Noob in need of painting help

[jakelandry]

Can anyone point me in the direction of what to look for in a decent paint gun? Yes i do know there is a ton of stuff to know beforeyou even think of painting anything automotive, but im not even about to go to a shop and ask a "professional" being as i know how that goes. Everyone has to start somewhere right?

 

[GSXSixteenG]

I've never painted a car but have recently started painting small stuff like art sculptures. My roommates father owns a very large body shop so I've had to opportunity to try it. Make sure you have a large air compressor. The most popular type of paint gun is a gravity feed unless you shell out alot of money for a pressure fed gun. The quality of the paint job relies on the mixing of the paint and how well you sand down the surface. You'll need a buffer when your done too.

 

[jakelandry]

I've never painted a car but have recently started painting small stuff like art sculptures. My roommates father owns a very large body shop so I've had to opportunity to try it. Make sure you have a large air compressor. The most popular type of paint gun is a gravity feed unless you shell out alot of money for a pressure fed gun. The quality of the paint job relies on the mixing of the paint and how well you sand down the surface. You'll need a buffer when your done too.

Yea i know some. Im not completely clueless and im handy with tools i just dont own a paint gun and i mean hell walmart sells gravity feed guns, but im almost overly confident walmart would not carry a cheap QUALITY automotive paint gun. And yea i plan to start out slow an dpaint other things and whatnot until i gradually work my way up to my car.

 

[Code504]

google search your local area for paint supply shops, not the actually body shops, but the guys who supply those shops. Go in, tell them you are a beginner, ask them what they recommend a beginner to buy to learn to paint. You can always upgrade in the future.

For me painting is the easiest part. Prepping is the difficult part.

-Steve

 

[SD_TSI]

If you're looking for a quality paint gun, some brands that are good are Sata, Devilbiss, and Iwata just to name a few. If you're serious about getting into painting its nice to look into getting a good primer gun as well as a nice basecoat/clearcoat gun. I just purchased a Devilbiss Finishline on eBay for $200 which should work just fine starting off. Just make sure you use the right fluid tips for what you're spraying..

 

[jakelandry]

google search your local area for paint supply shops, not the actually body shops, but the guys who supply those shops. Go in, tell them you are a beginner, ask them what they recommend a beginner to buy to learn to paint. You can always upgrade in the future.

For me painting is the easiest part. Prepping is the difficult part.

-Steve

Nah man the "pros" dont have time to waste talking to a beginner. they never do

 

[boosteclipse]

I prefer a Sata, also have a snap on that I like.

 

[inthecease]

If you want to get a good diy paint job you need to find a good gun. Dont buy one from walmart or meijer cause you will end up with a lot of spatter on your paint. You also need to get an air compressor that has a filter in that that filters out the water that comes in with the air and condences inside the air compressor. If you get water in your paint it can cause bubles and it can also cause spatter. Make sure when you are getting your primer, pain, and clear coat that they are all the same company and compatible together because they can counteract eachother sometimes and make your paint job look well, home made. Also when you go to paint your car make sure you hang up sheets, not plastic becuase plactic can cause more trouble than its worth. Make sure you have good ventilation to pull the overspray out of the air.

 

[quayzar590awd]

A quality paint job is judged on several key factors,
1.The quality of the repairs on sub straight or body panels
2. The quality of the preparation of the surface to be refinished,
3. The preparation of the chemicals.
4. The person holding the paint gun. <---most important
5. The quality of the air going into coming out of the booth and going into the gun.

Painting car's is an art. Its not easy I wont say its easy but it is a talent that can be learned. Honestly the body work is 3x more challenging in my opinion. You can get a half decent quality devilbiss made gravity feed @ napa for like 60 bucks. I use my old favorite The SATA jet 2000 S/E. Here are a few pointers. Have the gun about eight to eleven inches from the panel @ all times. Do a couple of test panels to find the tip pattern you like and most importantly how fast you need to move the gun to put the paint on wet. I was taught the 50% overlap technique as in each pass will over lap the previous pass by fifty percent. The first coat will just be a light one, each consecutive coat will be progressively "heavier" until the color is even and the pigmentation pattern is uniform. The clear coat I tend to slow my passes down to ensure its going on wet and I keep within my 50% over lap. As for all that buffing noise. Unless your going to bake the car to speed up the chemical reaction to dry the paint. You wont want to buff the car for @ least a few days. If done correctly a buff is generally not needed. I like to build the product up personally. I bake them so there is basically a few hours down time and you have an absolute glass finish w/o buffing. Baking also generally will produce a stronger more durable finish. If there is anything else you want to know I will do my best to answer your questions. I cant give all the tips and tricks out but I can aid you in completing your task.

 

[jakelandry]

yea any size or brand of compressor? or brand of decent paint?

 

[quayzar590awd]

I use an Ingersoll Rand compressor, It it a 60 gallon 5 hp,You do not need something that big or expensive, There are several company's that make them such as Powerhorse, Ingersoll Rand, Quincy, Northern Industrial, Porter cable, to name a few. As far as paint you have PPG, Dupont, Cross fire, 3m, House of kolor, The list goes on and on.

 

[jakelandry]

For anyone else currious about painting this site seems to shed some light.

The DIY Paint job