Professional paint job at home - how do I do it?

[Jerry74]

I painted my mini with a 4 inch roller and rustoleum paint from the states.

Guy at paint shop laughed when I told him what I was going to do until 6 weeks later I drove it there and and showed him.

Came out like glass, prep is the biggest thing check this out if you wanna see results for roller painting.

Rustoleum Paint is available in NZ and costs about $30 a litre, thin down with mineral turpentine its amazing what the results come out like.

Google $50 dollar paint job or click this link:

www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html

[Owl]

This time it came out ok but not as good as initially but a patch dulled (like breathing on a mirror kind of...) Any basic ideas?

Blooming, blushing, whatever you want to call it? Spray when it's warmer or have a heat gun handy to keep moisture away. Key word here is warm, so you don't need to set it on fire.

I am really enjoying having a go myself (anyone remember that feeling?)

20 something years ago!

As for the "crackled", I have no idea without seeing it.

[imdying]

Any basic ideas?

The colour and the clear, same family of paint? (i.e. same brand, same type)


So Ferris, if you'd have to pick a top 3 in order of what is most important for getting a good (home) result, what would you pick?

And before anyone disagrees with his picks, please try to remember the context, i.e. in the home.

[Owl]

Oh here we go, but I'll play the game for a moment.

1. Knowledge: The more the better, but even a slight clue will go a long way to making a job easier, saving time, dollars and a big headache. You can of course continue without any knowledge and by the time you finish, you'll come back to #2 with at least a little!

2. Preparation: A job is nothing without it!

3. Product: Oh the choices!

4. Equipment: Just thought I'd add that, as I think it's important!

[imdying]

Oh here we go, but I'll play the game for a moment.

There will always be people that disagree with your opinion, they'll either add something useful or be a pain in the arse, water off a ducks back mate, I'm genuinely interested.

1. Knowledge: The more the better, but even a slight clue will go a long way to making a job easier, saving time, dollars and a big headache. You can of course continue without any knowledge and by the time you finish, you'll come back to #2 with at least a little!

Appreciate your time

2. Preparation: A job is nothing without it!

So starting with this then... any tips? Cleanliness? Say if you're cleaning your parts with something like prepsol, even through it 'appears' to dry and evaporate quite quickly, is there a minimum time you should wait after cleaning with a solvent like that that you should wait before applying product?

If you're preparing with a spray putty, is that a suitable primer for your top coat, or is another primer on top of that a good idea? Or use one of those high solid filler primers instead? Do they do (or either type) do both jobs at once?

[jrandom]

Here is mine three days ago.

Looking nice, man!

[imdying]

Looking nice, man!

You're such a slut for black bikes

[jrandom]

You're such a slut for black bikes

And entirely unashamed of it.

[The Pastor]

i just sprayed a coat of gloss black, can you say mirror finish?

Im using enmal paint (much to my horror it will come off easily with petrol - dont make my mistake) and i can see my self clearly in the coat not even clear yet,

One trick i found was not to put ont he coat too lightly - it has to be quite heavy ive found - it looks like orange peel for about 5min then it transforms right in front of your eyes! like flows together!!

[Owl]

There will always be people that disagree with your opinion, they'll either add something useful or be a pain in the arse, water off a ducks back mate, I'm genuinely interested.

My apologies! I thought this may be a piss-take and we're touchy in the Manawatu. Just check out the MRF! Yes, even painters disagree with each other, but most would agree there is no one way of doing things.

Appreciate your time
So starting with this then... any tips? Cleanliness? Say if you're cleaning your parts with something like prepsol, even through it 'appears' to dry and evaporate quite quickly, is there a minimum time you should wait after cleaning with a solvent like that that you should wait before applying product?

Never wipe prepsol (other similar product) on without having a clean cloth to take it off. Complete one panel at a time! As for minimum time, it's never been an issue for me, as I work in an enironment that's 20+ degrees and it's the first step in a line including setting up and tacking off the job using air.

If you're preparing with a spray putty, is that a suitable primer for your top coat, or is another primer on top of that a good idea? Or use one of those high solid filler primers instead? Do they do (or either type) do both jobs at once?

Fillers we use are primers as well though I never spray them directly on bare metal. I use an etch primer for that. Keep in mind that everything we use is 2K related and I haven't used lacquer related products in the last 18 years, so actually have no idea what's on the market now. I'm sure I could still put the shit on though.

[Owl]

i just sprayed a coat of gloss black, can you say mirror finish?

Im using enmal paint (much to my horror it will come off easily with petrol - dont make my mistake) and i can see my self clearly in the coat not even clear yet,

One trick i found was not to put ont he coat too lightly - it has to be quite heavy ive found - it looks like orange peel for about 5min then it transforms right in front of your eyes! like flows together!!

Whoa whoa whoa! Please tell me you're not planning to put clear lacquer over enamel!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Pastor]

Whoa whoa whoa! Please tell me you're not planning to put clear lacquer over enamel!!!!!!!!!!!!!

its a clear enamel

[Owl]

its a clear enamel

A stock standard clear enamel with no hardner? Well fuck me, I've never heard of such a thing!

[Ixion]

Does not enamel, withnone of that hardner stuff, take several liftimes to harden up properly at ambient?

I used to spray paint quite a few bikes back in the day, but then we were using nitrocellulose lacquer, which gives a superb finish (that guardsman's boots shine that you see on show vintage vehicles) extremely easily,at the expense of needing to be buffed after spraying (and the trivial risk of blowing yourself and the neighbourhood to Kingdom Come, it being blasting cotton) . Which is why it dropped out of use (the buffing, I mean).

My impression is that modern materials , arcylic laquer or enamal are much harder to apply and give underwhelming results, and that to get a decent finish you need to used the cyanide two pot things that kill you dead before the paint dries.

I've tried and tried to get nitro (I don't mind buffing) , without success. Why is it all the good old simple products that *work* are no longer available.

Nitrocellulose , gunpowder tyre patches, red oil, asbestos sheet for brake and clutch lining and exhaust stuffing, all impossible to source, without any good reason for their disappearance. Its a conspiracy I reckon

[The Pastor]

A stock standard clear enamel with no hardner? Well fuck me, I've never heard of such a thing!

i dunno, i keept asking about hardner at the paint shop and the guy said "nah dont need it"

they seem pretty onto it, its the wairu paint center in glenfield...

Im a bit gutterd because if any petrol or solvent falls on my paint work - its going to take it off.

Les, im using "quick dry enamel" so hopefully it'll be ok! but yeah you have to sand with 2000 grit then buff this stuff to get a good finish (unless you just want a good from afar look!)