Paint Jobs

[Outlaw Torn]

Ok, i am finally getting around to giving my VC a paint job, wot do i need?
I have the spray gear, but wot about the paint? Is there specialised automotive paint out there or will anything do?

Wot is the best method, considering it'll be a DIY job?

Is a lacquer coat (or two) required?

any and all help would be much appreciated.
cheers

[Goon]

I can tell you some infomation, but im not painting my beast my bro is and his not a pc person... so he cant help out much.. lazy bro!

First of all make sure you buy paint that can handle the sun "Don't Buy underbody paint unless its the the cars underneath" Read the back of the paint tin carefully as i've almost been fooled before

Paint thinners are another item you will be needing.

Make sure all the shiny wax is sanded off your ride before you paint. "Giving the car a wash in sugarsoap after a few sanding jobs can assure all the wax is gone."

[VLDavo]

ok first off dude before u even think of trying to paint it do alot of research.....

its not jus as simple as laying down a couple of coats and everything wll be fine and dandy lol

first off if your original paint has cracks,crows feet,rust and so forth these areas will need to go back to bare metal to cure the condition..

second u need to decide witch paint u will use...2 pak or acylic...since its a homejob and your first time i would sudgest acylic as its alot easier to work with and isnt as poiseness as 2 pack

u will need to sand your whole car back wih 240 until all your clear is off fix and dents rust and so forth...use a wax and grease remover to prep the surface before u lay down your primer

prime it with hi fill ,block it down a few trimes with 800 wet and dry

then u can lay down your base coat read the directions on the paint coz every paint is difference

then follow with a coat of clear or 2 also paying attention to your directions on the paint can

i also sudgest removeing most window surrounds and so forth as u will get a beter job instead of jus tapeing them up

if u have any other questions feel free to ask

[1vngal]

VL Davo has pretty much covered it all for first time paint jobs. That Wax and Grease remover is magic!

All I can really add, is to make sure you test the spray gun first!! (on something other than the car!) Just to make sure that the spray pattern is correct for the mixuture of paint and thinners, otherwise you'll end up with drips and runs. And make sure the surface is prepared properly. (filling in stone chips, sanding the car back etc.) A good quality primer is important as a crap primer will affect the end results.

When you're actually spraying the car, try to keep you hand moving in a straight line horizontally to ensure an even coat. Many people make a sort of arch when doing the spraying movement.

If you decide to use 2 pak, (I'd definately recommened acrylic for a first time) make sure the area is well ventilated, because as VLDavo said it is highly poisonous. and I think in some states it is illegal to use if you don't have the correct ventilated paint bay.

Apparently it is a good idea to wet down the floor area, before you spray. This stops most dust from the floor getting 'disturbed' while your walking around the car and sticking to your paint.

And lastly, for a first time paint job, try to aviod metallic paint, as it is much more difficult to spray with than a flat colour.

I'll have a look tomorrow at the brand of primer (I think I've still got a tin in the shed) and post it up here for you. It's the best primer you can buy.

And my final tip, and this is coming from experience, after you've finished, make sure you wash your face before going out in public. You'll get covered in the paint dust. Trust me, I went to the pub with a green line on my forehead, and green down the sides of my nostrils from where the dust mask was sitting. (No one bothered to tell me till after i got back!)

[Outlaw Torn]

lol at 1vngal, thanks all, ill look into it, the last piece of panelbeating needed, to get the body mint is the door, with a bloody big crowbar ding.
thanx again

[1vngal]

The primer I use is Nason Ful-Fil 421-08. It's 3.78 Litres, can't remember how much I paid though. The thinners I used was DuPont 3642S Lucite 400. Thats a five litre container and I paid $30 bucks for it. Good luck!

[Outlaw Torn]

once again thanx, ill do a bit more research, see if the bank likes me, might just get a pro to do it for me.

[ucwepn]

and don't forget to clean the surface with prepsol before you lay down the undercoat, and then again after you've smoothed the undercoat and are ready for colour clean with prepsol again. 2 coats of clear is plenty. And wear a mask if you don't want to be coughing for a couple of weeks LOL.

[vkberlina]

Just a word of warning guys, 2pac hardender contains isocyanide, yup thats it its Cyanide based. Nasty Stuff.

If you do use it cover up, don't breath in the vapours and use a proper mask.

cheers
Scott

[1vngal]

A sundstrom (not sure bout the spelling!) is a good mask. Most places that sell automotive paint and evrything to do with painting a car should stock them. If not an industrial supplier should have them. These are the ones used at the Haywards (sheet metal fabrication) paint bay. They mostly use 2 pak paint.

[VLDavo]

Just a word of warning guys, 2pac hardender contains isocyanide, yup thats it its Cyanide based. Nasty Stuff.

If you do use it cover up, don't breath in the vapours and use a proper mask.

cheers
Scott

but its got such a sweet smell lol..............yea but u gota keep that stuff off ya skin aswell as it can soak in threw ya pores and so forth.......and a few wifs wont kill u but if u are useing it alot it can have realy bad effects on u

[ucwepn]

LOL we didn't use masks but thinking for next time it will be a good idea LOL We used basecoat and it uses 2 pack hardner.

[VS Omega]

Cyanide?! Isn't that what they gave the Apollo astronauts just in case to spare them from a slow and painful death in space?!

[viper1431]

And spies in a fake tooth incase they are captured

Most of the 2-pak you buy from stores is ISO free anyway, or at least from places like supercheap and other chain stored you wil generally see the words ISO free on the front.

[viper1431]

This is my first paint job, it's using acrylic paint, just the cheap supercheap stuff. Did it all outdoors. Turned out to be all fairly easy too even though the idea of painting my car was a bit daunting at first. All up only cost about 300 bucks.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~jkaufman/IMG00028.JPG
http://members.iinet.net.au/~jkaufman/IMG00032.JPG

And this is the cheap car cover i used, it all ended up workig a treat.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~jkaufman/IMG00032.JPG

[Outlaw Torn]

cyanide is the stuff that i use to poison possums, in preference to 1080, VERY nasty stuff!!! U've got less than 5 secs to take antidote or ur kaput

[V3N0M]

i wanna paint my car too.. but yeah dont have ANY tools for it yet.. i would be so so so happy if my work turned out as good as viper1431's work.. anyone no where abouts i can get all this stuff from? and do u have to use hardener or what ever it is? ( just say i went into an auto place what would i ask for? ) sorry for all the questions lol...

[phat_com]

i am lucky my vk has just been painted by a pro and has only seen 4 days or sun from when it was done
mine got don't by hallbrothers and cost $6000.00 (that paint and everything included)

[1vngal]

i wanna paint my car too.. but yeah dont have ANY tools for it yet.. i would be so so so happy if my work turned out as good as viper1431's work.. anyone no where abouts i can get all this stuff from? and do u have to use hardener or what ever it is? ( just say i went into an auto place what would i ask for? ) sorry for all the questions lol...

Just go to any hardware store, or auto store for you're compressors and stuff. They can let you know what ones will suit what you want it for. As for hardener, I'm not sure, the paint I used in the past was acrylic and all I added to that was the thinners. But whether that had hardners or anything already in it, I'm not sure....

[vkberlina]

For a compressor if you intend spraying a car you need to make sure you buy something big enough so it wont run out of air 1/2way through painting the roof etc esp if your painting a metalic colour.

I suggest you look around auction places etc for a secondhand larger capacity compressor. Also if you happen to have 3 phase power generally the 3 phase gear is allot cheaper second hand than 240v.

cheers
Scott

[Goon]

what gives the acrylic such a shine like that? gloss? or a whole lot of wax?

[1vngal]

what gives the acrylic such a shine like that? gloss? or a whole lot of wax?

Well, there are a lot of contributing factors to the end result of a paint job. Just about everything plays a role in the shine you end up getting. Things like the prep work, the quality of the primer you use, the quality of the paint job itself and of course the polish technique thats carried out after the paint has 'set'. I've known people to nearly get a perfect shine, just of the gun before the final polish, but that takes experience and skill.

But many do finish of with a gloss coat, escpecially if the quality of the work done (i.e. first paint job, crappy equipment etc.) isn't to good. But I think the final polish is what makes a good result. Carabuna (or something like that) wax, is good for getting a good shine. There's probably better products out there, but that's what I've been recommended.