I want to learn how to paint with automotive paints..

- I know the area has to be VERY clean.... I mean spotless.
- I know that the metal has to be sanded and primed.
- I know about the time it takes between coats and the clear coats.

What I don't understand is how do I mix the paint and everything?

I plan on using my Dakota's truck bed as a "play" surface... because I am going to repaint it myself, and it will give me an unlimited opportunity to mess up and try again.

 

Ive been contiplating this for some time now. Just the cost to have flares painted will get you into some decent painting materials. Some paint guns are really expensive. My brother in law just picked up a gun that cost him $700. A lot of paints have different mixing applications. But I think Duplicolor has a new paint out that is basicly pour and paint.

 

most basecoat uses a mixing ratio of 1:1... 1 part base color to 1 part reducer

clearcoats are a little different.. some clear coats are a 3 part mix (clear, activator, and hardner) and other are 2 part mixes. it varies as to what brand of paint your using. dupont usually will list what their mixing ratio's are on their products. ppg usually has it too, but sometimes you need msds sheets on the product.

here's another tip if your just getting into learning how to paint. when you shoot your basecoat, overlap your spray pattern by 50%, this way you make sure to have nice, even coverage of paint. clearcoat generally should be overlapped by 75%.

3 coats of base, and 2 coats of clear, and you should be golden

 

pick the brains of the guys at the supply shop .. most of those guys love to offer advice, as long as you are a good listener.

 

Yes Duplicolor does have pour and paint system called Paint Shop. Saw it a couple of times on different TV shows. Here is the link http://www.duplicolor.com/products/paintshop.html

I will be trying this system out this winter to re-paint the race bike. I did a really good job with the rattle can in the spring and now I want to make it look much better.

Summit Racing has it for $20 a quart which is not that bad depending on how much you need.
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

 

Thats the one im talking about.

 

What about seeing if your local community college offers a class on auto body painting?

 

Now remember it doesn't matter how high quality your paint products or paint tools are, that determine your paint's finish.

Take a community college or ROP course on autobody repair and paint. You'll actually learn the proper techniques for prepping the surface and proper spray procedures. I gurantee that with no experience, your paint wont last 5 years, and it'll look worse than if Earl Sheib or Maaco were to do it.

The paint booth is one if the biggest factors in determining the finish of your paint you need a clean paint booth with good suction fans and filters. Just a little dust can make your paint and clear look like chit.

Trust me I speak from experience, my little brother has gone through all the steps described above, and he still makes mistakes, but each progressive attempt is becoming more and more show quality. My truck and his have been the learning process, they didn't look so hot while he was learning but, look at it now.

 

Thanks for advice! I think it would be worth investing the time and money on painting. Heck, if I get good at it, I might offer some of you guys some "free" paint jobs, as long as you pay for the materials.

I really want to paint my Dakota... and eventually my F150 when it needs it... but I really want to learn how to do it correctly and in the right manner, so it will look really nice.

 

just to play around on a tail gate....whew....get ready, with your wallet. this little idea of just kickin around will cost about $2k to get started. to start with nothing you would need to buy a compressor, no the one you use for your nail gun will not work, i would not try anything less than 80 gallon tank for painting cars. two guns one for primer with atleast one tip, then a second gun for the color and clear with two tips here. then nice large hoses to keep condensation. nice pressure regulator and water and oil filter....

you can get a cheaper gun for primer, but the best gun you can get for color and clear will save you a great amount of labor in colorsanding in the end. a cheap gun does not have many adjustments as a more expensive one, and the adjustments they have are alot more crude. when you hear the term you get what you pay for it really rings true in this case. parts are easy to get for a more high end gun, and cheaper guns are pretty much disposable since there are no parts to be had for most of them.

painting a vehicle can be very rewarding, but it is alot of work....alot i will warn you. if you really want to get into painting...visit a local shop and inquire within.

once you start mixing every company is a little diffrent. but with say ppg they have certain mixes for certain temps and humidity.

if you are planning on shooting in your garage...get all things that have oil, wax, soap out now....those little partilces stay in the air it seems for ever. fish eye eleminator will help keep the little spots out of the finish, but it will only help, not cure it if you are not clean.

good luck and i hope it turns out nice....

i saw the duplicolor spray job on truck u on spike...it looked like *** to me and while is the most simple color to shoot and hide problem spots. straight from can no mixing of hardners or thinners...someone painting in miami at sealevel at 85 degrees and 65% humidity vs some one in san deigo at 68 degrees and 25% humidity...dont see how the same paint will spray and lay the same with those two drastic of climates to be sprayed in. and yes the duplicolor they did on the show was sprayed in a heated $10,000+ spray booth with a $1400 gun. they must have been paid alot to ruin that truck with $300 paint.


not to discourage you at all, i wish you the best of luck, but just letting you know a little of what you are in for.