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DIY Car Painting??


felixx

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OK So I would love to paint the Anglia this summer.

Budget says DIY

So I read the paint thread article etc but have the following questions

1) Is a 40L compressor big enough

2) HVLP gun ok? How much should I spend?

3) I plan to use enamel laquer as 2k is a bit scary sounding, am i being a pussy?

4) How much paint will I need?

5) Does someone in chch have a booth I could hire? (or shall I plastic line my double garage?)

6) Do I need to clearcoat?

Cheers for reading

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ok so lets see if im right.............

1- prob not. the compressor will be running all the time and wont have enough time to fill the tank let alone deliver the correct pressure to spray with.

2 - yes it should be. i use a gravity fed gun from blackwood paykels. cost about 80 bucks.

3 - 2k is better but laquer is good. I just sprayed a VH commy engine bay with laquer and it turned out great.

4 - depending on the size of your car. the VH i am spraying will take 4 litres for exterior im told. My mate bought 5 just to be safe.

5 - Im not in CHCH, but i have been useing my mates double garage with one side blocked off with a tarp.

6 - Yes. Clear coat is always good. brings out the metallic, if you are useing a metallic.

Hopefully this is correct.

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1) tank size is only one part of the equation, how much air the compressor can deliver to the gun is what matters.

Just my2c, but find someone local willing to do a cashie. Nothing against DIY, but if you have to ask those questions then it might be a stretch to pull off a good job.

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Find the paint thread, there is a load of good info in there, a good couple of hours reading anyway. You will come away knowing more and have some questions to suit your situation.

I haven't painted yet, still accumulating bits and pieces for my project(s), though I did by a decent compressor - they can be had for circa $400-500 if you keep an eye out on trademe.

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I've never sprayed laquer myself - only 2Ks and a bit of base coat clear coat. I personally wouldn't waste my time with laquer. You have to put on like a million thin coats to build up the layer as you have to allow the air to get to it so it can dry. With a 2 pack the reaction that cures it does not require the presence of air so you can put it on a lot thicker. IMO it comes off the gun better and often won't need to be polished afterwards. With laquer you need to polish it a lot to bring the gloss out.

The health risks with spraying 2 pot paints are not to be sneezed at however. Ideally you want to have a face shield with a constant supply of fresh air fed to it but this is far too expensive for most DIY guys. I feel that a reasonable compromise is to use a decent 3M respirator with the correct filters, a full suit and gloves. Some manner of glasses/goggles to keep it out of your eyes is a big bonus as they suck up the nasty shit more than any other part of your body. Also note that you must keep your respirator filters in an airtight container and replace them regulary (I think they reccomend 6 months or something). They will suck up the hydrocarbons that are floating around naturally and become useless if they arent kept in an airtight container.

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seriously I'd be trying to get it done as a cashie by someone with good gear and experince etc, rather than spending that same amount on buying your own gear but ending up with a mess of a paint job. one of the painters at work is about to do a cashie on a buick (a lot bigger than an anglia) and he's charging $600, thats no prep work, car arrives ready to roll into the booth and the owner is supplying the paint

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OK So I would love to paint the Anglia this summer.

Budget says DIY

So I read the paint thread article etc but have the following questions

1) Is a 40L compressor big enough

2) HVLP gun ok? How much should I spend?

3) I plan to use enamel laquer as 2k is a bit scary sounding, am i being a pussy?

4) How much paint will I need?

5) Does someone in chch have a booth I could hire? (or shall I plastic line my double garage?)

6) Do I need to clearcoat?

Cheers for reading

Try and clear this up.

1 Probably not unless it can flow at least 12cfm/min. Hire one for a day if you need to.

2 Yup. I bought a half decent one on sale for about $120. The really cheap ones are horribly inconsistent.

3 Use Acrylic Lacquer. If you can prep a car with primer you should be able to manage the colour. The reason it's easy is that it is half dry when it hits the panel. Because 2k is a chemical reaction to dry, it stays 'thin' untill it starts to cure. This gives it far more time to form runs.

4 4lts of colour and 6 ltrs (+a ltr for clean up) thinners should do a little car like an Anglebox.

5 ?

6 Only need a clear coat for metallics. The reason is that you cant polish a metallic paint because you will polish through different layers of metal flakes and it will end up blotchy. Hence, give it clear and then polish through a paint (clear) that has the same consistency through out. Applies to both 2k and single pack.

Tips (acrylic lacquer)

Orange peel is better than runs. It flat sands out if you think you have too much. Runs are very difficult to sand out entirely.

Work from the top down kinda like cleaning a car. Roof first/boot/bonnet around car. Try to avoid overspray settling on already painted surfaces. Tricky.

Take your time getting the paint on and you should be able to continue to paint till you've almost run out (save some for touch ups).

Allow it to dry for at least 7 days before touching it with polish.

If it ha too much orange peel (likely) wet sand with 2000 wet&dry before buffing. Hand polish ridges/corners ect to avoid polishing through the paint.

Acrylic lacquer is a bit softer than 2 pack paints, so it's easier to scratch but seems a bit better for stone chips, and is softer under a hot sun.

But it's easy to work with, you can pull up a great shine from it and it served as the dominant paint for years among manufactures. One of the main reasons it's not used anymore is that the fumes released are a bit crook for the old air quality. Environmentals ect. It's banned in many cuntry's.

Have a go(maybe on an old panel?).

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2k is way better,laquer is old school and shit as, 2k u dnt need clear

What a load of shit. If laquer is looked after properly, it will last just as long as 2K. I've seen laquer look just as good as the day it got sprayed, 23 years after the fact.

Also, this is laquer WITHOUT clear

DSC03296.jpg

Sure if you have a bit of money to spend, the skills to spray and a temperature controlled spray booth to use, go 2K, but IMO, if you're going to paint your first car, in a shed, using basic equipment, then use laquer. It's cheap, forgiving and doesn't have as many asociated health risks.

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I painted my starlet in 2K as my 1st paintjob in the shed using basic equipment... It's far from perfect but it's not too bad... (don't really have any super close-up shots)

I'm planning on giving my evo a lick of paint this summer and see how it turns out...

I am a novice so can't really give you any advise, other than to keep things dust free and give it a go.. what's the worst that can happen, youv'e wasted a few hundred bucks on paint..

DSCF0525.jpg

Image0041.jpg

natsshow.jpg

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