painting and equipment advice needed.

[able]

thanks guys! all valuable information!

 

[Bren]

just poking my nose in too...

you can usually use some 2k hardener with acrylic clear to give it a glossier finish if you aren't a fantastic painter...
that may be what the paint store told you... you can also use it with a direct gloss top coat acrylic for the same reason.
(but im also guessing it may not work with all brands of paint)

also just to be clear "undercoat" is a fairly unspecific term, so you need to know what to use depending on the job:

-etch primer is purely for metal adhesion, can be used on bare metal

-primer surfacer is used to purely cover all the old paint, new metal, bog etc to get a consistant surface... generally most surfacers nowdays can be used on metal without the etch primer.

-primer filler is then used with a couple of fairly thick coats to fill up all the scratches and small imperfections, then rubbed back smooth.
(not to be confused with spray putty)

-then your top coats get whacked on.

using just a 2k primer filler and rubbing it back will make sure you get nice looking top coats even if your not a very good painter.
don't try and use a 2k clear or base coat in your back shed. its harder to spray, and it will take so long to dry that you will have a million buts of dust and bugs and all sorts of shit in the paint.

the thinners ratio depends on the paint brand and also the temperature and humidity at the time. don't just take someones word for it because the've sprayed their car before and that's what they mixed. they may have used different paint. use the recomended amount from the manufacturer....

anyway thats my 2c worth...

[able]

so just go the normal acrylic for color but use the hardener they are recommending in the clear? or try and get both in normal acrylic?

and thank you for your 2 cents!

[able]

i was advised to take back to bare metal only in places with bad crows feet...
and to leave paint on where it is still ok.. (sanded ofcourse)
this how you fellas would do it or would you go back to bare metal?


and do you hang doors back on after they are repaired and in undercoat so they are lined up perfectly and color and clear in place like in this youtube?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAixtZ-FCD8

or do you paint them off and risk your fresh new paint work when you re hang them?

[Bren]

you should paint the inside of your door/bonnet jambs and doors off the car, then put them on, line them up, then paint the hinge bolts to cover any scratches on the bolts with the doors open, then paint the whole external car with the doors / bonnet closed.

you could paint the seperately but theres no need. your not only risking scratching something putting doors back on, but your also risking
slight colour differences in the panels if you aren't a pro painter..
so for a beginner i would definitely recommend painting this way.

taking back to bare metal is usually an absolute killer job, and you never know what you will find underneath... if you are building a $$$$$$ showcar, then strip to bare metal, but if you are just making a tidy street car, don't bother... alot of people have the idea in their head that if they can tell someone it had a "bare metal respray" it means the car is done well, and that they are some kind of hero... you could do a bare metal respray in 4 hours if you really wanted too. and it would look like shit because every tiny little dent or speck or scratch from the last 40 years of the cars life that have been covered up will reappear. So you are left with a huge panel job on your hands, so the car never gets finished, and you sell it for $100 on ebay as a shell with a box of parts, when it used to be a cool car....

Having said that, I just started stripping my camaro back 2 days ago, and its getting the bare metal job because i never take my own advice. and so far i have found i really need 2 new doors and two new guards, but since they cost an absolute fortune over here im going to have to repair these... once again its not a show car, just a street cruiser so i should have just rubbed it back and sprayed it and kept my sander out of there.

[Bren]

actually what colour are you painting your van?

[able]

thanx bren for the reply, i thought that seemed the sensible way to do it.

here is my color, the pic does not do it justice as their is alot of gold in it...
after i chose it they where half way through mixing it and had to stop as it need two litres of the gold in it and its a tint.... it had to be ordered as the tints usually last them forever with a squirt here and a squirt there....



where the sun catches it it looks gold and remains green in the shadows. (i love green)

the picture really does not do it justice at all...

[Dave]

Love the colour

[able]

dulon 1k

paint code 0016b $250 @ 4 lt

and i cant wait to see the beddy in it!

[Tweaker]

dulon 1k

paint code 0016b $250 @ 4 lt

and i cant wait to see the beddy in it!

Neither can I!