The Spray Painting Thread

[mr75]

Well I now have the engine bay and firewall painted in straight gloss black it looks good. The heater is running now as I type. This thread definately helped. At the end of the day you just need to give it a go. Theres not really that much to it if you can read instructions But cheers guys.

Will have pics once the paint is dried. You will love my "spray booth" too

[Z2TT]

Emailed the manufacturer and they have 1.4mm and 2.0mm Tips, goodie might order them.

Well I got the gun, have a 3hp Compressor with 50L Tank.... when time allows will begin experimenting.

40 PSI I guess should be fine to feed to the gun? Instructions say 45 max.

[kremsra28]

use watever air pressure it says on the paint your using, different manufacterers suggest different pressures, usually 2-4 bar for 2pak, i cant remember wat paint it was but they reccomended 6-8 bar (around 90psi), just make sure your tank has no water in it and you have a good water trap.

mr75 is right, if you get in and have a go, it aint that hard, just read books (and this thread) ask questions and then more questions, dont rush, its very rewarding.

krem

[toyboyracer]

Could've read through all 64 pages BUT I'll post up this info anyway...

Best and cheapest way to strip paint off PANELS - Engine bays are more of a pain

Buy 4 lts of AUTOMOTIVE paint stripper

Apply to the panel in a 2mm thickness

COVER the applied section with GLADWRAP or cheaper lesser brand of cling wrap

Covering the paint stripper traps the heat in thus making it 50 times more effective !

Ever spilt stripper on your skin and it burns ?

Try what I've said re the wrap - You'll be pleasantly supprised !

["Z" UTE]

Also when paint stripping panels, buy some aluminium tape. Tape the edges of the panel before you apply the paint stripper and glad wrap. The tape will prevent drips of paint stripper rolling over the edge of the panel, and stuffing the underside paint. Just requires that you sand the edges, no big deal in the scheme of things.

I threw out a TA22 that had been paint stripped by an amateur, it was all too hard to fix the thing, with paint stripper having done its job in places that paint stripper had no right to be.

An engine bay will cost about $200.00 to have stripped of paint by soda blasting. Some of these companies come to you. Paint stripper in an engine bay is headache and heartbreake city.

cheers Chuck.

[Cuzzo]

Can paint-stripping warp panels?

How must you clean the panels down afterwards?

[Scoobzd]

Excessive use of sand blasting surely warp a panel will by a dumb operator !

Wash down the panel with water and a scrubbing brush, then some metho to clean up

Do NOT get metho on acrylic paint - NOT GOOD !!

["Z" UTE]

Great thing to help accelerate paint stripping, is to scour the paint with some 80 grade paper. This opens up the paint by breaking the paint surface, allowing the paint stripper to penetrate more easily. Do not however use a scraper to score through the paint to the metal, as you will undoubtedly scratch through the phosphate coating of the stell. Instant rust is the result, as soon as you scrub the paint stripper off with brush and water. Wash the job off with water and sugar soap, the soap will neutralise the stripper.

cheers Chuck.

[o_man_ra23]

Chuck,

I have done some research into soda blasting, and the information came back that the blasting process left a coating on the steel to prevent rust. This coating then also prevents paint from adhering, which requires the entire area to be sanded prior to painting to give a key. Something to be very wary of when using soda blasting.

["Z" UTE]

I have used soda blasting, it is baking soda/soda ash, whatever else you want to call it. It is as dry as all get out, and only leaves a dust residue. This can be blown off with an air pistol. The crystaline structure of the soda has extremely sharp edges, this is what abrades the paint from the surface.

One of the most widely used paint removal processes other than sand blasting is shell blasting, they use walnut shells, and YES this does leave an oily residue, and in crevices it could be hard to get out.

I asked my local blaster to sell me some "PMB", ah crap he said, caught out. They advertise that they use it, but use walnut shell instead, as the PMB (plastic media) is quite expensive.

Having had a car sand blasted, and having soda blasted one myself, I can guarantee the clean up of the soda is a doddle in comparison to sand.

cheers Chuck.

[GeneSPIDA]

Regarding the Soda Blasting, yes it leaves a residue, but you don't need to sand the car. What I've seen recommended is to use a cleaner with a slight acidity to it, and wash down using a scrubbing pad.

For this, I used some water-based Glasurit cleaner, making sure to completely wipe dry afterwards.

I read this in a book from a very experienced show car builder in the US, where he talked about Soda Blasting, but highlighted the residue risk affecting paint adhesion.

[takai]

Ive got a couple of little painful spots on my radiator support where, despite being sanded back to bare metal and etch primed, the paint continually bubbles up.
It does it with Acrylic, Enamel and 2Pak as well as various spraycans....

Suggestions?

["Z" UTE]

takai, there is probably something microscopic trapped in the metal. eg. acid, sand it back, neutralize the acid with hot soapy water, dry off, apply rust converter, sand that off, etch prime and paint.

cheers Chuck.

[Scoobzd]

Some decent facts here http://www.sodablasting.com/about-sodablasting/

[Doogs]

Hey guys, not sure if it has already been suggested (but I didn't fancy trawling through 60 odd pages lol).
Another way to help paint stripper bite into the paint is to cover the panel with garbage bags or glad wrap, to keep the fumes acting at the paint. I have found this to be very useful when stripping panels on my car.