--School me--

[LEE MAJORS]

Ok I've got a 98 dodge 2500 single cab short bed drag racing truck. Its in extreme need on paint (mismatched bumper,bed ect...)

Im on a budget! I went to a local paint supplier and picked out what color I wanted to truck to be painted. I want a Brandywine

They priced out the primer, base & clear $1,200....+ a local guy quoted me $1,500 to sand, mask & paint the truck. That's way over my budget.

So I looked into having my dad spray the truck with his triple turbine HVLP & a gravity fed gun. My dad has done a couple mustangs back in the 70's so he's rusty with little experience.

I looked into buying Dupli-color's 'paint shop' line because there was no mixing and it was cheap. The guy at the shop said it would cost right at $230.00 for all primer,base & clear that I needed. That price I can live with but everything I read on here says its crap!.

So where do I go from here? i've heard that ppg shopline isn't to bad and dupont Nasin line was ok? Im not looking for a show car finish....basically need a good & easy to apply product. The truck will be lettered up with sponsors decals so I don't want to spend a large sum of money just to put stickers on it.

Im also looking for something simple....I think me and my fathers downfall is the mixing part. IS there anything out there that is ready to spray out of the can besides the 'paint shop' line from duplicolor?

[LEE MAJORS]

http://www.autopaint18.com/html/auto_paint_kits_22.html

is this a decent deal?

How much product do I need to prime,coat & clear a single cab short bed pickup truck? Not doing inside of door or underside of hood.

[Len]

Mixing is not that difficult, most paints are mixed 2 to 1, 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 etc. and you can use a mixing cup with the divisions that are marked on the cup.

I'd probably recommend a single stage paint to make the spraying and mixing process less complicated. You can apply a coat or two extra so that you can sand and polish the paint after it dries and you'll end up with a glass-like finish.

If you use an inexpensive urethane like U-Tech you can have a long lasting finish that will look great when you're done. U-Tech is sold by the same suppliers that sell Sikkens paint and it's probably half the price (or less) of theSikkens.


http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/USCMixingCups.jpg
Links to Mixing Cups
Pints (http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=USC36170-10&Category_Code=PSH)
Quarts (http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=USC36174-10mb&Category_Code=PSH)
2.5 Quarts (http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=USC36176-10&Category_Code=PSH)

[Len]

http://www.autopaint18.com/html/auto_paint_kits_22.html

is this a decent deal?

How much product do I need to prime,coat & clear a single cab short bed pickup truck? Not doing inside of door or underside of hood.


You'll probably need a couple of quarts of color and of clear.

[LEE MAJORS]

What is the basic process for painting?

Wash vehicle with ammonia based cleaner to get oil off
sand & scuff paint then clean again with cleaner to get all dust & oils off
spray several coats of primer? how many? do you sand after each coat? or only sand if its uneven and grainy?


Start spraying color with how long inbetween coats? 15 minutes?

Then start spraying clear coat on? Do you wet sand and polish after clear coat or after painting before clear coat?

[Len]

What is the basic process for painting?

Wash vehicle with ammonia based cleaner to get oil off
sand & scuff paint then clean again with cleaner to get all dust & oils off
spray several coats of primer? how many? do you sand after each coat? or only sand if its uneven and grainy?


Start spraying color with how long inbetween coats? 15 minutes?

There are a lot of variables to this process and they all vary depending on a lot of other variables.:scratchch

Then start spraying clear coat on? Do you wet sand and polish after clear coat or after painting before clear coat?

You may want to invest some time is searching the different forums or investing in the Spray Painting 101 DVD linked below. The DVD will show you the paint prep and application as well as a lot of the variables. If this two hour video saves one mistake it will more than pay for itself.

[LEE MAJORS]

I guess im in the wrong forums ??

Someone sent me here and said this is a good place to learn this.

[kevininohio]

I guess im in the wrong forums ??

Someone sent me here and said this is a good place to learn this.

I'm pretty new hereas well and have learned loads from this site and most everyone has been very helpful. I too got back into painting as my last one was acrylic enamel and lots has changed since then.

Your in the right spot, the problem is people can't answer your questions on times and such because each different product/manufacturer varies on times/procedures. You first need to decide WHAT system your going with THEN worry about the other stuff after that.

I'd highly suggest using the search feature of this site. You'll find more than enough info to keep you busy. That is how I started here. Just gives you some pros and cons of things.

[LEE MAJORS]

I've tried the search nothing seems to come up with what im looking for.

[Steve g]

I guess im in the wrong forums ??

Someone sent me here and said this is a good place to learn this.

There's an abundance of knowledge here, but what you're asking for couldn't be answered in 10 pages of responses. Most people come here with some inkling of what they're doing. You come here with virtually none and the best answer anyone can give you is to spend the money on the DVD sold here and get some basic grounding. If you're biggest concern is mixing paint you've got a steep curve ahead of you. From there ask your specific questions and you'll get no end of help here. I very much doubt that anyone here will write you a tutorial on painting your car. If you don't want to spend on the DVD then read all of the threads as they come in over the course of several weeks and you will start to get a basic understanding of what's doing. The process is not as simple as the one you tentatively laid out. You may or may not need to prime, you use different types of primer for different things (epoxy vs 2k urethane high build), the grits of sanding you do depend on the surface conditions, the final grit before painting depends on the paint type you use. It just goes on and on.

Not sure how you found the site, but you should know that Len, the site's owner, runs a store first and foremost. He is kind enough to provide us with this forum to exchange information and help one another and, of course, Len himself offers his own input. He offers great value in the store and can provide you with pretty much everything you need except paint.

Steve g

[LEE MAJORS]

I've bought a DVD off ebay about automotive painting it should be here in a couple days.

But until then I wanted to ask a couple questions about some things I didn't know if I had misunderstood or not.

Gotta start somewhere right?

[Len]

I've bought a DVD off ebay about automotive painting it should be here in a couple days.

But until then I wanted to ask a couple questions about some things I didn't know if I had misunderstood or not.

Gotta start somewhere right?
That's right! You can also check the Classroom section of this site located at the Home Page linked at the top of this page.

[turbocobra]

I've bought a DVD off ebay about automotive painting it should be here in a couple days.

But until then I wanted to ask a couple questions about some things I didn't know if I had misunderstood or not.

Gotta start somewhere right?

I don't mean to flame you, but there are a few unwritten rules of etiquette that should be considered as a member of this site.

1. When it makes sense, buy as many products that you will be purchasing for your project from the store here. This is what keeps the site going, pays for the server space, software, bandwidth, and gives incentive to Len to keep it going. So right off the bat, why would you buy some unknown DVD off ebay when Len sells a product that is reccomended by many here?

2. Spend some time researching the site, almost any question you can think of regarding any part of auto body and paint work has more than likely been answered here. If you still don't find what you need and need clarification to a specific question, then make a post, have as many details and facts as possible, and if you can post a picture of what your asking about your more likely to get a more meaningful response.

3. If you see an opportunity to contribute to an existing thread or question that has been asked, it's your responsibility to do that... that's what makes the site go.

4. Treat your membership here as a privilege. I mean, where else on the internet, or even locally for that matter can you get access to to the kind of knowledge and experience is available here with people like Len, Serge, SteveG, PhilV, MartinSr. and all of the other Sr. members of the board.

If you follow these, you will be the recipient of some great support and knowlege and will also do your part in contributing to the site to keep it going.

[mike pollard]

Lee, I'm pretty new to auto painting as well. I started by reading books, reading the posts on this site and getting the Spray Painting vidio from Len. The first vehicle I painted I used tractor paint from Valspar. It looked good for about six months, then the paint went to hell, what a waste of time and energy that was !! I have only used PPG paints since then, thats whats readily avaliable in my area. If you go to their web site you can view their product sheets which answers some of the questions you had about time between coats etc. Whatever product you use should have information for it's proper application, what it's compatible with and so on. I've recieved lots of help from the people on this site as well, who are kind enough to share their years of experience in this field. Still, it's been a journey with some missteps, but the satisfaction of a job done well is worth it in the end. Good luck on your project !!

[BradNes1]

One thing that helped me a lot was going to a local body shop and getting one of the banged up fenders from them (they are usually more than happy to give them away for free). I bought a hammer and dolly set and practiced putting dents in the fender and then working them out as best as possible. I'm far from a master with it still but you learn a lot. After you practice taking out the dents you have a perfect platform to practice spraying on and it won't screw up any important projects. Ask you local jobber for any paint mis-matches that you can maybe pick up for cheap to practice spraying. As far as the duplicolor stuff goes...run away from it as fast as you can if you plan on spraying anything other than a lawn mower or other non-important project. I have used PPG's OMNI line (very similar to shopline) which is conisdered a cheaper line with good results that will far outperform the duplicolor stuff.