Re: Spraying your own car
Geert, looking at your posts, you and your son are clearly very practical hands-on guys! So I'd say definitely give spraying a go - it's an incredibly rewarding experience.
Ah, the nostalgia of the links above from Neil, even tho' they weren't from
that long ago...
Old Nail recommended, on a different thread, using an epoxy primer or the bare metal and other surfaces before the topcoat is applied (I'm not sure if a primer is required
between the two...?) This stuff -
http://www.rust.co.uk/epoxy-mastic.cfm - sounds the business, and should hopefully prevent the dreaded rust marks appearing after all the hard work of prep and paint. I'll definitely be using it myself when I get to the painting stage.
As for the painting process, you'll pick up the essentials from the threads above. Just about the only thing I can add from my own personal experience from spraying a couple of cars many moons ago is, "watch closely what you are doing as you spray and
respond to it".
For example, you'll likely spend a bit of time setting up the gun, pressure and spray-fan shape, etc. and then you'll fire off your first line of paint... Have good lighting so that the panel you are painting is illuminated from a couple of directions -
it must be easy to see what's happening on that surface as the paint is applied. This way you should be able to tell in 'real time' that you are laying down the right amount of paint - not too much and not too little.
I recall staring very closely at the panel as the first horizontal line of spray was applied along the bottom edge of the panel - if the paint looked a bit 'dry' or 'dusty' or 'matt' I'd go over it again immediately with another layer - perhaps moving a bit faster this time so as not to
overload it. You could then tell that it had a nice layer that 'flowed' together to make a smooth finish but with little risk of running. Then the next line was laid down right away above the first with around a quarter-to-half overlap (bare in mind that each line paint is thicker in the middle and thinner at the top and bottom). Again, you stare closely and watch - and respond to - what is happening (too much or too little paint). If you end up overdoing it with paint, then - shrug - it'll likely just 'run' a bit and need a bit of rubbing down. Too little paint will leave a 'rough' finish, tho', which will be hard to cover so may need more work afterwards, so try and avoid this.
This is really not hard! You will very soon pick up the correct 'rhythm' - the speed to move at and the amount of overlap to use. You'll be flinging the gun up and down door and window frames with abandon...
It has to be the ultimate buzz in a restoration - the transformation is unbelievable, and the satisfaction immense. If some bits need rubbing down afterwards, then so be it. With 'luck' it'll only need the most basic rub-down afterwards to remove some settled dust and the odd fly...
Other hints - vacuum your floor beforehand to remove as much dust as possible, and use a tack-rag on the actual surface
immediately before spraying.
