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 Spraying Tips[Frozen] Moderators: Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | |
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 MP Admin Posts: 8747       Location: Greater London \ Essex | A few people have asked about spraying tips so thought I'd sticky this until I finish the how-to guide for the homepage... Introduction This is a general guide to spraying parts \ panels on your car. Originally put together as some tips for first-time sprayers it's now expanding to a full how-to guide to help you get a quality finish without paying bodyshop prices  Location Location Location If at all possible try to do your spraying in a garage \ workshop. This allows you to have control over the temperature of the spraying environment and avoids problems due to the wind (spray going the wrong direction, dust in the air and flies!). Warm up the area with a heater (not too hot though!) If you do have to spray outside choose your day carefully, best is a warm day with minimal wind. Preparation 1) Primers... Spraying onto metal without primer won't work very well so first step is to prepare the panel. Primer comes in various colours grey, white, red depending on the colour you're spraying. Check the colour guides at your local auto shop if unsure which to use. For plastic items such as sideskirts, spoilers & mirrors you need a special Plastic Primer designed for those surfaces. I use Hycote grey now, which seems good stuff, personally I'd avoid Holts plastic primer as it comes out all runny like lacquer, making it very hard to get a nice even coat. If you've got any imperfections in the plastic itself stick a coat of filler primer (separate product) over the top of the plastic primer, which should help level things out. 2) Smoothing the surface Then hop down local bodyshop supplies shop and get some 800, 1200, 1500 and 200 grit wet 'n dry, say about 2-3 sheets of each and also some G3 cutting paste (additional G10 paste optional), you'll need that later to get the shine. Rub down with wet 800 grit paper, should make it go all dull so ready for primer. Spray primer on nice n even 2-3 coats (15-20 mins between each) then leave to dry from 24 hours (can do it sooner but best to go with what they say on the tin from experience). Once done wet flat down with the 1200 grit wet n dry until you feel it nice n smooth. Don't rush the prep stage as it's vital to getting a good finish, get it right here and it'll make the end steps much easier. Skip through too quick and you'll end up taking more time sorting it out afterwards! Colour Coat & Lacquer Once primer is smooth then spray colour coat, 3 coats or so nice n even building up more and more until you get complete coverage. Leave 15-20 mins between coats. Once last coat on 15-20 mins again go for the lacquer, this bit is arguably more important than the colour coat cos it's what gives the shine! Again build up evenly I'd say 4 coats of lacquer as you rub some off after, 15-20 min drying time between coats then for the last coat go on slightly heavier (not too much tho!) Once done leave it all to dry for a week for the paint to harden then it's time for finishing to get the shine. Finishing Rub down with 1500 \ 2000 wet n dry with some water mixed with soap (basically a lubricated wet n dry). Important: the soap used should be a bar rather than liquid and contain no additives, e.g. scented soap should not be used. The amount of "orange peel" will depend on the spraying technique used earlier on and thus the amount of rubbing down required. Take your time, working in small areas up and down, side to side covering about 1 square foot at a time to allow you to make a comparison between the orange peel and the smooth paint. Try to ensure you don't overlap areas you've already done. Eventualy, you will get it right, DONT RUSH or you could go down to primer and then you'll cry! **Ensure plenty of water is used throughout this process** Once done the lacquer will be all dull and grey looking, now it's G3 time... Get a damp cloth, then apply G3 onto paintwork by hand and work it in till it disappears, keep it damp while applying then buff off with a dry polishing cloth which should give a nice shine. Although it may seem hard work applying the paste by hand I prefer this method to using a polisher \ sander as there's a risk of burning the paint if you get it wrong using machinery! G10 fine compound is very good at removing any light scratches that occur through cutting process, caused by the build up of removed paint on the cloth or mop head. Again do this using plenty of water. Then polish up with Autoglym and admire end result Edited to include further tips and techniques from AdrianSi and Jeckulz, comments \ suggestions welcome via PM | ||
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