Dumb n00b ?

[Ntense]

Hey guys,

I have been reading over all the forums and soaking in information over the last few days, this is an awesome place! Anyway, I have a silly question... I haven't ever painted large panels and such before... so I don't really have any idea how much paint it would take to paint a whole vehicle. I'm taking some refinishing and body repair classes in about two months, and after I finish those, I would like to try to repaint my Regular Cab, Dodge Dakota, if you don't know how big a dakota is.... it's pretty much the same size as a Chevy s-10 or Ford Ranger.

Anyway, my question is... about how much paint am I going to need to paint the whole truck? I really have no idea how much it takes... Like.. a gallon, or 2 quarts... or??? I will probably use HoK Metallic Basecoat, but I have also been checking out that Alsa company.
Will I need more clear than actual paint or about the same??

Thanks in advance... I feel kind of dumb asking.

 

[Ntense]

Oh btw, I'm probably going to do flames as well if that adds any to the total paint/clear usage.

 

[TAZ]

Ntense,
Welcome to the Flames Board.

Not for sure what color you would be going with, but for the most colors, it should take about 2 quarts of basecoat. This will reduce to 3 quarts or possibly even a gallon depending on which system you decide to use. If you plan on doing the inside of the bed, add another quart of the base color. If you decide to use the jams, you might as well get another pint. Now you get this close to a gallon of basecoat, it might be cheaper just to get the gallon.

I would also suggest using a sealer that is close in shade to the actual basecoat color you will be spraying
Examples...
black sealer for black basecoat
white sealer for yellow, red, and white basecoat
light gray sealer for light metallics
dark gray sealer for dark metallics.
Using the appropriate sealer will help save on basecoat materials.

Since this is your first bigger job and you also want to do flames, do the basecoat/clearcoat first, then come back and tackle the flames later on.

Another tip I can give you is *dont'* spray the basecoat like the old enamels, spray medium wet coats...after all, it's not the basecoat that gives you the shine, it's the clearcoat.
If you use HOK, I would suggest using 1 gallon of UC-35 and 2 quarts of KU-150. You will also need one gallon of either RU-311 or RU-312 reducer for the clear depending on the temperature (I know I would use slow reducer down here in Florida). I would guess you will be spending anywhere from $450-$650 in materials for your prep and your paint job.

If you use another brand, possibly another member can help you out on what to get. I have found HOK to be fairly inexpensive when compared to brands like PPG and Diamont...but you are limited on premixed colors from HOK.

I would also suggest not doing any special effect colors like color shift, candies, marbleizer...just to keep it simple as possible.
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[chevyy57]

It also varies on the type of gun that you are going to be using NTENSE. A gravity fed HPLV will put more paint on your project with much less overspray going into the atmosphere thus 'less paint used'.A siphon fed gun usually requires more air pressure for proper atomization therefore more overspray thus 'more paint used'. Your best bet is the gravity fed hvlp and should have no problem with 2-3 quarts of paint but it is always wiser to buy a bit more for the extras as Scott has mentioned such as door jambs,under the hood etc. As always it is users preferance.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/peace.gif

 

[Ntense]

Thanks for the tips Scott!
I was planning on light gray sealer, Orion Silver Glamour Metallic basecoat, and Stratto blue Metallic flames.

What would happen if I used a Blue or Green Kandy over the Orion silver instead of a metallic basecoat for the flames?

 

[Ntense]

Oh btw, I'm probably going to get the Devilbiss Plus Gravity fed