I lifted the following off the Italian Car lists. I know that brushing paint
in the early days was common practice using nitro cellouse but has anyone had
experience with this new stuff?? This guy is in the USA so he was able to
have this paint shipped in from England.....Cheers, Terry
Subject: Test of Brushable Auto Paint
Last weekend my brother Bob and I decided to experiment with a 5-liter can
of Ferrari red ICI 383 Dulux brushable auto paint I recently received from
Brown Brothers in England. My total cost for 5 liters of paint, two 3"
Perfection Plus Hamilton brushes, two 1" Perfection Plus Hamilton brushes
and a small sanding block, including shipping, foreign currency bank draft
charges, express mailing fees, and customs duty was about USD 380.
For a test paint area we chose a vertical surface formed by the driver's
side wheel arch inside the trunk of my 1982 orange-red Lancia Zagato.
Preparation consisted of closing the garage door, hosing down the garage
floor, lightly sanding the original paint in the selected test area,
cleaning the test area with water and a cloth (no tack cloth used), and
permitting the test area to dry. We stirred and mixed the paint by hand,
and then poured a small amount of paint into a clean margarine container.
Using a disposable, inexpensive Chinese bristle brush, I carefully applied
paint to the wheel arch area. As recommended by Barry Burton in the U.K.,
I first employed crossing brush strokes to apply the paint, followed by
moving the brush bristles perpendicularly and lightly over the painted
surface. We permitted the paint to dry for four hours.
Our results follow:
- -- ICI Dulux brushable paint provides a surprisingly high-gloss and
durable finish -- the "look" of the painted surface after drying was truly
surprising and much better than anticipated;
- -- barely visible brush marks appeared in portions of the dried surface;;
those marks may be attributable to the cheap brush we used and/or to
improper bushing technique; perhaps Barry Burton can elucidate this issue
for us;
- -- a small run appeared in one portion of the painted surface, but
appeared to be due to my application of too much paint in a groove from
which the run originated.
We will experiment further and attempt to refine the brushing technique.
Brushing technique appears to be a critical factor in obtaining good
results with this paint. We will paint the remainder of the trunk next
(after welding new metal in one wheel arch with my new Italian MIG welder
- -- purchased on clearance for $220). Painting of the engine compartment
will follow next. I'll send further updates to this digest after the trunk
and engine compartment are finished.
At this point I conclude that reasonably good, if not excellent, results
may be obtained with ICI Dulux 383 paint, paint and proper technique.
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