I have a shop air compressor, and a spray gun that I got and never had the guts to try. My dad has an old '70's auto body book where they talk about mixing catalysts and hardners and thinners with the paint- but that was 1970's paint. Has paint changed? Does that stuff need to be added? If so, is it rocket science, or is it common sense, like mixing Bondo with hardner? And how hard it it to set the gun up for painting? I assume it's cleaned with thinner afterward?

What about primer? I'd really love to shoot primer with the gun; last time I did all the car's bodywork, I used spray cans of primer, and went through a million. Does anything need to be done with (or added to) primer, or can I pour it in the cup and start shooting?

Is there a new non-70's book that covers all this? I can do bodywork like a pro, but don't know a thing about how to paint a car myself.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

Better grab some fenders and hoods to practice on. If you buy good paint, it flows better than the stuff 30 years ago, due largely in part to the HLVP (High Volume Low Pressure) guns being used now. But, painting is an art and is a lot easier to screw up than to do right.

As for what addatives go into the paint, this will vary slightly depending on what paint you use and your climatic conditions, so you should consult the place you buy your paint from.

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The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

[This message has been edited by Jim85IROC (edited May 15, 2001).]

 

And be aware that vapor respirators don't work at all on the clearcoats. I found out the hard way after crashing on the grass outside of the garage squeezing my head with my hands for hours because of the splitting headache I got from the isocyanates in the clear coat.

A bottle of advil and a quiet dark place for awhile helped, but it can't be to good for your health.

I now shoot clear with very good ventilation.

 

I shot etching primer in my driveway with a compressor and gun - it was pretty much a no-brainer. If you can follow simple directions like mix four to one primer with catalyst, you're in there. Beats the hell out of the rattle can.

Steve

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Steve's Trans Am Temple

 

Clear coat will get through a respirator but base coat won't. That's one I haven't heard before.

Clear coat is just clear paint. I've never experienced any respitory differences between the base coat and the clear coat, but that's just me.

Just to elaborate on what Scauff said, spraying primer is a good way to get familiar with spraying. Spraying primer is a whole lot easier because it dries so rapidly, and can get you familiar with the gun.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

That one chemical 'isocyanate' cannot be filtered. It passes right through the charcoal.

I checked into this wondering why I did the prime and base with no probs, but every time I shot clear I got such a wicked headache and the guy who sold me the paint told me you need to have a fresh air respirator for the clear.

It's exactly like the type of achin' you get from smelling dynamite (another dumb as( thing I did)

 

Interresting. I guess you learn something every day.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

Great, thanks for the info all! Jim, where do I find these paint places? Is this a phonebook project, or do I need to buy from a body shop? I don't have an HVLP sprayer, I have the old-school siphon-feed unit... I saw a webpage though where the guy was painting with the siphon-feed- can that gun be all bad? Or is it like using a "Husky" socket set as opposed to "Snap-On"?

And there's still additives, eh? I guess that makes sense. Steve, they're really that easy? Cool. I know Bondo's bad enough when too much/too little hardner's put in, I could imagine how bad paint would come out! But if it's that simple, I could probably handle it.

Now, technique/spray pattern, that's different....

JoelO, thanks for the dirt on that chemical. When I did my bodywork, I used no dust mask whatsoever (and mentally kick myself for it now!); when I did my sister's car, I used the cheap dust masks; I guess it's time to get the good charcoal unit.

Hey how bad's the paint smell? Will I stink up the neighborhood, or just my garage? I'd hate to have the cops pull up, with the EPA and all that stuff! I'm hoping the smell's not much worse than spray cans...

Did you guys pick up a book on this stuff or just learned by doing? I don't know about color sanding, or fixing runs with nib files, or any of that stuff. Maybe I should put the car "back" to primer-only, eh?


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

Tom,
I was at the local bookstore yesterday & found a book called "Painting your car" I dont recall who wrote it but I will find out & send you an e-mail, I know that it was published in the early 90's so its a good 15+ years more recent than the one you have. Hope it helps

-Don

 

You may also want to take a look thru the www.eastwoodcompany.com site,, lots of goodies for painting including books & I think (maybe) videos. I picked up a couple of books from there a few years back,, not that it improved my hack work any tho

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• My Firebird
• Others 3rd gens
• Part Diagrams

-Welders get better penetration

 

Tom, my father buys Sherwin Williams paint through Big A Autoparts. Napa has Martin Senour. Some places use Dupont, some use PPG. It's all 99% the same crap. Any good local autoparts store (i.e. not pep boys, Advance, Autozone, etc) will have some variant. I'd strongly suggest Urethane dual-stage paint.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

Tom, get that book. That will help as much as a 1000 posts.

Common sense will help you avoid alot of messes.

Martin- Senyour will stink up your county and your car IMHO. It does have a very enamel like smell.

Find a body supply company in your area.

I've heard Dupont is a pain compared to the others. Never tried it though. Don't wanna.

PPG DBC/DBU/DCC/Global is very user friendly. R-M (BASF) has a really good garage type setting clearcoat. DC76nr Turbo clear.

HVLP in reality is less side spray (90 degrees off your gun pattern after it hits the panel)thats really about it other than you need a ton more air. In the garage, i'd stick with what you have at least through the priming. If your going farther, post and i can reccomend some guns of various prices. If you plan on spaying a metalic color, you'll need a gun with a smaller tip/needle combo.

Prime away. Just don't skip steps or get impaitient. If you find yourself making compromises with yourself about quality, go do something else for a while till it wears off.

Rambling, it's kinda a hard question, it's kinda like someone asking how to build a radio or something by typing it.

That old book will bring you up to where we can help out with specifics. Have at it.



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Kenney
82 Trans Am WS7 notchback
83 Trans Am WS6 T-tops
Painter @ Chevy dealer
GM junkie

 

I painted my first car when I was 16... I had a web site but i'm not sure if it works anymore... http://surf.to/jeffsbus It's not that hard to do a decent job as long as you're willing to spend a lot of time sanding runs and orange peel play around with the gun till you like the way it paints, then have at it. Real primer is a lot better than the crap in spray cans. Primer is a lot easier to do than the paint too, so be careful. Regular enamel is a lot easier to work with than clearcoat... and cheaper too

 

ISOSINATES will kill ya ,,that is paint that requires HARDNER,,,,,hey i use 2 cynide filters and an air hood,,,fresh air (FILTERED )into the thing you put over your head,,, the laquors or paint of the 60,70,s dried as you paint,,,,,but you got to watch the weather,,,it dulls off if its cold,,,get some old panels,,make sure the gun is suitable for the paint,,i Find the JAP guns like IWATA, are great VALUE,the 2 pack flows faster so you need a small gun around 1.5,,1.7 setup,,acrylic,or laquor,,2.0mm setup can be fun,,its easy to fix mistakes,,on a single layer system,,white red green ,etc, non clearcoat,i been painting for years,,real good,,,but some things are called different names in our country,,and i aint up to the latest in the U.S.A i like the old fashioned acrylic look ,,,not a fake shine, primer is easy ,give it a go,get the ARMOURAL out of the garage,,,throw it out,,any old rags with that crap on them will cause problems somewhere down the line,,if any silicone products have been used on car ,,get plenty of grease and wax remover,,,and clean rags,,give it a go,,, get the good QUALITY,,like the other guy said,,,its a must,,AND it flows better,,if you get seriouse,, keep to one majour brand , all the primers,thinners, ETC,,I find its foolproof,,,NO WORRIES practice man practice, paint isn,t hard the prep is critical,,, and the MASKING,,,NO STREIGHT EDGE STUFF,,mask from the back,roll the tape,,,free advise from a hack ,, e mail if ya want,,,got photos ,, dont panic its fun

 

look what i said maybe is useless in the states,,U.S.A but get the book mentioned,if you gunna get seriouse get a 1/2 decent gun,its not hard ,,,get into it the sooner the better,,,paint everything yo can get ya hands on ,,old refrigerators,,washing machines,,skate boards, pushbikes,(BMX BIKES) mail boxes,,,get practice,,its easy ,after a few jobs,,DONT BREATH IT 2 pack ,,i got DAMAGED lungs ,i know now,,2 pack will give ya problems,latter on

 

One of the problems with putting a good QUALITY paint job on your car is the environment you paint in. The biggest problem I had was with overspray. You need to move a LOT of air to avoid this...... Such fun.

 

The thing is pracrice practice practice and you have to have decint paint, a good gun (Binks Model 17) and EXCELLENT air flow. The worst thing is bad air flow. You have to have a enclosed area with a wet floor and a huge exhaust fan taking care of the over spray. the other big thing is the prep work if you use a crapping primer then your paint ins't going to look good even if you do all the other things!!!

 

Binks no longer makes paint guns I was told

At least that's what I was told is why I can't get parts to rebuild one

 

I had also been thinking of painting my car myself. So, you're not alone. I went to the local library and found HPBooks "AUTOMOTIVE PAINT Handbook" written by John Pfanstiehl. It is an updated edition, and came out in '98 if I'm not mistaken. It's got a picture of a black corvette on the front cover. The list price on the back is $17.95, $25.99(Canada).

It has a lot of good information and illustrations. Chapters on paint technology, equipment, custom paint, to name a few. I would definitely recommend it for a first read.

 

I always use a wet floor plasic on all walls, the ceiling, seal up any draught,, so dust cant blow in ,,,wear a disposible plastic coveralls,, paint the thing and get out of there,,if isocynates are in the paint,get the full on cynide filters,,on the mask,,,i found painting 2 pack in the middle of the night, better no dust no flies no bugs,,get rid of any moths hanging around,,keep the floor wet,, and get out ,,lock the door,,go to bed,

 

PPG Clear,, middle of the day,, white sweat shorts,, breather mask,, crack open the doors,, let it sit,, minimum dirt.

Urethane clear is easily color sanded & buffed to an even better finish than fresh spray.

[This message has been edited by deadbird (edited May 19, 2001).]