Painting nato green with a roller.

[Boris113]

Morning all. I'm in the process of sanding down the 90's panels to repaint ( not done them for a few years and they aren't looking so great anymore! I have always used oil-based matt nato green before and slapped it on with a brush which looks ok but it holds the dirt and marks badly.

This time I went for a roller, I gave a couple of coats of the usual paint with a foam roller to see what it was like and sanded between coats. However I seem to be getting a very bad orange peel texture, am I doing something wrong? It's quite cold in the shed so I've thinned the paint by 10% and applied it in thin layers with over a week to dry between each.

I also have a few queries:

Are the foam rollers i'm using the right ones or should I use those ones that are more like carpet?

Would satin paint give a better finish and apply better? If so is there anything I could mix into the current paint to make it slightly more satiny or should I just buy new paint?

I have the option to use a £70 lidl compressor and spray gun, is that likely to give a better job than a roller?

Photo attached shows what it looks like a year after brush painting.

Many thanks, Harry

[hobson]

Painting in the winter is a nightmare unless you have a heated booth, even thinning the paint it never seems to go on right, really you need to do it somewhere above about 10-15 degrees.

Paint is also a sod to dry in the cold, it 'blooms' where it kind of sets but doesn't harden, you'll know it's bloomed as even after a week you can still dig a fingernail into the paint.

Satin is easier to work with as it doesn't show up the imperfections as much, i think you can buy matting agent to dull it down but it might be easier to just get another tin.

As for rollers, i used the compressed foam ones, don't use the ones that look like wool, they're for emulsion!

A spray gun might help, depending on your skill in using it, a good roller job will look a lot better than a bad spray job, but again, it's getting it to dry and harden properly in the temperatures, that's the main problem.

Just a thought, but when i paint in the winter, and providing it's a smallish area, i use a red heat lamp we use for the chickens to get it dry, i put it in an old office lamp (the ones with a long adjustable neck) so you can get it into position, you might get away with doing it panel by panel that way,,,

Edited December 31, 2011 by hobson

[Bluemoon]

try heating the paint up, I had good results, but again that was in the summer.

Brian

[Boris113]

Thanks guys!

I'm using a double garage but it's pretty drafty, I'll warm the paint and dig out a couple of those oil filled radiators and see if that helps the drying. I'm doing the whole vehicle so can't use a small heat lamp sadly.

I've sprayed a few times before and done an ok job but only agricultural machinery whereby finish isn't that important so i'll probably just stick with the rollers.

Anybody know a good place to get some satin nato green?

Harry

[wack61]

I'd just wait until the weather warms up, you'll only get cheesed off with it doing it over and over

[pete3000]

I use paint pads on mine, they seem to leave a better finish than brush. The foam rollers leave lots of bubbles.

[Smego]

Good read, I will be doing the same as I have a 5 litre tin of satin nato green but wouldn't attempt it over the winter.

[hobson]

I've always used Anchor Supplies, works out about £60.00 including delivery for a 5l satin, there are other places which advertise cheaper, but usually when you add VAT and delivery there's not much in it, do a search and see if there's anywhere close you could pick it up from, it might save you 10-12 quid on delivery.

HTH