• Cost. It is less expensive to paint the torso myself.
• I can achieve excellent results using auto body spray can paint if I follow the directions on the can of spray paint.
• No Lost-In Space-hating, minimum-wage-earning worker in an auto body painting factory would be as likely to lavish as much care and attention on the painting of my robot's torso than I.
• Damage, chips, scratches, and cracks in the torso are inevitable in the course of the robot's life. Having these repaired by an auto body shop would be an expensive ordeal. Being able to repair them myself instantly using paint available in any good auto parts store would be a real advantage.
• Good quality, nationally distributed Duplicolor auto body paint in the correct color range is readily available in almost any auto parts store.
• I can do this myself. It is not difficult. Such a project only requires patience and care.

Products used

Coat	Product	Number of Coats	Number of Cans Used
Primer	Rustoleum Automotive Primer	4	4
Color	Duplicolor Truck and SUV Silver T178	8	8
Clear Top Coat	Duplicolor Truck and SUV Clear Top Coat T125	4	4

Duplicolor manufactures a dizzying array of silver auto body paints. Each is unique and designed to match the paint for a particular brand and model of automobile. Not knowing which silver paint would be right for my robot, I bought a can of silver paint that seemed right and of which the store had a large stock. 'If this turns out to be the right color,' I reasoned, 'I want to be able to buy as many cans of it as I need.' After testing the paint at home, I determined that my first selection, T178, was the perfect silver for the robot's torso.

After preparing and priming the surface of the torso (a project that I began months ago), I constructed a paint tent in the garage using sheets of plastic suspended from the ceiling. Following the directions on the can of paint, I applied each layer of silver paint. Between coats, I sanded the paint with super fine steel wool and cleaned it with a good quality tack cloth. I allowed each coat to dry at least 30 minutes before touching it with steel wool.

Not knowing how many coats I would need, I kept applying coats until the color had achieved a deep and rich finish. I was finally satisfied after applying the eighth coat.

The clear top coat gave the paint an even deeper luster without making it glossy. Just to be safe, I let the paint dry for two days before applying the clear top coat. This product requires at least 48 hours to dry. I discovered, however, that the solvent does not fully evaporate for at least a week. I waited this long before putting all the hardware back on my robot's torso.
 

None of the photographs bellow convey the real color of the painted torso. The photographs taken without flash make the torso look bluish gray, whereas the photograph taken with flash makes it look dark silver. The real color is a nice light silver color that closely matches the color of the raw aluminum waist plate.

Click on thumbnail image to see the full size photograph

The primed and prepared torso has been suspended from the ceiling of the garage and a dust and wind free chamber has been created using plastic sheeting hung from ceiling to floor.	The first few coats of paint have been applied.
The finished product. This photo was taken in artificial light without camera flash. The paint looks less metallic here than it does in person.	This photo has been taken using the camera flash. The torso looks more metallic than it does in person.
Close up of the torso, taken without flash.	Side view of the painted torso, taken without flash.