Getting Ready to spray base coat.

Thanks Dean. I have some smaller fans but I like the bigger fans you have there at your shop.Will probably get a couple of them. Also,I will look into the LED lights.
I started with some smaller household box fans mounted in plywood.
They were OK for shooting parts, but just too weak for anything more than that.
It's a learning process.
20201107_191640.jpg
 
Getting ready to spray the base and clear over the weekend. I have a question. What is the average lenght of the air hose to have. I have a 25ft red rubber hose that I have been using. Its long enough to reach all the panels of my truck,including the roof. Would it be a good idea to upgrade to a 50ft hose? I was also going to order a hose reel and mount it on the ceiling but I noticed that most of the painters just have the hose on the ground,I guess for easy handling of it when you put it over your shoulder so it won't hit the panels. Also,my paint gun has a small mesh filter that goes between the cup and the gun. Its kind of worn out so I am thinking of just removing it. I know its there to filter the paint but since we use the strainers,would'nt it be enough? Just wondering.
 
Getting ready to spray the base and clear over the weekend. I have a question. What is the average lenght of the air hose to have. I have a 25ft red rubber hose that I have been using. Its long enough to reach all the panels of my truck,including the roof. Would it be a good idea to upgrade to a 50ft hose? I was also going to order a hose reel and mount it on the ceiling but I noticed that most of the painters just have the hose on the ground,I guess for easy handling of it when you put it over your shoulder so it won't hit the panels. Also,my paint gun has a small mesh filter that goes between the cup and the gun. Its kind of worn out so I am thinking of just removing it. I know its there to filter the paint but since we use the strainers,would'nt it be enough? Just wondering.
Most discussion of the mesh filters that I have seen here is to remove and throw it away. As you said, strain the paint and be careful not to let anything fall in the cup.

For the air hose, the big question isn't the length of it. Just need enough to comfortably move around the car. Depending on where the air connection point is vs. the car, 25 feet might be fine.
**One note: If the hose you are going to use for painting has been used a lot for air tools and the supply wasn't coming from filtered/dry air, it could be contaminated and cause problems. Compressors are lubricated and some oil mist comes out in the compressed air. I dedicate a good hose to painting only and that air is highly filtered and dried, no chance of any contaminants in the hose.

Bigger question is the air supply. Adequate CFM, cleanliness, dryness. You can search this forum, there are some good threads discussing air system design. Big topic.
 
As far as the fans go …. I’ve used 2-3 box fans ( cheapies) for years- plenty of air flow for a garage - too much and you’ll be suckin dirt off the walls and out of every corner . I had bigger fans that really cleared out the fog but my paint (clear) had a lot of trash - got cleaner when I went to box fans and put up with some fog - I’ve since designed something better but the box fans got me by pretty good
 
Getting ready to spray the base and clear over the weekend. I have a question. What is the average lenght of the air hose to have. I have a 25ft red rubber hose that I have been using. Its long enough to reach all the panels of my truck,including the roof. Would it be a good idea to upgrade to a 50ft hose? I was also going to order a hose reel and mount it on the ceiling but I noticed that most of the painters just have the hose on the ground,I guess for easy handling of it when you put it over your shoulder so it won't hit the panels. Also,my paint gun has a small mesh filter that goes between the cup and the gun. Its kind of worn out so I am thinking of just removing it. I know its there to filter the paint but since we use the strainers,would'nt it be enough? Just wondering.
As Dean said, remove that strainer. Barry has that rule in his literature. I found that strainer in my gun and hucked it as far as I could because it was up to no good! :p
 
I painted my truck over the weekend and don't look too bad at all. ( Of course this is just me saying it).I shot 3 coats of base and 4 coats of clear. I did get a small run in the tailgate but I am pretty sure I can get rid of it after reading some of the posts here. I do have some orange peel on the panels but that should clear up with wet sanding and buffing. Even though I had the cap of the cup tight,toward the end of my clear,the darn thing dripped 2 small spots on the panel. They were real noticeable on sunday but today they don't look too bad. Bad thing is one of the drips is on one of the body lines or crevice I guess you can call it cause the body line has an indent ,sorry don't know the exact name. The best way I can describe it is looking at the body line that has a V in it. Don't want to burn tru the top edges of that V. Now, the question? How long should I wait before I start doing any wet sanding on my truck. Should I give it a week or so or maybe longer? By the way,since my gun dripped those 2 spots, would I be safer using the 3M PPS paint gun system and get the PPS adaptor for the gun. Just wondering. Thanks to all for helping me so much that I was able to paint my truck.I was nervous but than I said to myself,you will never learn if you don't try. Once I get it all done,I will post a picture of my truck.
 
Once I get it all done,I will post a picture of my truck.
Congratulations on taking that step!
Don't keep us in suspense, put up a picture as is :)

Here are my thoughts on your questions, the pro's may have better answers.

If you can, get it in the sun. Doesn't have to be warm or sunny, the UV is what matters.
A week seems to be the minimum that I've heard to pros suggest, to wait for cutting/buffing.
The tech sheet says overnight, which is OK, but longer seems to be better.

For the run in the trim line, that can be challenging. I would make a small sanding block out of wood or similar, small enough to get in the area, but with a flat surface for the sandpaper.
I would also use a higher grit than would be normally be used on runs. Say 1200-1500. It will take longer, but be safer in that spot.
On the actual edge, go very, very lightly and carefully, with the block surface on the drip/run and parallel to the panel, if that makes sense.

A sand through is a real headache. I might be willing to live with the "ghost" of a run or drip rather than risking a sand through, if it is a driver and not a show vehicle. That's just me.
 
Thanks Dean. I was going to drive it out of the shop and let it get some sun yesterday but it was really windy and its windy again today.Strong winds here this week. I have 2 big tall palm trees that will drop the dried up palms when its windy and I did not want them falling on the truck and messing up the paint. The palm trimmer was scheduled to come yesterday to trim the trees but he said it was too windy and that he did not want to eighter hurt himself or for the palms to hurt anything in the yard since they drop off right after he cuts them. As soon as the winds stop,I will drive out.
As soon as I can,I will post a picture of the truck.
 
The day looks better today, very little wind compared to last couple of days. I'm going to try and post a picture of my truck that I painted on sunday. I did remove the hood cause I just could not reach to put the gun at a right angle to spray. Like I said earlier, to me, it looks fairly good being that its my first paint job. I am going to wait till next week before I start with color sanding and buffing. In the picture, I am getting reflections from stuff that I have to the sides on the property. You can see the 2 /100 ft tall palm trees that have not been trimmed and therefore, will drop their palms anytime there are strong winds so I have to watch for that and bring the truck back inside the shop. I read some threads here at this forum on procedures used to color sand and buff. I do have a question though, would it be ok to color sand by hand, rather than by DA or something similar? I don't want to take a chance and burn tru the base. I know its faster with a DA but I have plenty of time so I don't mind doing it by hand. I am not going to rush anything. I will do a 12"x12" at a time and than continue on with the rest of the panel. What do you guys think? I don't mind you guys stating or criticizing my paint job. I was only able to try because of all the encouragement that all of you gave me. I just hope that I only get better at this as I go along. Thanks to all of you.
 

Attachments

  • My 94 chevy Truck 003.JPG
    My 94 chevy Truck 003.JPG
    194.4 KB · Views: 127
  • My 94 chevy Truck 004.JPG
    My 94 chevy Truck 004.JPG
    171 KB · Views: 126
Looks good!
Just to get the terminology right, since you did Base/Clear, it is "Cutting and Buffing."
Cutting is to get the clear flat (get rid of any orange peel, trash, or runs,) then buffing is to polish the final finish.
The first largest grit in the cutting does the leveling, subsequent grits are just to remove the scratches from previous grits, gradually working up in grit and then to cutting and polishing compound, which is normally done with pads on a rotary polisher.
Sounds like you've read the other threads so have good info on that process.
When you say "hand sand," I assume you mean with a block? It is important to use a block of some kind, not paper in your hand.
Some guys use a soft block for the cutting, others hard blocks.
A DA in the hands of us newbies definitely has higher risk of sand through with the more aggressive grits. The higher the grit, the less material being cut, the lower the risk. Some guys tape the sharp body edges while doing this as an extra precaution.
Good luck!
 
Thanks again Dean. Yes, thats what I meant ,wet sanding with block, not just by hand. The only sections I would do by actual hand ( no block) would be the small areas where I can't use the block. When I get ready to Cut and Buff, I think I will start with a 600 grit and go to a higher grit from there.
When I get a new project to work on, I will be buying my supplies from the SPI website. The only reason I bought the paint and clear locally is because I had done some wiring for a surround system( I was an electronics technician for a long time) for a guy that works at the local jobber. This happened last year and the guy told me that If I ever needed some paint for my car ,he would give me a discount on my material. So, that discount was a one time thing so now I can buy here at the SPi site. I believe in helping the people that help you and since this SPI website forum has helped me a lot, I need to support it. I pretty sure most everybody here agrees with me.
 
Thanks again Dean. Yes, thats what I meant ,wet sanding with block, not just by hand. The only sections I would do by actual hand ( no block) would be the small areas where I can't use the block. When I get ready to Cut and Buff, I think I will start with a 600 grit and go to a higher grit from there.
When I get a new project to work on, I will be buying my supplies from the SPI website. The only reason I bought the paint and clear locally is because I had done some wiring for a surround system( I was an electronics technician for a long time) for a guy that works at the local jobber. This happened last year and the guy told me that If I ever needed some paint for my car ,he would give me a discount on my material. So, that discount was a one time thing so now I can buy here at the SPi site. I believe in helping the people that help you and since this SPI website forum has helped me a lot, I need to support it. I pretty sure most everybody here agrees with me.
600 grit in the hands of a novice is a bit of a risk imho. If you’re not shooting for show quality start with 1000 grit. Do it dry so you can see when the peel and trash are gone. Then move on to wet sanding with finer grades. Tape your edges!

Don
 
Last edited:
Thanks Don for the good advice. I do have one run at the tailgate. Do you think the 1000 grit will flatten that run down or can I use the 600 just for the run and than use the 1000 for the rest of the panels? I was going to start wet sanding but I am glad you told me to dry sand. Should I go in this sequence, 1000,1500,2000,and finally 2500? You are the pro, so I will take your advice on which grits to use. When I move from one grit of paper to another, how do I know how far to go with each grit before I move on to the next? Also, you mention to tape the edges. I know this is going to sound very dumb but I am still going to ask. When taping the edges, can I use 1/2" or 3/4" tape and tape from the edge in, which will mean that I will not be cutting or buffing that much of the panel, right. Please correct me if I am wrong. I want to do this right.
Final question? I painted the truck on Sunday. When do you think I will be able to start this sanding and buffing process?
Thank you so much for helping me out. I always appreciate all the good advice I get from you guys.
 
Get some Tolecut blocks to sand down runs. Texas posted the link.

I recently tried a new sanding process based on recommendations from Jim C and Texas and a few others. All done with a DA. No hand sanding. Use a 3M interface pad.

1000 Eagle yellow film dry

Tolex 1500 dry

Buflex 2500 dry

Trizact 8000 wet

ACA 3D 500 on black wool pad

ACA 3D 520 on black foam

Results were outstanding with a lot less work. I recommend you use this process. Jim does the Tolex and Buflex wet but I did them dry. Just uses more discs but I prefer dry when I can.

Wait a week to cut and buff.

Here’s a pic of edges taped for sanding. Only a sliver of the edge on the panel being sanded is covered with tape. The bulk of the tape is on the adjacent panel.

0E6BFB5D-C15C-4C28-9BCD-CAF140AD0C3F.jpeg

Don
 
Last edited:
You will need to be sure that run is cured before going after it. If it is not you risk the chance of dislodging it and leaving a hole.
I use a hard bock and 600 grit but really concentrate on sanding just the run and not touching the surrounding clear. Once you get it close to the surface be sure to switch to 1000 grit but again concentrating on sanding just the run. As it begins to level you will start making contact with the surrounding clear, that is when you switch to 1500 and get it level.

I have used a DA on a few different vehicles but like everything it takes know how and practice. The correct pad on the DA is must as Don mentioned. Using it dry makes it very easy to see when the Orange Peel and any dirt marks have been removed.

If you think there may be some Urethane Wave as they call it, I would suggest hand sanding for the first round, using 1000 grit on a hard block.
I normally do this with a squirt bottle of water and a microfiber cloth in reach. Wet a 12"x12" area and sand it, rinsing and wiping it dry to check progress. Once you have it flat and free of orange peel you can move on to the DA or a soft block and begin refining the scratches.
 
Thank you 68 coronet for your valued guidance with this project. Great advice that I am getting from all of you here at this forum. Should I use a few drops of Dawn soap in the water for sanding? It will be 7 days tomorrow since I painted my truck. Do you think I can start the cutting and buffing by Monday, or should I wait till next Friday to start. Also, I would like to wash my truck. How much longer do I wait before I can wash it? Do I use plain water or can I use some soap on the water and than rinse and dry it out. Sorry for all the questions but once I know all this, I will know for future projects.
 
It will be 7 days tomorrow since I painted my truck. Do you think I can start the cutting and buffing by Monday, or should I wait till next Friday to start.
All depends on the clear used. There are some clears (not SPI) that are very difficult to buff after 2-3 days. Most of the time the TDS on the clear will give you a time line. Even the slowest of clears can be washed after 24 hours. Most production jobs get buffed and washed within 24 hours. I would sand and buff a small area or one panel to test the procedure you want to use. No way would I start with 600 if I were you. Even 1000 scratches can be difficult to remove, especially with a hard clear. Start with 1200 and see how that works. Remove 75% of texture with first grit, then all texture with 1500. Refine scratches from there. Quality sandpaper and clean water, surface, and environment are essential.
 
Seems like everyone is telling you a different method. No surprise there since most everyone has a unique method that works for them. My advice to you is pick one and run with it. Don’t mix and match parts from different methods. Recipe for disaster imho…. :)

Don
 
Back
Top