Cascade Crew

[Sellmanb]

So I've got me a Craftsman 7hp 60 gallon compressor, and just ordered a Devilbiss Finishline 3 paint gun, now I'm ready to start painting stuff ( I think lol).


I decided after JeffW's post on TGO that I'd try HOK paint first and see how it paints. Only problem is that I dont know exactly what all is needed in order to properly paint a vehicle lol.


So far I've gathered that I'll need:

Primer (High build I guess?)
Primer Sealer
Reducer
Hardener
"Shimrin" base coats
"Klear" Coats

is that all I would need for a basecoat/clear coat job? I'm thinking about picking up a primered 2nd gen Camaro, going over the body work a little then shooting it.

What am I missing? Also, if anyone has had any experience (Brandon?) with HOK paint, what types of the primer, base coats, clear coats have you tried, and would suggest for a first timer?


Thanks,

Bobby

[Twilightoptics]

Might want a water strainer in there somewhere!?

[alloy]

Well, from what little paint work I've done, I know one of the most important things is a good filter and moisture trap. And, be aware that you have to have enough piping after the compressor so the air will cool before it goes into the water seperator. If the seperator is too close to the compressor, the moisture will still be in a vapor form, and will not seperate out until it hits your paint job

[chevymad]

Get some disposable dessicant filters that screw on your gun. No matter how good your seperator is you'll still get some moisture. These filters will stop it. I've only used either dupont or Martin Senour paint myself. With both of those brands each component has its own hardeners/reducers. So there is a seperate hardener and reducer for the primer which is different from the one for the sealer. Same with the base and clears. So you'll end up with alot of different products. Make sure that where you buy your paint gives you the correct components. I've been burned twice now. Accept no generic components. If you're painting plastic parts you may want flex agents as well. I've read that you don't need them for an assembled car though. Also there are special primers and sealers just for doing the plastic parts as well, and they too use their own reducers/hardeners.

Temperature is going to be a big factor right now. There are usually 3 different reducers you can buy for each product depending on the temperature of the day you're going to spray on. If you have to use a heater don't use an infrared heater.. you'll get the car hot and the paint won't flow.. looks like cottage cheese. Make sure you shut off any heater before you start spraying, the paint being sprayed is explosive. If the car is too cold your paint will just sheet off in one big run.

What color are you going to try first? White is the easiest/most forgiving of the bunch. It'll even hide bad body work. Black will show body work the worst and metal flake/pearls have their own problems. Never sprayed a pearl myself but have done several metallics. My first metallic looked like it had tiger stripes. You want to kind of fog on a layer of paint after getting a complete coat in order to even out a metallic. Also if you paint a mettalic paint with the car in pieces make sure you hang all the pieces in the same orientation as they will be on the assembled car. I painted my truck doors with them laying down on a work bench. The metal flake sunk into the paint and the dye rose to the top. This made the doors appear darker then the rest of the truck.

Very first paint job I did, I got fisheyes. Tried fisheye remover...save your money. The pre-gun dessicant filters fixed all my fish eye problems.

As you can see I learned alot the hardway.

[Sellmanb]

Hey thanks for the tips

I have a water trap and a 50ft line of hose (is that gunna be enough?). I will definetly invest in a filter right before the gun... do you have any links to one? lol.


I'll more than likely be painting a metallic black.