Hey 518, we’re looking for a reputable paint/body work shop that would be interested in partnering with the Formula SAE team, by painting our 2011 car’s chassis. We’re looking for a professional level job with durable paint. The plan is to paint the chassis black and the a-arms red. In the past we’ve simply rattle canned the chassis and arms, but we’re trying to move away from that if possible.
In exchange we will apply the shop’s name to the car, our pit shirts, and a link to your website.
If anyone has suggestions for a solid local paint shop please let me know.
Thanks,
Michael
For those that don’t know about Formula SAE, it is the largest intercollegiate design competition in the world. Students build a 600cc open wheel race car and compete in competitions all over the world. Read more here: http://students.sae.org/competitions/formulaseries/about.htm
If it can wait until spring time, when my garage gets built, I would love to work something out with you. How many cars are you talking? I assume they are stripped bare prior to paint. Are they new chassis or blast off old paint and start over deals? How about the tin work, would they need some color too? We could talk paint for hours, there are many strong paints out there that would fit the bill.
Youre not going to get a GOOD gun for $50, let alone all the other things youre going to need in order to do good work. Shit, I paid $575 for my Satajet clear coat gun, and $350 for the Devilbiss basecoat gun back in the day. Thats not factoring in a compressor capable of spraying continuously, the air lines, etc etc.
The thing is, youre cleaning and fixing the $50 gun more than youre spraying the thing lol. Yes, its going to come out better than a rattle can, but they said they want a professional level paint job, and youre really not gonna get that with a cheapie gun, it wont lay out metallics nice, etc etc.
Dont knock the cheap guns! lol I rocked out with a, get this, Kobalt, yes Lowes for the win, HVLP gun for like $75. My good gun needed some work (seal went bad and I nicked the needle accidently when it was torn down for cleaning) and I was in a pinch and didnt have time to order parts and wait, so I figured why not lets see how it works. Figured if it was shit, I could use it for primers!
I shot OhNoPOpo’s bike stuff with that, gun as a matter of fact. Blue pearl metalic base and the clear and you can see how that came out! Its a paint gun, simple design and just need to know how to tune it for each paint. I dont let paint sit in my guns for more than an hour or so, they get cleaned with laqure thinner until it pisses out crystal clear, then I leave it inside the gun and cup. it never drys out or evaps away, guns allways wet and doesnt dry up inside, stays cleaner longer.
for tubing like that chassis a cheap gun would work fine. High dollar guns for panel painting shoot MUCH wider with much more equal coverage. IE shit gun will paint a 4" fan and have shitty edges, where a “real” autobody gun can go almost 3 times that with perfect edge fade for overlaps and wider coverage.
but 99% of painting is all up to the painters skill and knowledge, not the gun.
coles in colonie top notch paint shop! i would never go anywhere else for any kind of body work or paint work john cole is a great guy to deal with always has time to talk to you even tho hes always busy! great business and reputation
