TOPIC: Speckled paint

Any idea on how to reproduce something like this?

todd ,you can paint the bottom coat white,then take black paint,and dip a brush into it,then tap it on your hand ,the paint will splatter,but have a scrap peice of plywood or cardboard to do it on each time until you get the amount of black you want,it takes off the excess and gives you a little practice,john

I think you could get close using the methods described in this thread Todd;
www.fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums/2-main-forum/46882-interior-paint-and-rubrail-insert.html#47036
The "Zolatone"/splatter paint method could be adapted a little to produce just the dots, I believe. (Use less paint in the brush, maybe?)

Edit: Also found this stuff that may be a cost friendly alternative than the "high dollar" trunk paint; duplicolor.com/products/trunkSpatter/

One time a friend wanted his racing stripes on his old Nova to be different. We pre-thinned a bunch of different colors but left the paint on the thick side. We poured it into the Binks cup but did not stir it. It produced a wonderful spattered like finish that had some texture to it. It did look different and it looked good. I may have to try it again someday. Now this was about 35 years ago now.

When I renovated my Burchcraft I found the original Zolatone paint that was used on the interior. That was 10 years ago and I know they were phasing it out. This paint is like oil and water. One part is water based and the other is solvent based; they don't mix. You apply with 2 coats, one with low pressure high volume the other high pressure with low volume using a special nozzle for your gun.

I have used this as well as other products, I can't imagine they are all kaput so let me do a little research and I will get back to the thread.

The interior 'glass on my Glasspar was originally Zolatone... When I repainted it, I did it like this, which I call "Fauxlatone"-



Is that close to what you want? I can post instructions.... Whole job cost about $20.

-Andrew

Andrew - yes, please post instructions for your method when you get a chance - it looks exactly like what I want to do as well.

(Thanks - I know you're in the middle of at least 2 major projects.)

Jon

The Zolatone is still available thru TCP Global;
www.tcpglobal.com/autobodydepot/zolatone20.aspx?gclid=CJXSxOqm8KsCFY1S7AodGTnPJg
For those who want to go that route.

"Fauxlatone", I love it! I'd be interested in reading that too, Andrew. You always seem to have time to help anybody who needs it, even when "knee deep" in your own projects. For this we thank you sir.

Good one Mark, just the site I was going to post.

FYI on Zolotone for this application; it is bulletproof. There was a reason they used this product back in the day, the same reason you would use it now. The Zolotone on my 64' Wacanda is as fresh today as the day it went down.

This is from the Zolatone web site, product data sheet. "Not intended for oors, exterior applications, or in areas subject to frequent water contact." www.zolatone.com/file/agt6b2xhdG9uZXdlYnIVCxINcHJvZHVjdHNfZmlsZRjIuwEM/zfx-product-data-sheet.pdf Zolatone is also thick and heavy, used in trunks for its sound dampening. I've sprayed a lot of this and your lucky to get 90sf (9'x10') per gallon coverage.

Johns right about tapping a brush, I'ld use a stick and not my hand tho, it hurts after a while. I've done large areas with a brush or roller spun in a cleaning tool. www.amazon.com/SHUR-LINE-5200-Professional-Roller-Cleaner/dp/B00004Z4HL/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Another way is with a roller as shown here www.behr.com/Behr/home#vgnextoid=f24e280287f2b110VgnVCM1000008119fea9RCRD;channel=PROJECT_CENTER;view=10

It takes some practice to apply the way you want, its an art. If the paint is to thick you'll get tails on the spots. If to thin it will run. Depending on the paint choice you may need to be ready to speckle while the base coat is still wet, or the spots may not stick.

There must be several varieties of Zolatone. Their 20 Series, from the website:

Zolatone 20 Series

The All-Purpose, Long Lasting Multi-Use Coating


Zolatone 20 Series Application Guide

ZOLATONE 20 Series is the perfect OEM and refinish product because of its great looks, camouflaging ability, ease of application, and substrate versatility. Zolatone 20 Series is ideally suited for applications on:

aluminum and fiberglas boat interiors
truck beds and boxes
interior compartments on fire trucks, ambulances, utility trucks, safety vehicles and armored cards
industrial equipment
aircraft or bus interiors and compartments
light fixtures
safes
furniture and shelving

For enhanced water and chemical resistance, without sacrificing adhesion or impact resistance, our Quick Step Catalyst is designed for use with Zolatone 20 Series. The use of this catalyst is strongly suggested and is to be used if higher performance of Zolatone 20 Series multicolor is desired.

---

There are a bunch of colors available, and those can be mixed and matched as desired. Looks pretty nice...

I did a fair amount of experimenting before I did mine- Just to make sure that I could figure out how to do it right... Since I'm an artist, too, I like to experiment...

In the end, the best method I found was essentially what John Gibson told you to do. But, I did some experimentation to figure out the best (and easiest!) way to get it on there.

I used industrial enamel, Rustoleum or similar would probably work fine, too. I used a quart of white, and a quart of black. You could, however, use pretty much whatever color you choose.

First, I painted a good coat of the base color on the primed fiberglass. While it was still tacky, I applied the speckles. They are the same paint, but thinned pretty heavily (probably about 30% or so). I mixed the two greys by adding black to the white. Careful- A little goes a LONG way!

I found that the key to getting consistent specks that didn't run was a combination of technique and tools. I used a 4" 'chip' brush- One of the cheapies from Home depot. They are absolutely horrid paint brushes, but perfect for this- The 'better' brushes don't work nearly as well.

I dipped only about 1/4" or so of the brush in the thinned paint, then tapped it on the side of an empty paint bucket until it was almost dry, then tapped the brush with a piece of scrap wood over the boat.

You want the brush to be ALMOST dry, so the spatter is relatively light- Otherwise it'll drip and run. Do it in different directions, and move all around the piece that you're working on to avoid getting a pattern.

Experiment a bit on some plywood or cardboard, there is a technique to be learned- but once you figure it out, it's easy! I think it looks pretty decent, too.

-Andrew

Rustoleum has a product called Garage floor epoxy that gives that effect.

BadgerBoater wrote:

There must be several varieties of Zolatone. Their 20 Series, from the website:

Zolatone 20 Series

The All-Purpose, Long Lasting Multi-Use Coating


Zolatone 20 Series Application Guide

ZOLATONE 20 Series is the perfect OEM and refinish product because of its great looks, camouflaging ability, ease of application, and substrate versatility. Zolatone 20 Series is ideally suited for applications on:

aluminum and fiberglas boat interiors
truck beds and boxes
interior compartments on fire trucks, ambulances, utility trucks, safety vehicles and armored cards
industrial equipment
aircraft or bus interiors and compartments
light fixtures
safes
furniture and shelving

For enhanced water and chemical resistance, without sacrificing adhesion or impact resistance, our Quick Step Catalyst is designed for use with Zolatone 20 Series. The use of this catalyst is strongly suggested and is to be used if higher performance of Zolatone 20 Series multicolor is desired.

---

There are a bunch of colors available, and those can be mixed and matched as desired. Looks pretty nice...

That's a cool product, did a little reading on their site, looks like the Zolatone 20 came out in 2007. A friend had his Jeep body done with something just like that, in all black. He said it was like a Rino spray bed liner but thinner. It looked like it would be good for trailers also.

I used Andgott's method on my boat with GREAT results. Only thing I altered was the brush. I found using a Wallpaper Glue brush worked better than the chip brush. It has coarse bristles and fewer of them. He is very correct about practicing first AND Hit the brush with a stick NOT the other way around.

To me my favorite part of my resto was speckling the interior. It took about 5 minutes per color to spray. I used the topside color and some gray primer to match my original speckel. Seriously if you want a consistant job you have to spray it. I use a HVLP gun with the air turned almost off. Much easier this method to get vertical surfaces. No worry about those little dribble lines either. I dont have a pic handy, but i'll try to get one. Try this link and zoom in on a couple pics.
fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums/2-main-forum/42155-finished-fireflitepics-now-updated.html

Great job on the Glastron! Where did you find the textured metal? Is that the same pattern as original?

Thanks! I could not find the original mylar that was on it so I used small engine turn gold vinyl. There is a pic of the original comapered to the new in the link above.