[jbspeed86]

Hey everyone, I want to repaint my car. I also want to try to do it myself. I have never painted with a paint gun before but I have painted pieces like mirriors, wiper arms, little things like that with spray paint. I am familiar with sanding between coats and everything and even though I paint stuff with spray paint, I always get it to look like whatever it is was painted with a real paint gun (I have become quite talented with spray paint...haha ). Anyway, I dont have a paint booth or access to one, but I have plenty of room for one of those huge white garage things (the ones that use like a frame made of metal piping and then a big white tarp-like material goes over it) Would this be an ok setup for painting? Im not expecting a miraculous paint job but I just really enjoy doing things myself. And I have no doubt I can do it. Is it hard at all to do? what kind of gun should I use, my parents bought me one last year and I never used it but I also think its a cheapy (cant remember the name) so it probably wouldnt work very well.

[Teeto's5.0]

Check this link out for a makeshift budget booth or spray area. Its a cheap alternative. http://www.bigblockdart.com/resto/repaint/repaint.shtml


As far as paint guns go its all about the money you want to spend. There are several top guns like the Sata Jet. Then down the road you have Sharpe, Devilbliss, Jaguar. Then you have lessers like Astro, Binks, and Cat. Its all about how much you can afford. When it comes to paint guns you will definetly be happy with a middle of the road spray gun. TEETO!

[jbspeed86]

Thanx for the link Teeto. Also, I should probably wet sand between coats right? If so, what should I use to make sure I get all the sanding debris of the car before the next coat? Also, would I be better off using a one stage paint or use a basecoat then clearcoat?

[jbspeed86]

By the way, what would be a good brand of paint to use? Im not looking for anything too expensive but not garbage either.

[Teeto's5.0]

You shouldn't have to sand between coats unless you have a dirt nib or something minor. If you need to wet sand the color a little use 600-800 and use a lubricant. You can use a wax and grease remover for your lubricant then wipe it back down a little wax and grease remover and recoat. As far as a paint line you will have to investigate how much you can afford to spend. I use PPG most of the time and for a good quality not too over priced paint you will get great results. If you go with PPG let me know and I can set you up on a paint system because not all PPG products are compatable. I would definetly go with bc/cc instead of single stage but again it all comes down to how much $$ you can afford to spend. But basecoat cannot be matched with a single stage.

[jbspeed86]

Ok well Im still not sure on what type of gun a have is but it is syphon fed so its probably crap. Is this a good gun set, its really cheap so im thinking its not, but I dont know:
http://www.spraygundepot.com/scripts...sid=0222205126
And is it harder to do a BC/CC? I am looking for something like the Dark grey that ford uses for the pickups, Almost like the color on Lightnings except with some metallic in it. Do you know how much that would cost for Base and Clear from PPG???? Will I have to sand down to primer or just sand the whole car? My car is currently a light silver/gray color.

[jbspeed86]

Also, how do I know what size nozzle to use and all that kind of stuff?? Is there a certain size to use for base coat and a different one for clear or something?

[Teeto's5.0]

That gun set up will actually be pretty good of a deal for a newbie. You have to take in account how many times you are going to use it also. If you don't plan on doing much more than a few cars it will work well. It has a good fluid tip size for clear and basecoat. You want a 1.3-1.5 for base or clear. And a 1.6-1.8 for primer or heavy stuff like a single stage paint. If you want to get technical you can read what PPG calls a P-sheet. The P-sheet tells you all required info on the products you are using. I suggest you get them for all you products and completly read them before you use them. It is actually easier to spray a bc/cc system than a single stage. The only problem I saw with that gun kit is that they don't have any parts available if something breaks. But I do think it would work well for a starter kit. Your paint supplier will give you a better idea on price of paint. A pint over the counter will be around $40. You will need around 2 quarts of paint unreduced. You will need reducer for your paint about $25-30 a gallon, you will need clear around $100 a gallon, catalyst for clear $120 a gallon and you can use the same reducer for your paint as your clear. The epoxy sealer is around the same as the paint like $40 a quart and $30 for the catalyst. Not cheap but worth it in the end. Let me know if PPG is your route and I will tell you what you need. TEETO!

[jbspeed86]

Damn man, you really know your ****. By the way, how much paint and clear would I need for one full car, door jams and all? Would wet sanding between coats be good though? I read somewhere that to get that really "wet" look, you have to wet sand between coats. If thats what i have to do, Im willing to do it, if it takes a little longer i dont care, as long as it makes it look that much better. Thanx man, you are a great help.

[Teeto's5.0]

For jambs and all I would get a gallon of unmixed paint for everything. You should be able to get around it with that but you may need an extra quart for the jambs. I would say you should be ok with a gallon of clear also but you may need a little more a little less it just depends. I tend to put 3-4 coats of clear on so you have lots to wet sand and polish when you are done. It gives you a little fudge room. As far as color sanding yes you can do it and I do. I was just a little nervous about telling a newbie about it. But you sound like you can handle it. Its just sometimes you can really mess things up that way. What you will end up doing is put 5-6 coats of color on and wet sand them with like 800 and then clear. This takes the orange peel and any nibs out of the color. This will make your clear lay down like water. You also do have to be more careful as you can run the clear easier that way as the car will be so smooth. This should only be done on solid colors. If you sand a mettalic it will remove or move the mettalics and completly ruin your paint job. You can sand the mettalics if you have a dirt nib or something, but you do need to re-coat with your basecoat. Always spray at least 2 coats over an area that you sanded, just be sure to blend the color well so you don't see the blend. TEETO!

[jbspeed86]

Ok, maybe Ill look for a nice solid color that I like. I really want to get that "wet" look. So I would like to sand the base coat before I clear it. Im not really sure what color I want to go with though. I was originally thinking like a dark gray with metallic in it, but seeing as how you can't sand that, maybe Ill just get a dark grey, like a charcoal and use that. And also, how far should I sand the existing paint before painting. there are about 2 spots from when the previous owner had it painted where the paint looks like it has actually peeled. This is on the rear bumper. And there are chips on the hood and one on the driver side door. The chips are very small but about the diameter of about a pencil I would say, maybe a lil smaller. Do I sand the whole car, then fill those in with a small dab of body filler? I mean they arent big but if they arent filled in, there is no way in hell they can be covered by paint alone. I don't know if the paint on the car right now is 1 stage or 2 stage, does that have any effect on how much I have to sand it down before painting the base coat on?

[jbspeed86]

And just to clarify..... You're saying that I just wet sand after ALL basecoat layers are down, not in between them. Then also after ALL clear coat layers are down? And one more thing, how long should I wait between coats and before sanding ANY layers whether it be the basecoat or clear.

[bradstang]

dont wet sand the base unless you are going to spray some base back over what you sanded. solid you are ok but pearl or metallic will ruin it. 30 -45 mins after base before clearcoating. 10-15 minutes between coats of base.

[jbspeed86]

So your saying you cant put clear over a sanded base? Why not? what will happen?

[Teeto's5.0]

Yes you can spray clear over sanded base as long as it is a solid color. You cannot spray clear over a mettalic base that has been sanded. When you sand a mettalic it will grab the small mettalics and change the color or the flop of the color. Lots of people think you have to spray more color over base after you sand it even if its a solid. You don't. Sanding a solid color will take all the peel out of the paint job and make you clear lay down perfect. As long as you put several extra color coats on you can wet sand and clear without more color coats.:thumbsup TEETO!