Who has painted their 40 themself? (1 Viewer)

[S4Cruiser]

How many color coats of single stage did you guys use? I'm thinking I'll need to be thick enough for wet sanding to remove orange peal. never did anything with a gun but a bit of experience with rattle cans including Cruiser front fenders, side aprons, bib, plus Harley tanks and fenders. I'm going with an HVLP gun for the whole rig, part by part this time.

I did 3 coats. First one full coverage but dry, wait to tack. Second coat heavier but not super wet, wait to tack. Third coat wet and almost to point of it running/sagging. It's better to wait longer than not b/w coats as you don't want the subsequent coat to bring the earlier one out of tack...equals a mess. I was amazed at how wet I could lay down the final coat without it running, especially on a horizontal surface.

Also, I did not cut/buff. Orange peel was minimal, but the damn dust nibs were a pain.

 

[Pete]

I did 3 coats. First one full coverage but dry, wait to tack. Second coat heavier but not super wet, wait to tack. Third coat wet and almost to point of it running/sagging. It's better to wait longer than not b/w coats as you don't want the subsequent coat to bring the earlier one out of tack...equals a mess. I was amazed at how wet I could lay down the final coat without it running, especially on a horizontal surface.

Also, I did not cut/buff. Orange peel was minimal, but the damn dust nibs were a pain.

You could get rid of the dust nibs pretty easily if you wanted to take the time, couldn't you? Did you paint outside or in a closed garage?

 

[caz]

I painted mine - same as two other posters - used PPG Omni single stage poly paint.

I repainted a few items multiple times to correct my boo-boos, and although I wore a respirator and changed the filters often I swear my sinuses have never been the same! A word of caution there..

It held up extremely well and wet sanding fixed some sags and other defects.

I still have a bunch of blue tools and things that were laying around the garage and we're covered. I've moved, but the garage is probably coated in a fine blue mist to this day!

The results were very good. Most people could not believe I painted it.

The only piece I didn't do myself was the hood. I was so frustrated by that point I paid someone to do it.

 

[NCFJ]

OK, it's a Jeep. Get over it, very similar to paint.

Lots of good information in this thread, I'll just add my opinion. PREP is where a good paint job is born. Body work and paint prep are very time consuming, VERY time consuming. Take your time, do it right the first time. Short cuts that you take on basic body work and then paint prep will certainly show up in the final paint job.

I used PPG, forget the specific type. This is a base coat/ clear coat paint job, They called this Sky Blue. I lived in a stilt house in the Keys at the time, I parked under the house. So I bought a big roll of 4mil plastic and made a paint booth. I stapled it to the floor joists above and dropped 4 walls. I set up a couple 20" box fans at floor level with stacked HVAC filters to suck air out. About 5-10 minutes before I rolled the truck in and brought in all the loose pieces and set them up I sprayed down the walls and floor with the hose, floor was 3/8 pea gravel.

I can not stress enough the use of a good respirator. I have a supplied air system that I bought about 30 years ago when I was doing custom paint on RC helicopters and spraying paint 15-20 hours a week. They are worth the investment. Mine is still in use with nothing but replacement filters.

A decent paint gun is also important, do not cheap out here. By the time that you get to using the spray gun you already have a lot invested in both money and time. I sprayed 4 coats of base and three of clear on the truck above. Like mentioned above, 3-4 steps wet sanding and then two steps buffing it out and I got the results above. I am a fan of 3 light dusting coats and the final coat is as thick as it needs to be to just "flow" and that's it.

Practice on an old fender or something similar. Buy a little more paint than you need and see how it sprays. Spraying paint is a learned skill, a bit like welding. There is a reason good paint and body guys make good money. That's the reason I stick to turning wrenches

 

[S4Cruiser]

You could get rid of the dust nibs pretty easily if you wanted to take the time, couldn't you? Did you paint outside or in a closed garage?

Yes they can be removed with a nib file. I have one, just haven't messed with it yet.

I painted inside my garage in a homemade booth. The key (through trial and error) to cutting down on the dust was a decent suit, tacking parts once positioned, wetting floor, then tacking parts again. I got it straight toward the end of my panels.

 

[S4Cruiser]

Like Stan (@NCFJ) mentioned...wearing a positive respirator is very important, especially when using the modern day paints (ones with harderners) and inside a structure (garage, etc.). You don't want to breath or have the paint touch your skin. Isocyanates are no fxxxing joke. Full face respirator and full suit.

A hobby air respirator is 500 bucs or so...painting it yourself the correct and safe way is not necessarily a path to save money, but I did it for the experience. I also can do the next one for cheaper...

 

[Gappy]

Painted it, I'd highly recommend NAPA paints and their clearcoat. This 69' was done 7 years ago now
View attachment 1554539
View attachment 1554540

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That is total bad ass! Love that green!!

 

[Gappy]

Impressive sig line btw.

Indeed!!

 

[Gappy]

Thanks for all of the input and pics!! It helps my motivation!
As the weather gets colder here and my barn woodstove is looking for action, I move inside looking for projects......I think I may have found it.

 

[Strait Cruisin]

I sandblasted my tub and I think the tub will dribble grains of it for years.

Its my first paint job and considering all the things that have to go right to get a good layer of paint, I'm happy with how it turned out.

 

[bwalker16527]

My brother-in-law and I painted my 40 body this summer. Still working on getting the hardtop done.

 

[Gappy]

My brother-in-law and I painted my 40 body this summer. Still working on getting the hardtop done.View attachment 1556839 View attachment 1556840

Very nice!
Did you paint that inside?

 

[andy's60]

Rustoleum rattle can bedliner

 

[bwalker16527]

Very nice!
Did you paint that inside?

No, we painted outside. Only had 3 bug issues that sanded out OK. I think it turned out pretty good.

 

[fjl40]

Like S4cruiser said, it's not the cheap way to go depending on what you plan to do after you set up your booth, but these are some very important components if you plan to paint more, and possibly take on other projects, good filters!!

 

[Gappy]

Like S4cruiser said, it's not the cheap way to go depending on what you plan to do after you set up your booth, but these are some very important components if you plan to paint more, and possibly take on other projects, good filters!!

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Very nice! That's getting fancy, may be above my fancy threshold.

 

[Gappy]

Where do I find the original factory paint code for my 40?

 

[Strait Cruisin]

Where do I find the original factory paint code for my 40?

Mine has a plate on the passenger (?) fender with the code. There is a long thread about it in the FAQ.

 

[fjl40]

I think it's on the tag inside the diverside door jam. If not I'm sure others will tell you exactly where it is.

 

[Strait Cruisin]

This is from the FAQ:

Factory Color Code Location ??