Okay guys i just finished priming the bottem of my friends ramair2 hood and the primer has runs in it. so i let it dry between coats and then tryed another coat but i tryed little bit less air pressure and moved the gun to about 18'' above the hood and went alittle faster in moving it accross the hood. yet i still got a few runs. also when i primed like the sloped area's the primer looks like it just doesnt want to stay there but it still coats alittle bit.

what do you guys suggest? im thinkin of gettin the garage alittle warmer and then try less catalyst. im using DPX 171 non-chrome self etching primer and DPX 172 non-chrome self etching catalyst. and my PPG book says to use 1 part of each and thats when i started to get the runs in the primer. i know this is just for the primer but i dont want this to happen to the paint and/or clear.

what do you guys think? i also have some NCP 270 corrosion resistant primer which is a heavy primer. i was also told that i shouldnt use any reducer in the primer from another member on here. should i try that route or follow the book?

 

heres another shot of the hood. the primer color isnt white, my camera for some reason made it look white but its really like a tan/green color.

so if ya guys can give me any tips that will help that will be great and i dont wanna hear any well just prime it to a body shop kinda crap either. i bought about $3000 worth of paint, primer, reducers and aton of stuff for $200 (friend is moving and didnt need it anymore ) plus i love this kinda stuff so im learning fast but just endin up with those little snags here and there.

 

Runs in you primer is nothing to freak out about. Just sand them out as you sand the primer down smooth for paint. It's runs in the paint that you have to worry about.

When priming, that's when you want to sand out any perfections and take care of any body work.

A good idea is to take a different shade of primer and spray it over your first coat lightly. This is called a guide coat. If you spray the guide coat on evenly, you should be able to see high and low spots you couldn't otherwise identify because they will either coat more than the low areas, or coat less than a high area. (hope that is an ok explanation)

Also, I don't want to bash anyone here, but this place has a LOT of diy'ers. You might have better luck asking at autobody.com, where those guys all work at a body shop, and can answer your questions professionally.

A lot of guys here have painted their own cars, but they don't do it on an everyday basis to know the "tricks of the trade"

Mathius

 

yeah i know what ya mean but im just tired of hearin dont waste your time go have someone else do your work. it gets annoying after while. but this isnt to start a flame war just to get some tips from people who have been in my spot or have done this alot.

im not worried about the primer runs its just that when i go to paint i dont want runs. im not sure how im goin to keep the sloped area's from tryin to run. i thinkin of puttin on the coats of paint thin enless i get the right reducer for the paint on monday and the temp in the garage is just right where it flashs and doesnt run.

i already found a few spots on the bottem of the hood that need some filler puddy (glazing pudding) to touch them up a bit. just a few small holes and thats the main conserns but im not worred all the much for the underside of the hood. im goin to get the top of the hood to look good/great.

 

If you are getting runs with the gun 18" away, I beleive you dont have the gun setup right.

Try turning the paint **** back a lil bit and then spray.

I sprayed this 69 in PPG etching primer and don't recall getting a run at all in it.

Kat

 

Are you testing before you shoot??? In school we would hang paper on the wall to spray and get the paint right before we sprayed anything. Some time you gotta play and go by feel and looks. You can try all kinds of thing till you like how it look on paper first.

more or less reducer or air and a combo or both or none.

 

YEAH IT HAPPENDS IF YOU PAINTED THE HOOD WHILE IT WAS FLAT OR LEVEL THEN YOU NEED TO TURN DOWN YOUR FLUID CONTROL YOU PAINTING ON THE FAR SIDE OF WET BUT ITS JUST PRIMMER MAN YOU HAVE TO SAND THE ORANGE PEEL OUT ANYWAYS SO DONT SWEAT IT JUST SAND AND PAINT

 

adjust your air pressure and test the pattern on a piece of paper before you put the paint/primer whatever on your car. Primer runs are nothing to worry about they sand right out and .....as well as I can tell it's hard to get an actual PAINT run for me, but clear.....oh man dont get me started on clear. Clear coat can be my downfall. It's either too wet or too dry XD.

I'm kind of glad I tapped someone with my front bumper, now I get to redo it and have it look better.

Good luck.

 

alright, i think ill be playin around with the gun before i do the top side. i was playin with the adjustin **** on the gun but it probably didnt do much. im goin to try alittle less air also. ive been testin it on a piece of plywood just leanin on the wall. i throw some paper over it to test. thanx guys

im not worried about the primer i know i can wet sand it out, i just dont want runs in the paint thats why im askin questions now so i dont run into them later. thanx again, keep em coming.

 

I'm not exactly sure why you're useing etching primer on fiberglass, the hood is fiberglass right? Anyways, with DPX, you should only shoot 1 light coat. PPG recomends 1 mill thickness. That's really thin. Being so, you wouldn't be getting any runs at all. When I prime with it, on bare metal, I mix with a 1:1 ratio, open up the fan, then set the air to give a good mist, and stay about 6 to 8 inches away. one good coat, then good to go. But I like DP better. It's an epoxy primer, and it bonds to almost anything, fiberglass, metal, aluminum, galvanized steel,..... Check it out. Later, Stingerssx.

 

One thing you haven't mentioned is what kind of gun are you using - gravity feed, HVLP, etc.? You should be following the manufacturers recommendations - at least to get started.

Usually, the recommended distance from surface to nozzle is around 8" or so. The way it was taught to me was, if you make the "hang 10" with your hand (spread out your hand, curl in the first 3 fingers) that's just about the right distance. Go closer than that, you risk laying paint down too wet. Go further out and the mist is too light, and a lot of it will never make it to the surface.

Maybe you are moving your hand too slowly? Remember it's the combination of gun setting (fan, flow), arm speed and distance from the surface that affects the who result.

Take the advice from others and practice on a piece of masking paper to get the setting correct.

Personally, I paint with the lowest pressure that I can. For me, I use HVLP and shoot around 22-25 PSI at the gun (with the trigger pressed - very important point!).

Primer is easy to fix - just like everyone else says. Color coats go on pretty easy. The clear goes on really wet and thick. If you are not careful, yeah it runs like race horse! The good news is it's sandable and you can fix that too.

Painting is a blast. Hard work, but fun. And don't forget a really good respirator!

gene

 

I personally found less air makes more primer/paint come out so I'd say more air,faster,further away, you don't need to be 18 inches away though I'd have to say for that being 18 inches out and stil get em that one maybe you are seeing the ones fomr the 1st closer coat after you've gotten 18 inches away and done the 2nd you might be seing the 1st ones showing through. If they are in the same spot as the 1st it's the 1st.
If they are in different spots use less reducer/thinner.
They say well put it this way..
your paint cup for your gun supposed to hold 1 quart, fil the cup half full or primer then tp off w/ thinner. I call it 50;50 some call it one to one. If that's too thin still you are going to have to do around 3/4's of a cup primer and 1/4 cup thinner to make it heavier.(thicker) Yea sanding out runs in primer is easy because you are going to be sanding it anyways.
Rule of thumb though paint sems to be thinner then primer to start with. Gotta be careful or mix it thicker.LIGHT COATS as well.
hope that helps man

 

i'm not sure if anyone has said this yet, but maybe you're just laying it on too thick. maybe if you lay it on thin enough where it takes 2-3 coats to get full coverage you won't get any runs compared to trying to cover it all in one shot. i'm no body man, never even painted a car, but in my experience, anything i've ever painted, i coat lightly, and if i miss a spot, rather than going back, i'll just make sure to get it the next coat.

 

well update:

First i played with the air pressure and then the adjustment **** on the gun for the paint. the **** was really far out, why i have no clue. i turned it in and practice on some paper and it came out better.

also the gun im using is a Devilabliss (not sure if thats spelt right) hvlp gravity feed gun, i got it for next to nothing and it was in almost brand new condition, was used a few times. the only bad thing about it is since its really lite my hand cramps up badly from sprayin. oh well no pain no game.

then after fixed some little screw ups on the top of the hood with some old glazing puddy, i sanded the top smooth again and then primered it again and WOW did i come out lookin so friken smooth not one run or anything.

then tonight i wet sanded the bottem of the hood and cleaned it made sure everythign was nice, i didnt really care for the runs in the bottem of the hood becuz the kid im doin this for is much more happier then it being done with spray paint. so any way, i mixed the paint and everything, tached the bottem of the hood after using the quick prep and layed some color. color came out smooth also, then about hour and half later came the clear. i got a few runs in that. i had no clue it came out that wet but know i know i gotta go faster or adjust the **** alittle bit for when i do the top.

heres 3 pics of the bottem of the hood, color'd and cleared. not bad for a first time paint job ever.

 

also this hood might not be goin on my friend's cuzins 86 firebird just yet becuz his motor seized like yesturday. it totally sux

 

heres the last one, i hope the top turns out just as good if not better. also the bottem just has 2 coats of clear, ill be doin about 3-4 on the top of the hood.

 

Yep, you took some time and played wit hit and found the Sweet spot for primer n paint but you should of done it all over for clear. its one tricky sucker at times. Why I stick to one shot paints unless it for show or something. You get 4-5 years of new looking paint n by then its time for a change.

 

what do you mean "you should of done it all over for clear"?

 

played around on paper or wood with the clear. Its all in the family but a tad different creature.