| Disclaimer |
Before spraying your car, please read the following:
I have only ever sprayed one car.
I have no formal training in spraying.
Painting a car takes longer than you think.
Painting a car is more difficult than you think.
The end result will not be as good as a factory paintjob.
You cannot paint over rust and expect it to not come back.
If you ruin your car or hurt yourself it's not my fault.
Remember to tell the DVLA.
Spraying your own car is great fun.
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| Introduction |
This guide deals with cellulose paint, which is better for the amateur sprayer as the fumes
don't kill you quite as much as those from 2-pack paint. At some point in the future cellulose
will be made illegal (it's bad for the planet) and we'll all be using 2-pack. Until then, you
can paint with cellulose using the items listed below.
Pictures of the process can be found here
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| You Will Need |
1 car
3 to 5 litres of cellulose paint
5 litres of non-bloom cellulose thinners (for thinning)
5 litres of standard grade cellulose thinners (for cleaning)
A jar or tin for mixing
A measuring device (jug, notched stick etc)
1 compressor, capable of 40psi
1 spray gun
1 air gun attachment (for blowing away dust etc)
Primer (compatible with cellulose paint)
Rust killer (if you have rust)
Filler e.g Isopon P38 (if you have holes)
Bridging filler e.g. Isopon P40 (if you have large holes)
Aluminium mesh (if you have vast holes)
Various grades of wet and dry paper
Sanding blocks
Files for rough shaping filler
Masking tape
Lots of newspaper
Lots of rags for mopping up etc
Lint free cloths for cleaning the car
Large rags (blanket, curtains etc)
Tools for removing trim etc
A large garage or workshop with good lighting
A capable helper (optional)
About 4 days (less if the car isn't rusty)
Dry warm weather
A suitable face mask
Some sheets of steel for practicing on
|
| Preparation |
The preparation determines the quality of the final job. "To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail".
Having said that, I skimped on the
prep a bit and it turned out OK!
Step 1 : The Stripdown
Some things are easy to remove, other things are easier to leave on the car. I removed
the following:
Bumpers and mounts (they were off anyway)
Headlights
Grille
Rear Lights
Number plates
Badges (they were off anyway)
Windscreen wipers
C-pillar grilles
Body stripes (very time consuming)
The following items were left on the car, and masked off:
Rain gutter trims (would be damaged by removal)
Mud-flaps (rusted nuts)
Rubber sill trims
Windscreen washer jets
Locks and handles
Glass
Sidemarker indicators (couldn't get them off)
Step 2 : Cleaning
Now the car needs to be really clean, including all those places you don't normally clean. Start off
with soapy water and a sponge. Make sure you clean:
Body seams
Around trim
Sills, wheelarches, valances
All the dirty bits where trim has been removed
Parts you want to stick tape to (e.g. window rubbers)
Use T-cut or similar to remove all dirt. If you paint over dirt the paint will
fall off! Finish off the job with a good rinse and a leathering.
Step 3 - Repairing Damage
On my Lada I had to sort out a few bits of rust - mainly the front wings and the door bottoms.
If a panel is badly rusted, consider a replacement - it may be cheaper than you think, especially
second hand. If you are repairing rust, try to follow these pointers:
Grind back to good metal.
Dish the edges of holes ready for filler.
Kill rust with a chemical e.g. Kurust, Phosphoric acid.
For large holes, use aluminium mesh. Not newspaper or rags!
Use glassfibre filler like P40 to bridge holes.
Use normal filler like P38 for the final finish.
Don't paint primer guide coats - it stops the filler binding.
A perfect repair is difficult - I settled for "good enough".
Use stopper paste to fill the last little pin-holes.
Try to fill a week before painting (I didn't).
Prime the finished repair, using several coats.
Step 4 - The Rub-Down
The entire car needs to be rubbed with wet and dry paper used wet, to provide a key for the new paint. I
used p1500 paper which was a bit fine. Then I used p800, but some rub masks showed through the final paint
so maybe this was a bit coarse? Use lots of water, change the paper regularly, and use a sanding block to
get an even finish. Try not to rub right through the paint on edges. Don't miss any bits.
Step 5 - Cleaning (again)
Now we need to clean all the gunk off from rubbing down. Use lots of water to wash away all the particles.
Then use the air gun to get water out of all the panel gaps, doors, trim etc. This is time consuming but
necessary.
Step 6 - Masking
Once the car is completely dry you can mask. Buy some good masking tape, it's worth the extra few pennies
and it won't rip. You can save money on masking paper by using newspaper, but use at least a double
thickness and watch for perforations and staple holes. My method is to mask all the window edges and trim
etc, then add the
newspaper last. Remember to mask things like the bumper mount holes and the grille opening. The wheels can
be covered in dust-cloths, it's much easier than trying to stick masking tape to a wet tyre. Walk
around the car at least twice, checking you haven't missed anything. Don't mask the driver's door handle
until the car is in it's final location!
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| The Workshop |
Where you paint your car is important. I've heard that good spray jobs can be done outdoors, but
I wouldn't like to try in England where it's always raining, windy, or cold. I settled for a warm
dry day which was a bit windy.
Step 1 : Space
You need enough space to get right around the car without moving it. Ideally you should aim for a metre
clearance all round, but I didn't have that much. We extended the garage using plastic sheeting to get
enough room. A single width garage isn't really big enough.
Step 2 : Cleaning (again)
The workshop needs to be clean. You should clean any dusty surfaces and put unused tools away. Make
sure the ceiling will not drop dust. The floor
needs to be properly swept, and then sprinkled with water to prevent more dust. You need to clean yourself
too! Dusty clothes are not on. Remember painting produces lots of dry paint dust - protect workshop
equipment with dustcloths.
Step 3 : Conditions
The enemies of the car painter are wind, cold and moisture. Wind transports dust and deflects the paint.
Cold wind can also cause blooming. Wind shouldn't be a problem if you are indoors.
If you build a shelter like I did, make it wind proof with weights, nails etc. Unless you have a heated
garage you can't do much about the cold, so paint on a warm day and don't work too late in the evening.
Moisture will make the paint bloom, even
with non-bloom thinners - paint on a dry day.
Step 4 : Health and Safety
You need a small amount of ventilation in the workshop - try opening a window but avoid strong drafts.
You must use a suitable breathing mask. Take regular fresh air breaks - I had a willing assistant who
mixed each gunfull of paint while I took 5 minutes. Don't eat or smoke whilst working. If in doubt
consult an expert or read a suitable book. Your health is important.
|
| Painting |
Painting is very difficult to do well, don't set your sights too high for your first attempt and
have fun. If you take your time and are careful, you should get a reasonable result.
Step 1 : Mixing
Cellulose paint must be mixed with thinners before use. It's very difficult to give exact guidelines
because it depends how thick the paint is before mixing. I used 60% thinners, 40% paint. If you have
a friend who knows about spraying, now's the time to invite him round for a cup of tea. Professional
sprayers use a viscosity cup to get the correct consistency, but I didn't have one. The paint needs to
be thin but not too watery. Mix in a separate tin and transfer to the gun. You can thin down later
coats more for a glossy finish, but I didn't bother.
Step 2 : Spraying
I used a 5-6 inch fan on the gun, with 40psi of pressure. I held the gun around 6-7 inches from the car.
The speed I moved the gun was determined by experiment - make sure you experiment on some scrap panels
first. The paint must go on wet, too dry and you have too
much thinners or too much pressure. If the fan is too narrow you'll get stripy paint.
I painted in horizontal layers, one panel at a time. I used a piece of cardboard to prevent overspray
on the the panel I'd just finished. A more professional way would be to remove the doors, bonnet and
boot. Each panel was painted top to bottom and then back up again in one go. The whole car was done like
this twice. The roof was a pain, my advice is to put about 6 coats on the roof. This gives you 6 attempts
at getting it right, it also gives enough paint to cut back to a shine later. Remember to spray well past
the panel edges and onto the newspaper - this prevents thin paint at the edges. Bend down when spraying
low panels, or lie on the floor. This will prevent you missing bits. Keep the gun at 90 degrees to the
panel at all times. Start moving the gun before you pull the trigger, at the other end of the stroke
release the trigger before the gun stops moving.
Step 3 : Problems
There are so many things that could go wrong - here are some that happened to me:
Matt finish - try less pressure or move the gun slower
Matt finish at panel edges - overspray from adjacent panels
Blooming - it's too cold and damp to spray
Stripes - not overlapping strokes, or fan is too narrow
Runs - going too slow or too close
Missed bits - not going to edges, going too fast, wrong gun angle
Gun spitting - clean the nozzle, air jets or vent hole
Roof looks crap - do your best and cut a shine on it later
|
| Unmasking and Reassembly |
This is the exciting bit - you get to see how your new car looks!
Step 1 : Unmasking
You can unmask pretty much straight away - by the time you've cleaned the gun the car will be touch dry.
Remove the newspaper first, then unmask the trim and edges. Don't touch the paint! Pull masking take away from
paint, if in doubt lightly score with a scalpel to avoid pulling the paint off the car. Leave really intricate
bits until later.
Step 2 : Reassembly
Put every thing back on. Be very careful not to touch or scratch the paint. Things like bumpers can be
left off for a week or two until the cutting is done.
Step 3 - Cleaning (again)
You shouldn't do ANYTHING to the paint for a week. If like me, you painted the roof last, there will be
dry paint dust all over the rest of the car. Do not wipe this off with your hand - it will scratch the
paint. Leave the car in the garage overnight or as long as possible, if you must wash the dust off wait
as least 24 hrs then use lots of water and be gentle to avoid scratching.
|
| Finishing Off |
Wait at least week before doing any of these jobs.
Step 1 : Cleaning (again)
Give the car a good clean with car shampoo and plenty of water - don't rub too hard.
Step 2 : Cutting
Use fine or standard grade paste, your paint is not as thick as a factory job. Buff out the dodgy bits
but don't go right through!
Step 3 : Waxing
Use a good quality wax, one which is made for your colour will help hide some of the marks.
Step 4 : Details
Brush paint the door shuts etc, plus inside the wheearches and all the other bits you forgot. I can
do this easily as black goes with black. Not so easy with a colour. Good luck!
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