Paint Shop Considerations

I've heard good things in some auto painting groups about Harbor Freight's "purple" HVLP conversion gun.

Filtration on the output side is a must, you will need to put a filter over the exhaust fan. You will also need to cover every single surface in the garage with plastic, floor, walls, ceiling, etc. If you plan to use the "good" paints, you also are likely to need a supplied air respirator if you want to survive the experience.

Absolutely critical if you want a good finish with a minimum of orange peel, runs, etc.

That compressor won't be large enough to provide a consistent uninterrupted supply.

Ambient humidity is one problem, humidity and oil in the compressor output air is a bigger one. You will need a good string of filters on the compressor output to eliminate any oil and one of the disposable desiccant filters at the gun at a minimum.

Advice: Lookup your local trade school that does auto body courses and see if they offer inexpensive paint jobs if you let the class do the painting. I've known schools that do this and someone who had a motorcycle painted by one and they did a good job on it.

I used a DeVilbiss-style can gun for $19 and got a good finish. I was using Urethane, what are you using for paint?

You don't really want a fan blowing IN, since you'll be spending a day nibbing dust off the paint. One or two fans blowing out should suffice. Filter the output by putting something like a furnace filter over the fan.

I buy the $7.99 fixtures at Home Depot and put 38W 'daylight' style bulbs in them.

Not enough, although the numbers are imppressive for one this small. Perhaps rent a larger one, or get another 25 gal tank and fill that one as well. Old trick: go from 1/2" hose to 3/8" hose. It works...

50% is good. Pay attention to the reducer. There are some that work OK in higher humidity. Temperature in even more important; make sure you get the right reducer for the temperature.

Again, what kind/type/brand paint are you planning to shoot? Some are more forgiving. An acrylic/urethane like LIMCO 1-2-3 is real easy. Base coat/clear coat like Diamont can be tricky, esp weather conditions.

Also, WHAT are you painting? An old truck? Limco 3 urethane. Somewhat forgiving, you can wet sand by hand w/1200 grit and get a GREAT finish.

1967 GTO? Get something better! ;)

Get an inexpensive paint gun, wear a top quality respirator.Practice on something first.Paint either inside of your garage, or outside.Nothing beats good old Sunlight.I always paint outside. cuhulin

I have some experience with wood refinishing, anytime I tried spraying outside I ended up with tons of debris and even insects stuck in the lacquer. Doesn't seem like a very good way to paint a vehicle....

It's an '89 Honda Civic, and the factory paint is base coat/clear coat.

A supplied air respirator is out of my price range.... most paint guys I know just use a charcoal filter mask.

Not generally recommended. Neither is painting with a brush or a roller (I've seen both...)

What are you using for paint? On this I would recommend Urethane. It's cheap and it'll look really good for about 5 years, longer if you wash and wax regularly. Costs about $65 a gallon; I think white and black are cheaper, and red is always more expensive. A gallon of Limco red is about $75, while Diamont (last time I =checked) was $250.

(copy and paste as one long line)

Damn! "Racing Yellow" is $129?!?! I paid $65 4 years ago!

Here are the other formulations:

This is a base paint that you add a mixing clear to in order to acheive the proper formulation.

I recommend these because they are inexpensive, off the rack colors that often come close to factory colors, and are really easy to apply. They are also very durable, resist scratching, can be sanded easily and look like a clear coat after a light wet sanding. I painted one car 'modified' racing yellow (I was working at a CarQuest and threw in some bright yellow and white pearl for a brighter color), painted it a week before Christmas and sanded it after a week of 75 degree temperatures (I

*REALLY* wanted to make sure it was cured...) and it glowed in the dark...

Now, if you're using House of Kolor... ;)

Believe it or not, I have actually seen a really beautiful job on an old MG done with a roller. I don't know how they managed it, but there was not a defect in the thing, and the surface was mirror-flat.

--scott

I saw a car that had been painted with a roller, too, and it looked pretty damn good.

It was painted Chrome Silver, and you could just about shave in it.

What do you use it for?

Wow. With Rustoleum...

But, I'm lazier than that.

Limco white, $50, hardener, $25, DeVilbiss style gun, $20. Compressor...good thing I already have one!

Painting is not a hard thing. What makes or breaks the job is initial surface prep. Do a good job and you can apply the paint just about any way. Of course the trick then is to smooth the new paint.

Roller or brush are viable ways BUT they will require MUCH more work to get a good finish. Basically you apply a coat of paint, then color sand it smooth, then repeat this until you have a good finish. Take a look at

for an example.

The 4.2 comes out of the closet mostly for field recordings of jazz stuff these days... the classical people mostly want digital although I still have a couple classical customers who want analogue. There is some out of date propaganda at

if you are curious. --scott

An old ''Trick'' is to mix a little bit of mineral oil into the paint.It is suppose to slow down the drying time of the paint for a smooth finish.I think that is mostly for regular enamel paint though.I have never tried it out before.

Back in the 1940s and 1950s, I used to see ads in Popular Mechanics and similar magazines about a mitt for painting cars.I guess the mitt was made of sort of a paint roller material, but you wear it like a glove. cuhulin

Billy Mays might sell it, but he's gone now. Sounds like a bad idea to me. Real bad.

--Vic

Those old hand operated insecticide sprayers, I have a couple of them.Some people have used them before to paint cars and other things. cuhulin

It all depends on the car. For an old firewood/farm truck, that is now somewhere between tractor and lawn furniture, hand painting can be a cheap and viable alternative. I have hand painted cars before, with rustoleum, no less- the goal wasn't beauty, but just to get them all the same color and slow down the rust. I probably would not do to a car worth over a few hundred bucks, though. And I would use a brush.

AHA! A bootlegger!!!

Actually, I think we had this conversation 3-4 years ago. Aren't you a sound man?