Thread: I wanna paint my car.but I've never done it

Tweet

I once painted a Chevelle (a lot o' years ago). I read all the books, removed chrome and trim, sanded and primed (primer looked real good). Prepared the surface for the final coat and shot the color. I used a compressor that was too small and could not keep up with the paint as it flashed.

It looked real bad.. I was very disappointed and at the time several hundred dollars poorer! In the end, I swallowed my pride and took the car to a shop where the guy immediately sized the situation and took care of my mess. I put the chrome back on and the car looked great. If I hadn't received orders to go overseas, got married and had four kids, I'd probably still have that car!

With the new HVLP guns (a good one is a Binks HVLP — Model SV100, about $150 from several on-line sources) , the minimum compressor size needs to produce 10cfm at +/- 40psi. More is better. The Binks gun needs 10-14cfm at 25-27psi. You have to have a compressor that keeps up with the gun or you will experience what happened to me - the paint will flash and as you lay on additional material it will be rough. The compressor needs to be a constant duty - 220 volt is certainly better than 110 if your shop is equipped with such.

The air needs to be very well filtered as well to keep contaminates from entering the gun (clogs up the works) or worse, splotching out with the material on the finish.

A spotless, well vented enclosure with gobs of finely filtered fresh air is a must. You can fabricate a "poor mans paint booth" using 1 x 2 wood framing and clear plastic with box fans and furnace filters. However, you need more than a respirator, you need lots of fresh air too because we do not want to read your obituary!

If you want to give it a go, look at this web site - http://www.paintforcars.com They have a great selection of material for substantially less money as well as a help section and a lot of customer testimonials. They have a wide selection of acrylic enamels, lacquers, and urethane clear coat finishes.

Good luck my friend!

Every word of advice given to you above is absolutely the truth. Fact is, shooting the paint is the easiest part of the procedure, a trained monkey could hold the gun and shoot some color on a car. The tough part, as mentioned above, is the proper preparation of your car, making sure the paint is going onto as straight of a substrate as possible, and that it adheres.

Modern paints have made it easier, and with a little planning and a lot of prep work a novice can get pretty decent results. But he can also get one that turns out horrible too. I have painted for years, everything from car frames and other automotive items, all the way up to my '27 foot cruiser that I Imroned. I am not in the same league as Hotrodpaint, or some of the other really good painters on here, but I do know one end of the gun from the other. Even at that, I know my limitations. I will paint the running gear, but when it comes to large, flat surfaces like a car, I take it to a pro and let them do it for me.

However, don't let us scare you away from it. Do what the others suggest and get some education on the subject. The VoTech suggestion is a good one. I just had a Dupont rep in my office last week, and he also teaches body work at the local votech. He says they can't get enough students to make a class some times, and the equipment is there to use if you take the course.

Don