Bongo Fury

Right folks, I know there's plenty on here regarding DIY painting ..... rollering / 1k/2k etc, but I'm just looking for some concise summary regarding the durability / longevity of rollering. Folks always show their handy work, but rarely see a followup after a year ....

When using multi surface paint for a matt finish... How robust is the finish for daily use? Ie can you use power washers on them? When driving on the tiny country roads (devon etc) & brushing against soft shrubs (where normal paint isn't bothered) is MS paint ok?


Also, I now have the option to buy an air compressor & painting kit via the business for some work with a customer. Whilst I consider myself a very competent individual in most trade disciplines, I've never painted an entire vehicle..... As such, my quandaries are this:

1) Would I be out of my mind to attempt a 2k spray job without experience or a booth?

2) As a middle ground, looked at enamel paint rattle cans (ie Paintman)..... Is this a suitable compromise between rollering / spray, or is a consistent finish more difficult?

Unless you know what you're doing with that spray gear you're gonna end up with a lousy job with lots of runs, and its not just a top coat you need to do lots of prep work on the bodywork before a top coat will look decent. Personally I'd look for a sprayer if I wanted a decent job, similarly for rollering or touch up work with rattle cans which will be expensive, etc. I did industrial painting years ago for a firm and if the humidity is high any painting you do will peel off later which is why sprayers use a booth where they control humidity and temperature, any paintwork I do would only be a patch to cover a dent or such like, no way would I attempt a job as big as these vans without previous experience.

I did a rustoleum roller job on my van and found it very durable on the metal but the adhereance was a lot less on the bumpers, AFT and wing mirrors. They could lift if power washed too vigoursly. Wasn't a big deal though as it's not a big job at all to do the touch ups yourself if anywhere needed attention and I normally had some rust repairs to do on an annual basis which meant I was getting out the paint in any event.

Painting anything is all about the preparation for the finish to be decent, bumpers being plastic would need rubbing down and a base coat applied for the top coat to stick properly, all depends how nice you want the old bus to look. I paid 1100quid to have my bike fairings and tank resprayed a year back and it looks like it just came from a dealers, difference being I also replaced every bearing, springs/shocks/brakes and lines so it is like new but personally if I went to view any vehicle with a lush new paintjob I'd be on my guard right from the off.

I watched some bloke on youtube yesterday who'd bought a bright shiny lime green Bongo who got carried away at the dealers he bought it from with the paintwork and negated checking other stuff like the underneath, he showed some big holes at the rear of the chassis with one corner pretty much no longer there. Then he checked his new MOT and the van had been passed by the same dealer which he's not happy about.