PUSHER Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 Got to practice painting my friends 300zx today, and after looking over it their were some good spots and some bad spots. Think my main bad doing was moving to slow. I did his with a single stage paint, but will be doing my car with a primer, color, clear coat. So I got some questions. 1) Do I move fast and spray a strip from left to right then stop, go back and spray another strip underneith? Or do I spray left to right, move down then right to left? 2) What ,if anything, will be different between painting the 2 stage and 1 stage? 3) Will primer be any different from the single stage I used. 4) Its sanded with 100 grit atm, I was told that primer would hold best on that. How long after I primer should I wait to start sanding with 400 and paint again? 5) I'm planning on doing light coats of paint and building it up, how long will it take before I can paint another coat? 6) If I do get drips, what is the best method to fix this? Wish I had more practice, but im not really expecting to much from this paint job, Id just like to do the best to my current ability. Thanks for reading/helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240Z2NV Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 Let me try to address as many of the questions as I can remember. The type of gun affects how quickly you move. HVLP puts out much more material than the old style guns. The standard today is Gravity Fed HVLP (cup on top). Ambient temperature, humidity, surface temperature all effect the "flash" time between coats. That is when you can shoot another coat. Generally, you want to overlap 50% on each pass. It doesn't matter if you start right to left or vice versa. Do your pass in an even motion, constant speed, constant distance from material. Then go back in opposite direction (backtrack) with an overlap of half of the pattern on the last pass, and half on 'virgin' material. Two Stage, Single Stage, and Primer all have different flow characteristics. The paint, if all urethane based will be very similar (single vs. two stage); but, clear doesn't always 'stick' as well due to the absence of pigment to bind it. Generally, you move just a little faster with the clear. Sanding prep, my best advice is to read the labels on the cans that you intend to spray, and talk to the paint supply store staff. They are the most in-the-know on what works and doesn't work, especially if they are also painters. If it is just some clerk that rings you up, forget the aforementioned. When preparing to paint color, make sure that your gun is extremely clean, spend the extra time now rather than fixing problems after the material is on the car. Make sure that there is an even layer of water on the ground where you are painting, not so much that it splashes, just evenly wetted. This will help keep dust down. Make sure that you spray Sealer on car before paint. This will save you many possible nightmares after paint is on car, some not rearing their ugly head until much later. Runs. You're either going to get runs or get 'orange peel' until you hone your skills. Solids are easier to deal with runs, metallics a little orange peel is okay. If you get orange peel, it usually involves sanding out much more surface area. Runs are pretty localized. The old-school method was to take a piece of masking tape, sticky side to car, and GENTLY touch the run. I mean G-E-N-T-L-Y. Then when paint flashes, you spray light, quick X motion over that area to 'build' it back up. May be some expert knows a more new and improved method; but, that's how I was taught (probably before you were even born ). I hope that I helped, and am happy to be corrected by anyone else who is more contemporary. Otherwise, if you have more questions PM me. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUSHER Posted March 19, 2004 Author Share Posted March 19, 2004 Thank you very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUSHER Posted March 19, 2004 Author Share Posted March 19, 2004 ugh, went outside and it is very very humid, will this affect the paint performance wise at all or just make its characteristics different and take longer to dry/ect.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. G. Olphart Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 Not a painting expert (really not any kind of expert), but think you need a quick reply- Humidity can spoil a paint job by fogging the paint. The cooling effect at the nozzle can drop the air below dew point (instant fog in the paint stream/fan) and that water gets incorporated into the paint film. Instead of a nice clear glossy coat you can end up with one that is literally foggy looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PUSHER Posted March 19, 2004 Author Share Posted March 19, 2004 Think it will be fine with primer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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