Beginning painters

k, im FINALLY beginning the construction on my truck...motor is first, i got that today, then will come the body work and paint...im wanting to do all the work on this truck myself for a few reasons: A) It gives a man a feeling of pride and respect in something that he did 100% of the work on. and
B) because its cheaper :D

where would be a good place to start? the truck still has the factory two tone paint...from 1987...the clear coat is JUST NOW (as in like last week) started to come off so i figure its time for it to go.

What is the best way to take the paint off? What happens after i sand? Do i sand it to the bare metal? HELP!!!

Maybe steps in order starting with taking the factory paint off and ending with a finished product? Help?

You will get a lot of differing opinions on this.

First question is does it have water base paint on it, because I don't know if you should paint over that. Chevy trucks built at the Claifornia plant had waterbase, but I don't know what year it started.

If it isn't waterbase, the clear still needs to come off, but the factory paint can be painted over unless it is cracking or peeling. I would pull all of the trim off, then block sand past the clear, touch up any body damage, and prime with 3 coats of catalyzed urethane primer.

the paint is not chipping or cracking anywhere...im REALLY going to try to stay away from bondo if at all possible...my passenger door was damaged at a party one night but im going to put a whole new door on it. anyone know if the passenger door from an 85 suburban will fit my 87 silverado?

how do i know if my paint is waterbased or not?

What I am doing on a friends Camaro right now is sanding off the entire clear coat and then going over the entire car with 320 before I lay down primer over it. I think it was Spray Tech that said to use 240 or something like that but I went to a place with the owner of this car I am doing and the guy at the store said to use 320 instead because it's going to make less scratches and easier to primer over or whatnot. Now of course everyone will have their own oppinions and the owner of this car told me to just listen to the guy because the guy at the store is supposedly a professional painter.
I am no pro here or nothing but I do know that if the paint isn't waterbased and is still good then you can sand off the clean, block the car out nicely, primer your patch or bondo spots with about 2 medium coats and then block that and then primer the entire car and be on your way.
Spray Tech here has taught me HEAPS about painting and body work so that is where I learned all my stuff from almost and I appreciate he even took the time to help me with all my questions, etc. Seams like HOTRODPAINT know's a lot too and try's to help as many people as he can so good job guys!

I would suggest a couple of books that Jon Kosmoski (the guy who started House of Kolor), they are good reading and go into a lot of detail on how to paint. Yeh the House of Kolor paints are expensive, but damn they look good, and there is a lot of info on technique etc.

The books cover everything and there are different projects that show how to do things.

If you want a good job you need to do preparation, have patience and if something goes wrong chalk it up to experience.

i've been a painter for 35 years. in the beginning you had laquer or enamel . it was pretty easy to learn because mixing was easy and the rest was gun control. not so today. new paint systems are designed for the tech. he goes to school every year to try to keep up with the changes. old painters like me have had a hard time converting. nothing sprays the same or performs the same. you cant just pick up a gun and start painting anymore. my old jga's just dont cut it anymore. after buying a collection of hvlp's over the years i ended up with a high end gun. why ? because it saves me a ton of work . theres a fella running around the net that could tell you stuff about paint that would freak you out. not sure where he's at now [gm34]. he's on the other side of paint. he knows the chem side. my advise to a new painter is buy top shelf equipment and go to a first class shop that will send you to school every year. it's a new world guys. just as you get something dialed in they'll drop it and replace it. hard to keep up.

buy quality and you'll deliver quality

FMX, If you are going to guidecoat and block out a catalyzed primer, you can use 150-180 grit for prep. It beats the hell out of sanding for days to get it ready. I have no reservations about priming over 150 grit scratches. I just add an extra coat or two to make sure they will be filled. I usually spray 3-4 coats, depending on how much bodywork there is. On problem spots you can even add 2-3 more. I use 360 to block the primer, and by the time you have a couple coats of base on there, there is no sign of scratches. I guess after 40 years of painting, I don't want to sand any more hours than necessary! :-)

i agree hotrod, at our age sanding sucks ! :)

It sucks at any age! :-)~

Quote:

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Originally posted by HOTRODPAINT
Matt, when doing plastic work, I trust my hands before my eyes. I sand until it feels straight, checking for either high or low spots. If it feathers out okay, that's great.

What I was referring to is that if the dent or low spot is an irregular shape, I have found that beginning bodymen will try to keep sanding until it has a uniform shape, and by then they've gone too far.

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Oh, I see whar you mean, I use my hands also to make shure it's not wavy or unevean, I used just my eyes 1 time, and when I put primer over it ( Working in my driveway, I have to so metal don't rust ), I could visibly see tons of waves I coulden't when it was tan color, I still gotta fix some of that mess. Thanks for the explination

Well here is where I have this car at right now... All the bondo work is done, I got some good rustoleum brand spray can primer and put it on the bare metals spots and then sanded the entire car down with 320... Now here is my question real quick, tell me if I am right... Do I spray the bondo work down with primer with a few coats then block it out and then do the whole car or what? What should I block the primer with and should I wet sand? Here is what I have... 80 grit paper, 150, 180, 320 wet and dry and then 400 wet and dry...

Thanks!

Here is what I do. Wash the car down with wax and grease remover, prime the whole car withat least tow heavy coats of a two part primer, with at least thirty minutes between coats. Between full coats, put a couple extra coats on the bodywork areas. The next day dust the car with a mist of black paint. block sand the car with 320 or 400 wet. Any spots, nicks, chips and scratches that stay black will be filled with a two part glaze. I use Fiberglass Evercoat Euroglaze. sand those with the same paper 20 minutes after you put it on. When it all is satisfactory, spray a sealer over any repaired ares, or you can seal the entire car if you need a different color under the paint. Some apints do not cover light colors well. Let that flash 30 minutes, and then start painting.

Thanks HotRodPaint, just found the cabs...I was mistaken; It's BASF Limco Select "Polyurethane Enamel when used a hardener" High Performance Enamel...Says it may need a catalyst. Any info would be great, since I don't know much about paint.
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Matt

I'm not familiar with that line of paint, so I can't tell you if it's good enough quality to use on a nice project. Maybe one of the other guys can help.

anyone know who sells a really good black pearl? (where its black but with purple tint i guess you would say)