Kids friendly paint job ideas??

[broku518]

Hello!

Before I get in too deep. I have 3 small boys, bunch of bicycles in my garage. Things will get bumped and move occasionally.
I didn't build my mk4 to be a show car or super clean.
My car is a daily commuter, groceries, fishing, and I drive it as much as I can type of thing....last thing I want is to keep my boys away from this car.

With that in mind - I am looking for some creative paint ideas. Something I don't have to worry about, easy clean up, touch up.
I like the gel coat stage, but it looks kinda rough with those imprints (fiberglass seems)

I even thought about doing a chalkboard paint so my boys can decorate it :) Anyhow, feel free to suggest ideas.

PS:Please, don't tell me to teach my boys to stay away. We built this together, and their hand prints are already on the hood :cool:

Thanks,
Broku518

[OnlyAndy]

Consider a WRAP... Not as fragile with scratches and dings..... but also not bullit proof. I have seen a couple and you could not tell it was not paint.

[flynntuna]

Plasti dip, easy to use and lasts a few years and when you get tired of it , pull it off and do it again.

[Dave Howard]

I think your head is already in the right place. Don’t scare them. At the end of the day, it’s a kit car. Not a million dollar super rare ride. Mine is driven as often as weather permits. Has some stone chips. Has a couple of bike bumps from the garage. No worries. At car shows, I encourage kids and pretty girls to sit in it. It gives me a thrill to see the smiles on their faces. I couldn’t imagine putting a protective barrier around it. Like a bold KEEP OUT sign. Not very inviting.
So, paint it your favourite colour and just enjoy.

[BC Huselton]

I am going to use this on my next project...amazing paint and holds up really well. There is really no down side to it 20 Cans will do the entire car = $150. You can even use their clear over it if you want gloss, Semi, Matt or Flat. Kids can actually do it!

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[Jeff Kleiner]

Plasti dip, easy to use and lasts a few years and when you get tired of it , pull it off and do it again.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner :)

Jeff

[DadofThree]

First, let me say I Love your approach with respect to your boys. I agree with your opinion and position on the matter.

Also I love the look of the red gel coat, and would consider staying with that. If you're willing to consider chalkboard paint as an option, I'm a little surprised that you're bothered by the appearance of the parting lines. Maybe you should start with trying to make the gel coat work. If you can knock those down so there are not sharp edges, you may be okay with the look. Chalkboard paint on the inside of the doors might be fun too. If you don't like the look, then move on to option #2.

BTW, there is a large Deep South Cobra Club get together in Melbourne Oct 25th-28th. Make it up there if you can.
Dave

[broku518]

First, let me say I Love your approach with respect to your boys. I agree with your opinion and position on the matter.

Also I love the look of the red gel coat, and would consider staying with that. If you're willing to consider chalkboard paint as an option, I'm a little surprised that you're bothered by the appearance of the parting lines. Maybe you should start with trying to make the gel coat work. If you can knock those down so there are not sharp edges, you may be okay with the look. Chalkboard paint on the inside of the doors might be fun too. If you don't like the look, then move on to option #2.

BTW, there is a large Deep South Cobra Club get together in Melbourne Oct 25th-28th. Make it up there if you can.
Dave

Hi Dave,

I don't know, the seems are just poking out and looking rough. I might sand them smooth at some point.

[broku518]

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner :)

Jeff

Jeff,

Don't think you are off the hook! There is no way in hell I am sanding and fitting those parts....you might as well do it AND paint it! :cool:

[CraigS]

For a few $ and a day or two sanding the seems flat try this paint which is reported to be a good match to the gelcoat.
Krylon Fusion red gloss. A friend did this to his and from 30-40 feet you would never know it. Another option is paint w/ Rustoleum and a roller or a sprayer.
https://www.instructables.com/id/Paint-Your-Car-With-Rustoleum/

[NAZ]

Sounds to me like you should just paint it and forget about it -- let it weather the kid tornado without worry. It surely won'y get as rough a treatment as a "real" off-road machine with all the dings, dents, and Arizona pinstripe they collect. I have seven vehicles that range from showroom condition to outside dog and as I write this my F150 outside dog is getting pelted with Arizona monsoon hail and I'm OK with that as this is a ranch truck. But the wife's showroom condition Mercedes is safe and warm in the garage where I don't have to worry. Just depends what you want in a vehicle -- show car or daily driver.

[rich grsc]

Paint it a nice standard color, the lighter the better, white, silver etc. A color you can walk into any auto parts store and find a touch up pen. Then don't worry about it.

[Yama-Bro]

I've been thinking of doing dip your car on mine. Like the others said, it stays decent for a year then peal it off and do it again. The kids would get a kick out of picking the colors. And you can get the whole spray system +coating for a few hundred, so the next year's coating would be even cheaper.

https://www.dipyourcar.com/

[Avalanche325]

Stay away from metallic. They are pretty much impossible to do a decent touch up on. Any straight color can be touched up pretty easily.

I have black with silver stripes. I have done several touch ups, using the real paint and clear. Then wet sanding and buffing. I can't find them on the black. On the silver stripes, there is no way to get the metallic to lay the same as it did off the gun. It comes out a completely different color if you dab some in.

Wraps are expensive and will be far from indestructible. I haven't seen a Plasiti-dip car. Could be interesting.

[Jeff Kleiner]

OR...

If not Dip simply knock the parting lines down, spray the area with matching gelcoat and buff it in.

Jeff

[jrcuz]

If you do plasti dip your boys may enjoy peeling it off when it is time to re do it.
JR

[Clover]

This sounds like the perfect use case for Plasti-Dip to me. I love the stuff and have used dipyourcar.com before with good results on wheels and smaller things. I have a set of wheels on my car that still look good which I dipped about two and a half years ago. I thought I would have needed to redo them but they have not started pealing yet. I have not dipped a car myself, however, I have seen a few that I thought looked good and one that looked pretty bad because somebody did not do it correctly. Now, when I say "looked good", I mean for a DIY cheap option, not good relative to a show car. There are tons of videos up there showing lots of different coats on lots of different cars. You can still do pearls or metallic in the clear coat and can make it glossy or matte. There is a lot of wild stuff out there because it is temporary and you can take a risk and just peal it off if you don't like it. Probably also because it tends to be done by young guys looking for attention. If you are a risk taker, you could let your kids pick the colors which I bet they would love. The plasti dip spray equipment cost a few hundred and was different then a typical paint set up with no compressor needed when I looked a few years back. You also spent a few hundred on the base coat, paint, and the clear for a car. I bet it is a little more expensive now but still pretty reasonable as far as painting a car.

[flynntuna]

Be the first to use bed liner. :rolleyes:

[Mark Eaton]

I'm going to do the dip thing because I think my boys (12 and 14) and I will have fun spraying it on and when we are sick of it in a couple of years we can peel it off and dip a different color!

[rychi1]

Question for Jeff or another one of the knowledgeable painters out there. I, like Broku518, also have 3 small boys and his original post is pretty much my exact situation also. I was planning to just ride in the gelcoat for a year or two, but the dipyourcar looks pretty interesting. Would that cause any issues when I go to have it painted for real in a few years. Can you still knock down the parting lines and dip over it?

[Tom Veale]

Sometimes even simple things make kids smile. Here's a seasonal interpretation of my Challenge Roadster from a few years ago:
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I cut the pumpkin face and the bats out of contact paper to decorate the car for a Halloween race weekend at Road America. The general audience of 12 years and under really liked the Pumpkin Racer. They apply easily and come off with no problem.
So, whatever you do, it doesn't have to be permanent. It can be just something as simple as this and can be specific to a season or other celebration.

Best regards,
Tom

[John Dol]

Just remember for a wrap and/or plastidip the body needs to be smooth like you did the body work for it to look nice.


John

[Dave Tabor]

Leaving mine in high-build primer.

I might try some Crayola washable paint over this- then hit the drive-through car-wash and change it up.

Dave

[Avalanche325]

I'm going to do the dip thing because I think my boys (12 and 14) and I will have fun spraying it on and when we are sick of it in a couple of years we can peel it off and dip a different color!

12 and 14 should be OK for real paint. You shouldn't have to lock the 12 year old in a closet for more than 18 months. I don't have kids though.....can you tell?