Not really sure about this but I've been talking with some guys and researching the subject but would really appreciate your take on this article before it makes it to the main site:-
Here it is spelling mistakes and all.
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Respraying a car.
Preparation is 150% of the job. If the surface to be painted is not completely smooth and free of dust, grit and residue then forget it. We will deal with bodywork repairs in another article and just focus on the act of painting a car or respraying the car.
Before you start:
Make yourself a spray booth. Clear plastic sheeting on a wooden frame is best but you can improvise by using sheets of cardboard to line your garage wall and floor. Ensure that the area you paint in is completely dust free and make sure that you are not spraying your car on a windy day. It also helps if you are respraying your car on a warm day.
If you are after a flip paint or special effect you must ensure that you buy the right paint!
Paints all behave in very different ways and come in the following main types acrylic, metallic, pearlescent, translucent and the techniques for application of these paints are not the same. We are assuming a standard acrylic paint for this guide.
Safety.
Paint fumes are not healthy to breathe in. A decorators dust mask will not protect you. You need good filtration to take out paint particles and you need to ensure that the area you are painting in has a good supply of fresh air and is well ventilated.
Equipment.
Spray paint cans will never give a professional finish and are actually expensive when compared with the cost of hiring a good quality spray gun and the paint. Check how much area the tin of paint covers to see what I mean and remember that you want to be doing 3-5 coats of paint.
Step 1: Wash down the area to be painted thoroughly all sanding and filling has to have been done before you get to this stage. Ensure all grit, dust and road film is removed by using a good quality car cleaning fluid WITHOUT a wax additive. Washing up liquid does a good job as this strips most of the wax, oil and bug residue from the car.
Step 2: Clinical cleansing. Using a paper towel or preferably a screen wipe and solvent cleaner such as IPA or similar spirit wipe over and buff off the surface to a smear free finish.
Step 3: Masking. Any exposed area of the car is going to get painted - just a few mm out with the masking and you will have really annoying over-spray lines. Masking is even more important, if you are changing the colour of the car, and you should pay attention to all of the seams IE open the doors, bonnet etc and take out the glass (when the windscreen goes and is replaced you do not want a small patch of the old paint showing through.) In a perfect world the car will just be a shell with all plastic and interior removed.
Step 4: Spraying. Ensure that you have a good flow of paint so test on a scrap of card - you need to look out for blobs and splatters. Do not aim to completely cover the metal just spray a fine mist over the surface - a load of thin coats of paint is much better than a couple of thick coats. Keep the spray gun moving at a regular pace from left to right on the first coat then up and down on the next coat. Try to view the car as a whole rather than just painting a panel at a time (if you are respraying just one panel you need to blend the paint in to the surrounding panels as most if not all paints fade over time.) Ideally leave 1 hour between coats of paint.
For some paint you need to finish with a final lacquer coar. The final lacquer coat will be the last you apply and even this can be applied in a couple of thin layers.
Step 5: Finish off with a fine grit of wet and dry paper then polish off with a cutting paste and then apply a good quality polish - this protects the car when you are refitting the parts you stripped off it.
Here it is spelling mistakes and all.
--------------------------
Respraying a car.
Preparation is 150% of the job. If the surface to be painted is not completely smooth and free of dust, grit and residue then forget it. We will deal with bodywork repairs in another article and just focus on the act of painting a car or respraying the car.
Before you start:
Make yourself a spray booth. Clear plastic sheeting on a wooden frame is best but you can improvise by using sheets of cardboard to line your garage wall and floor. Ensure that the area you paint in is completely dust free and make sure that you are not spraying your car on a windy day. It also helps if you are respraying your car on a warm day.
If you are after a flip paint or special effect you must ensure that you buy the right paint!
Paints all behave in very different ways and come in the following main types acrylic, metallic, pearlescent, translucent and the techniques for application of these paints are not the same. We are assuming a standard acrylic paint for this guide.
Safety.
Paint fumes are not healthy to breathe in. A decorators dust mask will not protect you. You need good filtration to take out paint particles and you need to ensure that the area you are painting in has a good supply of fresh air and is well ventilated.
Equipment.
Spray paint cans will never give a professional finish and are actually expensive when compared with the cost of hiring a good quality spray gun and the paint. Check how much area the tin of paint covers to see what I mean and remember that you want to be doing 3-5 coats of paint.
Step 1: Wash down the area to be painted thoroughly all sanding and filling has to have been done before you get to this stage. Ensure all grit, dust and road film is removed by using a good quality car cleaning fluid WITHOUT a wax additive. Washing up liquid does a good job as this strips most of the wax, oil and bug residue from the car.
Step 2: Clinical cleansing. Using a paper towel or preferably a screen wipe and solvent cleaner such as IPA or similar spirit wipe over and buff off the surface to a smear free finish.
Step 3: Masking. Any exposed area of the car is going to get painted - just a few mm out with the masking and you will have really annoying over-spray lines. Masking is even more important, if you are changing the colour of the car, and you should pay attention to all of the seams IE open the doors, bonnet etc and take out the glass (when the windscreen goes and is replaced you do not want a small patch of the old paint showing through.) In a perfect world the car will just be a shell with all plastic and interior removed.
Step 4: Spraying. Ensure that you have a good flow of paint so test on a scrap of card - you need to look out for blobs and splatters. Do not aim to completely cover the metal just spray a fine mist over the surface - a load of thin coats of paint is much better than a couple of thick coats. Keep the spray gun moving at a regular pace from left to right on the first coat then up and down on the next coat. Try to view the car as a whole rather than just painting a panel at a time (if you are respraying just one panel you need to blend the paint in to the surrounding panels as most if not all paints fade over time.) Ideally leave 1 hour between coats of paint.
For some paint you need to finish with a final lacquer coar. The final lacquer coat will be the last you apply and even this can be applied in a couple of thin layers.
Step 5: Finish off with a fine grit of wet and dry paper then polish off with a cutting paste and then apply a good quality polish - this protects the car when you are refitting the parts you stripped off it.