clubstylus

Hi

I'd really love to have a metallic pro. paint job but funds don't permit. If I attempt a basic cellulose job at home to get my car on the road will that create a load of problems for a pro paint shop later?

Steve

Not an expert, believe me...

Lacquer is probably the easiest paint for a novice. And I think it's compatible with a high volume, low pressure painting system. Check this website:

http://members.tripod.com/~bobstory/faq.html

One thing to remember: 50 years ago commercial paint room was a barn with a concrete floor soaked with water, with the doors wide open and a fan sucking air out. The beauty of lacquer is you sand your sins away. Lacquer can be painted outside on a calm day, it is literally dry by the time it hits the car. In the USofA, lacquer is illegal: too many volatile organic compounds.

As with all other jobs where final finishing is required, the steps beforehand will contribute far more to the overall result. Sanding, blocking, reprimering, more sanding, primer filler, etc. until the body is absolutely smooth will do more to make a paintjob look good than £500 of Sikkins paint. Nothing worse than a GRP body with side panels that look like bacon.
GP

whiterabbit wrote:Hi

I'd really love to have a metallic pro. paint job but funds don't permit. If I attempt a basic cellulose job at home to get my car on the road will that create a load of problems for a pro paint shop later?

Steve

Talk to Alec , he's painted his own and it looks pretty good , at least I thought so when I looked at it at BRIZE NORTON . Etching apparently is a must if you use two pack. Garibaldi knows a lot more than me regarding paint though . Mine was done by a guy who does it professionally at £950

More photos ALEC Rob.

yeah i know i'm slacking on the photo's aren't i. i promise when i finish my course i'll get them on here!

as for painting you must use an etch or an epoxy primer first of your paint will flake off. i used an epoxy primer which is designed for use on plastics and grp. it has a high build and self flats so you don't need to flat it when its dry. also you don't need to wait for it to dry before you spray your base colour on top as it is designed to be sprayed on after 45 minutes. this saves a lot of time and also a lot of fuss as with etch, when you flat it back, if you accidentally cut through to the grp you need to re spray that part. wonce the base has dried you can spray a laquer on to give you the shine as a lot of single pack base coats do not shine. spray a couple of coats of laquer on and allow to dry. this seals the base coat as it does suck some of the shine out of the laquer if you don't seal it. then you spend ages polishing. Then just build up a few coats of laquer and the job is done apart from cutting it back and polishing.

A friend of mine works in a body shop and he said that it will not cause a problem with your paint on it if you want it re-sprayed by a pro but it may cost a bit more as prep time may increase. most of the price at a paint shop is in fact the prep and not the cost of the paint as some are led to believe.

also he said you can use a single pack base colour but he reccomends a 2 pac laquer as it is a lot harder wearing than single pack and is also more resistant to chemicals such as fuel!

hope thats a bit of help for you!

Thanks, Alec thats really useful. Did you paint yours in a domestic garage, or did you have more space available? Im collecting old sheets to cover the walls and plan to park the car diagonally in my 18' x 18' space to paint it. One last question, did you paint the doors bonnet and boot off the car or on ?

Steve.

as you can just about see from my picture my garage isn't massive but is bigger than a normal single garage. as long as you have enough space to move around the car with your gun and hose without risk of touching your painted surface you'll be fine. beware of sweat dripping from your mask if you wear one (which you should). i covered the walls and ceiling with polythene sheet and left one window open with a fan in it to suck all the overspray outside. great for the neighbours but i did warn them first. a good idea i think. don't forget to damp down the floor. not too much or it evaporates and condenses on the roof and then drips on the newly painted surface. Not Good!

i didn't use a heater but i did paint in the summer when it was warm. may be a good idea to use one if painting in the winter and heat the car and garage up a bit before you paint. not only will this help the paint 'flash off' but glass fibre is hydroscopic so it absorbs moisture from the air. if you heat it up to room temperature the moisture will evaporate and you won't trap water under your paint. this helps the paint to stick and stay nice for years.

as for painting it with the doors on or off, i painted it with them off as it is a lot easier to spray the bottom edges of the door when they are at waist height and not while you are kneeling/ lying on the floor. also the guns work better horisontally. i just hung them from the roof. i put a couple of screws in the rafters and used some hooks made from wire coat hanger and some decent string so it didn't snap. i put the hooks through the holes for my hinges.

any more questions and i'll be happy to ask!