Paint tools & advice
Discussion
Particularly - aimed at wildfire this one -
after umming and ahhing for a while about what to do to get rid of the various scrapes knocks chips and keyings on my old S2 - I have decided to bite the bullet and get 'tooled up' to have a go myself.
I have looked on ebay for paint tools and recon i should be able to get a compressor and gun for less than £100
really i just want a bit of advice from you guys as to how to get the best results
I am going to tackle the front spoiler first (as its barely visible) and work my way around the car
the colour is 420-5038 (I understand this to be 'Jaguar Brooklands Racing Green'
Other than spending massive amounts of time & effort on preparation, are there any other handy tips anyone knows of how to get the best results?
I'm looking to get the car as professional looking as possible but dont have the cash at the moment to spend a grand or so on five individual repairs by a bodyshop.
(I'll post some before & after pics here when I'm done
)
after umming and ahhing for a while about what to do to get rid of the various scrapes knocks chips and keyings on my old S2 - I have decided to bite the bullet and get 'tooled up' to have a go myself.
I have looked on ebay for paint tools and recon i should be able to get a compressor and gun for less than £100
really i just want a bit of advice from you guys as to how to get the best results
I am going to tackle the front spoiler first (as its barely visible) and work my way around the car
the colour is 420-5038 (I understand this to be 'Jaguar Brooklands Racing Green'
Other than spending massive amounts of time & effort on preparation, are there any other handy tips anyone knows of how to get the best results?
I'm looking to get the car as professional looking as possible but dont have the cash at the moment to spend a grand or so on five individual repairs by a bodyshop.
(I'll post some before & after pics here when I'm done
)Never done grp before, so I have yet to find out. Prep should be thorough whatever your spraying regardless. I reckon I'll probably just relacquer the car the week after next, unless there a re parts that actually need re colouring.
I'll post my experiences.
Just to let everyione know, I am not a professional sprayer, my father and I taught ourselves to spray, just before I started to drive because I could not afford to have my car resprayed profesionally. I've done 4 or so cars since in about 5 years. My father did have previous spraying experience and a friend of his is one of the worlds best Alfa Romeo bodywork restorers, we ask him for tips and help sometimes.
Here are some pics of my mini the day I finished the spray job on it 2 summers ago.
I'll happily give advice, but if there are any professional sprayers out there please correct me if I'm wrong.
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 14:17
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 14:17
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 14:18
I'll post my experiences.
Just to let everyione know, I am not a professional sprayer, my father and I taught ourselves to spray, just before I started to drive because I could not afford to have my car resprayed profesionally. I've done 4 or so cars since in about 5 years. My father did have previous spraying experience and a friend of his is one of the worlds best Alfa Romeo bodywork restorers, we ask him for tips and help sometimes.
Here are some pics of my mini the day I finished the spray job on it 2 summers ago.
I'll happily give advice, but if there are any professional sprayers out there please correct me if I'm wrong.
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 14:17
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 14:17
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 14:18
WildfireS3 said:
Biggest problem I can see you'll have is getting the paint to blend in as your paint work may have faded.
Am supposed to be working now so will post a full detail explanation around 6pm. Once I finish work and pick up my car from Autoglass.
Cheers Chris -
I dont think paint fade will be an issue - some over zealous application, (by a previous owner i hasten to add), of T-Cut has taken it right through to the primer in a couple of places (notably the bootlid) - which is what I'm hoping to rectify
z_chromozone said:
bergs2, have you ever done any spraying before. There are quite a few things to learn when having a first go. I have never tried to spray glassfiber, but have been told it is quite difficult to get the prep work done and a good end result.
Is this the case wildfire????
Z
Last thing i sprayed was my Raleigh Grifter....
...perhaps I'll be calling a bodyshop after all 
I'm no professional either and the full extent of my experience is respraying the bonnet on my Vixen xx years ago.
However from what I can remember it was all about the preparation if you get that right it's half the battle.
I stripped off all the paint with a mixture of nitromors paint remover, scraping and sanding; then sorted out any cracks, stress marks by grinding down then repairing with mat and tissue.
Spray filler was used over the whole bonnet (thinly) and then a process of priming and sanding to remove any highs and identify lows that were then filled. This took ages.
When I was happy with the result I used (if I remember correctly) an acrylic (or it may have been two-pack) paint. This was a solid colour rather than a metallic sprayed over in about 5 coats I think but it was recommended as the best thing to use because it didn't need baking and could be used by a home sprayer without needing full breathing apparatus, I did have a mask though with filters. As this was the first thing I had ever sprayed I had a few problems with sags where I'd applied too much but the paint type allowed me to rub these down with very fine wet and dry without losing the gloss finish. I didn't need a lacquer finish for the paint so I can't advise on that.
I used as a reference the Osprey restoration series that has a good book on glassfibre repairs and preparation for spraying. I also read something else that helped with the spraying but can't remember what.
Good luck.
Colin
However from what I can remember it was all about the preparation if you get that right it's half the battle.
I stripped off all the paint with a mixture of nitromors paint remover, scraping and sanding; then sorted out any cracks, stress marks by grinding down then repairing with mat and tissue.
Spray filler was used over the whole bonnet (thinly) and then a process of priming and sanding to remove any highs and identify lows that were then filled. This took ages.
When I was happy with the result I used (if I remember correctly) an acrylic (or it may have been two-pack) paint. This was a solid colour rather than a metallic sprayed over in about 5 coats I think but it was recommended as the best thing to use because it didn't need baking and could be used by a home sprayer without needing full breathing apparatus, I did have a mask though with filters. As this was the first thing I had ever sprayed I had a few problems with sags where I'd applied too much but the paint type allowed me to rub these down with very fine wet and dry without losing the gloss finish. I didn't need a lacquer finish for the paint so I can't advise on that.
I used as a reference the Osprey restoration series that has a good book on glassfibre repairs and preparation for spraying. I also read something else that helped with the spraying but can't remember what.
Good luck.
Colin
I'm just respraying to get rid of some scratches and scuffing.
This is what my car was like before the respray.
Some nice person hit it and ran off. Came out of college to find the wing dented.
Never had a problem with sinking, except when spraying cellulose.
I can give a general guide on spraying or what I do when spraying if people want, I don't claim to be a guru though.
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 14:57
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 14:58
This is what my car was like before the respray.
Some nice person hit it and ran off. Came out of college to find the wing dented.
Never had a problem with sinking, except when spraying cellulose.
I can give a general guide on spraying or what I do when spraying if people want, I don't claim to be a guru though.
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 14:57
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 14:58
Right, you can get away with spraying inside without extraction if you are only doing a small area. Make sure you garage has been well swept and hoover if you can to get rid of the dust. I would not try outside unless you have a very still day and there is no dust in the air. With out filtration best results are often on a rainy day when less dust is in the air.
I would not use any kind of paint stripper on the car, it will take you an age to get back to the stage of top coating. Small chips can be filled with a fine grade filler and sanded back with ca. 200 grit paper. You will want to be using 400 grit, or below for finishing off. As you are doing a car and it may be oily, so treat any area that will be sprayed to a degrease with signwriters prep. That will stop your lovely paint job coming off.
There must be a load of info on the net about how to spray correctly, but golden rule is not too much in one coat. You will end up with a car with orange peel finish otherwise, runs as well. Take care about the critical overcoating times of some paints and do not exceed them (you will have to start again).
Your local paint shop should be able to advise on using different mixes of solids, hardener etc for different temperatures of curing.
Also paint is not cheap, you may spend more on learning to do a good job than getting someone else to do it. If this is likely to be your only time doing such a job I would have a word with the local body shop. Do all of the prep work your self and save your self a load of money that way. Let the pros finish it off.
Z
I would not use any kind of paint stripper on the car, it will take you an age to get back to the stage of top coating. Small chips can be filled with a fine grade filler and sanded back with ca. 200 grit paper. You will want to be using 400 grit, or below for finishing off. As you are doing a car and it may be oily, so treat any area that will be sprayed to a degrease with signwriters prep. That will stop your lovely paint job coming off.
There must be a load of info on the net about how to spray correctly, but golden rule is not too much in one coat. You will end up with a car with orange peel finish otherwise, runs as well. Take care about the critical overcoating times of some paints and do not exceed them (you will have to start again).
Your local paint shop should be able to advise on using different mixes of solids, hardener etc for different temperatures of curing.
Also paint is not cheap, you may spend more on learning to do a good job than getting someone else to do it. If this is likely to be your only time doing such a job I would have a word with the local body shop. Do all of the prep work your self and save your self a load of money that way. Let the pros finish it off.
Z
Washing the floor down prior to spraying is a good way to prevent dust being kicked up
Another good thing used to prep the car is a scotch pad. Grey ones, which are fine grade.
As z said, don't apply too much as runs are very hard to get rid of and will require flatting out. A good quality spray gun makes all the difference.
Orange peel effect can be removed by using wet and dry 1800, very lightly. This is the flatting process. Then polishing with Farecla G3, followed by G10 or 3M Machine Glaze.
ICI do good paints. If the paints opacity level is bad you can try a cross linkage system when spraying to try and harden off the base coat if you are lacquering. This usually only applies to metallic colours, such as my Cooper Green.
I'd say it's up to you if you want to have a go at home. I started on a pretty knackered mini with paint that was shot, so it didn't really bother me if it went wrong. I certainly wouldn't start on a TVR. Practise is the best thing. I reckon I'm pretty competent now, but not perfect. But it is rewarding when you finish a car and it looks good. If in doubt, get a pro to do it.
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 16:07
Another good thing used to prep the car is a scotch pad. Grey ones, which are fine grade.
As z said, don't apply too much as runs are very hard to get rid of and will require flatting out. A good quality spray gun makes all the difference.
Orange peel effect can be removed by using wet and dry 1800, very lightly. This is the flatting process. Then polishing with Farecla G3, followed by G10 or 3M Machine Glaze.
ICI do good paints. If the paints opacity level is bad you can try a cross linkage system when spraying to try and harden off the base coat if you are lacquering. This usually only applies to metallic colours, such as my Cooper Green
. I'd say it's up to you if you want to have a go at home. I started on a pretty knackered mini with paint that was shot, so it didn't really bother me if it went wrong. I certainly wouldn't start on a TVR. Practise is the best thing. I reckon I'm pretty competent now, but not perfect. But it is rewarding when you finish a car and it looks good. If in doubt, get a pro to do it.
>> Edited by WildfireS3 on Thursday 25th March 16:07
Chris - how did you get on with the paint work?
any quirks thrown up by spraying on glassfibre?
I'm still in a state of indecision about what to do on mine...
does anyone have any experience of using aerosols rather than a compressor? -
I've got some chips to repair on the front spoiler (i.e. barely visible) - which I am going to have a go at with some custom mixed cans from www.auto-paint.co.uk - the guy sent me a test card which seems to match the colour perfectly and the relatively low visibility of the area to repair means that less than perfect results would be acceptable
the rear wings & bootlid are another matter - what are the chances of getting a reasonable repair (i.e. one that you can only see really close up) with aerosol spray cans?
any quirks thrown up by spraying on glassfibre?
I'm still in a state of indecision about what to do on mine...
does anyone have any experience of using aerosols rather than a compressor? -
I've got some chips to repair on the front spoiler (i.e. barely visible) - which I am going to have a go at with some custom mixed cans from www.auto-paint.co.uk - the guy sent me a test card which seems to match the colour perfectly and the relatively low visibility of the area to repair means that less than perfect results would be acceptable
the rear wings & bootlid are another matter - what are the chances of getting a reasonable repair (i.e. one that you can only see really close up) with aerosol spray cans?
Hi Tim
I did a small amount of spraying, but because the weather was so cold I had to hold off on a lot of it.
I did try a way of filling in stone chips and other deeper scratches. This went quite well. Warmer weather is definitely and essential.
The spraying i did do on the GRP, I had no problems at all.
I did buff up the paint again, and it is now very shiney.
I did a small amount of spraying, but because the weather was so cold I had to hold off on a lot of it.
I did try a way of filling in stone chips and other deeper scratches. This went quite well. Warmer weather is definitely and essential.
The spraying i did do on the GRP, I had no problems at all.
I did buff up the paint again, and it is now very shiney.
Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff