Newbie painting questions bc/cc & fiberglass bumpers

[94blackcamaroz2]

Last year I painted my first vehicle and it came out great expect for the orange peel. I spent days wet sanding and buffing to get the orange peel out of it.

Being a newbie to painting I don’t have that much experience and I'm trying to get some advice and tips from all of you experienced painters. I will try to keep this thread as short as possible.

My current setup, I'm just using a cheap Porter Cable HVLP spray gun with a 1.5mm tip. To be honest, I have really no clue what pressure to run it at...maybe say 15-20 psi.

Now for all the questions...sorry

1.
· Im thinking of buying a new gun so that I can use smaller tips, say 1.3mm for the clear coat, its a DeVilbiss http://www.spraygunworld.com/Information2/FinishlineIIIKIT.htm

· Is this a good gun or should i look at something else? I have been looking on the net for awhile and it seems like the majority of the people use a 1.3mm tip for clear coat.


2.

· When I paint bumper covers for an automobile, what do i need to use? I've heard of adhesion promoters and flex additives. What’s the difference between the two??

3.
· Orange peel in clear coat…I know this is quite a hot topic, and from reading on the forum I have noted many hints/tips to reduce it. It seems like its all about the clear atomizing before it hits the metal, is this correct? How do you tell that the paint is atomizing?


I’m sure there will be many more questions, and I would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance,
Bill

 

[TAZ]

Last year I painted my first vehicle and it came out great expect for the orange peel. I spent days wet sanding and buffing to get the orange peel out of it.

Being a newbie to painting I don’t have that much experience and I'm trying to get some advice and tips from all of you experienced painters. I will try to keep this thread as short as possible.

My current setup, I'm just using a cheap Porter Cable HVLP spray gun with a 1.5mm tip. To be honest, I have really no clue what pressure to run it at...maybe say 15-20 psi.

You may want to try a better gun. Better tools make a better paint job. It also makes it easier. You can probably get by with that gun, but it won't give you the best results

Now for all the questions...sorry

1.
· Im thinking of buying a new gun so that I can use smaller tips, say 1.3mm for the clear coat, its a DeVilbiss http://www.spraygunworld.com/Information2/FinishlineIIIKIT.htm

· Is this a good gun or should i look at something else? I have been looking on the net for awhile and it seems like the majority of the people use a 1.3mm tip for clear coat.

A DeVilbiss gun is a good gun. Pretty much anything between $300-$500 will get you good results. This of course as long as you can set up the gun properly. A 1.3-1.5 should be good. I would think a 1.5 would be a better choice for the clear and 1.3 would be good for a basecoat. Believe it or not, I used to use a gun that I sprayed both the base and the clear with a 1.7. I used my fingers to control the output.

2.

· When I paint bumper covers for an automobile, what do i need to use? I've heard of adhesion promoters and flex additives. What’s the difference between the two??

No need for flex additives. I've never had any problem with the rubber bumpers peeling or cracking.
If your bumpers are raw, spray a coat of adhesion promoter. If they are already painted, and you are painting over this paint, treat them as any metal painted part

3.
· Orange peel in clear coat…I know this is quite a hot topic, and from reading on the forum I have noted many hints/tips to reduce it. It seems like its all about the clear atomizing before it hits the metal, is this correct? How do you tell that the paint is atomizing?

Basically it's just trial and error (and experience). If you have too much orange peel, and the paint is reduced properly, you can try one (or all at once) of the following.
--Turn back (in) the fluid control
--Turn up the air pressure
--Move the gun closer to the panel (you would do this if the paint is 'dry')

Most likely it's because you have too little of pressure. I normally spray about 40lbs

Just a few basic tips, but one of the above should get you on track.


:luck:

 

[94blackcamaroz2]

Taz, thanks for the much needed response.

For the new gun, I'm looking at theses ones (all Devilbiss)

GTI620
CFG670
FLG653

From reading posts, it looks like a lot of people prefer the GTI gun, but what are the differences between the guns? I know that the FLG is a lot cheaper (~100), but I cant seem to see much difference between any of them).

For the bumpers, I only need to fix up a crack on the rear one. Do you suggest using a bumper repair kit (expoxy), or use fiberglass? The front bumper is raw so I will need to use an adhesion promoter, but the rear one has the factory paint, so I should be able to just spray over it like you said.

For the orange peel, I will just have to play with it. But thank you very much for the hints/tips.

Bill