acrylic enamel

[81cj]

could someone please give some help with paiting with acrylic enamel (first time paint job) i have the primer surfer on and plane to wet sand today and want to paint, what would be the best procedure to apply the acrylic enamel (like mist coat first) , then how much time between coats and how many ????

[Phil V]

metallic or non metallic paint ?

[Henry]

because that answer is very important. Also, are you using hardener or not and forget so called mist coats. They set the stage for rough top coats. Practice your spraying techniques first. Just don't lay the paint on heavy but the mist is no a choice of mine for spraying any first coat.
With AE, depending, and I repeat, depending on if you used metalic and the application was not perfect then some use a mist coat LAST with the gun held high above the surface. This can help but takes away from gloss. Henry

[81cj]

metallic copper bronze metallic and i have a cheap spray gun any help would be appreciated very much

[81cj]

i do have a hardner too maybe i should nave said tack coat not mist coat

[68-chevyman]

What temp., envioment, and what kind of cheap gun?
sory, we need this info.

[81cj]

sorry new to this, the temp is about 74 mid state FL. in a garage not a paint shop poor vents just crack the door open the gun is one i picked up from advance auto 1.8 tip el cheapo 50 bucks, not looking for a show car finnish just something yo get buy with im painting a jeep not a cadillic the reducer is rated 70

[Len]

The problem with shooting single stage metallic acrylic enamel is that it tends to stay wet long enough for the metallic to sink causing dark areas in you paint. You can solve this by misting the paint on but then you remove the gloss. This is why most folks that are shooting a metallic will spray a base/clear finish so that they don't need to worry about gloss when they shoot the color and the color can set up before they apply the gloss in the form of clear.

I would apply the first coat in a medium (not too wet and not too dry) coat and allow it to dry to the touch then apply the second coat. Allow the second coat to dry a little but not dry to the touch then apply a third coat in a medium (not wet or dry) coat.

Acrylic enamel is probably the most difficult type of material to spray properly because it's difficult to fix if anything goes wrong. Runs are tricky to level and if you have a situation where repainting is needed you could cause wrinkling especially if you didn't use a hardener. Use a hardener, you'll be glad you did.

[81cj]

thanks len
sounds like a good plan