spoon fed

^^^^

MikeJ-2009

I won't copy all of that again :P, but that's some good info. I'm thinking about the small details that maybe you can enlighten about. Things like:

You said you always use a primer, but what grit would you end with just before spraying?
You said 15psi more at the compressor, but what psi is ideal for the gun, or is it different with different setups?
What about the mixing stuff? Ratios and stuff like that.


I'm not ready to do this tomarrow, but I would get so much satisfaction out of painting my own car, I just want as much info as possible. Thanks for the info.

Mista_Shrpnl

Tips Part 2:

For a final sanding before a primer, I like to use a 800 grit over the entire surface.Some will do a 220 only, while others will get all meticulous and use a 1100. Just depends on the final look, time you want to spend and so forth.

On to PSI's...All guns, paints, clears will differ. Usually, and again, this is dependant, 40 to 60 psi works well. This is where a spare hood or other sheet metal will come in handy for practice. always get a good spray going before you lay into the car. paint is unforgiving, and if ya botch it the first time, back to step one.

things to look for when seting up your spray:

Too thin: odds are not enough paint, or too much air pressure. Remedy: give her some more paint, or turn down the psi air junky!

Too thick/Globs shooting out: too much paint/not enough air.
Remedy: well, lets think about it :P

You want a nice, not too thick coverage.I usually like to shoot for a foot sweep per second for my coverage basis. If its too thin, or too thick, then ya want to add some more paint mix. BUT, when starting out, only go as fast as your comfortable. this things take time to learn.

As for mixing Ratios...again( see a trend?) depends on the Brand,how thin/thick you like it, and additives( flakes and such)

Anywhere from a 2-1-1 to a 6-1-1 is common. Why so many numbers?? Because, in addition to paint, you will add a reducer and a catalyst.

Always use the exact same ratio when doing a job! Dont, and you will see the differance when you lay on that coat.Either lighter, or darker coats will show up.

Painting your car properly will take time. Think a good 3 day weekend. People who can/say/do in a day, usually shows.Not having a bake booth adds to some of the time, as you need a bit longer to allow dry between coats.

A good rundown of a weekend in the garage:
Day one...Sanding, as this will take the better half of a day, usually more to do it right. The second half, if there is some, will be spent masking/removing/etc prep.

Day two: DOUBLE CHECK YOUR PREP youd be surprised what you missed, after sanding for so many hours. Painting (we'll say 3 coats) will take 3-4 hours. since your doing this in a home-booth( after this loong *** post, ill explain how to set one up) Dry time between coats is what will eat your day.

Day three: On to the clear. Again, saying 3 coats here, will take another 3-4 hours, plus dry time. Now, you can concievably fit both days into one, but why rush,? Remeber, after shooting, breathing fumes(no matter what resporater you use, fumes do get to ya) and so forth, your gonna be tired.

Now, the second half of the day will be used for wet sanding the clear. Factor in 3-4 hours here.

projekteg

lol, i wouldn't count on it. it took my boy literally a year to mold a body kit and paint half of the car for his first time. you may 'know' how, but if you've never done it, you're in for a big surprise and a lot of down time. he bought a big *** compressor, good gun, all kinds of books, etc., etc. it looked great when he was done, but it seriously took him A WHOLE YEAR!

Mista_Shrpnl

So, Now ya need a frikking booth huh?

This is what Ive setup many times before, and it works very nicely, plus keeps law officials, EPa and such off of your ***.

Your going to want a 2 car, or a VERY large 1 car garage to start.

First, clean it out! Remove that bigwheel you have plans to mod out, sweep the Floors, and so on.

Now, go buy some Plastic sheeting to cover EVERYTHING with.Over spray goes everywhere...no matter what.
Buy alot, as you will need alot. start at the ceilings, and go to the floors. A decent staple gun will work wonders up top, and a good chucnk of Duct-tape will keep her down on the floor. Also cover the floor of the garage will plastic too. Im pretty sure your landlord, or next buyer will wonder why the floor is a nice shade of rice orange, not to mention the some dirt will stay, and possibly blow up during the work.

Now, as for a ventilation system. Yes, you will need one. Paint staying in the air will land somewhere, and since you have a big chunck of new paint, its gonna land there.

Now, this is where the trip to home depot the first time pays off. Pick yourself up about 4 of those Box fans...ya know, the ones that are about 2.5 feet square, cream colored and tacky? Yep, those.Also, pick yourself up enough Furnace filters to cover them.

Take these and center them under the garage door aiming the air OUT the door. Shut the door to the top of them. Tape those filters along the inside of the fans, creating a barrier to keep the paint inside the shop...thi keeps the law off of your ***. take some more of that plastic, and cover the open sides.

So you have a nice florescent light in there? well, ya need more! Use a couple of those Halogen double headers to shine light where your working. you can never have enough light. you will see the light spots ya thought you covered when you roll the car out of your dark garage and into the sunlight.

One thing ya can use to help the dry time between coats is a good space heater or two, but dont turn them on directly onto the car. also, try not to turn them on untill your done spraying.

Any more Questions? Ill try to help!

Mista_Shrpnl

WRONG! The price of paint will show you otherwise. Quality paint is expensive. Now factor in shop labor and such, and you will see why those paintjobs look like ----. They are basically using house paint.

Bizzar

Yep I paid $85 for a pint of Emeron 9 years ago...I havent checked inflation and what it goes for now, but paint adds up. Especialy anything from House of Colors

MikeJ-2009

haha, that was funny. I was thinking about the ventalation system as well the other day and thought I would run a fan with one of those round heater ducts outside or something. Never thought about filtering it for the neighbors. lol.
Let me see if I can get more out of ya:

Dry time- I'm sure it varies, but what's the best way to tell if your ready for the next coat?
You said you use 800 before primer. What do you use after primer/before paint? Anything? My last car I only primered it, but I used this really thick yellow primer that was supposed to be sanded before painting. Also, you said some wacko's use 1100 before the paint, is it possible to have the car so smooth that the primer/paint just won't stick to it?
Also, what is that stuff that you wipe the car down with during this whole process?

I'm sure a couple more posts and spencer is gonna start an auto body shop with Travis and Kain. lol

Mista_Shrpnl

For a dry time, if ya had a flash room, all you need is 15 mins at 200 degrees for the Color. The color is alot more forgiving about being dry. Basically, you want the paint just past the "tacky" part of drying. Where it isnt Hardened all the way, but hard to the touch. Make sense?

Depending on humidity, Outside temp and so forth, its honestly hard to gauge. Like I said, at 200 deg, only 10 mins or is needed. So id say about 30 mins or longer at 90 degrees. If you arent quite sure, this is where the Spare hood would come in handy..who would know a scrap hood had soo many uses. Spray it at the end of the coat, and when you think its been long enough, just touch the hood. It should feel dry to the touch, but not hard. Just past the Tacky stage. But if your going to paint it some rice color, it will never leave the tacky stage! ( wait, this is HMT, NOT H-T, nevermind!)

As for sanding in between coats, I dont. I know at least one guy will jump ina claim this is wrong, but Ive done both, and I dont really notice any differance between coats.
The only time I sand after prep is after I clear coat it.And that is just to remove any final overspray that has gotten onto the coat.
As for getting it too smooth, nope, ya really cant. Unless you can break the surface density and make it like glass, then Im sure its possible lol.

Wax-degreaser solvant. There are so many brands, I usually just stick to what brand Of paint Im spraying.Good rule of thumb...Dont mix brands...especially Primers, Bases and Clear. Most Co's have been known to react to each other in a real bad way. So, use all PPG, all Dupont and so on.
After you de-wax/degrease it, run a tack cloth over the entire body. Gets anything , lint, so forth off.

And If I see a Kanadian Kolors Pop up, Im gonna tax Travis and Spencer for training.