe a power spraying. The bus was just a storage building by then. I was bored one afternoon and tired of looking at the school bus yellow. I seem to remember rust coming through in some spots. I would be esp interested in what jrosbo did since his seems to have the most time on it.
 

N1265

Active member
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Location
Fremont, Ohio
I painted my truck with Super Paint from S&W about three years ago, I looks good and is holding up well. it is an exterior laytex and I recommend it.

For preperation I sanded it down with 220 and primed the whole truck with Kem-croma ?, Also from S&W. I sanded it down again with 220 and sprayed the super paint ( reduced with water ) all for about $80.
 
I too have painted an MV with latex - my M342A2 in 4-color MERDC (winter, US & Europe, verdant) scheme.

Originally, I bought some Gillespie military-type paint (oil based) at the Dayton MVPA national last year. However, when I tried a few test spots, I felt (my opinion) that the "383" green was too shiny, and the "field drab" was too dark. So I went to a local paint store (Porter Paints) to see if there were other options.

They suggested the latex because it could be mixed to a VERY matte color. I had them mix some to match sample parts that I provided. After several attempts, we ended up with something that I was content with.

I like the fact that it can be brushed on. It allows me to work on the truck a little bit a time in managable steps. (a hood one day, a fender the next, etc. . . .) I didn't have to worry about preping the entire truck and then setting aside a day to shoot (spray) the whole thing. It allows for a little bit of instant gratification to keep you motivated. (Bjorn's philosophy, IIRC)

I actually like the look of the brushed on paint for the 4-color merdc (again, my opinion) - as it represents to me a field modification that was likely to be performed at the unit level (by the guys in the trenches, so to speak). To me, it is an authentic work truck. The color is also very FLAT.
Additionally, if the need for touch-up arises, it is very simple to open the can and brush on a little bit.

I would highly recommend a suitable and compatible primer. And obviously, it should go with out saying - proper prep work removing loose paint, rust, scale, dirt, etc!!!!!!!!!!. . . .
With the Porter brand paint, I also used their "Glyptex" (sp?) primer. It is a red oxide type primer that prevents rust, yet can be applied over just about anything, and is a good base for the latex top coat.

My intial results have been promising, although I admittedly don't have the long term results to announce yet. I just painted the majority of the truck back in late April and early May of this year (just in time for the journey to Aberdeen)
 

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