Spray Painting

[05 VZ SS]

Hi all..Question about spray painting...

When it says 2-3 coats, does it mean, 1 coat, then light sound, then 2nd coat etc, or does it mean 2-3 coats in one hit? And obviouslty, the mroe you put on the better it will look?

[PaRaDoX]

spray painting is a art, when it says 2-3 coats, be sure to prime the surface first, this is how i do it, lay down a bit of paint, not too much maybe half a coat then come back and finish the coat off when its dry, (so you can barely see the primer) then you sand it lightly with a fine paper, clean it with prep wash (dirt and grease remover) and spay another half coat, let it dry then do another half coat then after 2-3 coats clear coat it, which dosnt need to be sanded..

this technique is called "keying" and helps the paint stick so it dosnt buble in the future.. the worse thing you can do is apply too much paint and have it run,

i hate clear coat... make sure you use LOTS of light when you clear coat because its hard to see the ammount your applying and before you know it you've made a run...

anyway get out there and just paint some things that you dont really care about for practice, also get some bog and practice smoothing something and prime and spray it, i sprayed my bodykit but before that i had lots of practice

[Emackulation]

Yeap, Para is right. Painting is an art and can be very teadious if you want it to turn out good. Practice and you will come a master. Remember when applying the pait use a sweeping motion across the surface of the item about 20cm away from it, do not stay in one spot and spray. An even coat is the key!

[PaRaDoX]

ohh yeah the biggest mistake people make is to not hold the can/gun even the entire way accross

start at the left and go to the right, MAINTAIN the distance the entire way and maintain the speed.. if you dont you will get blotchy paint.. i screwed mine up on my skirts, but the best thing about paint is you can sand it down and start again... if you make a mistake dont try and fix it with more paint... let it dry then decide what to do...

worst thing you can do is touch the paint... you will root up the entire layer and have to sand down 1-2 layers even into the primer...

i sprayed a door panel and my mate stepped on it... put the BIGGEST foot print in it... i had sand it back for a hour to get it out...

but yeah for a quallity job i cant stress how important consistancy of angle and speed is

[stocky]

i also have a question about painting. i was thinking of painting the grey strips that runs along the centre of my car on the door panels and the front and rear bumper. while im at it i might repaint my rear bumper since its a bit messed up. whats the best paint to use - proper paint, or just touch up spray cans?

[PaRaDoX]

proper paint....

borrow or buy some spray gear,

spray guns = $40 with 1L tank
air compressor, bunnings had some on sale for $70, not the super crap auto ones aswell

you wont get a colour match from cans, found that one out the hard way

for the door strips mask the doors up and spray em on the car, use plastic primer first then 2-3 coats of paint hten 2-3 coats of clear, should come up nicely

for the paint its $40-50 a litre from auto bahn and ive found its pretty good quallity, with paint 1L mixes with 4L thinners and makes like 5L of paint, but you wont use it all, i sprayed my bodykit with like 600ml of paint concentrate, buy unmixed clear coat (THICK STUFF) and mix it with 2:1 thinners : clear coat, paint is 3:1 (thinnersaint) or 4:1 depends on how fine you want it to be

1L paint - $40-50
4L thinners -$25
1L wax and grease remover -$10 (you need this when you key the paint after each coat)
1L clear coat -$20

but yeah... this will last you for ages.. ive still got heaps of paint left over incase i need a touch up ect,
you'll find you pay $15 for 300g of mixed paint,
you pay $65-75 and get 5L of mixed paint

auto bahn should colour match it aswell to your faded paint :P just dont cut and polish your car, or cut and polish it then spray it as paint fades over time

if you need a hand dont be afraid to ask i live nearby anyway

[05 VZ SS]

Hey Para...cool..thanks...however, exscuse the ignorance, but can i say this..I have recently sprayed a mates boot and bonnet and it came out ok..But, i find it terribly slow to spray 1 coat, let it dry sand, wash, spray a second coat etc...Is it easier to do like 3-4 wet coats, then let dry then clear coat? Also when you say half coat, does it come out shiny? And do you just use the spray gun and close of the mixture a bit so not as much paint comes out?
And yeah, i bought a 40L tank from bunnings Trade Air, and the gravity fed gun too...Its not a bad compressor, or a spray gun, although the tip is 1.4mm..Is this ok? for the tip, or should i be going like 1.8 or something?

[PaRaDoX]

yeah, when i say 1/2 coat i mean if 1 coat was so you changed the colour from white to black you couldnt see any white anymore, 1/2 a coat is %50 transparancy, the advantages about 1/2 coats is they only take like 10 mins to dry (make sure you paint on a warmish day)

[HDT_aero]

dont use a a $70 compressor it will give you issues you should use at least a 15cfm compressor for consistant results

[CSL]

it means a ski coat, a rain coat, and mabye a overcoat, you may get a tad warm thou, good luck

[vt1538]

Hey Para...cool..thanks...however, exscuse the ignorance, but can i say this..I have recently sprayed a mates boot and bonnet and it came out ok..But, i find it terribly slow to spray 1 coat, let it dry sand, wash, spray a second coat etc...Is it easier to do like 3-4 wet coats, then let dry then clear coat? Also when you say half coat, does it come out shiny? And do you just use the spray gun and close of the mixture a bit so not as much paint comes out?
And yeah, i bought a 40L tank from bunnings Trade Air, and the gravity fed gun too...Its not a bad compressor, or a spray gun, although the tip is 1.4mm..Is this ok? for the tip, or should i be going like 1.8 or something?

The easiest way is to spray a light coat, then when it becomes tacky apply the next coat. Once this coat becomes tacky apply the next & so on. Metallic base coats especially do not want to be sanded as the base coat will be ruined with sanding.
All painting should be done with good light as it makes it easier to see any dry spots or a fault in your technique.

[PaRaDoX]

The easiest way is to spray a light coat, then when it becomes tacky apply the next coat. Once this coat becomes tacky apply the next & so on. Metallic base coats especially do not want to be sanded as the base coat will be ruined with sanding.
All painting should be done with good light as it makes it easier to see any dry spots or a fault in your technique.

spot on..............