painting and equipment advice needed.

[able]

g'day can some of you in the know fellas offer some advice on these topics?

compressor.  will this one do?  (scorpion) 2hp belt driven, 50L tank, 185L/min (filter and reg on board)

spray gun. how many mm? 1.4/1.6/1.8/2.0 ?  (will be painting in acrylic)

paint. how much of everything will i need (and how many coats of everything do you recommend)

paint color. im sort of fond of the high gloss black, what problems come along with using black? and if its straight black and then gloss i take it i will have no problems with touch ups because i didn't use a pearl? and is their advice on how to get a really "mirror" gloss?

 

[doofhard]

3 problems I know of with black, 1 -  it shows up every inperfection and 2 - it gets very hot so in summer could get very warm inside and 3 - gets dirty real easy

[TOOLKING]

the compressor is fine to run a spray gun.
benerally the bigger the tank the better with painting as it means you can get longer runs with the gun.2.5hp is the min I would use for the motor and by the sound of it it would be direct drive

the other problem with black is it needs to be good paint and painted well, you see a lot of black re-paints on older cars that look great for 2years and then fade to crap

[TOOLKING]

Ive just had a look at the compressor you are talking about it will be fine. with the 2hp motor
generally you if you were using it all the time for spraying the 2.5 is better
(the motor does not need towork as hard)

[able]

its the xr1355 i was looking. yer sorry its a 2.5 hp.

not from this store but only pic i could find with the time i have at the moment..
www.coletoolcentre.com.au/scorpion-comp/scorpc3.JPG

[ben]

ill tell you whats wrong with black! you get labeled a terrorist.. and people think your gunna rob their grandma.. other than that its fantastic!!

[strez]

compressor should be ok but your hose set up might need some modification  .the air in the compressor tank can get quite warm and water vapor will condense as it cools if the water trap is to close to the tank the vapor will pass straight through and condense in the air line after the trap and come out the spraygun as water . so unless your using water based paint you need to run a length of hose befor your regulator/watertrap to give water vapor in your compressed air time to cool and liquify . the best solution is to get some copper pipe and coil it in a bucket of water and run that befor your water trap . if your still getting water condensation put some ice in the bucket

spraygun from memory should be a 1.8mm gravity feed or 2.0mm suction feed but best double check with your paint supplier but should also say on the paint tin recomended spraygun

paint its alittle hard to say but 4lt of coulor would be a good start if your doing a whole van
primer are you priming the whole thing ? are you patch priming ? how well is the bog finished off ?

paint color a couple of things to do with black and reds is to clear coat them this gives them a bit extra protection and makes them look better. another thing is to keap it polished this helps by protecting the paint from oxadizing that results in that fadded white chalky look .the reson black and reds tend the weather more than white is tha black gets hot and accelerates oxadization and reds usualy have lead in them that oxadizes quite easily .by clearing them you seal of the air and clears usually have uv barriers kinda like suncream that helps protect paint .polish does too

getting that mirror finish . some show cars still get painted in acrylic because they are easier to buff . once you`ve painted your van and its dry about a week sand all the parts you want a mirror finish on with 1200-2000 wet and dry with water . then get a lambs wool buff pad and suitable cutting compound and buff your little heart out. word of warning this step will take way longer than painting but you will end up with a perfectly flat(no orange peal) glossy finish . just make sure not to buff through edges and make sure you put enough clear on alittle extra wont hurt as you will sand some of it off

hope that helps

[strez]

one more thing if you decide to paint your van black a bit of time and efort will be needed to be spent getting it straight . and while top coating it in acrylic is fine don`t prime it in acrylic use two pack for a few resons it`s not poreous so if you van sits around in primer for awhile its less likely to start rusting it also chemically hardens witch means when you paint over it it wont soften and move (acrylic primer only solvent evaporates - the thinners drys . when you paint over it some of the thinners is absorbed back in to it becomes soft and can move leaving sinkback although if you rub and buff you can get these out)

[able]

all good info! thanks all!

i think by the sounds of it i will drop the black color... with no windows and fitting seats for the kids, i don't want to cook them.

second down the list is a very odd green i see on some of the new car... now i will have to search for the color code.

ill buy the compressor a.s.a.p but the gun after the paint

and yes im stripping the car and will need to paint the inside.. i will be carpeting the lower half and floor in the back so it does not have to be in the car color but will have to be sealed in something. (maybe sound deadened under the carpet as well?)

P.S if i do not get it all at the start my miss's will (how do we put this nicely) LEACH back the funds and buy a assortment of non shed/car specific trinkets.
im sure a few of you know what i mean..... (no offense to the ladies) 

[ben]

hey strez ive got to primer marias van before i give it back to her.. ive got acrylic undercoat here should i not use that and go buy some 2 pac undercoat? we want to keep her options open for painting later on when she gets to that.. cheers

ben