I got a whole system on a deal about a year ago..............I just got my beetle back from Metwiz a few weeks ago. It has alot of old paint on it............the car appears to have been repainted a couple times. i need to sand it down to bare metal, or take it to a shop that can media blast it.
But to cut to the chase, will my HVLP paint job last?
Painting with HVLP
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Coils
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Re: Painting with HVLP
Vgonman wrote:
But to cut to the chase, will my HVLP paint job last?
Not to sure what your asking. But I think it depends on how well you can paint & the quality of the paint and primer used.-
blackace
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Sanding down to the baremetal is more time consuming then getting it media blasted but it is a matter of preference. If you wanna save money you can sand or blast it yourself.
Will your HVLP paint job last??? Well that depends on how well you prep the car and kinds of paint materials etc.. you use. BTW almost all paint guns all HVLP.
HLVP
High Volume Low Pressure.
IMHO DuPont and 3M makes some of the best chemicals and materials for prepping any car.
Will your HVLP paint job last??? Well that depends on how well you prep the car and kinds of paint materials etc.. you use. BTW almost all paint guns all HVLP.
HLVP
High Volume Low Pressure.
IMHO DuPont and 3M makes some of the best chemicals and materials for prepping any car.
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74sb83john
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- Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2003 12:01 am
I definetly agree with black ace. Good prep and materials is key. Also if you paint it yourself use an inline moisture filter for your air supply. This may not always be necesary but I screwed up a lot of hard work when it apparently was.
I rented a BIG sandblaster and air compressor, it will probably save you a couple pennys if you have a good area to do this yourself. If you do get a jump-suit, thick gloves, and some head protection, that sand bouncing back really hurts. It etched my glass lenses in my face mask.
I rented a BIG sandblaster and air compressor, it will probably save you a couple pennys if you have a good area to do this yourself. If you do get a jump-suit, thick gloves, and some head protection, that sand bouncing back really hurts. It etched my glass lenses in my face mask.
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Derrick from NC
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doc
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Your equipment should work fine. Preparation is everything. The paint job will only be as good as the prep. Every little flaw in the prep will be magnified in the paint, so you have to get things darn near perfect. Small scratches will not fill in.
You can sand to bare metal (tough work), abrasive blast (need to be careful about warping panels) or use a stripper to get most of the paint off. Auto parts stores sell "aircraft paint stripper" that works pretty well. If you have multiple layers of paint, it will take multiple coats of stripper to get it all off.
Once in bare metal, spray everything with a primer/etcher/sealer. Then spray with a high build primer and finish the prep work. This is the time consuming part. You will probably have to spray several coats of high build primer between sandings to get all the flaws out. Painting is about 90% sanding. Once you've got everything just so, it's time for paint, then clear coat. A good job will last many, many years.
I have had very good luck with Matrix brand paint. It's a little cheaper than the favored name brands.
doc
You can sand to bare metal (tough work), abrasive blast (need to be careful about warping panels) or use a stripper to get most of the paint off. Auto parts stores sell "aircraft paint stripper" that works pretty well. If you have multiple layers of paint, it will take multiple coats of stripper to get it all off.
Once in bare metal, spray everything with a primer/etcher/sealer. Then spray with a high build primer and finish the prep work. This is the time consuming part. You will probably have to spray several coats of high build primer between sandings to get all the flaws out. Painting is about 90% sanding. Once you've got everything just so, it's time for paint, then clear coat. A good job will last many, many years.
I have had very good luck with Matrix brand paint. It's a little cheaper than the favored name brands.
doc
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Derrick from NC
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The car is a Porsche speedster replica(fiberglass body). I am not planning to strip the current paint as it is very solid except for some spider webbing cracks in the paint on one fender & the body is perfect. I was thinking of machine sanding the entire car with 80 grit, then 120 grit, then hand sanding it with 200.
Then apply a sealer primer, wet sand with 400 & 600, clean surface & then paint.
Does this sound about right?
Color will either be red or white(wife's choice). Would you recommend a single stage or a base coat/clear coat? I plan to color sand and buff after the paint cures.
Then apply a sealer primer, wet sand with 400 & 600, clean surface & then paint.
Does this sound about right?
Color will either be red or white(wife's choice). Would you recommend a single stage or a base coat/clear coat? I plan to color sand and buff after the paint cures.
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doc
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Derrick from NC
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Doc.....at what point would you apply the sealer primer? After you sand with 220 then proceed with the 320?doc wrote:I start with 220 (unless things are really rough) and move to 320, then finish with 400 and 600. I final sand with 1000, 1500 and 2000.
I favor base coat/clear coat. It is a well developed technology that is hard to beat. Single stage paints have come a long way in recent times, though.
doc
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doc
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Primer/Etcher will go over bare metal. This seals the bare metal permanently. It's real thin and sprays on easily. A few runs and blobs are easily corrected. But get it everywhere, so everything is sealed. This is before body work or before final body work.
Once etched, get the heavy body work done. Re-etch bare metal places. Once the car is pretty good, spray several coats of high build primer (different from primer/etcher). It comes in dark red, grey, black and tan and you can ask your paint supplier to put a little color in some to closely match your final paint. Makes things easier later.
Once several coats of high build primer have been sprayed, spray on a "guide coat". Get a can of contrasting color spray can paint and just mist it everywhere. Like the car has the measles. Little spots everywhere. Now start sanding. Machine sanding is ok, if you have the tools, but I was taught to use a paint stick with sandpaper wrapped around it. By laying the paintstick flat and sanding in an "X" pattern (first 4pm to 10pm, then 8pm to 2 pm), it won't be long before the guide coat will only be left on the low spots and you will sand through to the primer/etcher or bare metal on the high spots. You'll see.
Knock the high spots down with a hammer and dolly. Knock up the low spots if they're deep or spray some high build primer to fill in. Sand, spray, guidecoat, sand, spray, guidecoat - until ther is no more guidecoat. Now we're talkin' straight. Feel the surface with your hands. You'll be able to feel highs and lows with a little practice. The pros can feel any variation.
Heavier sandpaper for rough work - 220 or 320. 400 for the bulk of the sanding and 600 to finish eveything off. Once your completely done, go back and find 10% more to sand and fix. Your whole paint job depends on the quality of this process.
Basecoat, if you've used a similar color primer will cover easily - probably justa couple of coats. Spray one direction, then the perpendicular direction to get good coverage. Lighter, thinner coats are better than heavy spray. Clearcoat on top will take 3/4/5 coats. On first coat, just mist it on, very light coverage. Let that flash off for 10 or 15 minutes. Then put the clear to it on subsequent coats. Runs and drips can probably be sanded out in the clear. After clear is dry for a day or two, you can start polishing and buffing.
Pick a basic solid color to start. You will have trouble with candies, heavy metallics, chameleons, etc. The pros got there with a lot of practice, but you can expect a pretty good job doing it your self if you will just go slow and completely overkill the prep work.
Keep us poted on what you are going to do. Good luck.
doc
Once etched, get the heavy body work done. Re-etch bare metal places. Once the car is pretty good, spray several coats of high build primer (different from primer/etcher). It comes in dark red, grey, black and tan and you can ask your paint supplier to put a little color in some to closely match your final paint. Makes things easier later.
Once several coats of high build primer have been sprayed, spray on a "guide coat". Get a can of contrasting color spray can paint and just mist it everywhere. Like the car has the measles. Little spots everywhere. Now start sanding. Machine sanding is ok, if you have the tools, but I was taught to use a paint stick with sandpaper wrapped around it. By laying the paintstick flat and sanding in an "X" pattern (first 4pm to 10pm, then 8pm to 2 pm), it won't be long before the guide coat will only be left on the low spots and you will sand through to the primer/etcher or bare metal on the high spots. You'll see.
Knock the high spots down with a hammer and dolly. Knock up the low spots if they're deep or spray some high build primer to fill in. Sand, spray, guidecoat, sand, spray, guidecoat - until ther is no more guidecoat. Now we're talkin' straight. Feel the surface with your hands. You'll be able to feel highs and lows with a little practice. The pros can feel any variation.
Heavier sandpaper for rough work - 220 or 320. 400 for the bulk of the sanding and 600 to finish eveything off. Once your completely done, go back and find 10% more to sand and fix. Your whole paint job depends on the quality of this process.
Basecoat, if you've used a similar color primer will cover easily - probably justa couple of coats. Spray one direction, then the perpendicular direction to get good coverage. Lighter, thinner coats are better than heavy spray. Clearcoat on top will take 3/4/5 coats. On first coat, just mist it on, very light coverage. Let that flash off for 10 or 15 minutes. Then put the clear to it on subsequent coats. Runs and drips can probably be sanded out in the clear. After clear is dry for a day or two, you can start polishing and buffing.
Pick a basic solid color to start. You will have trouble with candies, heavy metallics, chameleons, etc. The pros got there with a lot of practice, but you can expect a pretty good job doing it your self if you will just go slow and completely overkill the prep work.
Keep us poted on what you are going to do. Good luck.
doc
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MNAirHead
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Doc
Great points..
Couple of notes.
1-No machine sanding.. it can be done.. by asking it hints that this may be one of the first times.. it's quick and easy to blow through fiberglass
2-Spiderwebbing.. if you want to discuss.. let us know. Please remember that you can not just put more fiberglass over a blemish and have it work.. must be prepped.
3-Paint System... You almost need to go with a complete system. There are some Mfg additives to help flex and bond on plastics etc.
4-Equipment... (this is an opinion).. mid range equipment is good enough for most of us to use.. the important part is to test on something other than your car.. I've seen some incredible paint jobs with a $15 sprayer and contractor's tank.... much of it comes down to testing, tuning and learning your equipment.
5-55 Gallon Drum.. I had an old timer suggest to learn the equipment I'm using to paint the sides of a drum.. why? it's round.. vertical.. and then you have a short time to learn where you started and still are solvent flashing... plus who doesn't want a 55 gallon drum with flames on the sides?
Overall.. this may be a good time to stop at a Auto Paint Only store for material suggestionis etc. They'll have something called a "white paper" or "tech paper" that will outline all of the product system and will note prepping for plastics etc.. most paint systems differ.
Tim
Great points..
Couple of notes.
1-No machine sanding.. it can be done.. by asking it hints that this may be one of the first times.. it's quick and easy to blow through fiberglass
2-Spiderwebbing.. if you want to discuss.. let us know. Please remember that you can not just put more fiberglass over a blemish and have it work.. must be prepped.
3-Paint System... You almost need to go with a complete system. There are some Mfg additives to help flex and bond on plastics etc.
4-Equipment... (this is an opinion).. mid range equipment is good enough for most of us to use.. the important part is to test on something other than your car.. I've seen some incredible paint jobs with a $15 sprayer and contractor's tank.... much of it comes down to testing, tuning and learning your equipment.
5-55 Gallon Drum.. I had an old timer suggest to learn the equipment I'm using to paint the sides of a drum.. why? it's round.. vertical.. and then you have a short time to learn where you started and still are solvent flashing... plus who doesn't want a 55 gallon drum with flames on the sides?
Overall.. this may be a good time to stop at a Auto Paint Only store for material suggestionis etc. They'll have something called a "white paper" or "tech paper" that will outline all of the product system and will note prepping for plastics etc.. most paint systems differ.
Tim
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dstar
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