Nobody warned me

crvc · Post by **crvc** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 4:53 pm

Well, maybe someone did but I don't recall. I wore the type of face mask that welders wear to keep metal out of their faces. And used a respirator mask. And wore shorts and a t-shirt. I remember someone saying the paint gets everywhere. I coated the underside of the front and rear hoods for practice. Then one fender and the three small items, two rear tailight pedestals and the thing that sticks out above the rear license plate mount. At the point I thought I was going blind but it was paint mist coating my glasses. The fender looks bad but the three small pieces look good.

When I quit to take a shower I needed a sandpaper sponge to get the paint off my arms and legs. And needed paint thinner to get the paint off my glasses.

So now I know, get goggles to cover my glasses, wear long sleeves and pants that I can toss out when done. I will probably have to paint with the garage doors open. I didn't have enough light with them closed. So I don't know what kind of job I did.

Painting with a real gun is a lot different than painting with rattle cans.

kevin

Post by **doc** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 6:06 pm

Live and learn. The paint goes everywhere!

Get some lighting set up, so you can see well. Otherwise, you'll be flying blind. Almost guarantees missed spots.

Wear full clothes - ones made out of "hard" materials that don't shed anything or it will wind up in the paint. The paint stores sell the jumpsuits pretty cheap.

Clear is the worst for sticking to stuff and having stuff stick to it. It may be better to paint in the closed garage to avoid the bugs and crud that will be present if you leave the door open. Once the coat has hardened (30 minutes or so), you can open the door. Wear a ppaint respirator, no ifs, ands or buts.

No one said this was going to be easy......

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:15 am

Doc.. since you're our resident safety specialist...

What is the marking you need on a respirator to do paint... assume the stuff is banned in California and the subject of Lab Rat Horror movies.

helowrench · Post by **helowrench** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:39 am

I use a tyvek coverall, since it will not shed fibers, and it keeps the paint off me very well. I also use nitrile gloves to keep it off my hands, and use masking tape to seal the sleeves of the coveralls to the gloves.

Rob

crvc · Post by **crvc** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:52 am

I assume this is what they mean by orange peel? The small parts have a perfect glossy shine. The larger items have the lumpy look. How did this happen? What do I need to do to get rid of it?

I bought a cheap spray gun. It came with two size nozzles. I used the smaller one since it was already on the gun. The nozzle sprayed a vertical band about 4 inches tall. I assume the larger nozzle would give a larger band? Perhaps a better choice for the larger parts and body?

For the small parts I kept the gun 4 or 5 inches from the metal. For the larger parts I kept it more like 12 inches.

kevin

crvc · Post by **crvc** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:54 am

The color is the same in good light. Don't know why the camera caused the faded color on closer pieces. But you can see glossy color on the small pieces and some orange peel on the larger part behind.

Post by **doc** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:08 am

Respirators (1/2 mask w/cartridges) are marked expressly for paint. I've forgotten, but I think they are for organic vapors. But look for one marked expressly for paint. They are sold wherever you bought your paint. The cartridges are good until you can smell or taste the paint while wearing the mask.

crvc - pretty good case of orange peel. If this is base coat/clearcoat, you can sand it flat with 1500/2000 grit sandpaper on a paint stick and then buff and polish to a shine.

It looks like your paint was applied a little "dry" - too much air or not enough paint, adjustable on your gun, or the clear didn't flow out well. When you spray the clear on, it should flow out into a relatively smooth surface. Variables are mix of clear and catalyst (follow label preciely), mix of air and paint through the gun (a fine line between "just wet" when you spray, but not so much you get runs), distance of gun from workpiece (6"-10") and temp and humidity conditions. You might try adding a littler reducer (5%-10%) to your paint to get it to flow a little better. Put paint on in several layers, building up for coverage.

In any case, your paint needs to be sanded back to smooth before proceeding. Be super careful not to sand through the clearcoat.

doc

crvc · Post by **crvc** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 8:41 am

I could see the paint flowing smoothly on the small parts. In fact I was worried about runs. Then I started on the larger part. Like I said, the gun was maybe a foot away from that part. Plus by then I was having trouble seeing what I was painting. I'll play with the air knob before the next attempt to paint. When I was painting it was around 70 degrees and maybe 10% humidity; I live in the desert at 7000ft altitude.

Thanks for the note,

kevin

Post by **doc** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:42 am

Your conditions are excellent. Hold gun closer than 12". Air pressure should be about 35psi at the gun with the trigger pulled. Turn up the paint a little. Go for lighter coats. Just steady swipes all the across the panel.

If you don't sand the orange peel off, you won't be able to get rid of it by applying more paint.

Keep going!!

doc

crvc · Post by **crvc** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:47 am

yeah, I was afraid of that. At this stage the one gallon I bought may not be enough. I used 250ml yesterday.

kevin

Post by **doc** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:49 pm

If all is painted already, you won't need much more paint. If you don't cut all the way through the clear, you won't need any more paint.

Sand with really fine sandpaper (2000 grit) wet. You'll rub a long time to wear away much. But remember, you sand through with a single stroke. Then you're back to paint. Careful. This part and buffing are tedious. Stay away from the edges. Put tape over the edges even. Just worry about the big, obvious areas. Do a smaller piece first to see how it goes. You can always repaint a small piece. Now that you have all the bodywork done, it's just scuff and repaint.

doc

crvc · Post by **crvc** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 10:04 am

I sanded the engine lid and the one fender that had orange peel. Man that paint is difficult to sand smooth, much more work than the sandable primer was.

To recap, I'm using Napa Martin Senour paint with Hardener and Reducer mixed in at the recommended ratios. Nothing else. So I went from orange peel to runs by spraying too thickly. And ended up with a couple spots with significant paint runs. I resisted trying to wipe them away while fresh. I assume it will be a case of sanding then spraying over the spots? Anything else to try?

TIA,

kevin

Post by **doc** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:24 am

Sorry, I have been thinking base/clearcoat all along and you are using single stage paint.

No choice now but to sand and repaint. Keep those paint coats light.

doc

hpw · Post by **hpw** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 5:00 pm

On those runs you may not have to repaint. I saw a technique on "Trucks"

w/Kevin Tetz where he took a single edged razor blade and "scraped" the

runs away. The blade was held at a right angle to the surface and drug over

the run to almost level with the outlying area. Maybe try that on an

inconspicuous area. Hopefully that will help.

crvc · Post by **crvc** » Sun Jul 12, 2009 5:36 pm

I wondered if I could lift the drips off with a straight razor. Thanks for the suggestion.

kevin

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Nobody warned me

Nobody warned me

First orange peel now runs