first time spray painting advice on what tools and paint i need

[OFF T4P]

I have a few panel and bonnets at home and have decide to have a go at spray painting and if i am any good after a bit of practice i might respray my engine bay and door jams and all the other smaller bits on my car ( main panels will be done by a pro.

Anyways what i am after is what compressor should i buy , how big , how many hp. i was thinking of spending around 600 on one would this get me something that will do the job.

What gun should i get around $400 to spend. i dont want to spend to much just in case i am no good lol.

What paint should i use its a white vk calais

do i need to use a primer if i am respraying the same coulor if so what primer should i get


I am just going to read a few how to paint write ups and have a crack at it any tips and tricks you guys got would be great cheers.

heres my build thread http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...k-355-a-2.html

[Gurner]

When buying a compressor for spraying you want a pretty big tank so the air pressure stays the same while you are spraying, if it changes you wont get the same finish on the paint. Dont really know how big or what hp because havent really done many jobs out of work.

A Devilbiss GTI spray gun should do the trick for what your after, I think they are about $300 now, they have GTI pros and stuff out now but standard GTI is good, I only just upgraded my gun to the pro after using my GTI for about 5 years which I paid over $600 for.

If you are repairing any scratches or dents and bogging them up or rubbing through to the bare metal I would suggest using a 2 pak sandable primer. If not repairing anything and surfaces to be painted are ok, just scuff them up with a grey scotch brite pad so the paint doesnt flake off, or some fine sandpaper (800 grit wet is good) and make sure you get in the edges / corners good because this is where the paint will start to flake off from.

For painting a solid white car you will need to get some 2 pak paint that you will need to mix thinners and hardener with. Glasurit, Sikkens, Spies & Hecker, PPG are all good brands, Glas + Sikkens pretty user friendly, stay away from Metalux and other cheap brands, you get what you pay for with paint, as like most things.

Hope this helps

[OFF T4P]

cheers mate that helps me heaps . is 2 pak harder to use then acrylic. What if the car is already painted in acrylic can i use 2pak straight over the top (not sure if it is just checking). if i prime some panles to fix inperfections will i need to prime the whole car because of the different coulor between the primer and orignal paint. Would the white be just a soild colour or would it be clear over base. I really have no idea about paints lol. Very keen to learn and have a go but .

[ari666]

gun: i bought one of these
DEVILBISS SGK 600 1.4 Gravity Spray Gun HVLP paint shop | eBay

220 bucks and has sprayed out some beautiful finishes.










such an easy gun to use. i went from a supercheap auto gun to this and the difference was a million% totally worth the 220 buck price tag. but when i bought it i knew i was going to do a few jobs, so could justify it. its up to you if you wanna get a 80 dollar supercheap auto gun kit. they still work, just harder to get an even finish. these were all done with the SCA gun:








as far as the compressor goes, im gonna clear this up right now... the first pic of the dark green engine bay was done with a 2.5HP compressor that sabbath bought from ALDI for about 200 bucks. the last pics were done on my 2.5HP work compressor that i bought for 300 bucks about 10 years ago and the VS commo and silver bits are done on my 90 liter 4HP 13CFM compressor. there is about 400 bucks price difference between all 3 and as you can see there is ZERO difference in quality.

as long as you are only spraying small areas, even a tyre inflator will work. its just a bit more tricky to get it even. stick a regulator on your gun which stops the air at approx 30psi and itll mean you can spray for ages on a crappy compressor.

as far as paints go, i wont ever use acrylic again. i used it on the matte for the impala thinking it was an easy paint to use and i was horribly wrong. its a prick. if the car is acrylic then you really need to get rid of it. how you do that is up to you, but with the impala we are sanding everything back to metal. 2k has a tendancy to fry up the acrylic paint. thats where the acrylic lifts under the 2k thinner.

primer: i would say prime the whole car anyway. hi fill is such brilliant stuff and can make or break the finished result. LAYER hi-fill on thick as hell then wait a couple of days for it to dry fully, then speed file it down with 240 grit. itll take maybe 3 or 4 hours to block each panel back properley but you will be glad you did cos' itll come out flat as a die and the finished result will look brilliant.


paint: my local paint guys sell this: Paintmobile

which made my VK look like this:


and im totally happy. it comes out of the gun really peely though. nothing you can do to stop it that i could find. tried extra thinner, then extra hardner. nothing really worked, so just layer it on, layer after layer anfter layer, then when its dry block it all back with 2000 and buff. it looks sensational. and for the price, who can complain?.

hope that helps

[OFF T4P]

ari your a champ. All the info i needed to know.Tommorow i m going shopping for a gun and compressor and all the other shit i need. I will first practice on a old bonnet i got here and see how i go. How do i tell if my paint is acrylic or 2 pak. i think it has been resprayed befor so i dare say there will be a fair amount of paint on there to rub back:-( I think i might just get the hole car soda blasted if i need to take it back to metal.

[acarmody]

A few guys that I have talked to think the Blackridge compressors from Supercheap Auto are all right for occasional use. They have a 200L/min compressor for $229, Blackridge Air Compressor - Direct Drive, 2.5HP - Supercheap Auto Australia , too bad you missed their 20% off sale last weekend.

[DAKSTER]

I have a 20l blackridge compressor that has sprayed quite a few cars just fine, never missed a beat.
I also use an air chisel though, for home renovations, and that needed a bigger compressor so I got a 40l blackridge compressor. It blew up in a week, so I took it back and exchanged it. The second one lasted 2 weeks. I think its just a matter of luck with the cheaper stuff.

I use a supercheap gun and acrylic to spray cars with, never had any complaints with the results, but there is no doubt that better equipment is easier to use. Have you considered the use of a pressure pot? Absolute joy to use, no interruptions refilling paint, no paintpot to carry around or drip all over your bonnet, and you can paint up, down or sideways all equally easily. SCA had one, with a basic gun, on special a month or two ago for $189 so they aren't expensive.

+1 on pump the primer on heavy over the whole car first. Lots of hi-fill primer can make the difference between 'nice' and 'hell yeah!!'

The other thing to remember is that preparation is everything. The more time you spend making sure everything is perfect before you spray, the better the result will be. 1200 grit and Prepsol are your friends, be sure to keep them close by lol.

[acarmody]

Online Catalogue, SA - Supercheap Auto Australia

Front page, the 200L compressor, 3 different spray guns, air hose and pressure regulator all for $200, friggin bargain, $250 saving. Only thing missing is a water trap, get a good one for spray painting.

DAKSTER: Do you mean this thing, http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/onl...70#Description , on sale for $100.

[DAKSTER]

yep one of those that seems too cheap though maybe a better quality one.. the gun will probably not be real good with that one..

Even a crap one of these will be easier to use than a gun with a litre of paint hanging off it though... especially for more awkward spots like in engine bays, under skirts, and over the roof and bonnet.

10L tank means once you have everything flowing right, its an uninterrupted process applying a coat to the whole car, without having to stop and fill pots again, risking messing the mix up each time you do it. It means you don't risk the paint leaking from the paint pot or breather hole and dripping all over your nice newly painted bonnet on the last stroke..

They run well at low pressure too, which gives you less overspray and helps get that 'permanently wet' look happening.

[ari666]

ah yeah, dont foget to buy a wizzy too. (orbital sander). best damn thing ever. dont get an electric one, get an air powered one they last forever. mine is from supercheap auto 80 bucks i think and has done at least 300 hours of work and still crankin'.

[ari666]

also check out this thread: specific tools, their use and what they look like

which hopefully helps you identify the tools you need.

[OFF T4P]

thanks guys heaps of help:-). I dont think i will get a supercheap compressor but. i have had a few of these cheap compressor and they all ways seem to shit them self's after a while. Time for a good one i think. yea i got a few different sanders not a air operated one but. so i will look into that when i go shopping today also.

Say i was to sand the hole car back to metal what about all the little spots i cant get into to remove the acrylic paint would it be fine just to hi fill over the top of them parts. eg inside where wiper motor goes and some parts around the front end of radiator support panles.

Anyone no the cost of getting a hole car soda blasted.

[DAKSTER]

if you're going to sandblast it there aren't too many spots you aren't going to be able to reach, but you will need to strip the entire car down (glass, interior, dash, engine bay, etc) to do it properly if you are going to bother at all. You might consider hiring a sandblaster and doing it yourself, or even getting some attachments for your compressor to do the same job.

Sanding the whole thing back to metal is unnecessary though, unless you suspect there might be bog or cancer somewhere which you want to expose, like an old car restoration. Otherwise its just a whole bunch of extra work for no effective benefit.

If you have doubts about the paint and the car is drivable, take it to your local paint dealer, ask them to identify whats already on the car, tell them what you plan to apply, and they will sell you the appropriate primer to use between the 2 paints. You can paint pretty much any kind of paint over any other kind of paint if you separate them with the right primer.

You can also save a lot of work by settling for the original colour or something close to it. Then you don't have to bother with the insides of the doors, bonnet, engine bay etc if you don't want to. Still use lots of primer on the parts that you do paint though, it will make for a much nicer job.

[OFF T4P]

The car is already stripped down to pretty much nothing, the doors still have to come off and the glass still has to get pulled out. So i will be painting everything and replacing everything that need replacing along the way. No rust at all and not a ripple in the hole car. I might take a gaurd into tony island russcos and see what they reckon. Bought a GPI velocity spray gun kit today got it for 300 its worth 400 but since i am getting a lot of stuff from tony island they give me a discount. its got 3 gravity feed guns 1.4 ,1.8 and a touch up gun. getting compressor and paint tomorrow.

[OFF T4P]

i spent just over a grand on all this stuff today and got pretty much everything i need apart from primer and paint. Its all good quility stuff to so shoould last me a while.


2.5 hp 50lt tank built in reg and water/oil trap


GPI velocity spray guns 1.8 gun, 1.4 gun 1.0 touch up gun


150mm wizzy sandpaper and a heap of other shit


so hopefully i am pretty much ready to go once i get paint and primer and some shit to clean and the wax and grease off with, which products the best for this. Also what are them little rags called that pick up all the dust. Now it has started raining so looks like i wont be doing it till next time i get home from work:-(

[ari666]

im sorry to say, but it looks like you are missing one of the most important tools



the little rags are called tack cloth, and pull that vacuum hose off your wizzy. so friggin annoying and it wont work unless you get the paper on excatly right.

[OFF T4P]

ahh i see what are they called again. they are for getting a nice flat/even finish arnt they. I guess i will be needing one them lol. Yea i figured that vac hoes would be a pain in the ass. Will be sure to put the paper on right, i have had this problem befor with a electirc one lol

[ari666]

its a speed file

[OFF T4P]

Cheers mate.

[acarmody]

Make sure you get lots of practice and can paint real good, then when I come up to Townsville around Christmas you can paint my car

[OFF T4P]

Haha i wont even be painting my own car. Just all the shit you cant really see is what i will be doing. The rest will be left to someone a little more professional. Lol.

[ari666]

mate, 2k white is just the easiest thing in the world to spray, in fact it'll only take about 2 hours to cover the whole car with 4 layers. you just blow over it thinly and move on, then go back once its tacky and hit it again and repeat a few times. if you get a run, stiff shit, you need to block it back anyway. it just means you have to sand that one bit for 10 extra minutes. whoopty-doo.

prep will take up to a day, (8hours) PER PANEL if you are really anal and do everything perfectly. spray will take 40 mins per panel, and sanding/cutting/polishing will take about 1 hour per panel. spraying is the least of your worries.

my point is, you should DIY. you will feel much better about the completed job and since you are doing the prep (hardwork) anyway, you may as well do the most enjoyable bit too.

[Boostedn14]

If its just a solid white and your mixing it to a 3:1 ratio, 2-3 coats is all you will need, 1st coat you just get coverage on your primer spots (if you have just done spot repairs) and then one wet coat. If it looks a bit dry, then one more coat should have it.

Also keep your vacuum setup on your sander, they may be a bit annoying at times but not only do they keep you from breathing in all the toxic dust, it also keeps the sanding surface clean from dust and it also extends the life of your sand paper (won't clog up with dust as quick)

Looks like you have all the right stuff, just set up your gun right and have a few practice runs at it. Keep your overlap on your panels at about 50% and make sure you watch how the paint is melting in. If you do a good enough job you won't need to buff it. I havent buffed my own re paint on my pulsar, and i don't plan to.


Best of luck though mate, don't be scared...its only paint. Have a go at the whole car.

[DAKSTER]

You've bought all the good stuff, you are keen enough to do the prep thoroughly.. you are going to have plenty of practice spraying the hidden bits.

The easiest part of the lot is the final spray.. if you are spraying the hidden bits with no probs do yourself and your ego a big favour and finish the job yourself !!! By the time you get to the main panels you are going to have enough skill to do the job right.

Spraypainting only takes a little practice, its a pretty easy thing to do. Its more about good prep and getting your mixes right and your gun spraying well. You'll have that mastered by the time you get to the main panels, and hey if you mess it up.. rub it back and try again.

You will be fine, do the whole job yourself !! There is no better feeling than watching a crap paint job turn into a work of art and knowing you did it all yourself..

[ari666]

I havent buffed my own re paint on my pulsar, and i don't plan to.

shows the difference in our skill levels i just couldnt get the white out without heaps of peel. done heaps of COB without peel, just couldnt win with this car

but worst case scenario, OP should note that even if the finish doesnt look that great, blocking back and buffing will sort out most of the bugs.