H
hoodun
I just sprayed my first car today and thought I would share lessons learned:
1.)Plan ahead. Seriously. I used way too much sand paper and did more work than I had to. I had a very thorough plan which leads me to 2:
2.)Stick to your plan. (Sand down with 180 grit. Spray Epoxy. do Body Filler as needed. Spray 2k. Sand with 400g or 600g. Paint) I started with this then read that I get away with just sanding to 400, then I decided to spray Epoxy again, etc. ....
3.)Rent a booth. I did it in my garage because of money issues but in the end it cost me about the same. note: I already had a 2000cfm sealed fan with a 6 foot tall charcoal filter and 14 inch ducting as exhaust. If I did it again I would rent a booth. Lighting was not the greatest in my garage despite 5k watts of light (bright but it was not evenly lit enough). Also, space was tight and I bumped into fresh paint a couple times... Dust was everywhere.
I would spray primer in my garage again, but not base/ clear.
4.)Fresh air respirator. Anyone who tells you otherwise does not know what they are talking about and has not thoroughly read the dangers of modern paint. (e.g. I know a painter who painted one car 10 years ago and had his lung checked recently. They told him they could tell he painted a car 10 years ago just by looking at his lungs. Urethane will NEVER leave your body. I knew two older painter (55) who are now dead of cancer leaving kids behind.)
I purchased a Fresh Air Respirator on Ebay for $400 used and I am selling it for $400 used so it is cheaper than a charcoal mask. You could make money if you shop enough. Its a no brainer really. They are simple devices that basically push air into a face mask. Its positive pressure. Not something that breaks easily. either works or it does not really. Buy used if you cant afford new.
Make sure you dont trip over the electrical plug.
or you will feel like you are in the movie gravity.
5.)You're going to screw up unless you are lucky and or have someone walk you through every step. Have a backup plan. I had 400g sand paper because I knew I would get paint runs. I wound up sanding between base coats. It was easy to sand after 15m just to get the runs out, then spray fresh base over it. I finally figured it all out when I was done. There is orange peel everywhere. This is VERY hard. Its like playing baseball without ever practicing. Sure, you may hit a home run the first pitch (I did on my first fender and then...) but realistically, you are going to strike out a few times. Maybe get to first. It does not matter how many youtube videos you watched or forums you read. Be realistic with expectations and you can get a decent paint job. Plan to wet sand the clear. Pick a solid color if you can.
If you REALLY do not want to screw up. Get a gallon of base/ clear and a car or two worth of sheet metal to practice on first. Thats what it will take, at least.
Biggest take aways:
Its not worth doing this in a cramped space. With a hose for the respirator and another for the gun you will constantly be tangled and it will effect your work.
Its VERY time consuming. About 80hrs. You think you are going to be done and then you have to wet sand the whole car five times over.
You must know all the adjustments of the gun and thoroughly understand how it works to get consistent results.
1.)Plan ahead. Seriously. I used way too much sand paper and did more work than I had to. I had a very thorough plan which leads me to 2:
2.)Stick to your plan. (Sand down with 180 grit. Spray Epoxy. do Body Filler as needed. Spray 2k. Sand with 400g or 600g. Paint) I started with this then read that I get away with just sanding to 400, then I decided to spray Epoxy again, etc. ....
3.)Rent a booth. I did it in my garage because of money issues but in the end it cost me about the same. note: I already had a 2000cfm sealed fan with a 6 foot tall charcoal filter and 14 inch ducting as exhaust. If I did it again I would rent a booth. Lighting was not the greatest in my garage despite 5k watts of light (bright but it was not evenly lit enough). Also, space was tight and I bumped into fresh paint a couple times... Dust was everywhere.
I would spray primer in my garage again, but not base/ clear.
4.)Fresh air respirator. Anyone who tells you otherwise does not know what they are talking about and has not thoroughly read the dangers of modern paint. (e.g. I know a painter who painted one car 10 years ago and had his lung checked recently. They told him they could tell he painted a car 10 years ago just by looking at his lungs. Urethane will NEVER leave your body. I knew two older painter (55) who are now dead of cancer leaving kids behind.)
I purchased a Fresh Air Respirator on Ebay for $400 used and I am selling it for $400 used so it is cheaper than a charcoal mask. You could make money if you shop enough. Its a no brainer really. They are simple devices that basically push air into a face mask. Its positive pressure. Not something that breaks easily. either works or it does not really. Buy used if you cant afford new.
Make sure you dont trip over the electrical plug.
or you will feel like you are in the movie gravity. 5.)You're going to screw up unless you are lucky and or have someone walk you through every step. Have a backup plan. I had 400g sand paper because I knew I would get paint runs. I wound up sanding between base coats. It was easy to sand after 15m just to get the runs out, then spray fresh base over it. I finally figured it all out when I was done. There is orange peel everywhere. This is VERY hard. Its like playing baseball without ever practicing. Sure, you may hit a home run the first pitch (I did on my first fender and then...) but realistically, you are going to strike out a few times. Maybe get to first. It does not matter how many youtube videos you watched or forums you read. Be realistic with expectations and you can get a decent paint job. Plan to wet sand the clear. Pick a solid color if you can.
If you REALLY do not want to screw up. Get a gallon of base/ clear and a car or two worth of sheet metal to practice on first. Thats what it will take, at least.
Biggest take aways:
Its not worth doing this in a cramped space. With a hose for the respirator and another for the gun you will constantly be tangled and it will effect your work.
Its VERY time consuming. About 80hrs. You think you are going to be done and then you have to wet sand the whole car five times over.
You must know all the adjustments of the gun and thoroughly understand how it works to get consistent results.
