I have been tempted to do it for awhile, but something always stopped me.

I have recently came into space to spray my car/ my cars panels in a garage. I don't want to use a spray can, but instead invest in something with a more relyable finish, such as a proper spray setup.

I understand the basics of spraying, making sure surfaces are clean, sanded, and in a dust free enviroment, but how long would it take for me to become sufficiently capable of spraying a car so that it looks perfect?

I don't mean changing the colour, just simple spraying like respraying a red car so it no longer looks faded.

Im pretty good at details, so spraying the wrong things or having to remove things wouldnt really bother me.

Thanks!

you can un fade red paint with out a respray

I suppose but I have a dent in the bonnet, took to bodyshop and he said it's too damaged to fix, so instead of spending the money on a new one, I'd rather spend it on something I can learn from.

My cars been sprayed in the past so I can't buy a colour matched bonnet. :-(

dent devils?

i used a spray can on my bumper..it came out pretty good

Parr said:

I have been tempted to do it for awhile, but something always stopped me.

I have recently came into space to spray my car/ my cars panels in a garage. I don't want to use a spray can, but instead invest in something with a more relyable finish, such as a proper spray setup.

I understand the basics of spraying, making sure surfaces are clean, sanded, and in a dust free enviroment, but how long would it take for me to become sufficiently capable of spraying a car so that it looks perfect?

I don't mean changing the colour, just simple spraying like respraying a red car so it no longer looks faded.

Im pretty good at details, so spraying the wrong things or having to remove things wouldnt really bother me.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

As someone who started from their garage and progressed...
I shall try and offer some advice.


1, You should use a HVLP gun as they produce less overspray than conventional spray guns.
2, to run a HVLP gun you will need around a minimum of a 3hp compressor with the largest tank possible.

3, You need to decide whether you are going to spray waterbase paint or 2k paint. For your base coat (colour coat)
2k paint is far cheaper but is being phased out, slowly.
waterbase is more user friendly.

4, by spraying you can use proper 2k lacquer which is a million times better (much tougher) (better shine)than anything in a spray can.

5, to spray 2k lacquer and primer you WILL need some sort of breathing apparatus which should be air fed.


So, as you can see even spraying on a diy level is costly.

To do it yourself you have to be fairly commited or not at all.
spraying panels is not hugely difficult, there is no reason why an enthusiast/ hobbyist who has a level of being a perfectionist who has decent spray equiptment should not be as good or better than a spray shop.
A top quality spray shop will be able to get an amazing finish in as little time as possible. To do DIY you will just take a lot longer. to get it right.

My best advice is practise, practise and practise.
once you have learnt how to set up a spray gun, how fast to move it etc. spraying will start to become natural, like when you start to drive, you concentrate on gears clutch etc and then it just seems as natural as breathing and you can focus on other aspects.

Can you explain the equiptment in more detail please?

Also whats the advatages of using different types of paints?

Thanks a million, want to research into it as detailed as possable to ensure im not just chucking money away.

will post up a better explanation before the day is out.

well my friend is a painter and he showed me a thing or two about it because i wanted to be able to spray add-on parts like spoilers etc , i started out spraying bonnets etc i had laying around and soon got the hang of it .... its all in the pressure that you are spraying with and the smooth control of your arm id advise trying to find 2k paint as i find it easy to paint with in comparison to water based

I have found this a fantastic starting point for DIY spraying:

Currently restoring a Classic Mini

http://www.learnautopainting.com/your_questions_answered.htm

This gives you everything you need

Parr said:

Click to expand...

sorry for the delay Parr.

There are 2 ways of going about this
1, getting a cheap compressor a cheapish conventional gravity feed spray gun and using 2k paint to get a feel, spraying old panels etc.
Then upgrading guns and compressor as you get a feel for it or decide you want to continue.

2, going out and buying high end equiptment straight away.
Personally I started with lesser equiptment.

If you run a High Volume Low Pressure spray gun then automatically you will need a much larger compressor to run it.
The reason is because.
The low pressure measurement only refers to the air pressure exiting the gun, it exits at around 10psi. The actual air pressure entering the gun needs to be higher than that of a conventional gun. with the gun triggered (trigger handle pulled down) the air should be flowing at least 2psi.


The difference between a HVLP gun and a conventional spray gun is that a HVLP uses far more air to mix the paint and air in the gun. As a result the paint leaves the gun at a lower pressure out the HVLP gun.


The 2x main paint types are water base and 2pak (2k)
there is also single pak (1k) This is pretty much what you get in aerosols
you also get cellulose but this was replaced by 2k and used more on classic cars etc. Is weak in comparison to 2k when 2k has a lacquer on top.

2k is mixed with a hardener this is why it is called 2k
as there are two parts. It is the toughest paint type that is used in this application and comes in,
primer
colour coat
lacquer
It is toxic though so needs better breathing apparatus. An air fed mask is advisable.

Waterbase. this is the new paint type. You will need a waterbase gun as water will rust a non specialist gun.
It is brilliant! trouble is drying it. the other paints are all spirit based where as the name suggests this is water based.
The water is only for getting it through the gun though and once it hits the panel and is dried the water evaporates leaving just the paint itself. The best way to describe water base is that it is an emulsion like the crown/dulux house paint. It has little smell and you can wash your guns with tap water instead of thinners.
also it dries more evenly.

The downside of waterbase is that it takes longer to dry. I use dupont which dries exceptionally fast using something as simple as just a hairdrer I can have a panel dry in 5-6mins. the cheaper variants dry less quickly 30mins per panel or so.

It is also very expensive dupont is £28 for 0.5l
to put that in perspective 0.5l will do a bonnet and a wing

With waterbase you still need to use a 2k lacquer on top so good breathing equiptment still needs to be used.
although waterbase lacquer is I think now on the market, i'm waiting before I try it just yet though as the 2k lacquer I use is awsome.

I would recommend using 2k paint to start with, despite pressure to fade it out it will be around for a while and should be getting quite cheap.
I would probably invest in the best/largest compressor you can afford though
this would allow you to use a HVLP gun which can be bought cheap.

Ok, so im going to go the 2K route...

Looking at compressors, what size tank would I need? 3HP on a 50liter tank, would that be sufficient? I see they do 150liter tanks but they get hella expensive!

Edit: While I think of it, if I wanted to respray my car the same colour, would I still need to primer it?

I assume I would need to primer any plastics or filler I applied, but would could I just spray basecoat straight over preped paint?

Thanks!

Parr said:

Ok, so im going to go the 2K route...

Looking at compressors, what size tank would I need? 3HP on a 50liter tank, would that be sufficient? I see they do 150liter tanks but they get hella expensive!

Click to expand...

3hp is plenty. If using a 50l tank then i'd use a non HVLP gun.
Compressors get really expensive shop around as there are some really good deals on reconditioned ones. I bought a reconditioned 2.0ltr tank for £260

Parr said:

I assume I would need to primer any plastics or filler I applied, but would could I just spray basecoat straight over preped paint?

Click to expand...

Exactly right.
Primer is used on bare metal and filler.
I also use primer if changing colours. Eg; if I bought a 2nd hand wing in black that needed spraying silver.
The idea is that primer is thicker and covers better and allows the new paint to cover it in less coats. For this reason you can get different colour ranges of primer but grey is a universal colour that allows a colour coat to cover over it well.

For the plastics you need to use a special plastic primer.


So long as the existing paint is not flaking etc then it will be fine.
It will need washing and preferably wiping over with panel wipe.
(a solution designed to remove silicone and contaminents which otherwise will prevent the paint from sitting on the panel) Then sanding with a 600grit paper. This will add fine scratches to the surface and allow a mechanical paint bond. then wash or blow off any dust and wipe over again with panel wipe. Also try to get hold of some tak rags (sticky cloths which are used to wipe over the paint work and will remove dust particles)

Hope this helps.

If you're spray 2k paint you must wear an air fed mask unless you want to end up doing some long term harm to yourself. It's also advised to cover all bare skin since the toxins are absorbed through the skin. I've been spraying this week using a non HVLP gun and the overspray is immense, will be buying an HVLP gun to try and reduce this.

As above. There is nothing more important than your health. Ideally you want to be wearing overalls and even eye protection unless using a full face mask.

Bridges is pretty much spot on

A 50ltr tank is only just good enough for learning to spray like 1 or 2 panels anything else and u will need at least a 100ltr min.

2k is used 4 a solid colour which doesnt need clearcoat spraying over the top mainly plain red,white,blue,green etc but dont be fooled not all plain colours r like it sum r basecoat,as they havent made a waterbase replacement yet!U can still get 2k base coat but only 4rm certain places like ebay!
2k is mainly mixed at 2 to 1+ 10% thinners thats 2parts paint to 1part 2k hardner +10% 2k thinners same for clearcoat but be careful not all clearcoats go the same thickness even though its the same mix but only experince will tell u which is which.
If ur lucky enough to get hold of 2k basecoat then thats is mixed at 1 to 1 mix with 2k basecoat thinners but be carefull with 2k basecoat if its a mettaleck(spellin!) then be carefull how you spray it or it will turn black!
Waterbase is used straight out of the tin dont need mixin at all!

When I started I got a cheap sealy gold spray gun(suction fed) which is ideal 4solid colours and primer,now though cos of water base and exprience i now have a 1.2mm gravity fed for clearcoat and a 1.3mm for waterbase which is an ideal setup 2 have i just have 2 setups for the one gun which is a sata rp gravity fed but I do still have an old devilbiss jga suction fed(1.4mm) which I use for 2k!.

The best thing to dry waterbase is the spray gun its self just hold the trigger so air comes out not paint and it will dry in mins!waterbase is very fussy bout bein dried,to much heat and it WILL!! crack and u will have to start again!all i can say is Brigdes must be a lucky bloke cos i tried a hair drier and it went tits up!!!!

I only started in my garage but now im head sprayer in a nissan garage.:slayer:

You only really need a mask for 2k solids,clearcoats and 2k primers as the rest dont have anything bad in them 2k hardner has cyanid init!!!but it all depends how much u like coughing!

Hope this helps a bit more,spraying paint does get quiet complicated what with all the defferent types of primers,sealers and if you go down the pearl and flip paint route!

One last thing u also need a watertrap at least 5metres away from ur compresser all u need is to buy 5metres of airline it dont matter if u aint got 5metres of wall or garage so long as there is 5metres of airline it will still work!its just cos when the air comes out of compresser its hot then when it travels it cools down which then makes water in the line which is the last thing u want to come out the gun then u end up with mirco blisters!

Cheers

alfarea79 said:

all i can say is Brigdes must be a lucky bloke cos i tried a hair drier and it went tits up!!!!


Cheers

Click to expand...

Is a remington hair dryer

I have found that when using maxmayer paint that I had some issue's with drying the paint too fast resulting in blistering.
I resolved this by allowing the paint to partially dry 1st then applied heat at an increased distance. Also on my dryer which I stole from the girlfriend, I can blow cold air as well as hot. Similar to using compressed air.

I have found Dupont paint dries much faster and I can get away with more heat. For my needs (colour matching) it offers an exceptional match. However is expensive.