Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

Hey fellow third geners! I have not been here for a while, just to busy. But my Formula turned 30 this year I cant believe it! I bought it new in July of 1989. Anyway I had it repainted years ago and its peeling bad. So I am going to return it to its roots, black Formula 350 with original graphics. Taking it down to metal this time. Will be using all Eastwood products.

Here is my question. I have a cement patio that will be torn up some day, so I dont care about over spray. I am going to put up a party tent and seal it best I can. But I dont know what fans I should use and how many? Should one blow in and another out? I am thinking box fans. Anyway this is not a rush, its more of a labor of love. I am going to be purchasing a 60lb compressor as well so I dont have to worry about any running out of air. Going to pull the fenders, hood and doors off, paint them on a hanger system. Also going to get the aero wing spoiler from Hawks. As well as the entire interior, T-Top seals, etc.

Any input would be appreciated. thanks!!!

daferris

iTrader: (8)

The paint fumes will burn so only put fans to blow in. Uyse furnace filters to help hold down the dist. Get a very good resporator

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

Thanks! What about the overspray if I blow in? Do I put one on each side?

I will have a full body suit, eye protection and respirator as well.

LiquidBlue

my only question, what’s a Hawkeye doing in NY painting cars!

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

I love that name. It was the name of a cat I had years ago. I named him after Hawkeye from MASH. Its my favorite name.

LiquidBlue

ah! thought you were referring to the university

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

I am now considering a 26x13 blow up paint booth. It comes with the filters and blowers need. I bit more money but it will eliminate some other headaches for me. Also can be reused and I want to repaint my JEEP in the future as well.

86CamaroDan

1) i would not take it down to bare metal unless theres a dent, or rust underlying. In the 80's they started applying primer electrostatically. That's probably some of the best primer you can get on there, reuse it if you can!
2)I used 2 box fans to draw out the air, and opened a window on the opposite side to allow in fresh air. I would not use a fan to force air in - If theres dirt or dust in your paint area that gets thrown around, guess where its going to go? on your paint! Goal is to evacuate overspray.
3) buy a 3 stage water/desicant filter and stuff a small desicant one on the gun inlet too.
4) Follow all the instructions on the filler, primer, spot putty containers. Last thing you want is adhesion problems down the road because you didnt scuff it with 380 between a step.

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

Just to clarify, as I think it may have been said, you need to buy two furnace filters of moderate quality. Install one filter on one wall, preferably up high, and another filter on the opposite wall, preferably down low. The higher side would be your air in and the lower side would be your air out. The side that is exiting air should have the fan on the outside and be right up against the filter and be pulling air out of the enclosure. You don't want to force air in you want to pull it out. Having one filter up high and one low will help promote overspray to be puled down and out of the air. In lieu of an expensive painting respirator you should be able to purchase an N95 respirator a nasal canulla from a home medical supply store as well s renting a small oxygen tank. Run the oxygen at something like 5mL. The 60 gallon compressor will be plenty, I used a 30 gallon and just painted the car in 1/4 sections and it was totally fine. Before you paint you should also mop the floor and try to keep it damp to prevent dust from being kicked up.

86CamaroDan

I have a $40 gearson mask that has worked well. Even filtered out fumes in a enclosed garage. I highly recommend them. Or a 3M mask will do fine also.

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

Great advice. I know about the original factory primer but at this point I want to start fresh. I am really leaning towards a blow up temp paint booth. I can get one with 2 blowers and proper ventalation for around 1200 bucks. By the time I setup a tent, with box fans, filters etc. I would be close to that cost already. thanks for the info!!

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

The compressor is my other concern. I just want to make sure I have enough air. My thinking is to paint the hood, front fenders bumpers and aero wing first, then the rear part of the car separately. It will be over a 2 week period approx. My only concern there is will the black paint look different on the cars by painting sections over a 2 week period?

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

Thanks! added to my list!

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

This is what I am looking at for a paint booth

https://www.ebay.com/itm/23FT-Inflat...53.m1438.l2649

86CamaroDan

If your using a solid paint it wont. I've shot my car over the last 3 weeks and you cant tell. My father did every panel seperate on his GTO while it was in a storage unit and you cant tell. Pearl or metalic needs to be shot all at once, AND with all the panels on the car just because of nature of the beast.

86CamaroDan

Looks good to me. I would put a big pan thats got a inch of water in it outside of it to step in. That should stop any dust from being tracked in. We did that when i sprayed and we soaked the floor with water to keep the dust down.

if you got a few, check out the thread I have farther down in the body section. Ive tried to document as much as I possibly could.

jworks

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTEIf your using a solid paint it wont. I've shot my car over the last 3 weeks and you cant tell. My father did every panel seperate on his GTO while it was in a storage unit and you cant tell. Pearl or metalic needs to be shot all at once, AND with all the panels on the car just because of nature of the beast.][/QUOTE]

WAIT.... paint metallic with al of the panels ON the car?

Billgluckman

The big thing here is flash fires. Look it up. Personally I’ve never heard of it happening to anyone I know but if you google it you’ll find news videos of it happening.

Another thing you might want to look into are “explosion proof fans” they make an explosion proof fan that looks just like a box fan but has a sealed motor and a filter attatched. Also squirrel cage fans that have the motor outside of the air path.

Like i I said though, I’ve never met anyone whose had an explosion happen but I think everyone should be aware of the risk

jworks

iTrader: (1)

also called non sparking fans, using mostly aluminum and copper or plastic. we use them where I work.

86CamaroDan

Yes. With metalic or pearl paints you are supposed to start at one of of the car and go to the other end from what I understand. I have never used metalic/pearl, so this is just what I was told. Maybe others with more paint experiance will chime in on metalic/pearl combos

TylerSteez

iTrader: (3)

If stripped to bare metal and done over a 2 week period, wont the parts that don't get painted till later flash rust? how do the pros combat this?

Billgluckman

Youve gotta get epoxy on it fairly quick if it’s bare metal. I dealt with this last week. I stripped my quarter panel and didn’t get it primed that day, the next day it rained and even though the car was in the shop I still got flash rust. It’s easy to knock it back off though

GEN Xer

iTrader: (1)

My car has been sitting in a 12x20 in the raw for the last 2 months in Texas and it's been raining pretty much weekly here the whole time- cover the car when you're not working on it with blankets and some plastic sheeting and you won't have any problems. I used just the plastic at first but was getting some dew under the plastic somehow, the blankets solved that problem. Get a DTA (Direct to anything) epoxy for your initial coating and the body will be good forever.Tamco has some high grade stuff that is pretty competitively priced and a lot less picky about weather conditions than SPI or Eastwood from what I read in the painting forums.

Good luck!

Tibo

iTrader: (15)

Depends on the humidity levels. I live in the SouthWest region where humidity is ultra low unless it rains, usually 10-30%. Four years ago I bought a 4' x 8' piece of sheet metal that I have slowly been using up. It has resided in the garage and has no rust whatsoever on it. Out here nothing rusts unless water actually sits it for a prolonged period or time and even then the rust is only superficial. In an enclosed area you could run a dehumidifier and be fine. If the area is not enclosed just keep it from getting wet and just before painting to a minute of light sanding with whatever finishing grit your paint calls for. It's not a big deal.

ZsTransAm

As long as you have full coverage and is the same code and variant it will look exactly the same. A few thinks to think about:

-Its probably going to take a LOT longer than you think, you could easily have 100+ hours into this. I had about 200 hours into mine... and I do it for a living. Granted mine needed a lot of bodywork.
-If you take it down to the metal, check that your primer is designed to go over bare metal. Some aren't and then you'll need to etch prime first.
-If you don't have experience painting you really need to devote some time and materials to practicing before you shoot the car.
-If you wet down the floor just a little (and I mean a little, absolutely no standing water) you can keep the dirt down.
-You said you'd get a respirator, that's good. Make sure you seal it in an airtight bag whenever you're not using it. The charcoal filter will go bad fast if you don't.

86CamaroDan

Very solid points.
FYI I have 7 whole months(weekends only) into mine and I only went down to bare metal in the spots I needed too. even if i only guess about 8 hrs a day, per weekend that's about 448 hrs over 7 months give or take. It goes fast.
Completely forgot to mention storing your respirator in a bag.

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

thanks for the info sir!

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

will do and thanks again!

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

Going to do my car in sections. Hood, front fenders, bumpers, doors then the rest of the body. First take them down to metal and epoxy primer what needs it. Then shoot the spoiler, hood, then the doors, then the bumpers. main part of car last. Then put it back together. Just planing it all out now. The epoxy and build primers will be done sorta outside. But the main paint will be in the temp booth I will be buying.

Going to sand it down carefully with a orbital sander using 180 grit. My brother did this to his spitfire recently and got excellent results. Lots of great advice here, thanks gang.

I will do my best to update a thread once I get started.

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

Can I paint my car with the following compressor if I do it in sections:

26 gallon
1.8 hp running
6.1 SCRM at 40psi
4.3 SCFM at 90 psi
155 PSI Max. Pressure

Will be using it for epoxy primer, high build primer, base coat(black) and clear. Plan to buy the gun from Eastwood that is suppose to work well with smaller compressors, so they say. thanks.

86CamaroDan

I got the concourse pro set, works well with the 1.3 tip. You might want a bigger compressor than that though. That ones gonna be running alot, making alot of heat, and moisture when it condenses. If you do stick with a small one, make sure you buy a really good dryer/desicant system.

Billgluckman

You’re gonna need a gun with like a 1.8 for that high build/surfacer. You can buy a cheapo for primer. You’re gonna sand it anyway

Jorlain

iTrader: (4)

Depends on the gun and the paint, really. My high build primer called for a 1.3 to 1.5 tip. I used a 1.5 with my DeVilbiss Finishline 4 gun. It was your standard 4:1:1 high build 2K primer. Laid down pretty slick and sanded easily.

Jorlain

iTrader: (4)

I did my entire car with a similarly sized compressor in one go. I forgot to hook up my dryer(s) and did get some moisture that came through on my third color coat. I normally run a cheap water separator at the tank and then one of the cheap disposable ones just before the gun to be on the safe side. The compressor will run a lot with an HVLP if you're supplying your gun with enough air. I was running anywhere from 12-20PSI at the gun inlet depending on what I was using (primer, color, clear, etc) and my compressor would run nearly non-stop one I broke the threshold. When I'd walk away to let the paint flash off, it'd finish filling in moments. So, basically, it's right at the wrong side of being too small, but with some careful considerations it works fine, especially painting in sections.

86CamaroDan

Personally I used a seperate porter cable gun to shoot my primer. Nothing worse than shooting base coat and having dried up primer come out with it.

Jorlain

iTrader: (4)

I originally tried with an el cheapo gun when I put the epoxy primer on, but it came out like garbage. Couldn't get it to spray right. I threw it away and pulled out the Finishline for the rest of it. As long as you're doing half of a decent job cleaning your gun, I don't think you're likely to have any issues.

86CamaroDan

Well my father said that you should use two seperate guns. In attempt to save time, we used a small detail gun we had used to spray primer. First shot base coat on one of the smaller pieces we shot and SPLAT. white speckles everywhere. I was able to use tape and pull it out, but lesson learned. I cleaned that gun pretty damn good too - you never get it all though and all it takes is one white speckle to ruin a nice paint job

Jorlain

iTrader: (4)

There shouldn't be any dried up anything in it if you've cleaned it fully. Fully dismantle the gun and soak it in lacquer thinner. Then brush everything, bores, etc. Use tooth picks or guitar string to clean orifices. When done, store in an air tight container. I've never had any contamination doing things this way. Admittedly, I've only been doing this type of hobby work for the past 8 years or so, but if you're getting dried paint, regardless of what kind it is, out of your gun when you're painting, I feel you didn't clean it the way it should be cleaned. It'd be no different if you painted a car white and then your next paint job was black. Are we going to have a separate gun for every color we do? Probably not.

86CamaroDan

Two substances are different. Professionals dont paint with the same gun from primer to paint and clear. $1000 in paint but you cringe at the idea of a $30 gun to shoot primer? Its cheap insurance. I had soaked my gun and took the air cap off, thoroughly cleaned the res, however i admit, i never took the needle and seat out. Thiner came out completely clean - Never went farther than that.

Billgluckman

I’ve shot epoxy primer with a cheap $15 harbor freight gun with a 1.4 and it works great. I tried to use that same gun to spray surfacer/high build and it didn’t work great at all. I bought a fenix fx3000 ($100ish gun)with a 1.8 and it sprays it perfect.

Ive actually seen some nice paint jobs with the cheap harbor freight guns. I got stupid and bought a $500 devilbiss for spraying base and clear.

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

Yes that is my concern, hence going to do it in sections. Just nervous about it. haha

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

all great advise. So will consider 2 guns, one for primer and the other for base/clear

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

I have some cheap guns but I dont want to use them. I like the idea of painting with 2 separate ones though. So being i am using a 26 Gal compressor, what gun and size tip would I use for epoxy and high build primer from Easstwood, vs the gun I would use for base and clear? Eastwood has a next setup for 170 bucks that is what I was eyeing. thanks guys for the info and going forward!

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

By the way I just order my new aero wing spoiler from Hawks!! I am so fired up, pardon the pun!!

SO IT BEGINS!

Billgluckman

Base/clear/epoxy a 1.4 will work. In my experience a 1.8 is needed for the high build. My devilbiss came with a 1.3 and a 1.4 so you might could look at guns that have mor than one tip. Always do a test spray before just jumping in to the paint job.

i spray my epoxy and high build with the same 1.8 gun. Works fine

Jorlain

iTrader: (4)

I do cringe because I've been there and done that. I went through two Husky guns (rebadged Porter Cable, if memory serves) trying to get primer to lay down somewhat decent. It would peel really bad unless you turned the air volume down real low, and then it'd drip constantly. It takes a lot longer to block than it does to clean a gun properly.

Professionals have the benefit of doing this for a living, and they can spread the cost of the guns across a lifetime of paint jobs. It's also their livelihood. They don't want to stop and clean guns manually or wait for their gun cleaners to clean it. They want to grab the next gun and go to the next job. That's why they have multiple guns for each; primers, bases, clears. Some even have separate guns for single stage vs base coat. It's about efficiency. It's the same reason they have backup guns. Less risk of getting garbage in your paint is just a bonus.

86CamaroDan

Read the label on the side of the can. Usually what ever your spraying specifies suggested tip size, flash times and pressure at the gun while spraying. When in doubt, RTFL2X (Read The Freaking Label X2)

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

Thank you sir!

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

ABSOLUTELY!

Hawkeye1980

iTrader: (3)

So I ordered my spoiler, my paint booth some assorted tool goodies, all new seals for the t-tops, doors, etc. I also just ordered my epoxy primer, high build primer and a spray gun with 3 tips, 1.3. 1.5 and 2.0 all from Eastwood. FINALLY it will begin!