Thread: ok I admit that I am stupid.

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I am ordering my paint. It says to use 8 parts paint,2 parts reducer, 1 part hardener. my paint sprayer has a 1 quart can on the bottom that is attached. could someone please tell me how many ounces of each that i mix to get the ratio right for a quart. never was very good with math.

since there are 32 ounces in a quart, and you only want one quart, I assume. Multiply each ingredient by 3, and do it in ounces. 24 ounces of paint, 6 ounces of reducer, 3 ounces of hardner. Of coarse that comes to 33 ounces sooooooo maybe you need to mix it in a half gallon can and transfer it to the gun as you use it. How big is the surface you are spraying?

Barb, get yourself some of those graduated plastic paint cups in various sizes. They make them in quart all the way down to several oz sizes.

Then take the bigger cup and figure how much paint you are going to use for the job you are doing. You would only mix up a quart if you were going to use that amount, for smaller jobs you mix less.

For example, 8 oz of paint + 2 oz of reducer + 1 oz of hardener yields 11 oz of ready to spray paint.

16 oz paint + 4 oz of reducer + 2 oz of hardener yields 22 oz of paint.

etc, etc.

Only mix up as much as you need so you don't waste the whole quart.

Don

thanks guys for the answers. i am going to paint my monte and do not want to waste any paint as it is expensive by my standards.

Never! Never! Admit to being stupid!

If you were truly stupid, you would not be a member here and you would never have asked the question to begin with. Think more like you are un-learned in the art of painting. Something that many of us are as well as you. If the paint store can't provide me with the correct mix, then I go with shiny bare metal and clear it, or a nice looking primer.

Based on the ratios you provided the mathematically correct solution would be 23 oz paint, 6 oz reducer, and 3 oz of hardner. But hell, I'm a numbers geek, not a painter, so I could be way off. Last thing I sprayed was a Mustang in 1977 using Imron paint pre-mixed by a pro. Notice I said sprayed, not painted.

Someone like Jay may be able to tell you how much to premix to do the entire car. There is a fine line between mixing too little to keep on spraying and mixing too much so you waste good money. I haven't been able to figure it out yet so I always end up with left over mixed paint to throw out.

Don

well i was hoping that if i mix everything right i might have some left over. that way i can add a little pearl later to make ghost flames.

if you have a paint store near you, just ask for a paint mixing cup, it will look confusing and it's hard to explain on how but just ask the guys at the paint store how to read it. they will allow you to mix in 1 quart easy.

Barb, most of the people selling the paint for the auto stores I have used were pretty well versed so just asked what ever you need to know. If they can’t help, keep asking here, you’ll get it done all you have to do is take that first step. My first paint job was in my back yard 1965 I was home on a short leave from the Army. I borrowed my neighbor’s air compressor plus his knowledge; it was a pretty nice looking silver 55 Chevy 2dr. ht. No front bumper, cheater slicks, home made lake pipes to uncap for racing those were the days.


mopar34, My last paint job was 1990 other then alot of rattle cans. Has time gone by fast or what? I can still remember, the eyes burning, and the smell. I left the over spray when we moved to the country a few years later.

Richard

Barb---Things may have changed a bit in the last 30 years, but if you are using a one step paint, not base clear, it will probably be much the same as acrylic enamel. I painted about a thousand cars with that during the seventies and eighties, and it took a full gallon of mixed paint. My standard was 3 quarts of paint, one quart of reducer, and a few drops of "smoothie" (fish eye eliminator). --I tried to avoid using a hardner if I was using a standard enamel, because it added to the cost of the materials. with acrylic enamel, you had no choice---you had to add a hardner, but the overall quantity of paint stayed the same---one full gallon of mixed paint. that would allow two full wet coats of paint, and a third coat "misted" on at a higher pressure to make metallic coats lie down and blend better.---brian

I guess it would be pretty nice being a women. If a guy or I would of asked this 10 times out of 10 the response would of been "figure it out"!

The graduated cups are the way to go. You find an 8:2:1 scale on the side, fill paint up to he first line, reducer to the second line and hardner to the last line.

I never mix more than one gun-full at a time. You can get very close to a quart by mixing 12 oz paint, 3 oz reducer and 1-1/2 oz hardner.

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OK, the EXACT numbers to make 1 quart are 11.63 oz paint, 2.91 oz reducer, 1.45 oz hardener. It comes out odd because parts are not equal to ounces. The formula lists a total of 11 parts, so to make exactly a quart, you need (8/11 x 16) oz paint, (2/11 x 16) oz reducer and (1/11 x 16) hardner.

I know, I know . . . but we number freaks have to do the math . . .

thanks guys

You aren't stupid, Barb.... The stupid one's are those who think they have all the answers and never take the opportunity to ask questions!!!! I always figured that for those who already know it all, learning must be extremely difficult....!!!! IMO, you're way ahead of the norm!!!! Ya learn by asking and doing, not sitting around yacking about what you used to do or what you're going to do!!!!!

Barb, stupid you are not. Stupidity is terminal, Ignorance can be cured. And don't take that wrong ignorant as defined by my handy dandy Webster College Dictionary 1. having little or no knowledge;unlearned. 2.unaware; uninformed. There are a lot of us that could fit into the last definition.