Anyone ever do auto paint?

I have my white truck, already white fenders, large compressor, paint sprayer, and half gallon of automotive clear coat. I'm going to try it on my friends shitty truck first that he doesn't mind screwing up.

Just wanted to know if anyone has experience in doing this and if so, what tips do you have? I've only got one quote so far for front 2 fenders and back 2 bedsides...$ 675 for factory matched white and $375 if I just want the clear coat since they already match pretty good.

 

I have done quite a few home paint jobs.

PREP PREP PREP!! CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.

You're in San Diego so you don't have to really worry about humidity like I do in the south.

Do you have catalyst for the clear? Make sure you use it or the clear won't harden. Ask me how I know.

Follow the mix ratios on the paint. Go buy some paint measuring cups from Wal-mart and buy a bunch. They're only $1 each.

Make sure you wear a charcoal respirator (a 3m is about $25) and buy some cover-alls. If you're a hairy guy like me make sure you cover all over. Especially when spraying clear (it's sticky) Again ask me how I know this.

I usually cover my garage in plastic sheeting and build a mock paint booth. Using 4 box fans as ventilation. You want to create negative pressure.

Practice on the plastic to get your spray fan and paint mix ratio right on the gun before going to work on the piece.

Get an inline dryer (only about $20) here's mine, its the bubble thing between the regulator and the gun body:


Clean your gun immediately after spraying base. I like to spray some reducer, then some acetone through it to make sure it's clean. Clean your gun immediately after spraying the clear. A clean gun is a happy gun, a happy gun makes a happy painter.

The actual painting part really isn't that hard. Take side to side fluid movements maintaining the same distance the whole time. Keep the gun perpendicular to the surface using your wrist to pivot. You will get the hang of it pretty quick.

 

dang that sounds like I could easily screw something up lol..maybe I should just pay if I want them done correctly.

 

It looks like a lot but it's really not that bad. You gotta learn somewhere. If you are worried about screwing something up, practice on something else before hand. Go to the auto parts store and pick up some cheap duplicolor paint that you can mix up and learn how to mix it and spray it. It doesn't take a genius to use a spray gun, just takes a little practice.

Do you know anyone who paints who you could invite over for a beer and food who can assist you in the process? I went into painting the first car I ever did pretty blindly and learned from my mistakes (i.e no catalyst in the clear) Luckily it was a buddies car that had been sitting at my house for a year waiting on a motor swap (which I eventually ended up doing too just to get it out of my driveway).

 

Here's a few pics I dug up from painting my cousin's prelude years ago (he totalled it about 4 months after the repaint )

The white Sentra SE-R in the pic is the first car I ever painted. lol the one I forgot to add catalyst to the clear. I remembered that part when I painted the prelude.

 

What exactly do you want to know? It's what I do for a living. Prep work is #1 like stated earlier. Quality of materials is another. Cheap clear will be low in solids, and usually have flash and cure times that are hard to work with, unless you are in a climate controlled booth. For spraying outside, or in a garage with no moisture or temperature control, you better match the reducers to your conditions, or runs and pinholes are gonna haunt you. I'll answer any questions you may have.

Just remember, if you do a bad job, and take it to someone to fix, they'll probably charge you a lot more than if you would have taken it to them from the start.

That being said, it's not rocket science. But I'd practice on a lot of not-so-expensive parts first.

 

I'll ask a question. It's my first time painting a car. I'll be spraying rustoleum enamal on with the harbor freight cheapo gun - I didn't want to invest a lot of money into my first try.

1) What is enamel based paint thinned with so I can spray it - Acetone or mineral spirits?

2) I'm going to build a temp paint booth to keep my garage/truck clean- Tell me about air pressure inside the booth... What should I be taking into consideration when doing this?

Any other thoughts, tips and tricks would be helpful - thank you.