Getting Ready to spray base coat.

I don't think you mentioned what clear you are using, but if its Universal Clear, 1.4 is perfect actually. Like Don said, read the tech sheet thoroughly. It can be a little tricky to spray, and the tech sheet will give you lots of pointers. I actually like your idea of doing the hood first. You will be able to see how it behaves on a horizontal surface before you do a vertical surface. The big thing about the universal is how the tech sheet says to spray it "how you want it to look".. Which means spray it on wet so it looks like glass with no texture. Problem is its a fine line between that and having massive runs LOL. But on the other hand if you over correct and try to spray it light, which too light will typically have a slight texture to it, know that it wont level itself out as it flashes. You are going to have to just find that sweet spot between fluid delivery and travel speed and learn where you get the gloss, but not running it all over the floor, haha.

On the platform, thats cool they have an adjustable now. I have three of the ones below. Once you have them you will use them all the time. I bought mine after seeing my dads, when I was helping him on the house. I bought mine really for working under the hood on my 1 ton 4wd trucks, as I was tired of climbing up tires and standing on the bumper(and occasionally slipping off and bashing my shins in the process).
www.homedepot.com

Gorilla Ladders 4 ft. x 12 in. x 20 in. Aluminum Slim-Fold Work Platform, 300 lbs. Load Capacity GLWP-47 - The Home Depot

This Slim-Fold Work Platform is ideal for high-up jobs that you need a large platform to reach. It features a 300 lb. load capacity with a solid surface and strong aluminum frame. It’s also foldable so
www.homedepot.com
 
Once I get the paint and the clear,I will read the TDS thats on the can and make sure I follow all the guidelines. I did get 2 of the aluminum platforms and they are really nice. The height is adjustable to 30 inches. You can bring it down to 20" too. Very light to move around but yet very strong.They can handle up to 300 LBS. They are almost 3 ft and 9 inches long. So if I shoot the clear too wet,I will have runs and yet if I spray it to dry,I will get orange peel.Is this correct. Thanks for your tips and suggestions. Great people on this forum.
 
Trying to figure out what went wrong.I bought a pint of the light blue paint that I will be using on my chevy truck. its a 2.1 metallic paint. I do have a practice hood here that I bought at a local wrecking yard. I went ahead and mixed the paint and shot a test run on a piece of masking paper and when I got it to look like a football or cigar,I thought it was ready so I went ahead and sprayed the hood. On the first coat,I noticed a few tiger stripes so I figured they would be covered on my second coat but no such luck,stripes are still visible. I shot both coats up and down,vertical I guess.Do you think that if I had shot the second coat from left to right or horizontal,the stripes would be covered? I sprayed the base at 22psi at the inlet,had the fan wide open. I adjusted the fluid control when I was doing the test run. I did not have any runs at all,don't look too bad to me for being my first time but of course what don't look bad to me could look terrible to you professionals. Ha ha. I would appreciate any and all advice as to how to correct this problem. Man,If I could make my truck look like the one that 68 Coronet painted, I would be blessed. Thanks to all of you great guys.
 
Tiger stripes are often caused by tipping the gun slightly. You have to pay close attention to keeping the gun perpendicular to the surface at all times. A slight tilt will cause one side of the fan to be closer to the hood than the other side. This will cause the paint to be wetter and heavier on the close side thus creating the stripes.

On your first pass, is the coverage looking consistent throughout the fan pattern?
 
Yes, I went ahead and pulled the trigger and than set the pressure to 22psi. The overlap was at 50%,maybe I should go to 75%. Now that I read what 68 coronet says about tipping the gun slightly,maybe that was the problem because I do remember when I first started spraying,I was not at exactly at a 90 degree angle,it was tipped slightly. So, If I make sure that I have my gun perpendicular to the object and spray at 75% overlap,maybe my problem will be corrected. I really think that this was my problem,gun was tipped slightly and spraying at a 50% overlap. I don't think it would be wise to try again since It already has 2 coats,right. I want to thank you Don and 68 coronet for guiding me in the right direction. Also,thanks to all the other guys here that have given me some great advice. It makes me feel go when I am learning from the best.
 
Look up doing a drop coat. It may help reduce tiger stripes if its because of the metallic.
Heres one example. He does the drop coat at about 2 mins 30 seconds. On thing that's different is I was taught to do more of a random pattern on the drop coat.

 
Thanks boostedone for the video. Nice to learn all this. I always wondered how guys do it when they only have one panel to paint and yet be able to blend in with the rest of the car. Good info.
 
I saw an OEM job that looked like a zebra. Even my wife saw it. It happens and you can correct it.
 
Mando said:
Thanks boostedone for the video. Nice to learn all this. I always wondered how guys do it when they only have one panel to paint and yet be able to blend in with the rest of the car. Good info.
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Drop coats are not easy to do for someone who has never done one. Very easy if you are new to this to mess up. Unrealistic to do a drop coat everywhere on an overall. Most of the time a drop coat is not neccesary if you are using proper technique.
If you are having issues with striping a far better way on an overall is to use a blending agent. All of the paint manufacturers make it, you can also use SPI intercoat. You take your mixed ready to spray base and mix that 1:1 with the blender (good general starting point) and shoot one or two coats. This will even out your metallic. Very easy to do, unlike a drop coat which is very easy to mess up if you have never done one.

I worked many years in Collision and almost never needed to do a drop coat. I have covered this topic many times here in the past. Gone into a lot of detail in some posts about technique and blending. Here's a search link to those posts if you are interested.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't the metallics been redesigned so that orientation isn't a problem anymore?

I don't shoot any low quality, bottom line paints anymore so maybe that is still an issue with them. However the mid to high end metallics and pearls I have found quite easy to spray.
 
Mando said:
Yes, I went ahead and pulled the trigger and than set the pressure to 22psi. The overlap was at 50%,maybe I should go to 75%. Now that I read what 68 coronet says about tipping the gun slightly,maybe that was the problem because I do remember when I first started spraying,I was not at exactly at a 90 degree angle,it was tipped slightly. So, If I make sure that I have my gun perpendicular to the object and spray at 75% overlap,maybe my problem will be corrected. I really think that this was my problem,gun was tipped slightly and spraying at a 50% overlap. I don't think it would be wise to try again since It already has 2 coats,right. I want to thank you Don and 68 coronet for guiding me in the right direction. Also,thanks to all the other guys here that have given me some great advice. It makes me feel go when I am learning from the best.
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I am curious. What brand base are you using? :)

Don
 
I am using the Dimension base coat. I had a choice to get 2 other ones but quite a bit more. The guy also sells Prospay and Matrix. Even Dimension is not cheap. I talked to some guys here in town and they say that most of the shops here use the Dimension paint with no problems but at the same time I would have to use a good quality clear like the Matrix. The shop owner told him that in this area ( 115 degree in the summer) its all in the clear that you use that will make the job last. Thanks guys. I enjoy reading all the different opinions on this subject. Great learning experience.
 
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'68 Coronet R/T said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't the metallics been redesigned so that orientation isn't a problem anymore?

I don't shoot any low quality, bottom line paints anymore so maybe that is still an issue with them. However the mid to high end metallics and pearls I have found quite easy to spray.
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Many of the tech sheets from the manufacturers almost always suggest using an orientation coat. I use Standox and they recommend it.
 
Mando said:
I am using the Dimension base coat. I had a choice to get 2 other ones but quite a bit more. The guy also sells Prospay and Matrix. Even Dimension is not cheap. I talked to some guys here in town and they say that most of the shops here use the Dimension paint with no problems but at the same time I would have to use a good quality clear like the Matrix. The shop owner told him that in this area ( 115 degree in the summer) its all in the clear that you use that will make the job last. Thanks guys. I enjoy reading all the different opinions on this subject. Great learning experience.
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A great quality clear would be SPI…. :)

Don
 
Would the universal clear work ok with my dimension base coat? I can't seem to find a price and shipping info anywhere on the SPi site.
Thanks Don.
 
AAE said:
Many of the tech sheets from the manufacturers almost always suggest using an orientation coat. I use Standox and they recommend it.
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Hmm, of the five product tech sheets I have: Dupont, RM Diamont and Motobase LV don't even mention it. Wanda says, "when needed" and ProSpray says it is "acceptable."

I'm not a professional and I didn't sleep at the Holiday Express last night either. Just stating my experiences with spraying metallics and pearls since upgrading to the better quality paints. I have not found a drop coat necessary. Now if blending a repair, that would be a different matter altogether but not on completes.
 
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Only sprayed Dimension a couple times, owner supplied, and it definitely didn't spray as easy or cover as well as the Ultra 7000. There was also about 5 or 6 different versions. One thing you learn is inexpensive base coat is not cheaper. More coats for coverage, more aggravation getting it "right", and more problems down the road doesn't = cheaper. Prospray, Matrix, and HOK are all owned by Sherwin Williams now, and formulas, price, and quality have all changed (and not for the better).
 
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