Tips for a first time painter

[S_Kyle]

I have plans to do a bit of painting over the summer and need a bit of advice. In a perfect world I have 2 tunnels and several hoods and pans I would like to paint during the summer. I have not painted anything with a proper system. I have done a few with rattle cans, they have turned out ok but I found the durability to be lacking compared to the "real" paint.

I have yet to get a gun or anything to do with painting. What type of gun is best for the small time painter? I have a smaller compressor, 5.7 @90psi is this large enough to paint with? Also in a prefect world I would like to prime several things at one time and how long do I have to paint before things start to plug up? For the tunnels, I have read you should use a self etching primer on them after you strip them. Where can you get the primer in quarts or whatever, I have only seen it in rattle cans?


Any other tips would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Scott

[gnfreak]

hey scott, i'm in the same situation. i got the spray gun with my air compressor a couple of christmas's ago and have only used it for some house trim, never on a vehicle. i'm thinking of using Dupli-color from Summit. Primer is sold in quarts ($20) as well as the paint ($20) and clear (also $20). i'm hoping to get a couple sleds done with a quart of each. i think the recommendation in the Summit catalog was 4 quarts for a small car.

[SpitfireKing]

Hey Scott,

If your looking for a realy good paint job then I recommend getting the supplies from somewhere like Charse Autobody in Brandon or Winnnipeg. They can sell you 1/2 quarts of good primer and mix up your colours to JD spec if you have the code from some of the other topics in FAQ's. Br prepared though...I priced the paint for my 50 Dodge and it was around $500, and that wasn't even for a full gallon, I think it was a half gallon mixed, hardner and a really good primer.....needless to say I went with CDN Tire and painted my truck for about $150.00...but it looks it and is getting re-done this summer. I painted my 77LF with a spray bomb, but it was mixed to colour paint from CHASE, not just a gloss black or what you can buy from the store and I think it turned out pretty well, except for the few glitches where the pain stripper decided to bubble up after.....and that's another thing...if you use actual stripper...clean it really well with alcohol and water after your done

As for a sprayer, I got mine from PA when it was on sale....just the style with the can on the bottom and it would hold about a pint or so. I've been using it for years on vehicles, etc and been very happy with it, as long as you take the time to paint on some cardboard each time you fill it to get the pattern and amounts right. Your compressor will do fine, but it will never stop running, you need a pile of air to paint and also a moisture remover, again PA for like $10 when I got my inline one.

Hope that helps

[EL DIABLO]

Scott,

Just from my experience working for a short time in an auto body shop, I do not think that you compressor will be large enough. If I get a chance I will talk with a painter friend of mine about compressor size.

From the little experience I had with painting(mainly 427Cobra's old blazer)paint is the easy part but be careful with the clear coat it can RUN real easy and you will see ALOT of wetsanding and buffing in your future...many light coats for the clear coat.

As for primer clogging you should have a decent amount of time as long as you are spraying, but does not take long for it to harden up...for best results you may want to have a gun for priming and a gun for color(at least that is how they do it at the body shop).

Just my $.35,
Keith

[just_some_dude]

I paint sprayed one time and it turned out horribly. I was spraying some trim. At the time I used a small compressor, I don't know if that had anything to do with it. I think it was that I sucked. I really would like to know how to do it correctly.

In any event, if you have a small compressor, and I ended up doing this (in addition to buying a bit larger compressor), just go on Craigslist and see if anyone is just selling a tank. I got a 26 gallon tank off there for 15 bucks. No engine or compressor, just the tank. It makes a huge difference. I started with a 3 gallon (blah, sold it), and got a 10 gallon (decent). So, total I have 36 gallons.

I've also read that if you run a long hose that you can rig a propane tank as an air tank and have that sit in between your air gun and compressor. Supposedly, it help keep a steady flow of air. So, it'd go compressor ->filter->hose->propane tank->filter->short hose->filter(optional, depends on your setup)->gun. If you have a good filter, you probably won't need a bunch. I'm no expert, though. Not even close.

I do recommend getting a storage tank, like I did. It has made a massive difference, even being relatively small. Especially, when getting into impact wrenches, etc. But, that's a whole other deal.

[SpitfireKing]

as long as you can maintain about 50-60 psi pressure you can paint...what I do is paint about a square foot, and then give the compressor a chance to catch up...it's 25 gallon so it's not too bad, but if you were to just paint a whole vehicle you would need a 50+ gallon to maintain without stopping. Diablo is bang on..lots of light coats..I painted my truck about 4 times...actually 3 primer..and 4 paint...and that's no clear coat, but I wouldn't be in a rush to clear coat a sled that's being used....not like your dealing with bugs being stuck to the paint and easier to do repairs if you don't have to take the CC off.

[S_Kyle]

Well I chaecked out a few different sites and there are definatly guns out there that will fit my compressor. Do I need a HVLP or do the gravity and siphon guns work just as well?

[SpitfireKing]

I like my siphon painter just fine...the HVLP's will be way more money no? I know the one at PA comes on sale every once in awhile , but it looks cheaply made to me and not worth the $....sometimes they put a kit on with an airbrush kit...great for small touch-ups

[S_Kyle]

I was in Canadian tire today and looked at there selection. There was one siphon model that I liked and the air requirements were well within my compressors requirements.

Next question, I obviously need a respirator while I am doing this. What type is best for painting? Are the VOC's the only thing that need to be filtered out or what?

[SpitfireKing]

wimp.....don't you have an old t-shirt for your face? LOL

http://www.princessauto.com/workshop/ga ... respirator

This is the one I have...worked great...and I know becasue I didn't blow my nose orange for a week, like when I painted a work trailer green and looked like I had Shrek's nose..... you also need some cheap goggles and get the chjeap one's as they will be destroyed..that and a well vented area, with some fresh air fans and your good to go.

Have you ever called the guy who puts ads for sled bodywork on ebdn? I wonder what he charges?

[S_Kyle]

I had wondered about the guy up in dosa. But to save time and money I want to try this myself, if nothing else I will do the dyno myself if I get to it this summer.

I have been exposed to some pretty bad chemicals and through trial and error I have come to think safety first is not a bad idea. My latest involved 50% hydrogen peroxide and an infected foot, bad idea but it did work.

[SpitfireKing]

Nothing says safety like resting your bag of chips and pop on the chem handler while mixing ag pesticides! LOL...but yes...in my old age I'm starting to think a little wiser...I wear my good mask now ever mowing the grass...the asthma appreciates it a lot more.

Don't forget ...if you get bored with that dyno I'm always here to help

[S_Kyle]

Believe me the dyno is right on the line of better off scrap/ should I save it. I will have to remake some of the panels due to rust and god knows what that maybe ran over some of the loose panels. I should snap a pic or two, but I am afraid of the comments on it.

[ski]

I am not a painter. But, I work in a professional prototype shop and observe painting that is done everyday by pro's. This is show car type paint jobs. And believe me they have issues almost every time they paint. They just know how to compensate and in the end it looks awesome. I've done a few amateur jobs myself after asking a ton of questions to my co-workers. It looks so easy..shoot some primer...shoot some paint...presto it looks awesome.....not always so grasshopper.

A couple of other points you may want to consider...prep work is everything on a good paint job. Many hours are spent here sanding and filling and priming and re-priming. Get some good sanding blocks and don't be afraid to cut them up into custom sizes so you can sand every detail. Auto body supply stores sell semi-hard rubber blocks in various size and shapes.
Also if you had an oiler on your compressor you will want to take that off. Your hose now is contaminated with oil. Soooo another hose is needed, unless you can clean it out? Now you you want a good filter/dryer water trap setup on your airline to keep contaminents out of the air line going to your gun. You don't want any moisture getting in your paint. There maybe other points regarding this but someone more knowledgeable than me will have to submit that.
When I paint I always use etching primer on aluminum tunnels followed within 24 hours by a hi build primer that I block sand out to 400. Then you can either paint again with a primer/sealer or go right to finish coat(s) depending on paint. There maybe other points regarding this but someone more knowledgeable than me will have to submit that.
I don't want to discourage you but many,many, factors and luck (in an amateur's case) determine a great paint job.I realize now why painting cost's so much. Good Luck!

[JDT]

Last fall I did a hood only for a sled I was working on.

I did all the prep work myself and than the professional at the body shop did the final work (prime/paint).

I logged up 20 hours of prep work on the hood. The painter had 1.5 hours of booth time.

Prep is everything. Even the smallest most insignificant glitch in the surface will manefest itself into a major bogger once the final layer of top coat is on it.

After three days working on the hood I took it to the shop for him to paint. He looked at it for three minutes and told me he would not paint it as it sat as I had not obtained the surface he requires.
So i worked it for another 10 hours. Then he looked at it and said it was ready.

Now I know how how a guy can have $15k in a really good paint job on a car. It is all the labor in the prep work.
And the cleaning, drying, degreaseing that has to happen before the any primer is eeven applied.

I do know that clean, dry, oiless air is a most and the reserve capacity of the air system has to be addiquit for the type of spray gun used.
The shop that did the painting for me has a huge tank, maybe 100-120 gals.
I also know that tehre is an extensive filtration system on it.
And he used a $600 paint gun.
I asked him about that gun. Why does he use such an expensive gun when others use $200 guns.
His responce was "My repuatation is litteraly in my hand when I pick up my paint gun."

hmmm....

Some of you may remember the hood I am talking about.... Herter's Husky.