Backyard Spray Job on VN commodore (Black) need info

[DAKSTER]

If its the first time you've sprayed a car, then acrylic is the go. No matter how careful you are, there are going to be mistakes. Acrylic is cheap and easy to spray.
Leave the fancy paint jobs for future projects, when you have the skills to support the ambition. If you want to make it even easier to get a great job, buy a 10L paint pot too... $189 this week at SCA with lines and gun. This means you can spray upside down, removes the possibility of drips and suchlike while you do horizontal surfaces, and you will find they are much easier to set up properly and spray with.

I would just spray on your basic black acrylic top coat if I were you, but acrylic clear over base can look pretty good if you want a little more brag value, and a monkey could do it with practice. When the clear starts to mess up in a few years.. just redo it, or use better paint at that time if your skills have improved.

Well applied basic paint will look heaps better than badly applied fancier paint. If you haven't sprayed before, you don't have the skills for 2pak.

 

[ari666]

If its the first time you've sprayed a car, then acrylic is the go.

Acrylic is easy to spray.

why do people keep saying that?!?!? 2K is FAAAAAAAAAR easier to get flat than arcylic. acrylic is horrible paint.

 

[Richard Moss]

If its the first time you've sprayed a car, then acrylic is the go. No matter how careful you are, there are going to be mistakes. Acrylic is cheap and easy to spray.

I'd second that - I've sprayed a number of cars using cellulose and the techniques are similar to acrylic. The good news is that you can get by without having to use an air fed respirator as long as you have a good quality particle filter mask and a pair of goggles. Acrylic/cellulose are easier to flat and polish to remove runs, dust, bugs etc.

On the other hand, 2 pack emits highly toxic cyanide and is a lot harder to sand and polish.

 

[lemusa]

I went with acrylic for all the reasons of it being easier, having never used a spray gun before hand I didnt wanna start something I couldnt finish. Gettin the hang of the spray gun is just practice but even then it wasnt too bad, its all the prep work thats the time, and that is made far easier using acrylic. 2pac is harder therefore more work to fix mistakes etc

 

[DAKSTER]

not a pro by any stretch of the imagination, but i have painted a lot of cars, using just about every type of paint.

acrylic is easy to set up for, isn't particularly fussy about how you treat it or how much thinners it needs, can be sprayed thick enough to compensate for a lot of beginners 'preparation' and is safe to use.

ya could practice with harlequin or something too i guess and eventually get it right but if i was just learning i would rather make my mistakes with the cheap paint.

my ride is being done with spartan untinted white acrylic.. $75 for 4 litres, because its completely untinted.. a very bright white. A litre of the VE green I am going to do highlights on it with will cost me double that. Then 4 litres of clear for $75 and a handful of pearl for $50 and I will have a very cheap, very nice looking paintjob. The clear will start to lose its lustre in a few years, sure. But the way I keep hitting freaking animals with the fibreglass, its going to have been resprayed a dozen times anyway by then

Unless you think you are going to keep the car a very long time, undamaged, and never want to change its looks after you paint it, or you want to enter it in the best paint category at the local car show, I'd stick with good old cheap, reliable and good looking acrylic. Leave the fancy paint for the next project. I have the skills to use the other paints, but I am choosing acrylic because I know it will still look awesome but I will save a crapload of cash doing it that way, and I wont be needing this paintjob to last 30 years.

Getting the paint to spray flat is the least of your worries as a beginner. Get the volume, pressure and spray pattern right, practice on a few panels to make sure you have your arm and trigger finger co-ordinated properly, and acrylic is pretty forgiving. Just don't try to do it all in one coat and you will be fine.

Remember the 10L paint pot though.. this is sooooo worth having. It will halve the time it takes you to paint the car, and its even easier to get the paint spraying well.

 

[Bz Kn33z]

I didnt want to go acrylic because i have seen alot of local home jobs and looks ####, i dont want to rush things and i want the car to stand out, By all means put up some pictures here if you want, and tell us how you did it and what you used. Its best to get all aspects of Spray painting as i can to get a grasp on it all.

I have an SS kit i am fitting with a group A buldge, but later on i will be getting a SV5000 Front and Rear bar for it.

 

[ari666]

2k clear over base

2k clear over base:

2k clear over base:

2k solid:

horrible acrylic. royal pain in the arse to block back, never fully cures so if you spray 2k primer over it it fries up, i will never do it again;

also did dirbatuas VK guard in acrylic. again, didnt go on flat, didnt flow. just horrible to use.

plus 75+75+50= 200 bucks... 6 liters of 2k black is 120... which is cheaper?!?!?

 

[Bz Kn33z]

Thanx ari666, Looks great, I really wanna go 2k, but dont think its going to turn out that good haha, maybe a write up of prep work and sanding wet/dry tips and anything else you would like to add,

Thanx again for all the replys and comments.

 

[ari666]

but dont think its going to turn out that good haha,

mate, itll come out as good as you want it to come out. the hardest part is taking the plundge and just doing it. after that youre learning every step of the way.

best place to get info from is the guy that sells it. they know their product and can tell you exactly how to use it.

 

[Faynt11]

you do some pretty good paint work there ari. wanna job? lol.

Bz, if you want to do a good job, get your car prepped up, and hire a booth for the day. if you're going to do 2k black you'll be buffing the #### outta it no matter what. for some reason dirt and dust is attracted to black more than any other colour... .

if you're gonna paint over acrylic (i wouldn't) my tip is, hifill and lots of it. and lots of p240. acrylic is a bitch to sand back

prep the whole car with p240 on the wizzer using a soft pad, apply around 5-6 wet coats of hifill allowing 10 mins between coats. and leave t for around 2 weeks ( a month for best results) then block wet with p240 and again with p600 ( for solids only). then clean with wax and grease remover mask, wax and grease again, wipe down with a tack cloth and paint. this is a big job you're taking on, but don't be afraid, it's only paint. putting paint on is the easiest ( and most fun) part of the process. good luck!