[utk03analyst]

I think I did just about everything wrong, and in reading this I’m sure many of you will grimace. First off I’m not a painter I’ve never painted an automobile before until now. The original plan was a roll on paint job; the second plan was to lay down epoxy, high build, bc metallic and cc.


And here’s what I ended up with.




I realized that I’m a better sander than a painter; I realized that I would rather lay down something cheap on a $600 truck that won’t last, terribly than lay down something expensive, terribly and end up with the same result, more time honing my sanding skills. So I went to Ace Hardware bought a gallon or International Red tractor paint, bought a couple quarts of acetone and then some enamel hardener from Tractor Supply.


It went down smooth almost too smooth and then when I was refilling my gun, my compressor sounded like a bottle rocket went off, the tube from my motor to the air tank blew at the brass fitting. Because of the hardener I only had an 8 hour window to get the paint down.


The paint went in the freezer I went to work, I was able to replace the fitting for free and get my compressor back running. It only has a 22 gallon tank but it has a 5hp motor and puts out over 8 cfm at 90 psi so it didn’t have any trouble keeping up with the gun.


Day 2 was horrible. I don’t know if I didn’t let the paint get back up to temp or what, but the first coat went down pretty smooth with a little orange peel but over night it flatten out almost perfect. The second day, either I stood to close completely blew it on my gun set up or both but it didn’t go on smooth at all.


Sorry for the long post but here is what I ended up with. It’s better than the faded chalky blue I started with but far from perfect. I’m going to hit it with 1000, 1500, 2000 and then see what it cuts and buffs out to on a test patch. If I don’t like it, I’ll probably just hit it with 600 and start over with a new batch of tractor paint.

[JohnnyK81]

Well, if you had fun, who cares! I mean, if I was going to go through that trouble I would have bought a better paint, but that's just me.

I myself have found out I'm a far better painter than I am sander!

[Stick895]

Just don't enter it in a truck show or at Barrett-Jackson and you're fine.

[OneMoreTime]

Nice looking ole truck from here..I have seen a lot worse at the shows and to be true some of the pros have had some real nightmares..keep on keeping on..

Sam

[robbie thoreson]

i found that no one realy cares, i used indoor/outdoor latex paint on mine and a brush. red on top, black on bottom with a tapered white stripe. didnt sand the stripe so its flaking off and there is still mud under the my first coat of gray i sprayed 2 years ago. thing is tho, ppl still tell me it looks good. its bc ppl who know, understand, and ppl that dont, dont matter. its your car/truck, have fun with it.

[deadbodyman]

Thats how you learn..
1) Since you finished the job you get big points.
2) now you know if you'll ever take on another job, if you do it'll only get better.and it didnt cost a lot..
IMO ,you did good.....

[leon renaud]

Originally Posted by utk03analyst

I think I did just about everything wrong, and in reading this I’m sure many of you will grimace. First off I’m not a painter I’ve never painted an automobile before until now. The original plan was a roll on paint job; the second plan was to lay down epoxy, high build, bc metallic and cc.


And here’s what I ended up with.




I realized that I’m a better sander than a painter; I realized that I would rather lay down something cheap on a $600 truck that won’t last, terribly than lay down something expensive, terribly and end up with the same result, more time honing my sanding skills. So I went to Ace Hardware bought a gallon or International Red tractor paint, bought a couple quarts of acetone and then some enamel hardener from Tractor Supply.


It went down smooth almost too smooth and then when I was refilling my gun, my compressor sounded like a bottle rocket went off, the tube from my motor to the air tank blew at the brass fitting. Because of the hardener I only had an 8 hour window to get the paint down.


The paint went in the freezer I went to work, I was able to replace the fitting for free and get my compressor back running. It only has a 22 gallon tank but it has a 5hp motor and puts out over 8 cfm at 90 psi so it didn’t have any trouble keeping up with the gun.


Day 2 was horrible. I don’t know if I didn’t let the paint get back up to temp or what, but the first coat went down pretty smooth with a little orange peel but over night it flatten out almost perfect. The second day, either I stood to close completely blew it on my gun set up or both but it didn’t go on smooth at all.


Sorry for the long post but here is what I ended up with. It’s better than the faded chalky blue I started with but far from perfect. I’m going to hit it with 1000, 1500, 2000 and then see what it cuts and buffs out to on a test patch. If I don’t like it, I’ll probably just hit it with 600 and start over with a new batch of tractor paint.

Ok I'm not a car painter but I was an Industrial Spray Painter for several years including becoming the shop foreman for a few of those years.Putting mixed paint in "cold storage" will stop it from curing and you can keep it in a fridge for a few days, But it can lead to a bunch of issues!You completely alter the mix because it will keep curing when you first put it in until it gets cold enough to stop and when you take it out once it hits a certain point it will start to cure slowly again even though it's not up to room temp."curing time" is one of the reasons they want you to let paint sit for a certain time after mixing and before spraying it.If you had left that mixed paint in the fridge a few days it still would have cured into a solid block!Now if you put it in a freezer that would have had a more drastic affect on it!I applied Sherwin Williams products straight enamels "Chemlustrol"and Urethanes "Polane" For a new painter I strongly suggest using only a single product brand when starting out not mix and match different products.Tractor Supply Tractor paint is supplied by Valspar and it's a good low cost Acrylic enamel for a beginner.My experience here is there are no painters at tractor supply so even though it's one of my favorite stores I recommend buying your paint from some place that can offer you advise on their products or call the manufactures "customer support" number there is a lot of free information on the use of products from manufacturers even if the counter guy says otherwise!A new painter is going to get runs never saw one that didn't it's part of the learning curve BUT you already said your a good sander so just wipe them off You have an edge on me there I never was much good at sanding/buffing a paint job luckily there wasn't much of that involved in my job.I'm sure a lot of your problem was from refrigerating your paint but I can't see it good enough on my computer to say just going on experience here.Duplicolor sells pre mixed paints ready to spray (you Still need to add the hardener before applying if you want it) here is a link to their "PaintShop Series "of premixed paints you can buy this at any place that sells the Duplicolor touch up paints comes in Pt,Qt,and gallons. http://duplicolor.com/products/psFinishSystem/ spend some time reading here.READ AND PAY ATTENTION to the product label WEAR A CORRECT RESPIRATOR all the while you are working with paints with hardeners CYANIDE is one of the main ingredients!Most respirator cartridges for use with Hardeners are good for only a few hours once the package is open. This doesn't mean rebag the Filters if you only used them an hour! Once the seal is broken on the filter pack consider them junk after the time stated on the package weather you painted 1 hour or all day!Most of this information comes from 8 years on the job and dealing directly with Sherwin Williams Tech Personnel and their painting school.Now I hope I didn't bore you all to death or come off as some jerk that s not my intent but I had a relative almost die from his old world attitude about" liking the smell of paint" and not using proper protection with his first Imron paint job he left his body shop in an ambulance in a coma! Painting is safe when proper procedures are followed but it only takes a little carelessness to cause great and irrepairable damage to yourself and others.

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Well said about the dangers of painting, Leon. Exposure to the
chemical vapors are cumulative and the results of exposure may
not show up for many years. I too have heard and read stories
of health problems developing and they're not pretty.

You can't be too careful where your health is concerned.

[utk03analyst]

I agree that trying to save the paint from curing caused a lot of problems. Mainly the bad orange peel. I'm wet sanding a test panel on the back. It took 1,000 grit to get the peel out, probably would have went quicker with 800. I still have to hit it with 1,500 and 2,000 and then cut and buff it. If the shine comes back all is well.

If not I'l figure something else out. Either way I had fun, I learned a lot, I used the necessary safety equipment and took precautions, and for less than $60 bucks, I would do it again.

[leon renaud]

Originally Posted by utk03analyst

I agree that trying to save the paint from curing caused a lot of problems. Mainly the bad orange peel. I'm wet sanding a test panel on the back. It took 1,000 grit to get the peel out, probably would have went quicker with 800. I still have to hit it with 1,500 and 2,000 and then cut and buff it. If the shine comes back all is well.

If not I'l figure something else out. Either way I had fun, I learned a lot, I used the necessary safety equipment and took precautions, and for less than $60 bucks, I would do it again.

That's the key right there!"I would do it again"And your next job will be nicer and the one after that even better yet!Every great painter started out with "the many mistakes I made"but we are much luckier because we got this machine that puts thousands of years of experience at our finger tips! Now if I can just learn good sanding techniques for those elbow deep shine results!

[deadbodyman]

We can tell you what to use and how to do it BUT....what you can learn in an old fashioned one on one session is still the best way.
All the great ones still think the next job can be a little better than the last, even though everyone else thinks its perfect.