New paint problem update

Russell Reay

Russell Reay

Well-known member
thanks for all the feedback. I have come to realize that skilled auto painting is far more complex than rocket science, but I am unwilling to pay the tuition. I tried the rubbing compound, and did not see any improvement. I sanded all the fenders with 180 down to a nice smooth surface, then went to O'Reilly's for another coat of black topcoat. In describing my difficulties and showing the guy what I had used so far, he suggested my problem being the cool reducer as mentioned by Bobbader. I didn't realize there was such a thing as cool vs medium vs hot reducer. As I listened to Paint Man I recognized that as I sprayed, the atomized paint had dried before it reached the fender leaving a flat finish. He set me up with a medium reducer, and fortunately the air temp had settled down to a tolerable high 70s. I embarked on Fender Paint.2, and got a much better result--see photo. It is still not an award-winning job, but this is a huckster, not one of Henry's originals. Thanks again for all the input.
 

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Rus, Very Nice. Shame by the time you finish two fronts, two rears & splash aprons, you'll be a pro with no were to go.

Paint is too chemically sophisticated today to play mix & match. If you are using 'Fred's Paint' then use their primers, reducers and catalysis's, better chance of success. If it should 'blowup', you can tell the 'Fred's Paint' rep that you used all their products. Sometimes they will back you up

Change your respirator frequently too.
 
Yes, going cheap with the respirator cartridges is a no-no. New cartridges for every project. If you let the product sit for lunch, or overnight put the cartridges in a zip-lok bag.
 
Good job. Always best to follow the directions. The modern paint is pretty toxic so suit up. Here is me ready to paint and the result. I wet sanded and polished the paint after 72 hours. The sun did a good job of curing the paint. I painted early in the morning before it got hot and before all the bugs were out. Still some bugs committed insecticide. I watered down the drive way to keep the dust down.

For those of you with sharp eyes, there is another toilet roll holder on the opposite wall with toilet paper in it.
 

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I use 180 grit on wood but not so much on paint. For filler prime coats that get layered I will sometimes use 220 but for blocking and final sanding I use 400 grit. I don't polish much on paint but if I do then 600 grit would be as harsh as it gets. A good fine compound will generally work without wet sanding. When polishing transparencies I use Micro-Mesh wet. The finest pad on that is 36,000 grit. If it's not that fine and followed with rouge then it will always be a bit cloudy.
 
Wow! I thought todays water based paints would be less toxic than oil based paints of the past. I just want to learn to do small items up fenders and that is it. Looks like I will need to win the lottery to pay for everything;)

Mike
 
I carry TP with me. Would a paint booth be practical? Farming dust is a problem, and wind in Brentwood. Never considered the toxics.
 
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Art Deco, I don't know about the toxicity of water based paint, but the acrylic urethane can even get into your body through your eyes. I use a hood with a pressurized filtered air supply. The air goes through carbon filters. The air supply and filters attach to my belt on the back. A better solution would be a long hose with the air supply and filters located far away from where the spraying is being done.

Of course, the best solution is a professional paint booth. I will have to get one after I win the lottery.
 
As someone who has painted cars every day for 25 years, if I won the lottery I’d pay someone to paint it for me. :)

Seriously though, at the hobby level, a spray booth and expensive air supply respirators aren’t practical. The 3M PAPR respirator I use is over 2 grand at this point. Worth it if you’re using it every day but not for a hobby job. And then you can spend six figures on a spray booth and the paint jobs still don’t come out spotlessly clean. Still needs to be buffed. Just spend a day vacuuming, blowing out and washing down the garage and prepping the parts for paint. Then go in the next day, wet down the floor, put on a new charcoal respirator, spray the car and get out. Close up the garage and don’t even look at it until the next day. I’ve seen really clean paint jobs done in a garage if you’re careful and don’t keep going in and out or leaving the door open.
 
This is an interesting post. You are correct, painting a car is beyond rocket science! Unfortunately for me, I didnt get decent results until after the fourth car. Now I am too old to do another car. Going back to the post, I have always used the mid temp reducer and tried to paint in the lower 70s. Secondly, to minimize orange peel, I would spray a non-critical part to see how the paint was laying down smooth. There were many times I would stop and open the spray gun to add more thinner. It can make a big difference.

I was glad to see someone painting outside. I don't have a spray booth. You get about three weeks in Maine where you can paint with no bugs, late Sept. and early October. I do use a tarp over head to keep leaves and other debris from falling on my work. With the new hard acrylic urethanes, bug landings can be repaired. Always use new filter cartridges for a new job and use a full face mask, cover your eyes! Use an oil free compressor and a moisture removing filter. My results were not perfect but acceptable and I saved a ton of money. I never upgraded my old Binks #39 siphon spray gun.

There is one thing that I never learned. After doing your welding and body work, always put the parts together to make sure the parts will still fit together before painting. Not me, I wanted to move forward quickly, moving fast and loose. Worry about mismatched parts later when everything looks perfect and shiny! The most recent examples are the rear fenders on my 31 Cabriolet. They look perfect but after weld repairs, I created the most unforgiving sheet metal spring you could imagine. Just remember, it is all fun and be patient. Ed
 
We've found that the newer urethane paints can be very touchy to higher humidity adding to cloudiness in the finish. So no more wetting the floor down before painting. Water has no place around fresh paint.
Stay safe and use that respirator.
 
Lots of good observations and recommendations. One of my mental/ attitude challenges is that I can't get everything cleaned, repaired and restored before doing the paint. It would take two years and two acres of tables holding all the parts, and then everything would need to be cleaned again. Ed is right about the limited time available for outdoor painting, and just when you are ready, a thunderstorm will roll in. Fortunately my huckster needs decent paint only on the fenders , hood, and cowl. Comments from non-A visitors so far are that they look good.
 
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