HMM paint Job! can anyone help?

[shogansta]

Okay in the next few weeks what im planing on doing is that i get a very cheap non rusted car preffalby a taurus but they arent cheap in nj and im going to repaint the car Piece by piece what i mean is that first fenders will get painted then other picecs that can come off for the quarter panels and the roof i have no idea what to do but we'll see! anyways, wink.gif

I have no idea no skill what so ever how to do this i have been reading a couple of tutorials and know that i have to strip the paint to bare metal but what do i do next what do i use to bare the part of the car of paint! after the metal is bare what chemical do i use to start to put the paint. is a eletric sprayer good to paint! like i said im going to do piece by piece so i can give full focus some please help! thanks guys!

 

[n8rsk8r]

Electric sprayer? Are you meaning like a wagner house sprayer? Or a bigger unit that you would put a 5 gallon container under for paint (latex, epoxy, enamel, eurathane?)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/n8rsk8r/paintpumponstandnotigersharkmouth2.jpg These "electric" sprayers are the WRONG type of spray applicator, they are for houses and or industrial use only, not automotive.

Looks like you have a lot of questions, just keep em coming, and we will answer them, please ask though, you could waste SO MUCH TIME AND MONEY if not, better to ask and get flamed then waste three months of sparetime wasting hundreds of dollars not to forget all the frustration that goes along with it as well.

Get a good HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) gun, doesn't have to be a Matco, or SnapOn, but a decent one, make sure it is a HVLP, you need to be able to use a regular/standard aircompressor for it<that is where a HVLP and a regular paint-gun differ. With a regular paint-gun (gravity fed or canister) you usually need HUGE amounts of air to operate them (60 gallon air compressor minimum), where as a HVLP you do not. I have a 30 gallon compressor, and a HVLP works fine on it.

To "bare the metal" you will want to go purchase a DA sander, or random orbital sander. This is the most effective way to take paint off, plus you are able to smooth out any imperfections with it as well.

Take care and good luck.

BTW why don't you take a break and go to Texas? They have rust-free cars cheap! Buddies down there constatly telling me of deals.

EDIT: If it were me, and it is not, I would make sure that you read the MSDS on the paint, if painting, make sure that the temp. and humidity is right, otherwise the paint will fail (ie. not dry right, discolor, ect.ect.ect.)

When working with metal, try not to use water, only use chemicals to clean surfaces, if water is used, the freshly exposed metal will flashrust, then the surface is contaminated so the paint will not have the proper surface to adhere to.

 

[shogansta]

Thank you for the reply for the electric sprayer i was talking about something like this
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Elec...ryZ40022QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Im very mostlikey going to get a air compressor but i would get something like 12-15 gallons would that be good i see that you stated you use a 30 gallon one. im going to be getting 12-15 gallons because each piece will come off like the fender will come off and ill just paint that then ill paint the next fender then doors, hood, trunk lid, but i dont know what to do with the quarter panels and the roof any ideas on that?!

And i do have a orbital sander/polisher the chigaco electric kind! and now about paint would a gallon of paint be enought to paint a car?
here is this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AUTO...598177447QQcategoryZ63702QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
and what is a stage one paint
its going to be painted in a 2 car garage and its propley going to be heated :cuss: !
would i be able to use a airbrush with these paints?
and what color should i paint the taurus? and also last ?
I need a really really bright paint job what chemicals should i use.
after its bare metal what type of primer should i use

 

[kevingotashotoo]

you should rent a spray booth,you will get way better quality out of the paint,and an actual automotive spray gun will be your best choice because you will get nice even atominization onto the surface,and i dont think you have to strip it down to bare metal,to save time and money sand it down to the primer

i would leave everything on the car while you paint it,just tape up the headlights,windows cover up the tires etc

im not a car painter myself,but my father is and ive learned quite a bit over the past years

but lastly,to save head aches and all that other stuff...i would get it professionally done..im not critizing your capability,but if you got someone to do it,in a spray booth and with all the other new technology it will turn out awesome and will be worth every penny

 

[shogansta]

I wana do it as a project to see how it turn out im not going to take my gen 3 sho and start striping that, that would just be nuts, im going to get a old 1990 and up car with not bad of a body and work on that!

 

[CALL AAA]

I used a roller on mine. It's ok, I guess.

Seriously though, if you don't have the experience, and you want to make it look 1/2 way decent, I'd at least take it to an Earl Sheib. They're on the cheap end, but theyll use a booth and they'll prep it. It's pretty cheap, but with paint jobs, you get what you pay for.

$15,000 paint job. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/802745
Not $15,000 paint jobs. http://www.molestedcars.com/paint.html

 

[shogansta]

i want to do this for EXPERIANCE!!! not so i can drive the car around i know it going to be like 500 waste of money but you live and learn!@

 

[kevingotashotoo]

i see what you mean,practice makes perfect....you need to find some cheaper paint,say flat black and practice with that,you will also need an actual spray gun....this being that the practice your doing is good practice,using a wagner paint gun would not cut it,also prep material

 

[autobahnsho]

Ok, so my beater car (87 Civic CRX) has BAD paint on the hood (looks like it was rock-chipped everywhere,) top (same but tiny dabs of primer were applied) and rear. Sides are all good.

Really I just want to get the hood and top, the Army has a paintbay in maryland available. I haven't talked to them yet, it's an hour drive, but if I ever get the money I'll make the trip to do the work. I'm hoping they have the spray equipment available, too.

How many hours would I expect to take to just do the hood/ top? Sanding and painting.

How long does the paint dry before the car can be driven??

Thanks.

 

[shogansta]

i know im going to get a compressor but would a gallon of paint be enough to finish a car!

 

[shojuan]

Believe it or not you can get electric HVLP sprayers, no compressor needed. They are called HVLP turbine systems and they came first. Air compressor powered HVLP "conversion" guns came next. They're called that because some of the earlier (and new cheapies too!) were based on conventional spray guns adapted to work as HVLP. Basically the turbine systems have an electric turbine pump that supplies a large volume of low pressure air. The conversion guns drop the high pressure from your compressor down to low pressure and from there it's just like with the turbine systems.

If you choose to get a conversion gun, do so AFTER you buy a compressor so you can be sure to get one that will work within the limits of your compressor. And believe me, any air compressor you get under $1000 is going to have limits. HVLP conversion guns tend to be even more air hungry than conventional spray guns. That's the negative. The gains are in less paint overspray = less dollars down the drain/less paint to buy. Any serious air compressor you shop for is going to have it's HP rated in honest amps. At 220 volts figure 5 amps per HP. Thus a 15 amp 220 volt compressor is typically rated at 3 honest HP. Preperly matched to a pump you can expect 10cfm. I've measured 10.9 cfm @ 135 psi and 12.4 cfm @ 40 psi from my 3 horse Speedaire. That's pretty marginal for most standard HVLP conversion guns. It would be fine for many a mini-gun but those tend to be used for painting door-jambs and general touch up work. I think I could probably run a Devilbiss Finishline HVLP gun with my compressor. An ok gun. SATA makes the best conversion guns but they're in the $500 range. You can get a good turbine system for that and have no compressor worries to boot.

If you decide to go the compressor route get the biggest you can afford! The reason I got my little Speedaire was simply cost. It's a $600 compressor and I got it brand new for $250 (it was an unopened return). It'll run most of my airtools and it has a 50% duty cycle. Definately not enough for practical sanding and heavy duty cutting....my cheapie 3" cutoff tool for example uses 17cfm @ 90 psi. It doesn't take many seconds (16 actually) for the tank to drop from 140 psi to 105 (when the compressor turns on) and from there to down below 90 isn't very long either (17cfm out minus 10.9 cfm in is a net drain of 6 cfm. There's only 2.72 cubic feet of air to go from 105 to 90 psi outta my little 20 gallon tank.) The tool becomes more and more useless below 90 psi. Basically it takes my compressor 29 seconds to pump up from 90 psi to 135-140 psi. If I use it for 16 seconds, then wait 29 seconds, and start using the tool *before* the compressor shuts off, I can go 70 seconds before I hit 90 psi again because then I'm working with a net loss of 7 cfm from 140 psi on down. This is a pain, I have to calculate it all out, write it down, and keep track of my watch which is easier said than done....or put a pressure gauge inline close to my work so I can take advantage of any "intermittant use" which might mean I have a few more seconds. Actually what I want to do is make sure I don't let the compressor get back up to 140 psi and shut off. This brings me to another point. That 17cfm cutoff tool is rated at 4 cfm. That's right. The rule of thumb is take whatever cfm rating the tool has and quadruple it and if your compressor can supply that much air then you will be happy. When you get a spray gun you better darn well make sure your compressor will be able to keep up because it more than just being happy with your tool. If you run out of air while painting you're looking at a ruined paint job! Those turbine HVLP setups are looking better and better.

Really, if you are serious then you should start looking at 5 HP (25 amp/220 volts) 60 gallon, 100% duty cycle compressors which will get you around 16 cfm @ 170 psi. A 7.5 horse 80 gallon would be a really nice setup to have for home. You'd have about 24 cfm capacity. If you can afford it and have the wiring to back it up or are willing to get a proper feed wired from your house mains to your compressor then a 10HP compressor would be getting towards the ideal. You'd have about 32cfm and you wouldn't run out of air with just about anything you might throw at it. You could sand all day, sandblast without stopping, whatever...you would be happy all the time in other words.
Actually you need to check out your wiring no matter what compressor you're going to run (except for the toy 110 units but don't be a fool and get one of those). For now I run 10 gauge wire from my dryer outlet to my compressor. Actually it makes a detour to a dedicated ground (220 dryer is two hot lines and a neutral. I'd rather not have a compressor ground fault on the neutral. Sheesh, I don't want any stray voltage from neutral finding its way to my compressor's metal and thus potentially my paws) and a couple of circuit breakers. Glorified extension cord basically.

See what you're getting yourself into?

 

[autobahnsho]

Believe it or not....

See what you're getting yourself into?

I'll have my wife read your post. I bugged her for a long time that if we ever get the money to get a compressor, we should. She just blew me off.

Then she sees this ad where you hook a nozzle up to your garden hose and air compressor, and it makes fake snow. So she's almost bugging me to get one.
Never mind the ACTUAL uses we'd have for a compressor..

 

[jelloslug]

I painted my '90 piece by piece in my gravel driveway. It was not the first car I painted though. Even though it was not a paint booth it still turned out acceptable. DO NOT strip off all the old paint unless it is VERY damaged. You will strip off any factory rustproofing and you will cause more problems in the long run. Sanding the old paint with 240 to 320 grit and then priming over with a good quality primer (not a rattle can) will work just fine.

 

[redhot93sho]

You won't believe me when I say this, but...A long time ago, I knew a house painter that used a very high quality brush and painted his truck with it. Wet sanded the entire thing, then brought a VERY high gloss out of it by hard compound, then soft compound, then regular buff/wax. I was amazed out the outcome. But it was a LOT of work (but only a cost of about $150 for paint, brush, compounds and wax).

 

[jelloslug]

You won't believe me when I say this, but...A long time ago, I knew a house painter that used a very high quality brush and painted his truck with it. Wet sanded the entire thing, then brought a VERY high gloss out of it by hard compound, then soft compound, then regular buff/wax. I was amazed out the outcome. But it was a LOT of work (but only a cost of about $150 for paint, brush, compounds and wax).

A long, long, time ago that's how cars were painted.

 

[SolidState]

I painted my '90 piece by piece in my gravel driveway. It was not the first car I painted though. Even though it was not a paint booth it still turned out acceptable. DO NOT strip off all the old paint unless it is VERY damaged. You will strip off any factory rustproofing and you will cause more problems in the long run. Sanding the old paint with 240 to 320 grit and then priming over with a good quality primer (not a rattle can) will work just fine.

How is your fron bumper holding up? The shop who repainted mine in feb of 03 did a horrid job, so I am thinking of tackling it myself and painting it.

Any insight into this?

 

[jelloslug]

How is your fron bumper holding up? The shop who repainted mine in feb of 03 did a horrid job, so I am thinking of tackling it myself and painting it.

Any insight into this?

Not that bad. If I were to do it over I would put another layer of clear on it though (3 layers).

 

[SolidState]

I've heard (read) somewhere that flex additives are required, but often cause shading problems.

Any good tips on how to prep the plastic?

 

[jelloslug]

I've heard (read) somewhere that flex additives are required, but often cause shading problems.

Any good tips on how to prep the plastic?

I had an in depth discussion with the owner of the paint store that I buy my automotive paint from about that subject. He said that if you have a raw flexible plastic part that you will need an adhesion promoter before you prime and you should add a flex additive to the primer. After that you should just paint as normal. If the part has factory paint and it's not flaking or peeling off just prep and paint it like any other panel. I had an extra side skirt that I test painted. After it was cured I bent it and flexed it way more than it could ever be flexed on a car and it never cracked.

 

[SolidState]

alright, sou8nd good to me. I am going to take a run and (first) painting my front bumper and then paint the in-law's spoiler....