paint help tips and info needed

[cutlass79]

ok so im getting ready to paint my 79 cutlass. i got all the sanding done started with 80 git to 120 git 320 it 800
git to 1000 git. there is no rust or dents or bondo in the body what so ever. i have evething taped off for the body.i want to paint the door jams and the under side of the trunk and what not and am worndering whats the ezist way to tape off the door/trunk opeing so not to get over sapy on the interior of the car.with out removeing to much form the interior.and also worndering what psi i should sapy at the paint is a john deere b12 matte black.i plan on doing the body with a satin clear and doing the rally strips with a matte clear.so does anyone kno what a good\cheap satin/matte clear to ues that will hold up good. also what should i lay down first the satin clear or the matte clear.iv painted cars in the past with cans of spay paint in thay turned out better then i thought. but the body of my cutty is flawless and want it to come out with a show finish if i can. so im going to ues a spay gun and iv never uesed one to paint a car but have uesed one to paint small things so i kno how to work and set one up. iv never layed down clear on a car befor. so anyone that can help me out with any tips and info would be grate to help me get the flawless paint job im looking for..also im painting the car in my garage with no heater in the cold.i kno it will take a lot longer for the paint to dry but will it mess with how the finish comes out.

 

[Oldsmoletick]

First off, for masking around the door openings, I've used cardboard templates cut out to fit the openings with great results. Remove door panels, windows, weatherstrips, and the garnish moldings that cover the pinch welds. You can then cut out your templates and tape them to the pinchwelds, or inside the car. You can do the same for the trunk area. Not to burst your bubble, but I think you went too fine with your sanding, you want something in the realm of 400-500 (600 at least) grit sand scratches so your paint has something to bite into, finer than that you're likely to run into adhesion problems. As far as gun settings, depends on the gun and what the paint manufacturer recomends. Most paints will have recomendations on the can on what tip to use and what pressure for your type of gun (whether it be HVLP or conventional).

How cold is cold? Too cold and you will have problems, your paint could "blush" (get cloudy), may not dry, sag, run, get contaminated from sitting wet too long, and not stick. Environment plays one of the biggest factors on how well a paint job turns out, low humidity, and 70 ish degrees is favorable. You can do it outside those perameters, but you'll be hard pressed to get the results you're looking for.

For Examples, three I've done, in different enviroments. I painted my jeep in about a 55-60 degree barn, it looks good from a far, but get up close, and the finish really isn't that great, I had to wetsand and buff the snot out of it to get it to shine (good enough for a daily driver though, satisfactory). My malibu, I painted in a terribly hot and humid tent, came out like crap, combine the 90+ degree temps, humidity, first time full paint job errors, and incorrect reducer, you get: one ugly paint job, I had to wet sand and buff the hell out of it to get any shine at all (big disappointment, still looks like sh*t). My gf's eagle, I painted in a semi heated barn, 60 outside, not raining, little fire in the wood stove brought the temp upto 70-75, paint layed down great, very little effort when it came to wetsanding and buffing just a quick run over to knock a little orange peel down, it really didn't even need it (more than happy).

Not trying to discourage you, but you may want to either find a source of heat for your garage, find someone with a heated garage to let you paint it, or wait til warmer weather. If you do find a heat source for your place, best advice, cleanliness, clean everything (car and garage), then clean it again. As far as what clears to use, talk to your local bodyshop supplier, they can give you the best recomendations on what will be compatable with your paint (assuming it's acrylic enamel, you will have to buy a catalyst in order to clear it).

 

[454cutlass]

question i will be trying to paint my car soon. by using a propane heater affect the paint or cause fish eyes?

 

[Oldsmoletick]

Use one that is safe for indoor use, meaning without ventiallation due to fumes, you should be fine, I always use wood heat though, one guy I know has had good luck even using a salamander, lol.

 

[mebe007]

To my knowledge a by product of prapane when it burns is water vapor. Wouldnt this raise the humidity and effect the paint job

 

[Oldsmoletick]

Thing is, especially this time of year, in the northern areas, unless you have a climate controlled paint booth, it's highly unlikely you acheive that "perfect" environment to paint. Having your temp up, with a little humidity that the propane heater would produce would be a negliable amount (you'd know as soon as the paint started drying, would haze or possibly streak). Not to mention you have to have air flow, depending on outside conditions (or where ever you get your fresh air), would pose more of a threat than a propane heater. Maybe I should use the term "muggy" or "damp" here, that's where you run into problems, I forget the perfect percent humidity vs temp, but it's not zero. The bodyshop my father worked for years ago, heated with a wood stove, there were times where they had to wet the floor just so it wasn't so dry while painting (speaking before paint booths and all that :lol: ).

 

[zuma83]

I think ill start working on painting my car again now

 

[pontiacgp]

if you check around town there are probably paint booths you can rent for a weekend. Not only will you have the correct temp to paint you car you'll also have the correct lighting which is important to have a good paint job. I have to repaint mine cause I thought the lighting was good enough...

 

[suffrn6]

You say that you have never used a paint gun to lay down clear. You should find some old fenders and practice on them before you even go near the car with the gun. If you don't nine chance out of ten you are going to have a mess on your hands. Learn how the gun and clear spray before painting the car.

To mask off your door jambs the easiest way is to remove all the trim around the door opening, remove door rubbers and mask where the door rubber sits. That way you don't see a tape line when the rubber is reinstalled, do not try to mask off the rubbers. The tape usually pulls off and you end up with paint on your rubbers. Paper off the entire door opening so you don't get overspray on your interior. If you have used any Armour All on your trim make sure you wash the jambs really well with a silicone and wax remover to cut down the chances of fisheyes.

Follow the tech sheets for the products that you are using and you shouldn't have any problems.
Good luck and happy painting
Just re read your post and seen you have no heat in your garage. I would wait untill it warms up or get a source of heat, you will have better results with the right temperature.
Chris

 

[cutlass79]

ok so i havent post on this in a bit but im all ready to paint inside and out.i removed eveything sept dash im goin to mask it off and paint the inside aswell.iv tryed finding a shop around that mit let me rent a booth but no luck its a small town with just over 400 people in it so only one body shop and its right next door and there getting pissed seeing people come to me be for them cuz eveyone in town has been seeing me out in the garage all winter working on her and getting her ready for paint i get old guys stoping buy evey othere day to see what im doin and do bull sh*t with me.so yeah i tryed asking them and thay where dicks about it. so ima turn my garage into a booth and paint the first nice day of spring and if it comes out good i mit just take a few of the jobs that show up to piss off the body shop next door.but anyways i went over and re sanded eveything b4 when it was ready i had sanded it down with 1000 git now eveything is sanded with 600 git the body the inside and eveything under the hood thats getting painted. all the trim and windows are masked off and shes all ready to go. i did find bondo a small spot behind the drives side rear tire but fixed it with a peice of in old fender i had laying around and came out nice and did a thin layer of bondo over primed it and cant tell it there so im happy with that.anyways on to painting i plan on painting the inside the door jams and under the hood first then putting the doors hood and trunk lid back on and painting the body should that be fine?also does anyone kno what the best satin and matte clear to go with?and can i get it alreay mixed up ready to spay