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I'm actually going to move on up from spray bombing things... Well, most things, anyhow.

So having never really done anything with an air sprayer before, I was going to test some things out on the beater. I do need to do some more research, but sounds like there are a few kinds of nozzles, and cleaning chemicals I'll need. Any help with a site to reference for setup and the like would be helpful.

The other thing I'm looking for, is a general idea of how far the paint will go if I buy it in ready to spray, and how does it compare to mixing my own (and where to get supplies).


Once I get the hang of the air sprayer I'll be painting a '00 SE front bumper cover, but I'll need to get paint ordered and didn't know how much I'd need to get. Does the additive that makes it flexible for use on bumper covers make it not go as far? Depending on how much leftover there is, the licence plate filler and the mirror housings need to also be done.

Haven't been on here in a while, but Ed send me the link to this thread on Facebook & figured i could lend a couple words of advice.

Cleanliness and prep work are both keys to a lasting, glossy, clean paint job.

I'll give you a couple variables when it comes to prepping and cleaning.

When it comes to cleaning panels for paint... Alwas use some sort of Wax & Grease remover, (I use PPG DX320, works great dries in a imely matter) to remove any tire shine, waxes, grease, even oils from your hands touching the panel. Also, not sure how you're prepping your panels for finishing, but when it comes to new bumpers, I always use a red scuff pad (3M scotch brite) to prep the bumper for paint..


Also a difference in primed and un- primed bumpers.. Best way to tell if the (NEW) bumper is primed or un primed, hit a small spot down low with a scuff pad. If the scuff pad turns black, you have a primed bumper, Scuff way If there's no color whatsoever, then you have a raw plastic bumper. Scuff with a RED scuff pad VERY LIGHTLY, or even go to a GREY scuff pad to stay safe & not scratch the bumper up too bad.


Prepping other panels... Primed areas, all your block sanding or primer sanding on the repaired area should be done with 320 grit.. as far as sanding out the rest of the panel for blending and clearcoat, I use 600 grit on a DA to sand the rest of the panel being finished. I'll even buzz over the primed areas lightly where repairs have been done with the 600 grit paper just to sand out any possible sand scratches that sealer won't cover up. You can use anything between 600 and 1000 to finish sanding the rest of the panel for clear/blend. Kindof just a personal preference thing.
After sanding out the rest of the panel with 600, blow the panel off, and go back over with a RED scuff pad, just to make sure you get all of your edges & body lines that you couldn't sand adequately with your DA.
(Some people don't even use 600 grit on a DA, some just go as far as scuffing the whole panel out with a red scuff pad. I, which is also acceptable. I particularly don't like doing that, because you're not flattening out any previous orange peel when scuffing as you would with an air sander.)

Now giving a guess at how much paint will go how far, all depends on the color, what color sealer you use, what type of product your spraying, etc...

Usually you can get away with a pint of color un-reduced to paint a whole bumper cover complete. When i say un-reduced, most basecoats out there are a 2:1 or some even 1:1 mixing ratio. 2 parts color, 1 part reducer, etc etc.


Flex additive does exactly what it's named. Allows for flexing of the panel (mostly any plastic panels) without cracking the product on the bumper. Doesn't effect the paint in any way, just simply allows flexing.


Also with spraying, dry air is a MUST! Sounds like you will be doing mostly DIY, a small filter right at the bottom of the gun will do just fine to help trap any excess water traveling up stream.

Sorry if i am hit and miss... Back's blown out currently & am on couch arrest for the day, hopefully getting back to it tomorrrow. Couple sites for you,


www.Autobodytoolmart.com
www.eastwood.com
www.autobodydepot.com

Also, PeterG dabbles in painting occasionally too, LOL.

Spraying the beater will mostly be to learn how the gun sprays, so the only prep it's getting is sanding the flaking clear off the hood, which is basically all gone at this point already.

The bumper cover I'm working on is galaxy silver, going to dark bronzemist metallic. Plan was to sand it and spray over the existing paint. There is one spot that has a small crack. I'm planning to plastic weld it from the back side, using a piece of metal screen to help give it strength, then use something like the SEM problem plastic on both sides as needed.

My plan for the sprayer was to put a regulator and filter right at the recoil hose for the sprayer. That way I can run my normal air line into that (it does already have a filter and regulator at the compressor, regulator set for 100psi).


One thing I'm working out how to do is maintain temperature/humidity levels. I think I'm going to setup a temporary paint booth in my pole barn, something easy to put up and take down. But it's really humid out here so I'll have to run a window A/C unit in it.

I still wouldn't hesitate to add one of them little desiccant filters right at your gun just to help minimize the water just that much more. They're like ~$10.

Plastic welding with the metal mesh is excellent. Problem plastic to reinforce it is also about the best way to go. Sounds as if i shouldn't have even opened my mouth so far LOL

Temp and humidity also can relate to the different types of reducers used for your color, hardeners/activators for you clears and sealers, etc. Like today in our 'booth' it was ~85* with around 50% humidity. I ran with the Medium reducer and normal speed hardener and had plenty of time between coats.

Make sure you have a piece of board, or cardboard or paper to shoot your initial settings at so you can get the pattern you want before you start shooting paint. This will accomplish a few things...it will determine if you have the right spray pattern, but also show if you are too thin or to thick with solvent.

I'm very interested in watching this thread because I need to do pretty much the exact same thing ( same color ) to my Black SSEi bumper. I talked with a local body guy that wanted 500 to shoot the cover...yikes. I'd love to know where you get your paint from as well...didn't look like it was a cheap color to spray and the body guy said that color was difficult to match. I think your primer color is going to be very important to matching the existing cars color correctly...

I shot my boat with enamel and a $20 HLVP gun. Took a gallon and a half to paint a 17' boat. Took a bit of practice to get the feel for how the paint laid down. What worked best for me was to lay down a light coat of paint and then follow up with a full coat right after I sprayed the light coat. It helped the paint lay down better with less orange peel effect than the previous attempts I had made at it.





This was the first time I'd ever shot with an air powered gun. I watched a lot of Youtube video and asked a lot of questions before I attempted it. This is John Deere Blitz Black Enamel reduced 10% with Xylol and Rustoleum Gloss Black marine reduced at about the same rate. I shot everything outside under the big blue tarp early in the morning to keep the temps down and use the morning dew to keep the dust down. I shot it with a 6hp 30 gal craftsman compressor using disposable water traps on the end of the gun with a 25' new hose to avoid any contaminants from the old hose I was using ( which consequently disintegrated shortly after I got the boat painted due to age ).

So I had some fun yesterday. Got a booth setup and sprayed some color. Learned a few things along the way. Going to spray the clear later today after I verify there are no issues with the color coat.

One thing I've noticed is that even with a booth it's still kinda linty in here. I'll have to wipe it down with a tack cloth before I try to spray the clear. Going to try misting some water in the booth as well.

I've decided that I like this method of painting a lot. So, we'll see what happens, but I'll likely add a permanent paint booth to my list of things I want to do.

Pics or it didn't happen! :D How did it go shooting the paint? Any problems shooting the metallic paint?

Might want to check the time recommended between base and clear. Color one day and clear the next might not be good without sanding or respraying the color.

I was thinking the same thing. I had to wet sand in between all of my coats on the boat. Honestly, I don't think it would be all that bad of an idea anyway, how many times have you seen peeling clear coat? Likely due to the base coat flashing off too much before the clear is applied. While you are at it, scuff off those front headlights real good and give them the clear coating as well.