Art Fun Cheap

Art cars gathered in Providence, RI. Image via Wikipedia

Recently I wrote about how to keep your art car rolling for as long as possible. Here are a few more thoughts on creating art cars, especially about safety, using the right materials, and making sure your vehicle will be street legal when you are done.

Decorating  just any old car you happen to have access to may not be the best idea. Why put hundreds of hours and possibly thousands of dollars into an automobile that simply cannot be kept running for very long?

Before you decide to either buy an old car to turn into an art car or use one you have, be sure to have a good mechanic check it out. A car may run OK now but have serious problems that could cost you thousands of dollars to fix in the near future. For many people that could mean the end of their art car project.

In How to Keep Your Art Car Rolling I wrote about how to find a good repair shop in Houston, where I live. I’m not sure it was clear that the website I mentioned can help you find a good automobile repair shop anywhere.

For example, you could find the best Chicago auto repair shop for a 2002 Toyota Camry, or for any car. Or you could get information on the site about what to do if your check engine light is blinking.

If you are painting your art car, you want to make sure the paint will stay on. You do not want your artwork to peel or flake off because you failed to prepare the surface properly or used the wrong kind of paint. I have had paint start to peel in just weeks. That is ugly!

And you want to use a UV protectant coating so the paint and any glued on objects resist fading in the sun. Without UV protection sun-fading can happen much faster than you may think, and it can ruin your artwork.

If gluing on objects, be sure to use the right glue. After much experimentation, I recommend the kind of glue used for attaching rearview mirrors to windshields. It was the only one I found that worked reliably when gluing glass to fiberglass, for example. You do not want things falling off your car after just a few hours or days.

CAUTION: Whether you are gluing, painting, spraying, fiberglasing, sawing, grinding or sanding, be sure to always wear a mask and be sure to work in a well-ventilated area! No art project is worth permanently damaging your health or dying for.

I want to stress again that you should have your potential art car checked out before you start working on it. And if you are doing more than just painting the car, you should get an auto repair shop’s advice on how to make sure your car can be maintained after it is finished.

Certain modifications, even small ones, could potentially cause problems with your car or make maintenance difficult. Worse, from the artist’s perspective, some designs could be damaged during maintenance or repairs if they are not planned properly.

It is also important to keep your art car street legal. It may take a pro to tell if the mods you want to make will make it illegal to drive your car. That is especially important if you plan to use your art car to get to work or for road trips.

If you only use your car for parades or art car exhibits, extreme mods that impair visibility, prevent getting an inspection sticker, and so on, may not seem like a problem. But how are you going to get your car to the venue if you cannot legally drive it on the public streets? Will you tow it? Carry it on a trailer? Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper to legally drive it there?

Laws vary from state to state and even from city to city on what is legal and what can be licensed to drive on the street. Even a small difference in modification could make the difference between being able to license the car or being able to get a permit to park on your own street in some cities. A mechanic who inspects cars for your state should be able to tell you what is legal where you live.

Getting some good advice before you start arting your car may save a lot of heartaches—or backaches. It is easier to change your plans than to undo and redo hours of painstaking work. Even if it costs a little money to get advice, that advice could save you a bundle later.

With all that in mind, nothing beats the fun of taking an old, ugly car, truck, or van and turning it into a masterpiece of kitchy art fun.