How hard is it to paint?

[peterb]

I've planned on having rattle cans mixed to paint my OEM soft doors and tailgate but I have a 15 gallon air compressor and thought I could buy a gun and shoot it myself. Is this a bad idea? Anyone with no clue tried this before?
My 40 is not a resto by any means. I just want everything to be the same color.
If this has been covered before, please point me to it. I couldn't find a thead on the subject.
Thanks
Peter

 

[scottryana]

I can't help you with the paint gun, but I spay painted mine and it came out OK. I can't speak to the ddurability of spay painting, but since you are using the same type of paint just a different delivery system it should be ok. If you want to see photos of my spray painted truck, just take a look at my signature.

Ryan.

 

[MDH33]

If you buy a spray gun and already have a compressor, you'll probably be happier with the results compared to rattle cans. It's not that hard, and if you're not after a show quality job it will be fine, plus you'll be learning something new.

 

[Pin_Head]

While a 15 gallon compressor may work, you won't be happy waiting for it to catch up.

You also need dry air; water in your spray can ruin your day. Something as simple as a roll of TP in a filtr can or a piece of copper tube cooled in dry ice will do.

 

[pirateslair]

If you are going to put the money out, a good gun ($125-$250) will pay for itself over and over again. Or you can get a "husky" at Home Depot and do entry level work. Though sporadic and spread over years I've always loved owning a gun and the variety of paints and coatings in that world are fun. With single stage enamel (TLC Standard) you can shoot, sand and buff your way to a fairly professional look.

 

[BladeRunner80]

Okay, I was in EXACTLY the same boat as you a few months ago. Lucky for you, you already have an air compressor. The NAPA down the street from where I work mixes custom paint cans and I thought "oh I'll just have 12 or so made up in horizontal blue and be done with it." You figure that is about 120 or so in rattle cans (usually they are 10 bucks or so, more if you only buy a few at a time).

My rational was that I wanted to take this truck out on the trail and there was no use in spending alot on a paintjob, and by alot I mean anything over 500 bucks. The guy at the paint store convinced me to buy a decent HVLP gun (100 bucks with contractors discount). At first I was just rattle canning the primer on and then I was going to shoot the enamel final coat with the gun. After about 20 bucks in rattle can primer I bought a quart of 2k primer and never looked back. When you rattle can, you have to put a lot of coats on becuase it goes on very thin. When you use the paint gun, you get a very nice coat, three coats later and your golden.

Here is my process:

1) Sanding and light body work (I had a majority of mine done last summer by next door neighbor, rust and a f'ed up fender)

2) Primer, sand, more primer more sanding

3) I used an acyrlic enamel or something, single stage, I didn't want to bother with a clear coat, mostly because this a truck, not a show car. Sprayed 3 coats, its a real bitch spraying the truck if your short and you a lift, that damn hood is tough to spray. Do at least three coats - see why on step 4. Also make sure its warm or your paint will run like its in a marathon, trust me I know. I chose to paint during one of coldest months in Seattle, bad idea.....being patient is important.

4) Let the paint cure for a few days, then wet with 1000, then 1500 then I used a couple diffent rubbing compounds. I didn't spray enough and then polished through the paint, so I had to do touch ups. In fact, I'm still doing them.


Here is a link to some pics

All in all, I think I spent around 400-500 bucks, not including the air compressor I bought, but I figured what the hell, I'll need eventually anyway. Any questions let me know, this was my experience, I'm sure there are some others on here who can tell you about their process. Do some searches on "rattle can", that may help you out as well.

 

[Cammy]

X2 on wishing you had a bigger compressor. I painted an 89 Cheby PU with a small compressor. Did fine for pannels like fenders and hood but the bed could have been nicer if I would have had the volume of air needed.
Harbor freight HVLP gun works great for the money. I only apint a couple of times a year.
I use a 2 part epoxy primer that works awesome! Easy sanding and tough as nails.

 

[my64fj40]

If you are going to put the money out, a good gun ($125-$250) will pay for itself over and over again. Or you can get a "husky" at Home Depot and do entry level work. Though sporadic and spread over years I've always loved owning a gun and the variety of paints and coatings in that world are fun. With single stage enamel (TLC Standard) you can shoot, sand and buff your way to a fairly professional look.

You can spend tons of money on the best gun and still get s***ty results.

Prep it before you paint, keep the dust off of it, etc..

And like Pinhead said, do something to keep the water out of the paint gun or all your work will go to waste. There's no cutting corners in painting, if you do it will be terribly obvious to anyone that looks at it in person.

 

[fishlessman]

lay the pieces flat and paint the insides one day and the outsides a day or so later, that will give you some practice and most people really only look at the outside.

 

[peterb]

Hey everyone
Thanks for all the input. When the weather warms up, I'll get a gun and give it a try.
Thanks
Peter

 

[camcruiser13]

easy as pie, get a gun and spay away

get hvlp gun

 

[ar2stp48]

The small 15 gal will give a little trouble; you will have to wait for it to build up vol.
I found a site, paintucation.com or something along that idea---cant find a link in the bookmarks on this work computer, but maybe someone else has it marked. Lots of good prep info.
One of the Harbor Freight HVLP guns got excellent reviews compared to some of the big bucks guns for the home painter. I have picked the guns up for about $30 on sale. They do a good job

 

[1973Guppie]

don't rattle can it, did it with mine and it came out ok, 6 months later it looks like bird s***, use automotive paint that is made for a car, I wish I had sprayed mine but at the time I was working on a slab of concret in my apartment space and the city had already given me a notice to fix it or they will tow it. I plan to repaint the truck and do some additional mods after I finish my current project.

Noah

 

[AnthroCruiser]

I rattle canned my cruiser with Rustoleum "Sand" from Wal-Mart. (I know, you were going to use good quality paint...). The paint job cost about $40, if I recall, and looked nice for almost 3 months! Actually, even when it was fresh it didn't look anything like a pro job, but at least it was all the same color.

I'm planning on getting a paint gun now, too.

- Matt

 

[bus_hit_my7140]

i am a professional painter. i have done many types of paint jobs in the last 6 years including my 40 and now airbrushing street bikes. your very best bet on getting a really good paint job is to prep the car yourself. that is what makes the best paint jobs, the prep work. it all really comes down to how much of the car you take appart, if you strip the entire paint job it currently has now and start with new metal etch primer/high build primer/guide coat/block sand/and use the correct temprature range/catalyst as stated on your paint manufacturers tech sheets. basicly just buy a cheap gun at home depot, and prime it your self, get it taped and ready for paint. that is the biggest expence by far when it comes to paint. you are talking about days in labor to do it right. once that expence is out of the way. rent a trailer and take it to the body shop. you will never paint as good as one of us who does it every day. you don't have the technique or the practice to know things like how to get the exact reducer to clear coat to catalyst mix in combonation with your guns cap and nossle. or how to spray it in order to get the proper coverage without getting runs. it will not cost you much to go somewhere like macco and tell them you want a 2 stage paint job, color/clearcoat. all they have to do is a finnal wash and tach. then they can shoot it. it shouldn't cost you more than $500 and the job, if you do good prep work, will look like a $5000 job.

other wise get a cheap gun and try and find some old illegal single stage laquer at an old paint shop, that stuff is very very hard.(as in the paint's finish) spray multipal coats so as not to run it. and buff the hell out of it. that might even be the best for an off roader. laquer is often times almost as hard as powder coating. aka those bushes won't sratch your paint. anyways sorry this is so long. just want to give some pro help

 

[71FJ40]

Use an automotive grade 2 part paint - rattle can will not hold up on these trucks - period.

As my64FJ40 said - prep, prep, prep. Get 5+ gallons of thinner at a local paint and body shop (should run about $35 - and don't get the homedespot brand stuff - not the same) and use it liberally and frequently to keep everyting clean. Also, if you have done any sandblasting around the truck, get a can of anti-silicone and wipe the truck down well before spraying.

HVLP guns are great and they keep overspray to a minimum, but the need lots-o-air.

 

[sepr2]

That's great advice. Bottom line is the prep. A good paint job will showcase a bad prep job...

 

[Cuerno Largo]

FWIW, I also think the prep work is what makes the paint job. I have a $120 paint gun and a $30 dollar Harbor Freight gun and I actually prefer the cheaper gun. I can't tell the difference in the qulaity of the job between the guns on the things I have painted.

 

[toddslater]

Since your only shooting your soft doors and tailgate and your somewhat limited by air power and you don't have any experience painting...but are willing to learn and do a better quality job than rattle can. For gun choice I'd recommend something very similar to this http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200307209_200307209

Also commonly known as a jamb gun (old school suction feed). Your not covering huge areas so cup size is not that big of a deal...however it will give you better control over your pattern and material volumes for a beginner. As others have said the devil is in the prep work. Make sure you use compatable primers with whatever your planning on spaying for the finish coats. A decent/reputable autobody supplier can help keep you straight there. Do not continually wipe you work down with thinnner...unless you would like to continue adding primer and resanding. Use Prep-Solv (PPG) or Pre-Kleeno (BASF/RM/Glasurit), wipe it down real well and follow with a clean dry cloth prior to painting. Last step is wipe the to be painted panels down with a tack cloth and your ready for color. Use a single stage paint with the clear already in it.

Lastly, since you don't have any water traps, pick your day. Low humidity and 65 degrees with the right reducer and harderner will do fine for those couple of parts you need to paint. Also, if you compressor air tank has a drain on it make sure to drain it first as well. There is more but this should be enough to get you going.

 

[bando966]

Check this out :How to paint your Truck for 50.00

I know it seems unreal but, check out this link for a brilliant alternative to spraying your beloved cruiser (really it's just the way they used to paint cars)
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads...=1&PHPSESSID=aab68f8fe95a7508a93ec07bbb2de5a6

When I finish my body work I'm tryin' it...The post has about 2-3 hours of reading material (I've read it all) but it's a pretty slick idea...

here is the raw post with all pages it shows others results etc.
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1

Make sure you check out the pics of his orange charger...it will blow your mind