Im thinking about buying a cheap spray gun and learning how to paint with it. I've looked on a couple websites and found out that for a primer its about 40 bucks a gallon, not complaining with that price for my car but, just to practice on junk hoods and stuff is a little pricey, would it be possible to paint with another paint that isnt automotive paint or what would you guys suggest some one should do in this situation. Im not worried about any gloss colors yet just some easy flat colors.

Thanks for the help and any other tips would greatly be appreciated

 

well if you just want to spray buy a cheap spray gun and try water on a wall, chalk board, or anything. Id only do this if you dont care about the spray gun though. this is real hard though.

 

Well its a 35$ spray gun, but still I wouldnt really want to just ruin a brand new gun

 

yeah, I really only use old guns when I do it.

 

You know of any cheap paint that I could use to get a feel for the gun?
Or is 40$ as cheap as they come

 

Why would you need a gallon just to practice? That's enough to paint 3 cars.

 

I didnt know they had smaller sizes, that was a pretty big thing to over look though, thanks. Know the price range for smaller ones?

 

is it a HVLP gun or a syphon gun??? because 40 is cheap for a HVLP and 40 is about mid range for a syphon gun

you can always try to practice on a say old riding lawn mower, or a utility trailer, i know it not a car but its something you can see results on and maybe make something look good in the process, maybe you can ask around and someone may want a free cheap paint job on a tractor or utility trailer.....

if you want a car to practice on that dont matter, see your local fire dept, they normaly have junk cars givin to them for practice burns and extracation, maybe they would let you blast it for practice, hell you can mess it up!!!! LOL

 

Im not sure, this is the gun though
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...word=spray+gun

 

its a syphon, its old school, alot of people swear by them, its all i ever painted with, but i never did a car, here is an example of a HVLP http://www.nulime.com/img/p68993/l/S...mm-Topcoat.jpg



this page may help you to

http://www.fujispray.com/technical.htm

here is a page from eastwood also

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...8&iSubCat=1436

 

Ok thanks, that helps. Do you know where I can find this paint locally?

 

Im not too sure, but I would check your local sherwin williams. Somebody told me that they had cheap automotive paint.

Another option is to use rustoleum. They sell it by the quart at walmart for a few bucks each. The cans just say "gloss protective enamel" or something, but not the aerosol cans, it actually comes in a paint can with a lid. You would need to thin it with acetone or mineral spirits, but that is cheap too at home depot or lowes. Plus, it would be great for a lawnmower or something.

Finally, autozone and some other stores sell quarts of duplicolor automotive paint. However, it is not professional grade. Hell, I dont even know if its Maaco grade. But it is worth a shot if you dont want to go the rustoleum route.

 

How long did it talk yall to learn to paint correctly, and got any tips for actually painting something, like what PSI to set the compressor to and random stuff like that

 

I was gona say rustoleum but sumone beat me to it

 

CSK (checkers, schucks, kragen) sells small pints of paint for guns now. I used the black to paint my engine bay. For practice, it would work good, I needed to thin it out alot though to get it to spray properly.

 

i cant remember how long it took me, hell at first i want to good, but played with it enough and got it right, took me a few trys some sanding and a little cussing but i got it right!!, i praticed on a utility trailer, eventually it looked REAL good for a old 1978 utility trailer LOL, other wise things after that came naturaly.

there was a post on here a while back about roll on paint jobs, YES ROLL ON,
LOL but i found this very interesting, may try it on a old junk hood here is some info on it, its worth a look, and maybe worth a try on a POS to see what it does.......but i will say SEEMS STRANGE.....

http://rollyourcar.com/default.aspx

 

yeah I've seen the roll on paint job before, it is in a HOTROD magazine, only probably is how long the whole process takes

 

spraying paint isnt hard. the hard part is fixing mistakes and preparring the metal right.

 

You will get better results with a better gun. Keep the $40 gun for primer, but get a DeVilbiss or a Binks for the paint. I see too many people try to paint with cheap guns and end up getting frustrated with the results. Painting is not some art from that takes many years of practice. With a good spray gun you could teach a chimp paint a decent job. No offense to the professional painters out there! Just trying to make a point. DeVilbiss makes a Finishline gun that can be had at www.tcpglobal.com for $119 it's a great entry level gun...I use it all the time. Sure you can paint with cheaper guns but you will spend a lot of time color sanding the orange peal and over spray.

As far as paint, good paint can be found at NAPA and even online fairly cheap. I picked up some black for my car with reducer and actvator for $50 a gallon! It's great paint and at that price if I screw it up, just sand and shoot it again. Once you get the paint, it will come with the tech sheets that will tell you how to mix, what air pressure, etc.

Anyway, hope this helps. The only real advice is to just do it. You will pick it up fast. And wear a resirator!!!

http://www.DeVibiss.com
http://www.tcpglobal.com

 

Ok thanks fella's, and remember Im not going for a million dollar glossy sparkling paint job, I just want a nice even coat of flat black.

 

ditto what rad5 said, i have this gun at work and i love it. http://www.autorefinishdevilbiss.com...cts.php?pg=170

 

I am painting my car w/ a Vaper HVLP gun from Mattos . The kit was $110 , 2 guns and a DA .I have done the engine bay and door jambs and I am real happy with the results .

This is my first paint job so i am still learning but like was said the prep is the most important part .

Go to autobodystore.com they have a very helpful forum with some real talented people giving great advice . Just like this site does for 3rd gens .


good luck Mike

 

i think you can buy gloss black tractor paint at car quest for like 20 a gallon.....time you thin all that down it should make 2 or 3 gallons