A noobs progress to spray painting :) [56kers must be drunk]

[steve88]

so i finally got the last of the gear yesterday from the panel beater he gave me some free paint/hardener/equip to get me going, as well as sourcing out decent guns/compressor i got out my old rear bar that was involved in a smash, i sanded back and repaired one spit and left the rest to be in shit condition so i can get the hang of spraying:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1802.jpg

this is the gun i used, fairly big makes it a bit hard to spray sideways without being able to see wtf your doing, so i was practising up and down.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1818.jpg

first i tried some basecoat, it was a cyan kinda colour
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1812.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1811.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1810.jpg

basecoat was pretty easy actually, its not like espray cans where you apply it thick and plenty, you do light coats until the colour builds, not until its shiny. then the clearcoat makes it shiny ( i used 2 pack)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1808.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1809.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1813.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1814.jpg
ignore the paint flaking, i cbf fixing the old bumper i just wanted to get used to spraying
first thing i did was drips, and all these little dots formed,

after doing some research i found those dots & orange peel i was getting was caused by too much paint/lack of pressure. so i figured ill pull the gun back a bit and up the pressure, and it turned out *better*. my EK 96-98 CTR custom moulded ghetto++ grill was the test, ive sanded and resprayed this grill more itmes than ive changed my undewear

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1815.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1817.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1807.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_1804.jpg

mind yoou before this, i have never spray painted with a gun and compressor before in my life. it made me appreciate how piss easy it is in a can, but you get much better results with a gun and compressor.

i got a long way to go, when it dries im going ot try polishing it with a rotary polisher, see if that helps with any of the orange peel, if that doesnt work ill wet sand it down as well. different parts of the rear bumper where sprayed differently to see the effect of each method :)

ill keep you guys informed :) any tips/hints/questions shoot!

[AsH_]

good job...

i'd like to learn how to spray...

i want to respray my front lip and side skirts...

[steve88]

Much of what you are doing is teaching yourself BAD HABITS that will have to be learned PROPERLY if you want to really do a good job on a real car. You could be a classroom example of why a surface need to be prepared before painting.

All those bumps and holes in the paint are a result of poor surface preparation so you get some orange peel, some paint lifting due to wax on the surface, some old paint crinkles due to paint lifting because of chemical reactions etc.

If you want to learn prepare the surface ie sanding, cleaning, wax removal and everything you would do for a GOOD paint job THEN AND ONLY THEN try your painting techniques. If you continue to learn on dirty unprepared parts the only thing you will be learning is how to paint dirty unprepared parts... which is nothing like painting properly prepared parts.
appreciated.
there was a patch that was properly prepared, the flaked paint was sanded down then body fill to smooth it all out, body fill used was 2pack bog so its water resistant, then wet sanded from 80/400/600 , cleaned finally with prepsol then base coat was applied, then i applied clear coat 5 minutes later while surface was still tacky.
i didnt want to waste time doing the entire bumper so i could see the difference between poorly prepared and properly prepared. there was still a little bit of orange peel but not as much when i upped the pressure and pulled the gun away a bit

[Paul1985]

Claymore is right but props to you for actually getting out there and having a go.

Love when people do things themselves rather than outsourcing.

In time im going to enrol myself into a night school course in panel beating at the local tafe, i looking into it a while back. In my area it was a 4 hour course one night a week and it went for 8 weeks. That course would teach you prep work and how to do minor repairs. Then following that is a spraypainting course which goes for the same amount of time.

I think its a great idea to do if you wanna do your own cars. In no way would you be an expert after only 8 4 hour courses but you would know the do's and dont's and learn a few handy tips along the way.

You should look into it if your serious about this.

[steve88]

Claymore is right but props to you for actually getting out there and having a go.

Love when people do things themselves rather than outsourcing.

In time im going to enrol myself into a night school course in panel beating at the local tafe, i looking into it a while back. In my area it was a 4 hour course one night a week and it went for 8 weeks. That course would teach you prep work and how to do minor repairs. Then following that is a spraypainting course which goes for the same amount of time.

I think its a great idea to do if you wanna do your own cars. In no way would you be an expert after only 8 4 hour courses but you would know the do's and dont's and learn a few handy tips along the way.

You should look into it if your serious about this.
i hate outsourcing stuff to people, id much rather learn it myself. my logic is if 200 years ago a guy with a hammer, nails, and timber built a house that was probably more sturdy than most houses today then im sure i can learn a bit of spray painting
im not going to respray the entire car myself no, just going ot shave the side skirts, and fix up a few paint chips.
i did look into courses for tafe when uni ended and i had 4 months of summer to myself, they all told me i needed a traineeship before tafe will accept me. bit drastic, considering im doing commerce at uni lol

[est1989]

a little birdie told me that you will always get orange peel.
even from factory paint there is orange peel.

[Paul1985]

a little birdie told me that you will always get orange peel.
even from factory paint there is orange peel.

Thats why you wetsand after the basecoat etc...
To help remove orange peel.

[fatboyz39]

its not that hard to do.....i've sprayed 2-3 cars now. Its all in the prep work and the result will show that.

Doing it yourself is good to learn. If you want it done properly the first time just give it to a pro. The amount of time and money spent buying material/paint and etc will add up close to a workshop price.

[Paul1985]

its not that hard to do.....i've sprayed 2-3 cars now. Its all in the prep work and the result will show that.

Doing it yourself is good to learn. If you want it done properly the first time just give it to a pro. The amount of time and money spent buying material/paint and etc will add up close to a workshop price.

Your right.
Personally i like the idea of doing it yourself for the learning experience and the satisfaction. After all, building a car is a hobbie.

With that said, i dont think someone could do as good a job of painting their own car with minimal experience as someone who does it each and everyday for a living.

[SHOGUNOVDDRK]

not bad (imho)

first time at it?

im so jelouse you've got the stuff to spray :(:p (might need to borrow you in a few months)

[steve88]

it took me ages to source our the proper parts, cheap price, etc. i know prep work involves alot of time and prac but yeh one part of the bumper was prepped and it turned out alright.

are you guys sure you wet sand the basecoat? because panel beater told me to wait 5min for the basecoat to dry before applying top coat. but if its only touch dry, wet sanding it might not be too beneficial?

[OMG.JAI xD]

ever tried spraypainting outside.. with the sun out.. windy.. and compressor that produces 35L/min?

i never thought id look so good in primer..

=D

learnin yourself is the best way to go, with proper equipment etc etc.
n plus, theres no1 nagging behind you if you do a mistake.
as claymore has said, take it step by step properly and the job that you do can actually be pretty decent.
otherwise, goodluck on your future progress.

[steve88]

i appreciate you guys responses, id look great in primer =D

but if i was to wait for it to dry completely, what about applying topcoat? i was told you can only apply it within 5 minutes of applying base coat or else it peels after 12 months

presuming you have a decent prepped surface, what kinda PSI/distance should i be doing with 2pack paint basecoat and clearcoat? my regulator reads in bars and psi

[Paul1985]

check out some hot rod forums.
seriously. Even if you dislike hot rods. The experienced hot rodders are some of the best this trade has to offer and i browsed a few hot rod forums and the tips you can find are amazing. You could also watch a few hot rod dvd's.

Browse this and check out the stickied articles, you will be surprised what you can learn: http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/

[James The Wog]

you would want to keep you gun fairly close to the surface maby 20cm roughly, it just depends. you gun is ment to be set up for 2 bar for a HVLP (high velocity, low pressure) set up
http://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/images/product_GtiPRO.jpg

thats my new gun :) got it last tuesday, bloddy beautiful mate. RRP $700, got mine for $250, its not what you know its who you know lol, hope i helped