@focusinprogress can you give details on your painting expierence with you compressor?
thx
I’ve shot almost everything I’ve done from a 1.5hp 28gal harbor freight compressor or my dad’s craftsman oil-free 30gal. Neither has given me issues.
I bought a used 80gallon Campbell hausfeld air compressor. It doesn’t have the right electric motor though, the guy said the 7.5hp motor went and they put a 3.5hp in its place, so hopefully it will still workout. Otherwise I might need to get at least a 5hp motor for it.
Well, I shot primer/sealer this weekend. Everything worked flawlessly; the DeKups system fucking rocked, nothing like being able to spray from any angle (including upside down) for getting all the crazy spots.
Compressor kicked on about 3-4 mins into spraying and ran the rest of the time, but never missed a beat with the pressure at the gun (I kept an eye on the gauge for the first coat.).
Only thing that was an issue was cleaning the gun after… epoxy paint = fucking blows to clean.
So as a summary of what I used/equipment:
Kobalt 60 Gallon Compressor
1/2" copper shop lines
DeVilbiss QC3 Air Dryer
ColorCode Black 3/8" large bore air fittings
Goodyear 3/8" 25’ air line
DeVilbiss Finishline 4 HVLP Gun (With 24oz DeKups disposable/collapsing cup)
1.5mm tip
PPG DP90LF Primer/Sealer
Nice! how did it all come out? Did you prime, then block-sand flat, then seal? how did the sealer lay out with a 1.5mm tip? (that’s a tiny bit large for sealer)
Primer/Sealer is one product (The PPG DP90LF). I scuffed all the old paint in the bay with red scotch brite; all the wending/fab work I did was sanded with either 24 grit sanding disks, or flap-wheels on the grinder. No inbetween sanding or filler work for now. Have to throw it back together temporarily so I can move within the next 3 months; but needed to get it into something that would stop all my work from rusting. Next is mock-up work, wiring, relocating things, etc. Then filler work, then I can move onto primer/paint.
Before:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]32175[/ATTACH]
After:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]32174[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]32176[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]32177[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]32178[/ATTACH]
nice job!
Oh I can’t wait to so something with my car!!! Just running the electrical to the compressor and then air piping.
:tup: Nice job!
OT - Sorry Wahoo I missed all your follow on questions. I was away for a while. I recommend dealing with Al-Wil for all your supplies locally if you can find what you need online.
Thanks, I need to figure out how I’m going to sand the car for the initial primer/sealer. I need to get the clear off and I have no tools or even sanding blocks yet.
Red Scotchbright pads, CP da sander, and some sanding blocks. That’s my plan the next time I blow it all apart.
Each job is different. There is no easy answer other than to be prepared to make mistakes. Mistakes can be anything from wrong color, runs/drips, orange peel, shrink lines, etc… Practice, practice, practice. If you care THAT much about what you are working on. Take a week and spray some junk. I’m going to be honest and tell you that if you rush this you WILL fuck it up.
If you have good adhesion to the base material you really only need to break through the oxidized layer. There is no need to go down to bare metal unless you need to either repair that area or you have bad adhesion. If the paint is scratched, gouged, dull, or even stained you really only need to smooth out the surface and get into either the base color or primer to get a good bond.
If the clear and paint is blistering, chipped, or worn away then you need to blend in the surrounding areas until you have a nice smooth transition.
For example; if you have a blister in the middle of the hood, there is no need to strip the entire hood to repaint it. If the blister is 3 inches in diameter you should go at least 6 inches or until you can no longer feel a “ledge” The larger the surface you blend the smoother it will feel. But, if you get to close to the edge you will see build up in the surrounding areas after you re-spray. It really is a balancing act. The trick is to use your eyes and hands. If it looks and feels good all scuffed to shit…It will be flawless when you are done.
If you want to take the whole car down to bare metal be aware you’re making yourself more work if it is anything but a frame off restoration…in that case have the car blasted. You’ll never get the surface, edges, and gaps to meet correctly by hand.
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Red Scotchbright Pads - Used for minor scuffing on a surface you are RESPRAYING
DA Sander - Removing Clear and Paint down to bare metal.
Sanding Blocks - Knocking down high spots on filler and primer.
Wahoo, that is how I would begin to gauge how to use those.
I don’t want to take it down to bare metal, but there might be a few places I need to use filler, I don’t know if that will require down to bare metal.
i believe the cars original paint is what I am looking at… Very faded and peeling clear, the guy I bought it from was planning to do the car a fender at a time and started on the frot left fender, so I know I need to at least scuff his primer he sprayed. What grits do you think I will need?
do I basically scuff the entire car and spray a sealer? Then 2 coats of high build primer and start blocking?
This is always a bad idea…not that it wouldn’t work. But, it really wouldn’t look right. Unless he planned on blending every new panel into existing. It is better to spray the whole car.
For the peeling clear I would start around 80/100 to knock off any delaminating areas. Let the grit do it’s job. Don’t grind marks into the paint. Once the high edges start to break away switch to 400 and hand sand all the LARGE surfaces. Stay about an inch away from all the edges. You can come back to them. Work around the panel in a linear pattern. NEVER swirl your sand paper. Work 50% vertical and 50% horizontal. I typically alternate; pass down the panel in one direction, turn 90° then work in the same direction. The sand paper should eventually glide without much effort; about 4 passes. Between each pass feel the panel for ‘gritty’ areas. These are oxides that are still on the finish. You may need to focus or rub a little longer on some areas. Try to avoid creating a low spot. We are only talking half the thickness of a sheet of paper.
Once the panel feels nice and smooth go back and get the edges. I would start with a scuff pad (Scotch brite works well). Again, be very careful not to dig into the finish. You only want to remove and peel or oxides. It should feel smoother with the pad and to the touch. Also, use your eye to help keep a good panel gap. TYPICALLY 3/16" is best. But, Kia’s love the Zero-1/4" gap and a lot of GMs have the “U” shaped gaps. Take a moment to notice how the panels fit prior to sanding. If they look crooked now may be a good time to loosen them up and tweak them a bit. It’s good to find something to measure the gap…(I use my thumb, perpendicular to the surface, and run my nail in the groove like I am filling it with something, it’s just what I picked up over the years. Use what you are comfortable with.)…and keep that gap consistent along the panel edge and Driver versus Passenger sides.
So, you have 80/100 and 400 from the first step. Even some scuff pads. And a nice smooth car. The first thing I would do is go over any low spots with filler. Now, you are going to have to guess how deep the low spot is if you can figure out a way to measure it accurately.
If you can feel the low spot but can’t see it from an angle then use a finer grade and skim coat it. Let it sand and then knock it back with 400.
If you can plainly see the low spot use a medium grade filler and a larger knife…don’t use a drywall knife. You really want a nice flexible squeegee. Ask the retailer where you bought your material what they have. After the medium grade is cured go over it again with 400 and knock it down. you may expose air pockets or create more low spots. If so, go over it again with finer grade, cure, and knock that down.
Your entire car should be smooth now. This will allow you to start with a good base. Spray your first coat of primer (I like 2K primer)…after it dries take your hand a run over the whole car. Look for anything. High spots, low spots, sanding lines, primer ‘build up’ grit, etc. Make a mental note and go back and fix.
High spots…knock down with 400 until even.
Low spots…tough; either skim coat or add a little more primer in that area then go back and knock it down.
Sanding lines…skim coat then knock down.
Primer Grit…knock it down with 400.
Any exposed areas (no primer or thinned primer) should be re-coated. You should not need to coat the WHOLE car again. If the primer is going on thin you can add a coat.
After the car is primed…go over the whole car with 400 and briefly “scuff” every square inch. This is just to verify everything is smooth and contoured correctly.
That should get you started… 
There is a sale at harbor freight right now, so i figured I would provide some links and see if people have any experience with some of these items. If you can reccommend other budget tools that would be very helpful too
6inch variable speed Dual action polisher http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-Varia … NyJ9%0D%0A
Purple HVLP spray gun - I’ve read this is a decent gun from harbor freight? Right now i have the Devilbiss Startingline Kit(2 guns) so would this be worth adding to what I have? http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-8-cf … MSJ9%0D%0A
6inch air palm sander w/ self vacuuming http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/ … 98895.html
I don’t even have sanding blocks yet, but I think I’m going to go with the 7 piece Dura Block kit.
I have an 80 Gallon Air compressor, and that it for the tools I need to paint my car, so any recommendations?
Thanks
The HVLP from HF I wouldn’t bother with, the 2 guns you have are of much better quality already.
The DA/Palm sander, really you only need one of them. Personally, I don’t like HF tools unless it’s something I’m using once or twice then tossing.
First I need to cleaner every part of the car, I was told dish soap will work?
sand with 100 or 80
apply filler to where it needs it, sand it and get it straight.
wash again
spray my primer.
sand with 400 til straight, if I go through the primer I can just apply a coat in those areas? What about aerosol primer in a can for these areas? Or you reccommend spraying with my gun in just that area?
Once everything is straight I can sand with 400 to scuff every inch.
spray my base and clear?
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Do I need an orbital or a buffer once I need to cut and polish my clear?
any recommendations?
who the hell told you to sand your car down with 100 or 80 grit? that’s OUTRAGEOUS. only use that heavy of a grit for serious dents so that body filler can stick. I would clean the whole car with dish soap, then block-sand it in 320 to find your high and low spots…filler and 180-220-320 grit on low spots, then wetsand the whole car in 400. Then primer surfacer, let that cure, then block again in 400 wet over a guide-coat to be sure you have it straight. then it’s ready to set up and do your paintjob…primer sealer, color, clear…all in one setup. You can’t seal the car and then just spray the color and clear another day, not without scuffing it all again with at least a scotch pad.
The 80 or 100 grit was recommended because my car has peeling old clear. What would you reccommend?
^ You need to just start doing it. You’ll pick it up.
No one.
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