Books / Courses on Bodywork

Hey Doki,

There some on the haynes.co.uk site.

And

Aha. Do you know if they're any good? I'm not so fond of the modern ones - much thinner than the old ones and printed on nasty paper.

For books,

LeedsCollege of Technology do all sorts of restoration courses, not too farfrom Sheffield, though I can't get their site up atm. It's if you have any more luck. Once you've got the compressor look out for a decent spraygun, as I guess that's what you're intending to do, and read this site first:

To be honest I'm not sure how good they are came across them whilst checking the site out a while ago and though it was worth mentioning.Could be worth trying to find a book review on them if there's one.

"car bodywork" on

chucks up some interesting looking books with reviews.

Sorry I cant recommend anything, hope theres some good'uns there for you.

:-)

This Tommy Sandham's site certainly has a lot of useful tips.

I have Lindsay Porter's "The Car Body Work Repair Manual", 2nd edition. This book has had reprints so many times since it's first publication that, I think, that in itself speaks volumes. Whether it is helpful to an individual really pivots on how much the reader already knows. It is certainly a purveyor of a colossal amount of information.

me I find the section on Painting (Chapter 4) particularly helpful, notleast because of its splendid exposition on the causes of various paintdefects (in colour too). It centres on the correct techniques of usingspray air guns.

Any particular books you'd recommend?

I've got a spare copy of Haynes 'Car Bodywork Repair Manual 3rd Edition' still in its wrapping - was a present. A tenner including postage?

FWIW, it's not as good as some of the other generic Haynes manuals - the car electrics one is a cracker.

Frost have a big selection of such books, IIRC.

That's the Haynes one. Trouble is that a good high pressure spray set is very expensive. Fine if you already have a suitable compressor for other things. HVLP (Apollo, etc) is much better value and also portable, but not really covered in the Haynes book.

I've seen that sort of kit (turbines) on tool hire websites, but they always give the impression that it's for house painting, truck chassis etc. - didn't realise it could be used for car paintwork. I suppose bodyshops will tend to carry on using cimpressors to run air chisels etc. I'm lucky enough to have been given an Ingersoll Rand type 30 with a 5 hp motor, which going by the specs of current type 30s should run a HVLP gun pretty happily.

Sounds alright. My email works.

I can't go and have a look through them though, so buying from them could be a bit hit and miss. Winds me up that Haynes are cellophane wrapped too - current ones seem much poorer than old ones.

For a good explanation of paint defects the Max Meyer website is excellent -

Worth trying your local public library? They're often a forgotten resource in this internet age.

I've never much like their car manuals - preferring to pay the extra for a maker's one. But of course these aren't produced these days.

I've got one and have had good results with cellulose. The complete set is only just over 200 quid for a continuously rated one, so about 1/4 of the price of a decent high pressure type. And it's easily portable which matters to me - no garage. ;-)

You'll need a hefty mains supply for that. ;-)

Got 3 phase in the shed. Shame it's bloody massive and full of dust from compost and the like. I think I'll have to look into the viability of making a little spray booth up.

Lindsay Porter favours this model and his spraying demonstrations have been accomplished using just this in his book: DeVilbiss JGA suction feed manual spray (Don't know how much though!)

operates with an air flow rate of 9.7-11.7 cubic feet per minute (CFM)at 50 to 130 psi. A compressor of 5 hp can certainly cope, remembering that1 hp normally can produce 4-5 CFM. It is really a professional industrialmodel (semi-pro and home DIY ones are under 3). Note that he advocatessuction feed, not pressure feed ones. Also, bleeder type, according to him,does not perform that well. The Apollo sprayer (among others mentioned inthe book) is a bleeder type of design. The explanation is all in the book. Some interesting websites I have came across: Auto Body Repair Technician Supply Setup and Choosing the Proper Spray Gun For those who are contemplating entering the world of air tools, there is good news: Netto has a special offer of a 2 hp 8 Bar (120 psi) 24L electric air compressor for £49.99 staring on Monday, 6th February. (It's not on this yetbut in their flyers; look out this offer on this site if you are interested.Eh....by the way, I couldn't find the decibel figure anywhere!)

Yes, it's an excellent site. Thanks, Chris.

Damn..."have come across", not "have came across". Once you edit something, the other bits are forgotten...

Air tank size is perhaps more important than power here, bearing in mind that you would be spraying at around 50-60psi with the JGA; I've sprayed with a 35litre Tiger and although it's possible, the motor runs constantly to keep up. OTOH I now have a 200 litre Sealey 3HP which is ideal for home use. Big bugger though! But at least it can handle pretty well any air tool I connect to it.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Doki" saying something like:

They're amazingly versatile and controllable and once you've got used to using a HVLP rig, you won't want any other type.