Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Painting a pump?

Is it possible to paint a pump with a brush and not look like *****? I saw on american restoration, when their compressor went down they just spray painted the item. I cant imagine that looking good on a pump. The cheapest place i found in town to paint it for me is 6-8 hundred. I'd rather do it myself and learn the process. just wondering if there is a cheaper/easier way to do it, or just wait until i have the extra money. thanks for any help or advice.

I saw that too on that show. I would ticked off to spend that kind of money to have it rattle caned as they called it. Look to see what it would cost to powder coat it.

I restored a Model T ford when I was in high school, alot of years ago, and painted it black with a brush. I sanded it out and polished it up and it looked just fine. If you look at alot of pumps when they are faided out you can see that they were painted with a brush. Talk to you local paint store and they should be able to help you pick out a paint that can be wet sanded with success. Richard

There was a discussion on here over a year or so ago about how somebody painted a pump with a brush. They color sanded it and it looked great. Somebody more savy than I wold have to find if for you though.

Serialist,
Don't Be-leave EVERYTHING you see on that show or TV [Willie Coyote never Dies after getting Blasted by the Roadrunner & Jurassic Park had computer generated Dino's! ].

Professional painters had to start somewhere, Mistakes ARE part of the learning process.

He that never made a Mistake, NEVER Did Anything.

Alright thanks for the help!im gonna give it a shot. I have a wayne 11 i got from a local farmer for 75 bucks. It'll be the practice pump. Im picking up a tokheim 39 short tommorow. I really want to do it as a Idaho chief(grew up in so. idaho), but i doubt ill be able to find a original globe. anyway thanks again.

HOPE ya Have FULL DEEP Pockets, when ya start adv. for an Original Globe!

Instead of Maybe messing up your 1st pump paint job, test your skills on Trash Cans/Burn Barrels. Ya just Might have the Best Looking Trash Barrels in the neighborhood! LOL

Try using one of the three inch foam rollers, experiment with thinning the paint. If you google long enough you will find examples of where people have painted entire cars this way.
I needed to get some paint on the top of my '54' Willys wagon a while back and didn't have the time to hassle with spray painting, so I used this method. Came out quite good. Has significant "orange peel" look, but at least it doesn't have brush strokes.

Lee

My pumps have different finishes. Some are urestored (and will stay that way)some sprayed with automotive paint that was color sanded and polished, some powder coated and a couple brush painted. Here is one that was brush painted and done and a door from one that I am almost done with.

Here is a "Low Cost" restoration article, that I did a while back. Its not either of the pumps that you mentioned, but the basics will be the same. As with all the steps I've shown, there are both better products and procedures that can be used. However, if you take your time with this, theres no reason why your pump wont turn out with a bit just fine.

http://oldgas.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=107679#Post107679

And here is a link from a thread started earlier this year about painting pumps on the cheap:

http://oldgas.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=238726#Post238726

Sure it can be done, and done well. I saw a youtube vid of a guy that painted his car with bruch/roller and rustoleum paint and it turned out great. Try Googling for tips.
When I first got interested in this hobby I was really drawn to the high quality "museum" quality paint jobs on pumps, and they are still awesome. However, as time goes on, I find myself drawn to pumps that are just cleaned up or have a paint job like you might have actually seen at a station. IMO, Rick destroys the historical value of many pieces by "over-restoring" them.
Good luck on your pump!
John

I have known Rick for over 15 years, as for his show, he only does what the producers tell him to do.

Jack Sim

I have used an inexpensive Paint Sprayer hooked up to a 15 gal compressor for other projects. The key to a great finish is prep of the item. getting off all loose or better yet all of the old finish and prime before painting. Oil base or lacquer works best for me.

Several posts have been removed.

Please stay on the topic of painting a pump.