Hey guys,
While it's a while off I am wanting to get some information while I am thinking about it. Previously I was planning on using the Duplicolor paint shop paint to paint my car but I have heard it has poor lasting quality to it.
While the paint job will not be perfect I want it to look as nice as possible with i being my first paint job.
What kind of paint is good to use to paint my car? I am thinking of going with silver but not 100% sure as of yet. I know it won't be perfect but I want it to look decent.
Also my air compressor seems to have a problem with moisture even with the water remover so I plan on using an electric spray gun. Any info on that is also appreciated.
Thanks for all the info in advance... Hope I placed this in the right area.
Matt,
There are pros and cons to using the Duplicolor Paint Shop paints - the reason for their reduced durability is that they are lacquer paints. There is also a very limited color selection. The benefit would be that lacquer is VERY forgiving for the novice painter. You can safely wet sand, buff, or whatever you need to get the finish you want. My preference is ANY good brand (ask you paint supplier) acrylic enamel with a hardener. A drop or two of fish-eye eliminator will help prevent problems too. While not quite as forgiving, you'll end up with a much harder, more durable paint job which can be buffed to a high sheen. Also, the sky's the limit with color selection.
My advice would be to forget the silver and stay with a non-metallic paint for your first paint job. I guarantee your results will be better. If your paint does not go on evenly (and that's pretty much a given if it's your first time, unless you're a prodigy or something) a metallic paint will magnify that problem tenfold. White would be my recommendation for a first effort.
Finally, my advice would be to forget the electric spray gun idea. Spend whatever is necessary to eliminate your moisture problem... you won't be sorry.
Best of luck with Harold II.
Dwayne :smile:
Wow, thanks for all the information. I'll keep all that in mind. The car was rattlecanned in silver so what would I need to do to prevent poor results?
Is it just a matter of danding & priming the paint or should I do anything else to it?
Quote from: r4pinto on October 28, 2008, 12:44:35 PM
Is it just a matter of sanding & priming the paint or should I do anything else to it?
That depends on how good you want it to look. My car is not that bad and I still have to date about 25 hours spent on my hood, roof and front fenders and they're still not ready to paint. But I can assure you they're near razor straight. The quality in a paint job is mostly spent in the hours before the paint.
That's not a problem as I have been fixing the dings & dents along. I was mainly concerned about the new paint & primer sticking to the old paint. I know I need to make sure the whole body i clean of any grease & wax so I plan on washing the car with regular mild detergent to remove any contaminants before I start the body work. I do have a couple doors in the garage that I plan on prepping the crap out of before I even consider bolting them on the car. If I have to remove a body part to make sure it is free of any major defects then so be it.
The original paint is great to paint over and new paint sticks to it well. The spray can stuff and some other paints might "lift" when painting over at the edges where you feather edge so a good dry 1 or 2 coats of primer will usually take care of that. I personally would sand through the rattle can stuff and get down to the factory paint.
Thanks for all the great tips. That will give me lots to consider when I do repaint the car. It'll be a while (6-8 months) but atleast I know what I need to get when it comes time for me to get the supplies to paint it.
Hey Matt!
It's me again... you definitely do not want to risk painting over the "rattle-can" paint that's on the car now. If you don't already have them, invest in both a DA sander and a Jitterbug sander (pretty cheap at Harbor Freight). It's important to get down to at least the original finish, or better yet, bare metal. Then spray a couple coats of good primer. Be sure to wet sand the primer with 800-1000 grit paper before you apply the final finish. Spraying the primer will give you an opportunity to get the feel of your gun as well, and to make any necessary adjustments to your spray pattern. One of the key factors in getting a good paint job is to stay relaxed and loose - the trick is in the wrist action. Other than that, the best advice I can offer is prep, prep, prep!!!
Dwayne :smile:
What grit sand paper is good for sanding through the spray paint that is on the car currently? I'll probably sand down almost down to the metal since I've replaced some of the body parts.
80 or 120 on a good DA will cut pretty quick & use high build primer to fill in the scratches it will produce. I believe this is an opinion question and there may be many so try what works best for you.
That sounds good to me. At any rate it gives me a starting point when I finally start painting the car. Thanks
Thanks to both for your opinions & tips.
Matt,
Jim's right - it's sort of an opinion question. Personally, I would be hesitant to use anything quite as abrasive as 80. You're going to have some scratches no matter what you do, but I see no reason to make them any worse than they need to be. I stripped my '79 Continental Mark V with 120 over a weekend. That car has at least three times the surface area of your Pinto. High build primer is, indeed, helpful for filling in scratches caused by the sanding but if you use 80 grit, I would suggest going over it again with something in the 200-300 range before you prime. In the long run, it will save you time. YouRepair.com offers an excellent page on automotive sandpaper... check it out.
Dwayne :smile:
im using 80 to strip the paint completely off each part then going over that with 220 then 400 to smooth it out thats what works for me but i dont like having old paint under new paint =)