Painting my car MYSELF :) Need advice..LOTS OF IT!!

[CalPolyKing]

Ok, so I'm picking up my compressor tonight for the soul purpose of painting my car. Its a 6hp 30 gallon Craftsman Compressor which runs at 8.6 scfm @ 40psi, and Im using my new craftsman HVLP spray gun which requires minimum 7 scfm @ 40psi, so Im good to go with the equipment.

Im new to this so any help would be great.

This is what i want to buy, so far. (keep in mind this is for my coupe s13)

-PPG Black Metallic Acrylic Enamel Auto Paint( No clear coat needed)
eBay Motors: PPG Black Metallic Acrylic Enamel Automotive Paint (item 380119090632 end time Apr-28-09 05:55:38 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PPG-Black-Metallic-Acrylic-Enamel-Automotive-Paint_W0QQitemZ380119090632QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMoto rs_Automotive_Tools?hash=item380119090632&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A1171%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A131 8)

I know I need a reducer, can anyone recommend a low price good quality one, I could possibly pick up at a store, or just a brand name would be good.

Im also looking for a sealer so I dont put the paint on different surfaces, but I also dont know of a good sealer. Any recommendations?



Other than that, I plan on doing the paint job sometime this weekend, or whenever I have a chance in my garage. Also, if anyone knows where I could get plastic sheets to cover my garage up that could be great, I dont want to make a mess. I already figured out all the ventilation, so im good to go with that.
ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED OTHER THAN, "YOUR BETTER OFF TAKING IT TO A PRO"...lol

[SochBAT]

Howdy man!

For covering shit, just get huge tarps at homedepot/lowes. holes/vents for the fans, and you're set.

I'll ask my buddy what chems he uses. Prep work material?

[ANVIL]

get a bigger compressor. its gonna suck spraying like 4 or 5 passes with the gun and then having to wait for it to compress air again.

[BustedS13]

get a bigger compressor. its gonna suck spraying like 4 or 5 passes with the gun and then having to wait for it to compress air again.


jesus, 30 gallons isn't enough?

i'm really starting to rethink ever attempting to spray my own car

[iRONDONkey]

I've only got a 26 gallon lolz.

it's so fucking loud when it refills with air...arg

[CalPolyKing]

get a bigger compressor. its gonna suck spraying like 4 or 5 passes with the gun and then having to wait for it to compress air again.

I think ill pass on something bigger, the next step from 30 gallon thats a significant difference is the 60 gal craftsman, and my pockets aren't that fat :(. Its to big to have in my garage, and I really wont mind waiting, it 4 or 5 passes is a good amount anyways.

[Otto347]

If you havent invested in a quality drier/water separator then dont even bother. Just seems like you have too many questions for this to go right.

[ANVIL]

i guess another option would be to do one panel at a time, but then the blending wouldnt be perfect... but if u were going for perfect you wouldnt be painted urself then.

and as stated above, you MUST get an inline water seperator. some people i know use 2

[CalPolyKing]

If you havent invested in a quality drier/water separator then dont even bother. Just seems like you have too many questions for this to go right.

O wow.. I think Im am a luck duck then, cause I just picked up my compressor and the guy who sold it to me included a campbell hausfeld water separator. Good to go with that :)

[Bubbles]

Im new to this so any help would be great.

ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED

get a bigger compressor.

I think ill pass on something bigger



I don't know man.


When I'm committed to do something I do it, but I'm prepared to live with my mistakes.

[sentiumprogram]

Take a class man. Sounds like you've never done it before. I'm currently taking classes at RCC.

You should sand ur car, but im sure u already know that. If u dont sand, personally I think ur wasting your time.

1)Dry sand your car
2)Prime
3)Wet sand the primer (finish with 600 grit)
4)Seal
5)Paint
6)Clear Coat

Note:
The paint container usually specifies the best (recomended) reducer. usually its from the same brand. I have 2 different paint products from PPG and they both use different reducers. I recomend sticking the what the manufacture specifies, but if you want to experiement, it's up to you. Id like to know the turn out myself. Here's what I got for my PPG reducers...

Omni (lower brand owned by PPG) MR186
PPG 2010 Acetone

[CalPolyKing]

Take a class man. Sounds like you've never done it before. I'm currently taking classes at RCC.

You should sand ur car, but im sure u already know that. If u dont sand, personally I think ur wasting your time.

1)Dry sand your car
2)Prime
3)Wet sand the primer (finish with 600 grit)
4)Seal
5)Paint
6)Clear Coat



Yeah, this is my first time, but I dont have time to take more courses. I have to much work and school... Besides also owing rcc like 70 bucks...lol..i rather not..
I've already sanded the car down.. that was a b****, but all done with :) I already sprayed a can primer, but Im goin to skip the wet sand and go to the sealer, since the seal is meant for bear metal or primer, and them Im going to put the single stage paint since I dont want to hassle with a two stage paint job.
If I F up o well I can always try again, thats the great part about having all the equipment ready to paint...

But, I found a ppg store near by so Im going to get the mr186 reducer like its says on the OMNI specs sheet. WOULD ANYONE KNOW WHERE TO GET A GOOD SEALER, or should I just buy it at the PPG store.

[sentiumprogram]

Etching primer is for bare metal. Not sealer.

Sealer is meant for adhesion and is meant to be used after primer and before paint. it also prevents primer from having the wrong chemical reaction with your paint. If shit happens, your paint will wrinkle (is u dont put sealer after primering

[ANVIL]

already messed up using spray can primer, imo

[CalPolyKing]

Etching primer is for bare metal. Not sealer.

Sealer is meant for adhesion and is meant to be used after primer and before paint. it also prevents primer from having the wrong chemical reaction with your paint. If shit happens, your paint will wrinkle (is u dont put sealer after primering

cool thanks for that tip... Ill make sure I primer down those metal spots then. :)

[r6_240sx]

jesus, 30 gallons isn't enough?

i'm really starting to rethink ever attempting to spray my own car30 gallon will be fine. I really doubt you'll be shooting consistently all at once anyways. What you really want to worry about is CFM. You want to make sure you can match that or have higher than the guns recommendations.
-------------------------------------------
OP: Painting a car is a lot harder than you think. I would recommend you have someone that is knowledgeable working with you in person when you're actually working on your car.

I would post up my 2 cents, but it'll wayyyy too much typing. If you ever need advice feel free to PM me, I'm down to help out another CPP brotha.

I would recommend to buy this guy's online guide:
Easy How To Paint A Car PRO Your Self Home (http://www.easypaintyourcar.com/)

He does cut corners here and there, but if you want to get-er-done it'll be sufficient enough. For the price it's def well worth it. If you want show quality, you'll have to do a lot more reading, practicing, and learning.

-----------------------
FYI: Etching primer is old technology, just buy epoxy primer and you can use that as both your sealer and for bare metal spots. I would recommend Southern Polyurethanes Epoxy Primer, it's good stuff. Users even have their own Independent forum to talk about the paint line and the owner even chimes in often with help.
-----------------------
The main tips I would give are:
1. Buy good body putty, but use in moderation.
2. Buy a shitload of sandpaper. The last thing you want is running out of fucking sandpaper. Don't be a stingy about it either, if it's dull it's dull get another piece of sandpaper and move on, you'll just be wasting time.
3. Buy the biggest air compressor you can afford. It's an investment that can be used for many other things such as your pneumatic tools, fill up your tires, etc.
4. Make sure the car is clean when you start sanding it down, any grease or wax that you sand down will go inside the crevices of the body and when you start painting that shit will lift right off.
5. If you can see scratches from the sandpaper after your primer stage, YOU WILL see those on your final clear coat. Don't cover those scratches with too high of a primer build either. You might run into shrinkage problems later on and those scratches will show up again, but it'll be too late. If your prep is shit, when you paint it, it'll be shit with paint on top of it.
6. For plastic parts YOU MUST use a plastic adhesion promoter unless the primer you buy doesn't need to. This step is skipped often and that's why you usually see paint peeling off overt time from the front bumper on ghetto paint jobs.
7. Read the tech sheets and read it well. Last thing you want is mixing the wrong ratios, LOL.
8. Practice, practice, practice with the gun! Don't let the gun control you, let you control the gun. It will save you a lot of time with the block sanding. The hardest thing is learning how to shoot your final coat of clear so nice that the average person will think it's glass.

[CalPolyKing]

FYI: Etching primer is old technology, just buy epoxy primer and you can use that as both your sealer and for bare metal spots. I would recommend Southern Polyurethanes Epoxy Primer, it's good stuff. Users even have their own Independent forum to talk about the paint line and the owner even chimes in often with help.
-----------------------
The main tips I would give are:
1. Buy good body putty, but use in moderation.
2. Buy a shitload of sandpaper. The last thing you want is running out of fucking sandpaper. Don't be a stingy about it either, if it's dull it's dull get another piece of sandpaper and move on, you'll just be wasting time.
3. Buy the biggest air compressor you can afford. It's an investment that can be used for many other things such as your pneumatic tools, fill up your tires, etc.
4. Make sure the car is clean when you start sanding it down, any grease or wax that you sand down will go inside the crevices of the body and when you start painting that shit will lift right off.
5. If you can see scratches from the sandpaper after your primer stage, YOU WILL see those on your final clear coat. Don't cover those scratches with too high of a primer build either. You might run into shrinkage problems later on and those scratches will show up again, but it'll be too late. If your prep is shit, when you paint it, it'll be shit with paint on top of it.
6. For plastic parts YOU MUST use a plastic adhesion promoter unless the primer you buy doesn't need to. This step is skipped often and that's why you usually see paint peeling off overt time from the front bumper on ghetto paint jobs.
7. Read the tech sheets and read it well. Last thing you want is mixing the wrong ratios, LOL.
8. Practice, practice, practice with the gun! Don't let the gun control you, let you control the gun. It will save you a lot of time with the block sanding. The hardest thing is learning how to shoot your final coat of clear so nice that the average person will think it's glass.

Cool, all this info will come in handy.
I bought bondo a while back and I have repaired and sanded all the dings on the car, its a pretty smooth car now :)
I got the 30gallon, and it runs at 8.6 @ 40psi and the hvlp gun only needs 7 @ 40 so Im fine with what i got.
Is there anything I can put in the gun to practice with, other than the paint I want to use on the car, just seems like a waste for practice?

[lflkajfj12123]

jello mix and water

[HyperTek]

spray your car in pieces so the air compressor can refill while ur doing it, thats what i plan to do.. spray the rear quarter/ roof/ doors as one, and the front fenders, skirts, bumpers and hood seperate.

[r6_240sx]

Cool, all this info will come in handy.
I bought bondo a while back and I have repaired and sanded all the dings on the car, its a pretty smooth car now :)
I got the 30gallon, and it runs at 8.6 @ 40psi and the hvlp gun only needs 7 @ 40 so Im fine with what i got.
Is there anything I can put in the gun to practice with, other than the paint I want to use on the car, just seems like a waste for practice?Go to your local jobber and ask for expired/leftover paint, if they don't have any just buy the cheapest shit you can get.

The only way to practice spraying real car paint is with... real car paint.

Bondo sucks BTW. :(

Edit: FYI Single stage metallic omni is gonna look like doo doo. :( I would only go with solid colors on single stage.

[HyperTek]

my friend has had good results painting with cheap paints, 20 gal or so compressors and outdoors.. take your time and prep it right, should be good.. of course its not the ideal pro job with a paint booth, big compressor and what not... but i wouldnt sweat it.

[CalPolyKing]

Go to your local jobber and ask for expired/leftover paint, if they don't have any just buy the cheapest shit you can get.

The only way to practice spraying real car paint is with... real car paint.

Bondo sucks BTW. :(

Edit: FYI Single stage metallic omni is gonna look like doo doo. :( I would only go with solid colors on single stage.

Yeah, I decided to go with another paint. Its a black acrylic urethane paint, so I hope all goes well. Im going to do the sealer this weekend, then next weekend Im going to do the coats of paint. I figure the sealers cheap enough for practice, and if I mess up on the sealer I can always sand it down and do it again, since it will only be like 2 coats.

[sentiumprogram]

primer is cheaper than sealer