Hi. I recently acquired a '78 Monte Carlo in excellent mechanical condition and only 59,000 miles. Only thing it needed was paint.
Before I go any further, I'd just like to explain that I don't have a lot of spare money to spend on expensive options. I'm in college right now and I do just about everything on a budget. Now, that said, on to the issue at hand.
First, I had never painted a car before, so I did some reading and studying on the subject. After consideration of my budget and what I felt I could do, I decided to paint the car with white non-metallic, single stage acrylic enamel over an epoxy sealer. I do know I mixed the paint, reducer and hardener in the correct proportions according to instructions. I'm majoring in chemistry so I'm used to being specific in measuring out such things.
I used a general purpose siphon feed sprayer made by Powerbuilt that I bought at Checker Auto. The guys at Carquest, where I bought my supplies took it apart and examined it and said it should work fine.
Anyway, I used a friend's garage and compressor to do the spray. However, when I was adjusting the gun, I could never get the kind of pattern I've read that I should try to get. Most people said it should be a pattern that's about 8-10" tall from a foot away. I could never get a pattern more than about 6" tall. I tried the full range of the fluid flow control, I tried pressures from 25 -55 psi. I tried the full range of the pattern adjustment. I tried drilling an extra vent hole near the top edge of the cup, I still couldn't get the pattern any bigger, only wetter or dryer.
Anyway, on to the painting. I did the first coat kind of thin. Same with the second coat. At that point all traces of the underlying primer were pretty much covered except for a few scattered areas. I tried to make the third coat a bit heavier and it covered fairly well, and the dusty like appearance was beginning to fill in better. The fourth coat was much like the third and after that I was still left with a moderate orange peel, but I was getting closer. I figured a couple more coats should do it. At this point, my flow knob was all the way out and so I tried lowering the pressure to about 28 psi to try to make it go on wetter, if slower.
I got about 3/4 the way through my fifth coat when it happened. I lost pressure and at that point realized that the compressor hadn't kicked in for a while. It was DEAD. No breakers were tripped. It was just dead. The fifth coat was going on nicely and the orange peel was really starting to flatten out in some areas. But with no compressor I was finished. I had no choice.
So what do I do? I have orange peel ranging from mild to what I would call a little worse than moderate on the quarter panels. I also have a couple of minor cissing spots that need addressed with touch up paint and a total of 4 one to two inch runs. I still have a half gallon of the paint. Can I get that put into spray cans and give it another coat that way or should I just live with it for a month and wet sand it smooth then polish? Is it too late for another coat (I sprayed it Saturday night)? Do I even need another coat? I'm leaning toward waiting and then hitting it with some 2000 grit, but I need some advice.
It should be noted that I don't intend to win any awards with this car. I drive it constantly, so I just want it to look good going down the road and in Wal-Mart's parking lot and the orange peel doesn't have to look perfect but I'd at least like to get it something close to a typical factory finish.
Thanks for you time.