Well, I'm planning on painting the Max next summer. I have a dedicated garage, will have an HVLP and an air compressor at the time.

I am planning on taking down the clearcoat an priming on top of that.

NOW, I'm certain there are many more steps involved, so any input painting vets can put on here would make for some much needed input.

Any tips/tricks that can be shareD?

 

The quality of your prep determines the final product..

 

Any more you can add to that? For instance, it is more the quality of the primer or is it the surface (bare steel vs. existing paint) that makes the difference?

 

use a roller to apply the paint

 

He will have all the right painting equipment, so no roller necessary.


Surface should be as smooth as possible. Even the primer. Make sure you spend some good time taping/covering anything that doesn't get painted.

 

I would suggest going to a junk yard to get some used panels to practice on...

Don't learn on your Maxima.

I have never painted a car, but when I was looking into it, that was a point stressed to me by several ole' timers.

 

Start reading auto body forums, and start looking into how you're going to get your door handles off with all that dampening in your doors.

 

dont sand to bare metal unless absolutely necessary. the best undercoat is a good topcoat.

polyester filler is only to be used over bare metal, then coated with an epoxy sealer.

match the scfm requirements of your paint gun to compressor- or vice versa. most hvlp guns require 10-14 scfm @ 30psi.

never basecoat over DA prepped panels. if you use a DA sander, you must follow with a block by hand.

make sure you have an isocyanate/NIOSH approved respirator or fresh air supply, long sleeves (not baggy), and a head sock.

if you're painting in a garage like mine, which is a typical suburban family garage. full of lawn care tools and products, unused furniture, misc car parts, etc masking the entire surrounding area is a must. not only to prevent overspray, but to stop airborne dust/particles. roll masking paper on the floor and drive the car on it when ready to paint. lighting is going to be your hardest task to accomplish- most paint booths are white on all sides and have anywhere up to 50-100 'real-light' fluorescent bulbs. you wont be able to compete with that, but do your best.

im painting mine the weekend of oct. 6-8 in my home garage, i am also ASE certified. i can answer most of your questions, feel free to ask.

 

do you have to do any body work? dings, dents, rust, etc?

if it's just a sand and shoot..then yes don't sand to the bare metal if the current OEM paint is in good shape.

some tips...
- block sand in a X pattern...get a big long sanding block. that's even more important when you're doing body work (bondo).
- i use 600 grit prior to laying down the basecoat.
- if you sand down to the OEM primer you might not have to prime...it also depends on the condition of your current paint. something like a hood w/ rock chips and etc i would sand down to bare and respray all the primpers.
- when painting practice practice practice on something other than your car to get the spray pattern right and movement right.
- the gun should always be perpendicular (sp?) to the panel you're spraying.
- use high quality masking tape and paper...don't use newspaper
- watch your temps...depending on your temperature you're going to be actually spraying the paint you need to use the correct temp reducer. use the wrong one and it's orange peel city
- clean the garage...wet down the floors to min dust...keep the place as clean as possible. mask the walls unless you want EVERYTHING to have color on it.
- respirator...use the best you can afford..fresh air systems are $$ but if you're going to be painting a lot then it might be worth it. you're going to be a little "high" after painting a day...so keep that in mind..LOL oh and wear a shoot suit with a hood and googles. the paint chemicals can be asorbed in to your skin so be safe.
- like lux said..lighting..it's very important...try to set up some over head lighting. flourscent over head are great. you want to see your work when you're spraying and making sure you're spraying correctly.
- how big is your air compressor? you want to make sure it can keep up..60gal is a must if you're shooting the entire car. you do NOT want the compressor to play catch up since the pressure will drop and that will affect your spray out.
- don't be a home chemist...try to spray one brand. IE: if you spray PPG primer then stay with PPG mid and top. make sure whatever you spray is compatiable..check the tech/p sheets.

i gotta run to a meeting...PM me or post if you have more questions. also michael (<- that's his user name) is great at giving you more tips too.

 

What color are you painting? Flat and dark metallics might "hide" a bad spray pattern a bit better. But darks don't hide bad bodywork as well. Silvers and light metallics don't seem to tolerate bad spray patterns. And Pearls are an extra pain to spray because of the added stage.