[r4in420]

Hello i am new to the whole spray gun and car painting scene but I'm in the process of restoring a car i acquired and would like to attempt to paint it myself. I have done a pretty good job of research on the subject but still am not sure on what to order. I would like the paint job to be a pretty good quality and if i can accomplish that i have many other jobs waiting for me so could make a little cash on side.

I have read a couple post threw out the web and came to the conclusion that the * Devilbiss GFG-670G "Plus" * is a good gun that i am highly considering. Although, will i be able to spray the whole car with it or will i have to buy a primer gun and other guns? Another question, Whats a nice cheaper air compressor you would suggest for this gun? Also i am still a bit sketchy on the process to paint it in as in the coats of paint. After i have all the body work done i should start with primer and then work my way up? I know a lot of these questions may seem very basic but if i am on the verge of spending $800-1000 bucks on equipment i would like to be certain i have everything i need to complete the job right and a overview of the process in which it should be correctly carried out in. That includes when i should sand , what grit to use etc. Also one last thing is i would like to do a white or black for the color i want to paint the car. I haven't looked into "mixing" the ingredients yet and was hoping some one could point me in the right direction. I posted on these forums because i wanted some advice from the pro's and figured this would be a good place to start. If you could help a beginner out it would be very much appreciated. I thank those of you who do help me for spending their time to post. Sorry for the length but i think the answers to a lot of these questions could help out other beginners in the future also. Have a nice day -Rain

 

[71haulnazz]

I am a newbie to paint as well, and I just finished spraying my whole chevelle. As far as guns there is no replacement for a good gun. Spend the money to have a good gun if you feel comfortable with your abilities. Last thing you want to do is buy a $300 gun to find out you hate painting and never want to do it again. But like all things practice makes perfect. As for a compressor get one rated for the gun you buy, they all need at least 60 Gallon tank(not sure on the rest of the specifics). You can run on a smaller tank you just have to make sure that your compressor makes enough air so that you don't have to stop painting mid way and wait. As for supplies, well set aside a few hundred dollars for unexpected things. Like masking paper, tape, supplies to make your paint booth(plastic, fans etc.) plus you will always have things you have to get that you didn't even know you had to. I would make a list of things and go from there. Restoring you car from top to bottom is awesome, but costly and the only thing you need more than money is time. Make sure you stick with one brand of paint and primer and clear. Don't mix brands, its just a bad idea. Some don't mix with others.
Short list of paint steps-
1.Strip your current paint down to a layer that is suitable for building on. If your paint is all cracked and messed up just strip it down to primer or bare metal.
2.Remove rust.
3.MAKE SURE YOU MIX ALL YOUR SUPPLIES TO THE MANUFACTURERS DIRECTIONS.Quick coat of primer. So you are not doing body work over bare metal. The idea there is that you sandwich the body work between coats, rather than leave the back side open to moisture etc.
3.Do your body work, body filler, bang your dents in/out.
4.Sand, then sand again, then when you think it is done sand two more times.
5. Use icing and fix any pinholes or blemishes(small) in your filler. Icing is just a topcoat not a filler!!!
6. Prime, then prime again. Before you even point your gun at your car make sure you practice on something. i hung up paper on my plastic that I hung for walls. You should be able to squeeze your trigger with out moving your gun and hold for just a brief second and it should look like a 7 or 8 inch cigar. Practicing is so important I cant stress is enough. Just getting your gun settings right is a task in it self.
7. Lay down a guide coat(just spray paint in the can, most paint stores carry them) MAKE SURE YOU USE A CONTRASTING COLOR TO YOUR PRIMER.
8. Sand your primer, I choose to wet sand it. I wet sanded because I didn't want the dust getting everywhere, plus you save alot of sandpaper because it does get all built up in the paper when you wet sand.
9.Refill and fix any blemishes that are in your body work. The purpose of you guide coat is to tell you where the high spots and low spots are in your body.
10. After all your body work looks good, by now you should be so sick of sanding that you get sick just by the thought of paper. EVERYTHING YOU DID UP TO NOW WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GOOD JOB AND A BAD ONE.
11. Prime one more time over you body work and guide coat(as well as the two coats you put on before). And SAND.
12. I didn't use sealer, because I painted a darker color than my primer, you may choose to seal your primer. All it does is that it gives you a nice wet surface to paint on.
13.Spray you base coat, then wait the flash time and spray again, and repeat if you want.
14. If you have any blemishes in you paint, DO NOT try to cover it up with more paint as this will make it worse, trust me I tried LOL. Just stop and sand it back don to primer and re paint.
15. If you have orange peel, which I am sure you will if it is your first time, maybe not in your base, but in one of the coats you will.
16. Make sure if your painting metallic don't sand the paint at all unless it has clearcoat on it.
17. Make sure you clear coat your car within the re-coat window. All your coats should go on looking how you want them to look, they really don't look much different when they are dry. Don't worry about getting a run in your clear coat. Laying that on too thick is better than too thin.
18. Let dry and step back and say,I am glad it is done. But all in all the hard stuff is done. But now if you did an ok job you wont have more then 10 hours of wet sanding to do on your clear coat. i spent almost 30 hours because I had bad peel in my clear.

Search this site there is so much info here. This is the best research you can do. You are better of practicing than anything.