| Item | Type | Brands | Where? | Cost | Notes |
Primer | Spray or other | Various | Auto places, home improvement, Walmart | $3-5/can; $7/qt | I have used many different primers, or no primer at all, under the paint I have applied. Cheap rattle can primer works fine. Some type of primer (be it actual primer, or rattle can Rustoleum in a color close to your final color choice) should be used over Bondo, otherwise the Bondo will suck in the first 2-3 coats of paint. |
Paint | Either a single part polyurethane (like topside boat paint) or an oil-based enamel | Boat paints: Brightside, Petit Easypoxy, West Marine topside paint, Epifanes. Oil-based enamel: Rustoleum, Tremclad other "rust paint" brands. | Boat paints: Marine supply shops (West Marine). Oil-based enamel: Walmart type stores, home improvement stores; paint stores | Boat paint: ~$30/qt Enamel: ~$8/qt | The original paint used for the process was oil-based enamel such as Rustoleum and Tremclad. Marq introduced the idea of using topside boat paint; many people (including me) find the boat paint to have a better gloss. A typical car will take 2-3 quarts of paint. You may want to get some mason jars to store the paint/thinner mixture. |
Thinner | Mineral spirits | Various | Home improvement stores, paint stores | $8/gallon | The "low odor" type seems to dry slower than the standard type. The standard type can be found at some paint stores and may be labeled as "Paint thinner - 100% mineral spirits". From what I've read, mineral spirits works to thin many different brands of paints. It does not seem to be necessary to use the thinner that the paint manufacturer specifies. |
Roller | High density foam roller | Various | Home improvement stores | ~$6 / 5 pack | These are sold at big stores such as Home Depot and Lowes. They are sometimes labeled "Pro" grade and are high density foam. They are usually white in color. |
Tray | 6" roller tray | | Home improvement stores | $1 | The ones I use have bumps to squeeze paint out of the roller. |
Tape | Blue painters tape | 3M | Walmart, home improvement stores | ~$3 | The blue stuff is easy to remove when done painting. |
Sanding block | Foam sanding block | 3M | Home improvement stores, Walmart | ~$3-4 | These are semi-firm foam sanding blocks that come in various grits. They are designed to be used for sanding, but I used them to wrap the sandpaper around during wetsanding. |
Sandpaper | Various grits: 400, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000 | 3M, others | Walmart, auto paint shops, auto parts stores | ~$3-4/pack | Get the waterproof kind. |