help me out guys..need all the tips i can get

[trans damm]

I have never touched a paintgun before and iam about to practice on my car. I ordered a finishline II to start with and i was told i should also get a cheap gun for primer? i have been reading alot on here and need to clear a few thing up. For materials iam thinking i need primer, primer filler,sealer,basecoat,clearcoat, and hardners. is that all i need? Iam probely going to use ppg because its easy to find. The color is bright silver metalliac. My main question is what do i sand? right now iam preping the car and saning it all. Do i sand primer? or the basecoat? i know i wet sand the clear but iam really curious about the base coat. Can i wetsand basecoat if there are imperfections such as dust or will this ruin the final outcome? will a gallon of paint be enough to do a whole car? Post all the tips you can.. iam really nervous. new car paint is so smooth, even though i never touched a paintgun i keep thinking it will spray like a rattle can and yeild a crappy finish. What is the trick to getting a smooth finish? is it just sanding? Is there anywere online that is cheap to buy my materials? thanks in advance guys. John

 

[rex]

If you are just painting it and there's no bodywork or filling to be done like sanding out chips or scratches you only need a primer sealer.Then put the silver base on it and clear it.You can't sand the silver base though without redoing it because it burns the metalic.If the clear doesn't lay down like glass(don't expect your first job to) just try to get it on even without dry spots or runs.You can either sand and buff it or sand and reclear it.The reclear will usually lay down better than the first time,but if you're gonna sand and buff it put on 1 extra coat if you're using the high solids clear that you only need 2 coats of.If you get a bad peel you can cut too much off the 2 coats sanding and buffing the peel out and the finish will fail on you soon.The amount of paint depends on the size of the car.You'll need a qt of sealer with hardner and reducer if it's different than the base and clear reducer,2qts of base will do a good sized car,and 2 qts of clear with hardner,maybe 3qts of clear.A gallon of reducer should be enough for all of it.

 

[hdchuck]

hey john I am a beginner too and here is what I can tell you so far. First this site has more info than any books etc. that I have found. Use the search feature most questions have been asked you can find a lot that way. The paint sprays pretty easily if you follow the directions and practice a little. I assume you don't have a booth and my biggest problem has been dust. I went to a local paint store and they had some paint that they mixed and the color didn't match right this is cheap and great for practice. I would practice on something before the car. Most important HAVE FUN!!!

Chuck

 

[Tanarus187]

Im painting my car to im not a pro or anything but i can give a few tips. Goto napa or some place like that they have alot of paint expertz that kno their **** . From what I kno the primer get about a gallon spray it on the car if you have small dents like small small use the primer to fill m up. Sand it with very fine grit sandpaper so you dont have to cover scratches with primer. I dont think your supposd to sand paint or clear coat unless you intend to spray another coat of paint or clear. ... hmm I think thats it. (Do the best you can everything is not gonna be perfect) <-- 3 months so far Finally got final prime coat.

 

[Tanarus187]

For priming you dont need a good gun for painting you usually need a high volume low pressure spray gun or something like that.

 

[shaunboy]

Hi there from new zealand
At first to save yourself some $$ id just stay with the devillbiss you got and clean the hell out of it every time it gets used, for primer and all.
also beware of using too much primer/filler on the car as it will cause way too much builp up of paint on places where its not needed.Just use it heavily on any repairs and take note of the drying time between coats instructions on the label.And as a general rule when primer/filling dont put too many coats on more than the recommened on the label.
If you sand through this just apply a bit more and re-sand it.
Also with the "bright silver " practice on a few things first ,because it can be diffucult to get even at times.
Remember to spray the silver to get coverage (2-3)coats then reduce it further so its quite thin and spray on light coats for a uniform look.
Good luck with this and have fun

Also remember to buy TACK RAGS to wipe the job with before you apply the basecoat and before you apply clearcoat

 

[Jim]

TD,Go find some PPG or HOK websites and read thier tech sheets.There are alot of tricks the guys here use but,they have been at it awhile and know what they can and can't get away with like mixing brands of paints and clears and reducers.Follow the tech sheets,use one system(brand) and you'll be fine!Autobodysupply seems to be the cheapest I found if buying on the web.Painting is NOT cheap and neither are the materials you need but,you gotta have em.Buy some extra reducer for cleaning your gun when switching between primer and paint and regular laquer thinner(8 bucks a gallon)for the cleaning after paint and clear.Reducer is more costly but,it works alot better for cleaning the gun.I used painters pride brand of pre clean,it's cheap,get plenty of it,wipe everything well before and after every sanding.I never had a single fish eye.Shaunboy had an excellant tip for sanding metallics,spraying clear first,don't sand through it though,you'll get a blotch.HOK's epoxy primer seems easier to use than PPG's DP.but don't wait more than two days to sand it,it gets hard like a rock!Get extra everything,it's better to have extra than run out of something once you start.When you spray your base,don't worry about minor peel,it will meld with the clear.Spray at least a couple of extra coats of clear to allow for wetsanding and buffing.Oh,one more tip,stay away from the edges when you sand and buff,nothing worst then busting through the edge and having to go back and touch it up.