What do I need?

W

wolflady

I am wanting to paint my car but i'm new to auto painting. I have spent hours researching how to do it properly and everyone seems to have different ways they do it. I'm just tired at this point. I plan on using spi 2k regular primer, kirker black diamond flame red urathane base(havent ordered it or any spi stuff yet), and im trying to figure out what clear to use and what exactly i need to mix with it. it is 40-50 degrees here now. should i go with normal slow or fast? should i mix anything else with it?
(I will be priming over the old paint after i sand it a little, its a 01 saab 9-5)

sorry for coming in here sounding like an idiot, still trying to understand everything.
Thank you in advance
 
What do you have for equipment?
The air compressor size, CFM output and filtration system are the first major expense. This also will determine what tools and spray guns you can use.
 
I personally would use epoxy primer instead of 2k because it's a newer car. SHouldn't need a ton of fill like an old car with bad gaps and panels. Can you sand it down, seal it, paint it? Or does it need a lot of body work? I wouldn't flood a bunch of material on it unless it's beat to heck. I wouldn't paint anything unless it's at least 65 degrees. If you take some pics of it I'm sure you'll get better help from people on here.
 
im using my friends air compressor. im pretty sure it was put in his shop by his fathers father so its old. its 2 tanks connected together and he thinks they are about 50 gal. each. it has a filter on it. also has a spray gun not sure what type either. they used to paint their own veicles a long time ago.

It actually has 3 large spots im having to use bondo on, ill get some pictures. i bought this car with the dents knowing i was going to fix and paint it. undented it today doing bondo tomorrow.
 
Surface temperatures are very important when dealing with modern materials, since they are mostly catalyzed and rely on a certain amount of heat to sustain the chemical reaction that crosslinks the paint molecules.

It's strongly recommended that a non-contact thermometer be used to determine the temperature of the surface to be sprayed. 65 degrees is a good winter number to try for, and 60 should be seen as an absolute minimum. Surface temperatures will be much cooler than air temperatures.

Fast hardeners and reducers should not be used on a complete paint job, though they might be useful for jambs or parts painted individually, like bumpers.

I would guess that the clear you need would be Universal Clear. I don't have a lot of experience spraying UC, but I believe a mix of normal and slow activators could be used on a complete at about 65 degrees.
 
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