Need some info on what I need to do....

[Tim240z]

I bought the Titan gun kit and sprayed my truck with it......they spray fairly well.

 

[innerware]

Who can recomend a good paint supplier in the East Bay (San Francisco area) I have gone to one in Oakland and they never have much in the way of supplies and I always feel like an idiot having to ask for stuff. Thanks

[240Z2NV]

I like "Ned's". They are a PPG supplier, so if you prefer DuPont I don't think that they can help. Otherwise, great guys. They might carry HOK; but, I only use PPG so that is all I look for when I go in.

 

Truck looks awesome, Tim...especially for a "driveway" job!!

[Bartman]

I bought the Titan gun kit and sprayed my truck with it......they spray fairly well.

 

Tim,

It looks like you figured out how to get the hood to close completely and you did a great job painting it.

Did you roll it into your garage or did you really do it on the driveway?

[80LS1T]

Ok here's how I have things figured out in my head, tell me if Im thinking right....

 

 

step 1... sand car down with DA sander to get the original paint dull

 

step 2...make sure all the spots that I couldnt get with the DA are also dull

 

step 3...primer the whole car

 

step 4...fix all the little dings and dents with filler(I still have no idea what to use for this???.....suggestions would be appreciated! )

 

step 5...primer all the filler

 

step 6...block sand the whole car

 

 

Does that sound about right or am I missing something?

 

Thanks guys!

 

Guy

[240Z2NV]

Step 2.5 OR 3.5 is to spray Sealer. Follow label, usually topcoating with first coat of primer when it 'flashes'. Either way, you will want to put down a 'barrier coat' before or after the primer surfacer. If you do it after, then you apply it JUST before the color.

One of the great informational websites is 'paintucation' , I believe.

Plan on multiple Step 6s, also if the dents and dings are minor the filler that you use isn't as critical. It was recommended by a pro that does alot of concours jobs to use Tap Plastics Tap 500 filler. Sands really easily with no 'pinholing'.

[80LS1T]

Im not sure what you mean by all these coating. I thought it was just primer? What are sealers, barrier coats , and topcoating refering too? Are they all just steps to primer? Like is the first coat called a barrier coating and the sealer is the topcoating? Yeah Im very confused! LOL

 

And yes all the dings are very minor.

[240Z2NV]

Generally you have layers: Surface (metal), factory primer (sometimes epoxy), factory paint (usually enamel), factory clearcoat (if metallic).

Now that you are adding to those layers rather than removing all of them back to metal, you run a risk of 'lifting' which is caused by solvents penetrating original/previous layers and then 'bouncing' back up creating small krinkle-like cracks. This often occurs when mixing lacquers and enamels, and some urethanes, and more.

To avoid that penetration and to avoid any 'bleed through' from the original/previous layers, you apply Sealer or Barrier Coat (same thing). It merely creates the protection from solvents penetrating beyond that barrier which will, in turn, prevent that lifting or bleed through.

So, some put that coat on before the primer and others put it on after the primer and before topcoating (color). 'Topcoat' is just that...the TOP coat (with the exception of clear).

When you are using clear (most commonly with metallics) you are using a basecoat/clearcoat or two stage system. Irridescent and pearl finishes (ones that look like multiple colors depending on the sun refraction) are considered three stage systems. The most common on cars is the two stage system (again, basecoat and clearcoat [for shine, depth and durability]).

To simplify, when you go to the supply house and decide which brand that you will be using, follow their guide. They have sheets for each product that will tell you everything that you need to do (including surface preparation - e.g. sanding). It will also tell you when the sealer is best used for their line. That should eliminate most of the confusion. My explanations may be making it worse, so I would just go off of the sheets for the products.

[Tim240z]

Tim' date='

It looks like you figured out how to get the hood to close completely and you did a great job painting it.

Did you roll it into your garage or did you really do it on the driveway?[/quote']

I did it in the driveway (Z and Opel in the garage). Built a "spray booth" with 6mil plastic sheeting.

[Tim240z]

Guy,

if you use a 2 part primer, I don't think the sealer is required. I didn't use a sealer for the truck, but I did with the Z, but I didn't use a 2 part primer with the Z.

[240Z2NV]

Yea Tim, you might be right there. Catalyzed Primers (two part) may not need sealing, I don't have my PPG sheets handy.

I'll never forget my first experience with 'lifting'. The vocational school where I learned to paint had no idea, so the reps from PPG came out and had me spraying all sorts of products on it. A major cluster fuk; but, this was MANY years ago and the products have been refined a great deal. That was back when lacquer was commonly sprayed for colorcoat, and urethanes were brand new.

I recently had a 'flashback' with lifting while trying to coat the interior (drive tunnel, floorboards, etc.). I mixed what I thought were compatible products (these happened to be truck bedliner products) as one quart ran out and I opened a gallon of another brand and...voila! The second application lifted the first. Shite!!

It just brought up that frustration from 'yesteryear', so I got caught up in the cautionary warnings to our novice painter.

 

*This just in*

Check out http://www.smartshoppersinc.com I won an auction for their truck bedliner 'kit' on eBay because it was even cheaper than WalMart, and for floorboards, who cares? It arrived today, and they put some promotional flyers in the box. They have some paint 'package' pricing that is darn hard to beat (especially for a first-time job!). Some of their products are not widely known brands; but, some are (e.g. House Of Kolor). They had a couple of deals that I know that my local paint supply place can't touch...and they give me 'shop rates' which is usually 20% off.

I still think that http://www.midwayautosupply.com has(had) the best deal on the Titan 3 & 4 gun sets. I tried to 'link' them; but, I don't see the gun sets listed anymore. If interested, I would call them.

[80LS1T]

Now Im starting to understand! So would the HOK paint Im using be considered a 3 stage paint? I have the primer coat, silver/metalic coat, blue candy coat, and then the clear.

 

I think I might end up at the paint store anyways to see what I need and then order it through work.

 

Thanks guys!

 

Guy

[240Z2NV]

Yep. If you have Silver (basecoat), Blue Candy (depth/effect coat), and Clearcoat you are doing a three stage paint job.

[80LS1T]

Well I have a "makeshift" paint booth set up now. I have roughly 90% of the car tapped up. I am going to get my DA sander on wednesday and then begin standing next weekend. All I know is tapping up a car sucks. It seems like you'll never finish! LOL

 

What grit of sand paper should I get for the DA to sand the whole car?

 

 

Ok well I gotta go finish tapping the car up!

 

 

Guy

[80LS1T]

Well I went the paint store today to get primer but all I did was get more confused! I told the paint guy that I just want to sand the car down to get it dull and then spray primer over it. I asked him about the barrier coat and he said "well that all depends on if you have some dings and dents to fill in. If you have to fix any of the body you will have to spray "high build" primer in those spots and then you'll probably want to use some type of self etching urethane primer" He then asked me who was going to paint the car and I told him a guy from work that just quit to start his own paint shop(25+ years of painting experince). He knew who I was talking about and told me to go talk with him about which primer he wanted me to use since he was the one that is going to be doing the color.

 

Well I went to go talk to my friend thats going to be painting it but he wasnt home so I didnt get a chance to talk to him. I was just wondering if you guys with some painting experice could shed some light on what I was told today? First I thought I had to spray the whole car and then fix the dents now I think I have to fix the dents and then spray the whole car.

 

 

I just what to get a little more educated on what I need to do so I dont have to redo it! We need a thread for the beginner painters FAQ's...RacerX(hint) (hint)LOL

 

Guy

[MusPuppis]

used the air craft remover from Pepboys to take off the old paint

I recently stripped a 67 Mustang, the whole damn thing, down to bare metal. It every bit of 4 different coats of paint on it. Green, red, blue and red again. That air craft stuff is pretty mean. If you get it on your skin it'll burn ya quick.

 

 

I'm very interested in the answers to some of the questions you've asked. I'm about ready to start doing exactly what you are and I'm pretty curious.

 

I plan on sanding the car down, doing the body work, then spraying the primer. I dont plan on using a sealer since I will be using a two part primer - and my understanding of these primers is that they act as a sealer in addition to their paint adhesion qualities.

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but when he said spray the primer on before the body work he was meaning to help fill low spots and get the entire body totally smoothed out. From what I can tell you can buy high build primers that spray thicker, and in some cases a primer can be thinned less to acheive this same effect. These primers would be laid down on wavy areas (on older cars the roof tends to be one of these areas) then the area would be sanded carefully to flatten everything out. Basicly, if your looking for a REALLY straight body, you'd go with a high build prior to your body work, then once the body work was done you'd use a traditional primer (two part for its sealing ability) then spray the color.

 

Thats my take on things - and by way of warning - I'm new to this myself and just doing research as I go. I could be mistaken. Hopefully someone can confirm or contradict what I have stated.

[80LS1T]

Well here's the jist of what I know now after talking to my body man....

 

You want to do the filling of the low spots first.

 

If you take it down to bare metal you want to use a bare metal primer. Regular primer does not like to stick to metal. You can get this type of primer in a rattle can and it doesnt need to be applied really thick, just enought to put a light coat on the metal. He also said to use like a 180-220 sandpaper to do the whole car witht the DA sander. 320 will cloge up pretty quick. Then he said to use a urethane primer. I will be attaching the body kit with some specail glue. He said the fiberglass is more likey to break off where its not glued than where its glued, so this glue must be pretty damn strong. He did a fiberglass body kit on a Probe and the owner hit a driveway too fast and the part that wasnt glued actually broke off and not the part that was glued. He said once this stuff is on you better have that piece fitted properly!

 

I told my buddy that I would be over bugging him for the next few weeks asking question to make sure Im doing it right.

 

I will be posting info on my website as I move further along. I will probably added a page to detail the whole process of how I did it and what I used.

 

Guy

[MusPuppis]

Whats the difference in a urethane primer and an epoxy primer? I was leaning towards DP90 which is Epoxy..

[240zV8]

this thread should be sticky.