farmersamm
Member
It's a fact.
I have been looking at some of the resto's here, and the paint brings me to tears. It's a shame to go to all that effort, and have something that looks like it's been painted with a rattle can.
And, there's some beautiful ones here too. Great work guys!!!!
I don't want to go into prep work, that's something for another thread. And I'm only addressing y'all that are new to painting, and maybe haven't figured it out.
Let's talk about shooting the paint.
It should look like glass after you're done. You should be able to read a book that's reflected on the surface of the paint.
This is after about a 4 hour dry down, it's gonna look like that till it starts to oxidize from age. A clearcoat will preserve this look, if you care to go that extra mile.
Paint...…...All I do is equipment, so all I buy is equipment paint. A good quality oil based enamel. I like Van Sickle, but that's just my preference.
Thinner...……. [b:0092faaa67][u:0092faaa67]This is the biggie[/u:0092faaa67][/b:0092faaa67][i:0092faaa67][/i:0092faaa67] Use a slow thinner, not naptha (even though a lot of manufacturers suggest naptha) Thinner "speed" is a function of the time it takes for the thinner to flash. In other words, fast thinners are more volatile, and evaporate faster...…….less time for the paint to level. I prefer mineral spirits, or the generic "paint thinner" that's out there (it's just a smellier version of so-called odorless mineral spirits) Keep in mind, that mineral spirits as sold, is a somewhat better quality thinner than "paint thinner".
Flashing is what it's all about when getting that mirrored glass look. Your paint has to flow, and level out. Slow thinners work best in windy, or hot situations. Fast thinners really only need be used when it's less than ideal temps for painting. The idea is to use the slowest thinner that you can handle. This relates to your skill with the gun. The longer the paint stays wet, the higher the gloss you'll be able to attain.
Thinning..........It should be the consistency of milk (This is for a regular siphon gun,, running at 40psi......HVLP guns are trash far as I'm concerned). You want multiple thin coats. Thin coats allow for leveling due to the longer flash time (I'll get into flash time later). Thin coats, that are thinner rich, help to reduce overspray banding. If you feel that you'll be using too much paint (because a lot of it will wind up as fog in the air), then you're not committed to a quality job, no need to read further. Gotta break some eggs to make an omlette.
Ok, so now you got this milky stuff in the cup. Time to spray.
On a "wide" pattern (set your pattern on a piece of scrap cardboard), you should be able to shoot about a 4-6" strip. NOW HERE'S WHERE YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION. A 6" pattern will only cover about 3ish inches[b:0092faaa67] because you're overlapping as you spray[/b:0092faaa67] Always backstep half of your pattern, and apply another pass. Once you start the process, you'll be spraying every 3". BUT IT'S NOT A BAD THING. Because you're running a very wet mix on your paint, you'll be moving fast to keep from getting runs in the paint. So,, it's not eating up a lot of time.
Oh God, he's telling me to use thin paint that can run, and I gotta go fast to prevent the runs. Yeah,, you betcha.
So, why are we putting ourselves thru this heartache???
[b:0092faaa67]TO PREVENT OVERSPRAY[/b:0092faaa67]
To achieve a nice gloss, the paint has to be wet. And it has to be wet from the first pass, to the end of whatever it is you're painting. When you see bands in dried paint, it means you didn't overlap enough to keep the leading edge of the paint wet. Insuffiecint overlap doesn't allow thinner go go back into the previous pass to keep it wet, while you're applying your present pass. It's all about blending. This is where that slow thinner, I preached on earlier, comes into play. That slow thinner keeps your previous pass wet because it's slow to evaporate.
So, now you applied that first color coat (I'll get into mist coats later,, they're actually the first coat).
You're probably gonna apply at least 4 color coats, but you need to know when to apply each coat. FORGET THAT BS ON THE CAN LABEL. You need to apply that next coat when the previous coat flashes.
More flashing.........A coat of paint flashes when the thinner starts to evaporate to the point that the solids start to set up. Thinner, and other stuff in the paint, is the carrier. The carrier only exists to place solids on the surface of the metal in a uniform layer. Generally, flash time is about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette.....maybe 5-10 minutes. More accurately,, it's the time it takes for the paint to become tacky. Once it reaches the tack stage, it's ready for the next coat.
DO NOT WAIT OVER LONG. The tack stage is where the paint hasn't formed a skin yet, and subsequent passes can blend into the pass ya just made. You want the thinner to "burn" in to that previous pass, and combine the solids. (When the can of paint says "1 hour between coats", IGNORE IT.)
I mentioned mist coats...………….Your absolutely first coat, on top of the primer, is a mist coat. It's sprayed very thin, and fast. You don't want a lot of material on the metal at this point. It's purpose is to burn into the primer, and give some "tooth" for the upcoming color coats.
Another type of mist coat (probably more correctly called a wet coat), is the final blend coat on the equipment. It's an extremely thin coat(like water), sprayed the same as the color coats. It's purpose is to blend any possible irregularities in previous passes. RUN VERY CAREFULLY WITH THIS COAT, it can cause severe runs if you tarry.
Primer, mist/tooth coat, 4 color coats, and a final wet coat.
This was an extremely difficult job. I could only work from outside the frame rails, and had to do the entire trailer deck in segments. And, it had to be wet enough between coats to blend. This is why I preach slow thinners.
We, at Uranus, do some of the finest fabrication on the planet
It not only has to be good......it has to look good.
A final note. Experiment with the size of the area you can paint, while maintaining a good wet edge. Too large of an area lets the thinner flash before you can do a second pass. You gotta be able to do next passes in that magical 5-10 minute flash time.
Anyways...….hope it's a good primer for the uninitiated.
I have been looking at some of the resto's here, and the paint brings me to tears. It's a shame to go to all that effort, and have something that looks like it's been painted with a rattle can.
And, there's some beautiful ones here too. Great work guys!!!!
I don't want to go into prep work, that's something for another thread. And I'm only addressing y'all that are new to painting, and maybe haven't figured it out.
Let's talk about shooting the paint.
It should look like glass after you're done. You should be able to read a book that's reflected on the surface of the paint.
This is after about a 4 hour dry down, it's gonna look like that till it starts to oxidize from age. A clearcoat will preserve this look, if you care to go that extra mile.
Paint...…...All I do is equipment, so all I buy is equipment paint. A good quality oil based enamel. I like Van Sickle, but that's just my preference.
Thinner...……. [b:0092faaa67][u:0092faaa67]This is the biggie[/u:0092faaa67][/b:0092faaa67][i:0092faaa67][/i:0092faaa67] Use a slow thinner, not naptha (even though a lot of manufacturers suggest naptha) Thinner "speed" is a function of the time it takes for the thinner to flash. In other words, fast thinners are more volatile, and evaporate faster...…….less time for the paint to level. I prefer mineral spirits, or the generic "paint thinner" that's out there (it's just a smellier version of so-called odorless mineral spirits) Keep in mind, that mineral spirits as sold, is a somewhat better quality thinner than "paint thinner".
Flashing is what it's all about when getting that mirrored glass look. Your paint has to flow, and level out. Slow thinners work best in windy, or hot situations. Fast thinners really only need be used when it's less than ideal temps for painting. The idea is to use the slowest thinner that you can handle. This relates to your skill with the gun. The longer the paint stays wet, the higher the gloss you'll be able to attain.
Thinning..........It should be the consistency of milk (This is for a regular siphon gun,, running at 40psi......HVLP guns are trash far as I'm concerned). You want multiple thin coats. Thin coats allow for leveling due to the longer flash time (I'll get into flash time later). Thin coats, that are thinner rich, help to reduce overspray banding. If you feel that you'll be using too much paint (because a lot of it will wind up as fog in the air), then you're not committed to a quality job, no need to read further. Gotta break some eggs to make an omlette.
Ok, so now you got this milky stuff in the cup. Time to spray.
On a "wide" pattern (set your pattern on a piece of scrap cardboard), you should be able to shoot about a 4-6" strip. NOW HERE'S WHERE YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION. A 6" pattern will only cover about 3ish inches[b:0092faaa67] because you're overlapping as you spray[/b:0092faaa67] Always backstep half of your pattern, and apply another pass. Once you start the process, you'll be spraying every 3". BUT IT'S NOT A BAD THING. Because you're running a very wet mix on your paint, you'll be moving fast to keep from getting runs in the paint. So,, it's not eating up a lot of time.
Oh God, he's telling me to use thin paint that can run, and I gotta go fast to prevent the runs. Yeah,, you betcha.
So, why are we putting ourselves thru this heartache???
[b:0092faaa67]TO PREVENT OVERSPRAY[/b:0092faaa67]
To achieve a nice gloss, the paint has to be wet. And it has to be wet from the first pass, to the end of whatever it is you're painting. When you see bands in dried paint, it means you didn't overlap enough to keep the leading edge of the paint wet. Insuffiecint overlap doesn't allow thinner go go back into the previous pass to keep it wet, while you're applying your present pass. It's all about blending. This is where that slow thinner, I preached on earlier, comes into play. That slow thinner keeps your previous pass wet because it's slow to evaporate.
So, now you applied that first color coat (I'll get into mist coats later,, they're actually the first coat).
You're probably gonna apply at least 4 color coats, but you need to know when to apply each coat. FORGET THAT BS ON THE CAN LABEL. You need to apply that next coat when the previous coat flashes.
More flashing.........A coat of paint flashes when the thinner starts to evaporate to the point that the solids start to set up. Thinner, and other stuff in the paint, is the carrier. The carrier only exists to place solids on the surface of the metal in a uniform layer. Generally, flash time is about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette.....maybe 5-10 minutes. More accurately,, it's the time it takes for the paint to become tacky. Once it reaches the tack stage, it's ready for the next coat.
DO NOT WAIT OVER LONG. The tack stage is where the paint hasn't formed a skin yet, and subsequent passes can blend into the pass ya just made. You want the thinner to "burn" in to that previous pass, and combine the solids. (When the can of paint says "1 hour between coats", IGNORE IT.)
I mentioned mist coats...………….Your absolutely first coat, on top of the primer, is a mist coat. It's sprayed very thin, and fast. You don't want a lot of material on the metal at this point. It's purpose is to burn into the primer, and give some "tooth" for the upcoming color coats.
Another type of mist coat (probably more correctly called a wet coat), is the final blend coat on the equipment. It's an extremely thin coat(like water), sprayed the same as the color coats. It's purpose is to blend any possible irregularities in previous passes. RUN VERY CAREFULLY WITH THIS COAT, it can cause severe runs if you tarry.
Primer, mist/tooth coat, 4 color coats, and a final wet coat.
This was an extremely difficult job. I could only work from outside the frame rails, and had to do the entire trailer deck in segments. And, it had to be wet enough between coats to blend. This is why I preach slow thinners.
We, at Uranus, do some of the finest fabrication on the planet
It not only has to be good......it has to look good.
A final note. Experiment with the size of the area you can paint, while maintaining a good wet edge. Too large of an area lets the thinner flash before you can do a second pass. You gotta be able to do next passes in that magical 5-10 minute flash time.
Anyways...….hope it's a good primer for the uninitiated.
