paintin the ol' truck! some advice needed

[mwmx54]

alright, well i just took all of the lights and bumpers off, next is sanding bondo, then more sanding, then some primer, then some paint, im thinkin im gonna switch from white to black, but i dont want glossy black, but i dont want really rough... so what paint should i use, i have a sprayer, couple of sprayers and a nice place to paint it also. just needed some advice on what paint to use. thanks all!
oh yeah, cheap is definately good!

 

[mbryson]

alright, well i just took all of the lights and bumpers off, next is sanding bondo, then more sanding, then some primer, then some paint, im thinkin im gonna switch from white to black, but i dont want glossy black, but i dont want really rough... so what paint should i use, i have a sprayer, couple of sprayers and a nice place to paint it also. just needed some advice on what paint to use. thanks all!
oh yeah, cheap is definately good!

If you want nice work, it's more about experience. You did pick a good color as gloss black will show EVERY flaw. Semi-gloss will be a little better.

Sand--80 grit, prime (you're using catalyzed primer, right?), sand--220 grit, prime, sand with finer grit paper (say 320 or so on a DA), throw a little guide coat on there (lightly sprayed cheap black primer) and wetsand with 400 or 500 grit.

It's less about the painting than it is the prep work.


Come on up to Woods Cross. I'll put you to work sanding.


Oh, and cheap and good are definitely not synomous in the paint world. You pretty much get what you pay for and pay for what you get. You pay $40 a gallon, it'll usuallly look like you paid $40 per gallon.

 

[mwmx54]

alright, how many gallons will i need. where would be a good place to get some average paint?
yeah, ive been workin at a buddies shop, but all i do there is sand and bondo cars, then he just runs them to maico for 200 bucks.
never painted a car, so this is a learning experience. dont want to spend a lot as all of it will be scratched off before to long!

 

[James K]

rustoleum semi-gloss black in quart cans from home depot.

 

[mbryson]

alright, how many gallons will i need. where would be a good place to get some average paint?
yeah, ive been workin at a buddies shop, but all i do there is sand and bondo cars, then he just runs them to maico for 200 bucks.
never painted a car, so this is a learning experience. dont want to spend a lot as all of it will be scratched off before to long!

A gallon is usually plenty to paint a vehicle, even a Suburban sized rig.

 

[mwmx54]

cool! thanks guys!

 

[mwmx54]

alright, im finished bondoing, tommorrow im gonna sand the whole thing. like mbryson said:Sand--80 grit, prime (you're using catalyzed primer, right?), sand--220 grit, prime, sand with finer grit paper (say 320 or so on a DA), throw a little guide coat on there (lightly sprayed cheap black primer) and wetsand with 400 or 500 grit.
i guess im gonna end up usin rust-oleum for home depot, unless anyone else has some suggestions on where to buy... what all will i need to buy?? in detail, (catalyzed primer...)

 

[78mitsu]

find a ppg paint center and do it right, a gun is about $40.00 and paint and reducer is cheap. The guy at the counter can help you out. if you're going through the trouble of doing it, you may as well do it right. also when doing body work, I always sand down to at least 300 grit before primering. and I generally use an etching primer or epoxy primer over the body work before painting, it keeps the bondo from coming through.

 

[mbryson]

alright, im finished bondoing, tommorrow im gonna sand the whole thing. like mbryson said:Sand--80 grit, prime (you're using catalyzed primer, right?), sand--220 grit, prime, sand with finer grit paper (say 320 or so on a DA), throw a little guide coat on there (lightly sprayed cheap black primer) and wetsand with 400 or 500 grit.
i guess im gonna end up usin rust-oleum for home depot, unless anyone else has some suggestions on where to buy... what all will i need to buy?? in detail, (catalyzed primer...)

I bought a lot of stuff from Pierson's on 3350ish and West Temple or Mountain West on 33rd South and 110 westish. They've both got 'budget' lines of products for 'rough' use.

find a ppg paint center and do it right, a gun is about $40.00 and paint and reducer is cheap. The guy at the counter can help you out. if you're going through the trouble of doing it, you may as well do it right.

AGREED

also when doing body work, I always sand down to at least 300 grit before primering.

Is that with laquer primer? I haven't done that since the late '80s when we started using catalyzed primer. The "guide coat" makes it about idiot proof. You just sand it out and you're smooth.

and I generally use an etching primer or epoxy primer over the body work before painting, it keeps the bondo from coming through.

Definitely use an etching primer on bare metal.

 

[TK1]

And PLEASE don't spray that catalyzed primer without wearing a respirator. Your body will thank you.

 

[Jeremy]

wow! paints not just for sniffing anymore? i have a couple of vehicles i would like to paint some day. what is a average price for an average do it yourself job?

 

[mwmx54]

just finished 220 wet sand, damn its way smooth! cant wait to see what 1500 looks like, should i wet sand all the way to 1500, what is best? stop at 800 ish...

 

[TK1]

Solid colors 400 wet, Metallic colors 600 wet. Anything finer than that won't allow the paint to properly adhere.

 

[mwmx54]

thanks. im stickin with white, i dont want to paint all the door jams all that crap.
i will just stick to 400 then.
also, what kind of primer should i use? (catalyzed, white, grey...)
thanks you guys have been a great help!

 

[78mitsu]

basically you have a couple types of primer, sandable(guide coat) primer sealing primers and etching primers, ( I know there are a ton of other special use primers, but that gets most of them) If you're painting over an existing coat of paint, I recommend a epoxy primer, typically it will be pretty heavy and a no-sand primer, you sand your guide coat down untill it is smooth as glass and lay on the epoxy, then you paint immediatly after (like 2 hrs after you primer - barring any severe runs) they have instructions on the can. if you are painting over a factory chevy paintjob between 1984 and 1992 then you'll want an etching primer to clear up some of the "mystery paint" bleeding problems some yoda's will do it too, but I'm not sure on the years.

Also- white is probabbly the hardest color to paint it reflects so much light when it's wet it can be hard to spot runs and to really tell how much base you have down. use a grey or lt green primer to paint over, you'll be better able to tell coverage.

 

[mbryson]

Solid colors 400 wet, Metallic colors 600 wet. Anything finer than that won't allow the paint to properly adhere.

Yo, Todd, I've been meaning to ask you about booth rental. Do you have your own or who do you rent from?

 

[TK1]

I have a mini booth in my garage, it's 11' x 18'. I mostly do smaller stuff so it works most of the time. I have some buddies that have a body shop that I have rented a booth from on a few projects but they're buried right now.

I just need to quit my day job and open up a shop again I think. Now, where to get the money???

 

[mwmx54]

so you are sayin, spray a guidecoat with what kind of primer? then sand it to a glass finish, next would be to spray an epoxy primer coat. let it dry for a couple hours, then paint it with white paint, should i use acrylic paint or what??
thanks all!

 

[mbryson]

so you are sayin, spray a guidecoat with what kind of primer? then sand it to a glass finish, next would be to spray an epoxy primer coat. let it dry for a couple hours, then paint it with white paint, should i use acrylic paint or what??
thanks all!

1) Spray a catalyzed primer.
2) Let it dry for at least two hours (I prefer overnight and if possible over a weekend for finish sanding), and spray the guide coat on (honestly, that can be anything. I've used mistinted base coat when I worked in a shop just to get rid of it and feel like I was getting something out of it.).
3) sand the guide coat out.....you can 'cheat' using a DA with 320 paper and hold the DA FLAT!!!!........where you can't hold the DA flat, you'll have to wetsand (wetsanding is a technique........biggest 'secret' is to use LOTS of water to keep your paper clean. EVERY way the paper touches the vehicle you'll see in a dark paintjob. Be careful and deliberate with your paper for quality results) with 400 grit (or whatever you decide--320 DA paper is about as fine of grit as I've worked with that doesn't clog).
4) once you think you are done, WASH every nook and cranny of the vehicle to get sanding/bondo or other dirt out of it so it doesn't get in your paint.
5) Look over the painted surfaces carefully and fix any needed edge issues or sand down some rough spots.
6) Wash it again and either dry it off (compressed air is nice if you've got a bitchin' compressor) or wait overnight for it to dry (there'll probably still be some water under the mouldings.....you'll hate that when you mask it and/or spray it and you get little trickle drops of water running across your paint ........)

Here's the fun/rewarding part...........
7) Spray the sealer (dries pretty quickly and doesn't sand well)
8) spray your paint system (single stage or base/clear) and you're done......

 

[mwmx54]

well, i just painted it today, it didnt turn out as bad i as i thought it would, the worst thing is on the hood where i was leaning over and some sweat dripped onto it. couple little drips there, the paint i used was awesome and thick, shamloc i think it was called, gloss white. industrial paint.
thanks a ton for all of the help guys!