Most aggressive compound...

[Stokdgs]

DaveT435 -
Hope you guys are all good over there in Arlington, Texas...

Sorry the Houston Rockets could not make the cut to the NBA finals..

Painting a volkswagen ! I remember they were pretty hard to do at first, because of the round curvey fenders.. You have to be really disciplined and keep the gun the same distance all the way around the curve or there will be runs, where you got too close. And those flat panels in between the fenders, you have to watch where the gun cuts off on the rounded fenders again.. But you can do it ! Look how many of those Beetles are out there alone !
I will be happy to lend whatever experiences I have with you if needed.. Hey, we are Texas boys, we stick together, right ?
Dan F

 

[pdqgp]

I`ve got everything you mentioned except the 3401. I have a Mille. I think I have all bases covered.
Thank you

Is that an Audi?

I think you`ll be in great hands. Haven`t used the Mille but forced rotation and wool plus Clear Cut will equal a HUGE time savings for you. It`s been the best thing for me since the 3401 was introduced.

Car wise, not that`s a Pontiac G8. Here`s the full view.

 

[DaveT435]

DaveT435 -
Hope you guys are all good over there in Arlington, Texas...

Sorry the Houston Rockets could not make the cut to the NBA finals..

Painting a volkswagen ! I remember they were pretty hard to do at first, because of the round curvey fenders.. You have to be really disciplined and keep the gun the same distance all the way around the curve or there will be runs, where you got too close. And those flat panels in between the fenders, you have to watch where the gun cuts off on the rounded fenders again.. But you can do it ! Look how many of those Beetles are out there alone !
I will be happy to lend whatever experiences I have with you if needed.. Hey, we are Texas boys, we stick together, right ?
Dan F

You know it!! What part of Texas are you from? Mavericks were terrible this year. I`m thinking those fenders come off pretty easy. I know he said they were off last time it was painted. I think it would be easier all the way around with the fenders off. The owner has pulled the trim so many times I think he can pull all that and the weather stripping in about 15 minutes.

I know those fenders are going to be tricky. It`s a convertible also. I don`t think it will be that bad. Might take the doors off too to get a better coat on those exterior hinges, and I want to spray the jams. Might as well pull the seats and carpet and spray everything. I think whoever painted it last time did. I saw a new dent in it when I checked it out. All the paint had flaked off inside and around the dent. There are a lot of spots where paint has come off like that. Terrible prep job.

It will be nice to have someone to get advice from. I sure appreciate it. I haven`t shot base coat clear coat. When you`re actually spraying do you go right from base to clear or do you let the base cure for a while before spraying the clear. I`ve got some rust to deal with on this thing too. Mostly paint chips, some good sized, exposed bare metal and we`re just left for years to rust.

 

[DaveT435]

I think you`ll be in great hands. Haven`t used the Mille but forced rotation and wool plus Clear Cut will equal a HUGE time savings for you. It`s been the best thing for me since the 3401 was introduced.

Car wise, not that`s a Pontiac G8. Here`s the full view.

Good looking car. Trying to avoid wool, but I`ll go there if I have to, probably just use my PE14 if I do. I ordered some of those pads from CarPro with the really short wool, about 3/8", to use on a DA if I need it.

 

[Stokdgs]

DaveT435 --
I was born in San Antonio, and we moved to Corpus Christi, Austin, and Dallas, so my Dad could finish at SMU., and then back to S.A.
We saw a lot of little towns all along those places as well..

For sure, the VW will be much easier to work on if the fenders are off the car.. Just remember, keep the gun the same distance all the way around, up and down, each pass, so the paint is even.. It wants to run on the more curvy parts..

Sounds like the prep on the paint you saw was done by places like Maaco, Earl Schieb, etc... Their prep = wash it, run some steel wool over the paintwork with perhaps a solvent, wipe it off, spray the paint... That`s why it`s flying off in 1-2years after...
You have to pay a lot extra to have them actually D/A the paint, perhaps apply a primer or sealer, perhaps block sand it, and then apply the watered down cheap paint..

I always put down a few coats of the the Dupont Factory Pack Paint first, then as it was flashing away, start adding clear to the factory paint, a couple coats, more clear to the paint, then just clear coats at the end..

All of this of course as you know, is based on the type of thinner you use - slow-dry or fast-dry, and the ambient temps you are dealing with..
All of this back then worked really well because the thinner would be absorbed by all the layers down to the primer, so they all melted into each other and became one strong thick layer.. Not going to fall off or peel off ever..

Another thing to consider is where are you going to be doing the work ? Booth?? Shop or Garage?.. It was always better for me even with both options, to get all the paint/clear on at one time, so as it dried, I would have to deal with stuff falling onto it only 1 time...

Another reason for the last Block Sand with 600 grit paper and a guide coat, just in case there were some junk that fell into the paint, or some high spots or low spots that got missed...

Nothing - nothing - nothing looks better no matter what the color or texture, etc., than flat, flat, paintwork... It will always reflect light straighter and will always be the most pleasing to the eye..

And you can also decide just how flat you want to make it as you go..

As I always do, everything, paint-wise, correcting paint-wise, interior/exterior Detailing-wise, it all has to match from one end to the other, then from the first horizontal panel across the top to the last horizontal panel...
Dan F

 

[Stokdgs]

Stokdgs- Heh heh, reading that, and nodding my head in recognition, I realized that we`re dating ourselves with some of those references again

But yeah, I too like the feel/control/etc. of doing it by hand. And hey, back in the days of ss even *I* could finish out OK with a rotary and those nasty pads we used back then

The only finer papers I knew from were, IIRC, marketed for polishing plastics. The same little foam pads you can get today as best I can remember/tell. But yeah I remember rubbing 600 sheets together to make `em milder...did that with a lot of sandpaper actually.

Mi Hermano El Accumulator` !
Yes, this does date us and you know, I am glad to have experienced that too ! Liked reading your comments also !

As much as I loved the work, getting married, having a couple of little squirt daughters, more responsibilities, I just knew things would be changing soon for me.
And when Urethane airplane paint came out, and I read up on how toxic it was, I knew I was not going to be around for that...

For sure, those lovely acrylic lacquers or acrylic enamels were so much more user-friendly..
And the smell !!!! Nothing compares to acrylic lacquer in primer or paint in the morning...
Dan F

 

[DaveT435]

DaveT435 --
I was born in San Antonio, and we moved to Corpus Christi, Austin, and Dallas, so my Dad could finish at SMU., and then back to S.A.
We saw a lot of little towns all along those places as well..

For sure, the VW will be much easier to work on if the fenders are off the car.. Just remember, keep the gun the same distance all the way around, up and down, each pass, so the paint is even.. It wants to run on the more curvy parts..

Sounds like the prep on the paint you saw was done by places like Maaco, Earl Schieb, etc... Their prep = wash it, run some steel wool over the paintwork with perhaps a solvent, wipe it off, spray the paint... That`s why it`s flying off in 1-2years after...
You have to pay a lot extra to have them actually D/A the paint, perhaps apply a primer or sealer, perhaps block sand it, and then apply the watered down cheap paint..

I always put down a few coats of the the Dupont Factory Pack Paint first, then as it was flashing away, start adding clear to the factory paint, a couple coats, more clear to the paint, then just clear coats at the end..

All of this of course as you know, is based on the type of thinner you use - slow-dry or fast-dry, and the ambient temps you are dealing with..
All of this back then worked really well because the thinner would be absorbed by all the layers down to the primer, so they all melted into each other and became one strong thick layer.. Not going to fall off or peel off ever..

Another thing to consider is where are you going to be doing the work ? Booth?? Shop or Garage?.. It was always better for me even with both options, to get all the paint/clear on at one time, so as it dried, I would have to deal with stuff falling onto it only 1 time...

Another reason for the last Block Sand with 600 grit paper and a guide coat, just in case there were some junk that fell into the paint, or some high spots or low spots that got missed...

Nothing - nothing - nothing looks better no matter what the color or texture, etc., than flat, flat, paintwork... It will always reflect light straighter and will always be the most pleasing to the eye..

And you can also decide just how flat you want to make it as you go..

As I always do, everything, paint-wise, correcting paint-wise, interior/exterior Detailing-wise, it all has to match from one end to the other, then from the first horizontal panel across the top to the last horizontal panel...
Dan F

I appreciate all the info. Yes, my auto body teacher drilled in our heads about the distance of the gun being the same. I only painted the one car, and maybe I just got lucky, but I did lay down a beautiful coat of paint. It was a color change also so I had to spray everything.

I couldn`t agree more about flat paintwork. It`s always so disappointing to see a nice classic car then get close and see the waves down the side of it. I actually thought Macco used a quality paint, just didn`t do any prep work. I remember back in the day seeing the chrome emblems sprayed. Definitely didn`t have time to remove or tape those lol

i talked to the owner of the bug today. If I paint the whole thing it will be with an acrylic enamel. That`s definitely a plus. If I paint the other car it will be BC/CC. The bug I`ll probably take down to bare metal, the other car I`ll have some sanding and DA work to do. 1/2" adequate for each layer when feathering around the damaged area?

 

[Accumulator]

DaveT435- There`s a member here (he hasn`t posted recently) with the username XtremeKustomz (or something like that). He`s one *HIGHLY* skilled/knowledgeable/helpful guy when it comes to DIYing paintwork. I`d reach out to him if you have any Qs. In fact, I *will* reach out to him should I ever decide to revisit body/paint work.