expert paint sprayers call out

[Old School]

Hey all,
When it comes to a spray gun give me good advice and why. Share techniques with me please. I do mostly small touch ups but I want to learn all I can. Thanks in advance to all dedicated and experienced members. Keep it real. God Bless you.

[Beemerboy]

Hey all,
When it comes to a spray gun give me good advice and why. Share techniques with me please. I do mostly small touch ups but I want to learn all I can. Thanks in advance to all dedicated and experienced members. Keep it real. God Bless you.

I don`t think there are many painters posting here....mainly this site is dedicated to car detailing and care..

[YNOT]

Well...I`ve done a little painting so maybe I can help you out.

I`ve got a DevilBiss gravity feed gun similar to this...



You can also get a suction feed (where the paint can is on the bottom) but most people prefer the gravity feeds these days. Obviously there are a variety of guns in a variety of price ranges. If you`re just getting started just buy yourself an average priced gun. No need to go crazy with an expensive one until you`ve gained some experience.

There are also different tips available which are used for different types of primers/sealers/paints/clears.

You asked about techniques...are you wanting techniques on spraying paint? If so I can try to give you a bit of help there as well, just let me know.

You may want to visit your local paint shop and see if they can give you some guidance as well. I`ve got a buddy who paints so he`s been my go-to-guy but he also now works at the paint shop where I buy all of my supplies, so he`s been a big help in guiding me along the way.

Another suggestion...look into your local area colleges for an `auto painting class`. That`s what I did. It was a one night a week, 14 week paint class. The class was really inexpensive and great...it was total hands on painting every week. By the time the class was done I was able to lay down `metallic` paint with no `tiger-striping` as they call it...no `lines` in my paint. There`s a lot of practice learning how to properly `overlap` the paint in order to spray metallics perfectly...unlike non-metallic paints where you can go crazy and not mess it up too bad.

Auto painting can be a lot of fun...but it`s also a `ton` of work which is why I only do it for my own parts and projects. I wanted to learn how to paint more so for me to have a better understanding and to help me with my side biz which is auto graphics/custom paint design. Also...I just wanted to learn so I could paint my own stuff for `a lot` less than a body shop would charge me.

In case you`re interested...here are the two cars I painted. This first one was my car...and my first paintjob ever after a 14 week paint class at a local community college. I had over 60 hours in it from taping off the graphics...painting it, clearing it, wetsanding/buffing it, then repairing some spots that I `botched up`. I also pinstriped the car myself and of course the design was all me...it was a rolling billboard for my auto-related design business. It was a blast to do, but way too much work to do all the time as a side biz. And too messy too!





Then this was my buddies truck. I painted the silver graphics over the top and then cleared the whole top of the truck as well. I also painted the ground effects, front bumper and some other little parts/pieces for him...





Anyway...I hope this helps you a bit and I hope I didn`t bore ya. Any further questions, just let me know and I`ll see what I can do to help you.

[cwcad]

I don`t know about the original poster but you certainlydid not bore me with this great posting. Loved the pictures as well.

I have a 1984 Cadillac that I would like to practice on while learning to spray paint and this is great information for me. I had never seen the gravity paint sprayer. It must be the ability to use more of the paint using a gravity sprayer versus the other type(bottom feeder)sprayer.

Great post !!!!Thanks, YNOT!!

[Pander5]

Great post Tony! Even though I`m just a detailer I love learning about paint too. Nice work in those photos also.

[black bart]

I do my own painting and it is much more difficult than detailing.
Many things can go wrong.
Your best bet would be to post on this forum you will find a lot of pro`s here who will be glad to give you guidance.
Body and Paint

[cwcad]

I do my own painting and it is much more difficult than detailing.
Many things can go wrong.
Your best bet would be to post on this forum you will find a lot of pro`s here who will be glad to give you guidance.
Body and Paint

Well this is a great link for me. I have a lot to learn. I signed up to the forum and will begin gleaning information to learn and later attempt to do some touch up work on a used vehicle that I have purchased.

Great Stuff , Black Bart!!

[Old School]

Thanks alot. Great response ynot. I`m grateful your a member. Thats sick info, thanks for the pics

[YNOT]

Thanks alot. Great response ynot. I`m grateful your a member. Thats sick info, thanks for the pics

You`re very welcome. If you`d like, I`ve got some `in-process` photos I can post up that shows a little of how I did the work. I`ll try to post those up this evening if I get a minute.

Glad I could be of help. As I said, I`m no professional by any means but I know enough to be dangerous.

[Old School]

When u get time, I would like to see the pics. Every little bit helps. I love those those rims on the Red F(nice).

[YNOT]

Ask and you shall receive...

This is my 2001 ZX3 `prior` to me painting it. I loved this car...I had lowered it 2.75" with the H&R Cup Kit, 17 x 7.5" Motegi MR12`s on Sumitomo Z-rated 205/40 rubberbands, A Kaminari front lip, Fiber Images carbon fiber hood (9 lbs), and a host of other things. Was it fast??? Hell no...but I looked good while draggin` speedbumps so I didn`t care.




The first step was the countless sketches until I found just what I wanted and what `flowed` with the car...then I rendered it on the Mac to see just how it would look...



And here are some shots as I painted it. Many thanks to my dad for his help...I could NOT have done it without him (and his 3-car garage!)...



Dad on the left...me on the right...



What I initially did after sketching the design on paper was I taped a big sheet of `mylar` on the side of my car and sketched the design onto it making sure I had it just the way I wanted. Then, I tightened up the sketch and cut it all out so I could tape the mylar in place to use as a rough guide to tape it off. So the light colored stuff you see there is the `mylar` that I used to follow my tape to that way both sides were pretty close to the same.









It`s a bit hard to see, but I added some blue `flake` to give it a touch of old-school style. I wanted more coverage but my gun was giving me trouble so this is how it came out. Also note that this shot was taken after the car was completely finished...I pinstriped it `over` the clear at a later time once it was all done.



And of course I had to `sign` my work...



The money shot...



Well...there you have it...just a small bit of the many hours that went into this first paintjob.

As I said, custom painting is a blast to do, but it`s so much work and mess that it`s hardly worth it for someone like me trying to do it on a weekend, in a garage, with minimal experience. Basically every time I painted either a car or parts, I`d screw something up, so it has certainly been a learning experience.

I`ve seen enough custom paint jobs to know what a nice job is and while mine wasn`t `perfect` I`d have put it up against many that I`ve seen around my local car shows. In fact, this car won me 4 1st, 2 2nd and a 3rd place trophy after getting it finished so it was all worth it in the end.

I hope you all enjoy the pics. Any questions...just ask.

[YNOT]

I do my own painting and it is much more difficult than detailing.
Many things can go wrong.

I could not agree more!

[black bart]

Well this is a great link for me. I have a lot to learn. I signed up to the forum and will begin gleaning information to learn and later attempt to do some touch up work on a used vehicle that I have purchased.

Great Stuff , Black Bart!!

Their are several other painting sites but the one that I link to is one of the best.
If you need a gun what I would suggest until you find out if you really want to do this is buy a gun from Harbor Freight.

If you read much on that site you will see that a lot of pros use these guns for primer since it is really hard on a gun and these are so low cost that they just throw them away and buy a new one.

I have a Devilbiss and for a do it yourselver it is as good as you will need.

The $800.00 Sata is nice but since you wont be painting several car per day you really don`t need one.

While it may not last as long but my HF gravity gun sprays just as good as the Devilbiss and it cost just a fraction of what I paid for the Devilbiss.

The learning curve for painting is waaaaaaaaaaay beyond what it takes to learn to properly detail a car so it will take some effort but you can do it and that site will help get you started.
Here is another link you need to put in you favorites.
Auto Painting Forum - Index

[cwcad]

The learning curve will be large of that I am sure, Black Bart.

Once I start painting it will not be a problem since I have no intentions of winning any prizes or being critiqued by anyone.

I have a Cadillac that is down to the metal in a few spots and I will sand these areas and cover them with paint. It will look like a Shade tree painters job for sure but it will keep me home and occupied.

[Old School]

Many thanks to ynot and bart. Glad you guys are here.