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View Full Version : Painting101 - May apply to Boat Painting



GAWnCA
09-19-2007, 05:50 AM
I know, this talks about cars and metal work but it also applies to boats and fiberglass. Just insert BOAT and GLASS where it talks about CAR/RIDE/Etc. and Metal and it's a pretty good basic guide. Newer and better products are on the market as well. Once again, NOTE, most of the time spent on the paint job is in the preparation time.
This article was found on the Internet news groups and is intended only as a general help guide not an exact perfect method.
Lets say you have a typical ride with a stock paint job, that is alright, but it does show itÂ’s age with a bit of sun fade, rock chips, and a couple dings here and there............
So you're wanting a new paint job, here are some of the basic steps that will get you there
1...Start removing anything that can be removed that will not get painted, like the bumpers, emblems, chrome trim, lights, and stuff like that.
2...Wash your car.. Use a grease fighting dish soap like Dawn
3... Block sand your whole car with 220-320 wet sand paper. Block sanding will not only keep your surface smooth and level, but will also provide tooth for the primer to come, and show you were the low spots are (dings)
4...After block sanding and finding your dings (they will be the only spots left shiny) use a marker or chalk and mark them by drawing a circle at least an inch around them.
5...Get a drill and attach one of those plastic grinding discs, and grind those spots down to metal. you can use a DA sander also
6...Clean off the area, itÂ’s important that it is free of dust and oil
5...Prepare your filler and apply it to the area, then wait for it to cure.
6...After curing, block sand the body filler with 80 - 100 grit dry sand paper until itÂ’s level with the rest of the body.
7...Clean off the area again and check for pinholes in the filler. Also clean off the area were you have rock chips
8...Use a 2 part glazing potty to fill any pin holes in your body work, and the rock chips.
9...level out the glazing putty by lightly block sanding it with 220-320 wet sand paper.
10Â…wash your car again
11Â…Roll your ride into your paint booth (or garage, shop, plastic enclosed carport or anywhere else you plan to paint it in)
12Â… start masking off your windows, and anything else you donÂ’t want to paint that you couldnÂ’t remove.
13Â… use wheel covers or jack up the car and remove the wheels, and leave it on jack stands.
14Â… wipe down the whole car with a tack cloth to remove any dust.
15Â… wipe down your car again with wax and grease cleaner, (or reducer) and let dry.
16Â… as the cleaner is drying, start mixing up your high build primer, if you have any bodywork on the car it is always a good idea to cover it up in high build primer.
17Â… spray a spot pass over you body work first before spraying 1 to 3 coats of high build primer over the whole car, (make sure the pattern overlaps by 10- 25%) waiting 15 to 30 minutes between coats for it to flash.
18Â… After spraying your last coat, make sure you clean out your gun before doing anything else.
19Â… carefully remove all the masking on the car, and let it sit overnight.
20Â… roll out your ride and begin block sanding with 400-600 wet until its nice and smooth
21Â… Open up your doors and remove any weather stripping, and plastic moldings, as well as your door panels, and mask anything else including the doorjambs, under the hood or where ever you don't want to paint.
22Â… wash your car again, and roll it back in the booth and mask
23Â… wipe down the car with a tack cloth followed by cleaning it with wax and grease cleaner (or reducer).
24Â… Mix up your base, and spray at least 2-4 coats of your base, waiting 15 to 30 minutes for it to flash between coats. (make sure to overlap the spray by 10-50%.
25Â… Clean out your gun real good wait about 2-3 hours and mix up your clear
26Â… spray one tack coat of clear followed by 2 to 4 wet coats of clear. (use the same spray pattern of 10-50% overlap) You wonÂ’t be able to tell when it flashes, so itÂ’s a good idea to wait between 15 to 30 minutes between coats, or do the touch test.
NOT RECOMMENDED !!! DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!: THE TOUCH TEST....find a spot in the paint that will not be seen when the car is finished, about 15 minutes after spraying your clear, touch this spot with your finger, if it feels sticky or tacky then your ready for the next coat, but if it stringy and some if it clings to your finger as you lift it, then you still need to wait.
27Â… Clean out your gun REAL GOOD
28Â… wait at least an hour before removing the masking, then let it sit over night
29… the next day roll out your ride and let it “bake” in the sun for at least a day.
30Â… Put your car back together, and you should be ready for a cruse.
HOPEFULLY THIS HELPS SOME PEOPLE WITH THEIR QUESTIONS.
Anything below this is optional and is more toward a nice or show car type finish
1aÂ… Now your ready to cut and buff, start by block sanding all the orange peel, and any debris or bugs that may have gotten in your clear off with 1500 -2000 grit wet sand paper
2a... Now lightly block sand again with 2500-3000 if desired
3a... Wash the car, and towel dry
4aÂ… Start machine buffing with a medium cutting compound and a heavy wool pad
5aÂ… Now switch to a fine cutting compound and a fine wool pad or foam pad
6aÂ… buff again with swirl mark remover or machine polish with a fine wool pad or foam pad
7aÂ… wash the car, and towel dry
8aÂ… hand polish DO NOT WAX, APPLY A PURE POLISH ONLY
Put your car back together, and you are ready for a cruse