Comments on: How To Re-Paint A Car - Part One - General Information

By: matty Rudd

matty Rudd — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:40:54 +0000

Hi Craig how are you mate. i have a question. i am going to re-spray my sisters car and will it be ok if i just give to old paint a quick sand so the new paint will stick? reading your notes i think i will use an acrylic. how many coates will i need. i am going to paint it black then put a gloss over top. will two coates of each do th job. will a plain buffer work to get a better shine?

By: dpdhunt

dpdhunt — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:25:22 +0000

I am looking at re-spraing a car . Does it matter if I spray arclic over 2 pak do I need to seal it or anything

By: craig

craig — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 03:55:15 +0000

Hi Lisa,
I’m glad to hear you found the article useful. The article is not complete yet and will eventually include a number parts including the actual painting process, panel repairs and such but putting it together in my spare time is working out harder than I thought it would be!
If there is anything in particular that you need to know that isn’t covered in the article please send me an email and I will do my best to help you out.

By: Lisa Dean

Lisa Dean — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 03:46:40 +0000

Hi Craig

Just a note to thank you for your article here. I haven’t got time to finish reading it, but it looks very readable, and sensible. I’m busy painting my truck at the moment, and have been at the mercy of the person selling me the paint.

I will do well to take a better look at your notes later, and I have written down the internet link.

Bye for now,

Lisa Dean

By: craig

craig — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:07:58 +0000

Hey Bozza,
It is recommended that you use no less than a 10 cfm compressor simply because the compressor will have trouble keeping up with the spraygun and the pressure variations affect the way the paint is applied to the surface. Basically the finish won’t be very good because it won’t be consistent, if that makes sense!
Maybe a better option would be to hire a compressor to do the job? If you shop around it may end up costing less than the Bunnings compressor. Just a thought.

Cheers,
Craig

By: Bozza

Bozza — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 05:54:52 +0000

Hey Craig,
Nice article, Got one question i hope u can help me with, Im interested in painting my cars bonnet, and this may sound newbie but I was just wondering if you think that a $140 2.5 HP, 6.2 CFM compressor from bunnings would be sufficient enough, for the bonnet or other piece? I know you guys were mentioning 12 CFM but would the cheaper bunnings one be able to do the job or is it absolutely ridiculous thinking it would? what do u think?
Thnx mate, just wanna do some research before I do something stupid, any help would be great, thnx again

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:45:46 +0000

Hey Craig!

Nice article.

(”If sanding of the colour coats is needed before the clear coat is applied it may be a better idea to use a very fine grade of paper used dry instead of introducing moisture to the surface, I really don’t know”).

Yes you can wet rub the undercoat, colour, and the clear if your using acrylic but dont use anything coarser than 1200 on the colour.

“DONT” wet rub 2pack undercoat this absorbs moisture..its a big no no.

Another way to get around all the trouble of rubbing a clear coat when using acrylic is to spray the colour let it sit for a day (when the temp is around 25+)
Then shoot the clear in 2pack the following day.
The reason for waiting is to let the acrylic thinner evaporate fully before putting on the 2pack otherwise it will stuff up the clear. (They dont mix)
I did a Monaro 5 years ago this way and it still has a killer paint job.

As for using Acrylic clear, if you put on enough coats and wet sand with 1200 then 2000 and use a Buff and Shine compound like K&H and a Meguiars W-7000 red foam pad it will shine as good as 2pack. (Just a lot more work)

This nose cone is in Acrylic.
[IMG]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p216/conebob/nose2.jpg[/IMG]

Cheers

By: craig

craig — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:13:28 +0000

Hey Reg,
I have done a few metallic re-sprays using the techniques that I spoke of in the first email with no adverse effects or noticeable sanding marks when the clear coat was applied but I can only speak from my experiences. I am not sure if this technique is ‘technically correct’, I just know that it works very well for me!
I believe you are correct regarding the possibility of oxidisation of the metallics if the clear coat is not applied within a certain time. I know that metallic paint is designed to be used with the clear coat providing the protection for the colour coats.

If sanding of the colour coats is needed before the clear coat is applied it may be a better idea to use a very fine grade of paper used dry instead of introducing moisture to the surface, I really don’t know.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge on this than myself will read these comments and help us clear that one up.

By: Reg

Reg — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:12:11 +0000

Hi Craig,

Thanks for your response. You have certainly taken the confusion out of trying to do a simple spray painting/repair job that is often complicated when one reads several different ‘How to Instructions’ from the paint manufacturer and other very brief ‘how to brochures’ from auto shops.

So, just to clarify, it is perfectly ok to sand down a metallic/pearl paint before it has a clear top coat on it?

The reason I ask, is because I read somewhere that sanding metallics will cause the sanding marks to be magnified when the clear coat is applied.

It also says on the colour spray can to apply the clear coat within 30 minutes of the last colour coat. Is this due to oxidisation of the metallics?

Once again thanks for the info as you have inspired me and I hope it opens more discussions on this topic.

By: craig

craig — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:34:48 +0000

Hi Reg,
I have found it difficult to get a nice finish using cans also. What I found gave the best results was wet sanding the final colour coat with around 1000 grade wet and dry then applying the clear coats and after giving the paint a day or two to completely cure, sand the surface once again with 1200 paper used wet and then apply a cut and polish by hand. I know this sounds like a lot of work but it is the only thing I have found to give a nice flat, glossy finish.

After a bit of a search around I came across this definition of ferrous and non-ferrous metals;

Ferrous metals contain iron while non-ferrous metals do not contain iron.

As car bodies are prone to rust this indicates that they have predominantly iron content which would class it as a Ferrous metal. Judging from that bit of information I say save your money and give the etch primer a miss!

Craig