How to Paint?? - Honda Prelude Forum

neoekai · 04-21-2004, 02:00 PM

OK, I got my air compressor, I got water filters and a paint gun...All i need now is the paint and the knowledge.

I've talked to a few people about it, and this is what i've found out so far:

The quality of the paint matters, especially the clear coat

Do many many thin layers of clear coat and use some sort of rubbing compound in between

Dust free enviroment is important too.

I guess im looking for more advice on how to do this, here are some quetions:

Where do you get the paint?
What do you use to clean the paint out of the gun?
How much paint do you need sand before you paint ( is it just the clear coat?)
How do you actually use the rubbing compound??

Thanks in advance!

oh yea, im doing this to paint my lip kit

Jon Like Wh0a · 04-21-2004, 02:33 PM

Where do you get the paint?

any paint shop that specializes in automotive paint. i usually get dupont paint. all you do is give them your color code, and they'll pull it up on their computer...about 10 minutes later, you'll have a fresh can of OEM paint.

What do you use to clean the paint out of the gun?

what we do is we fill the gun with thinner (not too much), shake it so you can get rid of the paint on the sides of the can, then shoot it out of the gun to clean out the tubing. you'll probably have to do this a couple times to make sure the gun is completely clean. then you can get a towel and just wipe off the excess stuff.

How much paint do you need sand before you paint ( is it just the clear coat?)

just sand until its a bit rough, but not too rough. i'm assuming you are going to primer the kit before you paint right? so sand with some 400 grit, primer, then sand the primer with more 400 grit until its smooth. make sure you clean the kit COMPLETELY of all dust, particles etc etc...

How do you actually use the rubbing compound??

you use it like you would wax...rub on, and rub pretty hard until the shine starts to show, then wipe off the compound. don't use too much though because it does eat your clear coat.

any more questions?

ancient · 04-21-2004, 02:52 PM

Yikes, i'd be scared to paint my own car. Biggest thing I think is to watch for overspray. I guess its just the lip tho, so you can't make too many mistakes

But good luck to ya, let us know how it turns out.

neoekai · 04-21-2004, 04:13 PM

thanks guys, I am still a little unsure about the clear coat...

1) clean the area
2) sand with 400 grit
3) clean again
4) primer
5) sand primer with 400 grit
6) paint
7) Clear coat
8) rub clear coat
9) clear coat again
10) repeat 8 and 9 several times??

I guess i am unsure about the clear coating part

do you do several coats of clearcoat before you rub or do you rub it in between each layer of clearcoat? Also what kind of clearcoat and rubbing compound do you get?

yohan420 · 04-21-2004, 04:50 PM

Always wash after you sand ... even a wet sand could be ok to do on the primer but get all the dust off the primer too ..

otherwise you get those lil noogs of paint .. they are (i've heard) taken off via wet sanding before the clear goes on .. maybe a bit more spray overtop of the area that has the area that was sanded

j_t_heilbrun · 04-21-2004, 10:26 PM

1. clean area
2. ?????
3. profit

j/k

1. clean area to be painted
2. sand with 180 grit
3. reclean
4. prime
5. block sand primer to make it smooth and to get out any imperfections. You can either use 400 grit and put a sealer down after you sand it or use 600 grit and spray paint over the primer.
6. clean sanding dust off
7. (assuming you used 400 grit on the primer) spray sealer
8. spray base coat
9. clear coat

optional: if you have a lot of dust or orange peel and you want to take them out the best way is to buff them out.

Start with 1500-2000 grit sandpaper and wetsand the painted area untill dust or orange peel is removed to a satisfactory level. Then using a buffing compound use a buffer to bring the shine back out. If its a darker color and the scratches still show use a 4000 grit sandpaper and repeat the sanding and buffing

I don't know who told you to do a rubbing compound between coats of clear, but that is wrong.

also check the paint manufactures suggestions on prep procedures and propere substrate usage.

This is very general if you have any specific questions let me know.

fleshbox · 04-22-2004, 06:27 AM

just a thought... you may want to make sure your air source is pure and dry. Unless your air compressor came with a filter you will be spraying any minute dust particles that make it into the compressor and any condensation onto your part. A coalescing filter with water/oil seperator will do a decent job of this, plus most of the time you will get a regulator with it so your gun will perform better.

I say this comming from a pneumatics standpoint... I know nothing about spraying other than what I have heard from some of the guys who painted where I worked in PA...

j_t_heilbrun · 04-22-2004, 08:46 AM

good information^^

but he mentioned in his first post he has water filters

fleshbox · 04-22-2004, 09:33 PM

^^ ahh yeah I see that now ... by bad I guess I was just iching to post in the technical forums

neoekai · 04-23-2004, 12:12 AM

I called around some paint shops today and they basically said that they can't sell the paint to me because Im not an authorized paint shop and if I were to dispose of the paint illegally they could be held liable.

When i talked to them, they said a complete setup of paints including harders (whats that?) would cost around 1000 dollars!!!

This is for the "leasonal" type of paint....

Theres this other place that i heard i would be able to get paint, i will try there tomorrow and keep you guys posted

m610 · 04-23-2004, 12:43 AM

Disposing of the paint is an i$$ue. A shop in my area keeps an old car out back that they spray with any left over paint. That way they don't have any paint to dispose of.

For a clean area, a friend painted his car in an old wooden garage, not the sort of place one can get clean. He tacked up plastic sheeting everywhere and that took care of it.

red92s · 04-23-2004, 03:17 AM

www.paintscratch.com sells factory-matched colors

CDR_UK · 04-23-2004, 04:16 AM

No need to rub down between clear coats - probably just need 5 mins between coats for flash time. I think 3 coats will be plenty - if you put it to thick it will crack over time, or fail to shine in the first place.

Good luck.

sandiegan · 04-23-2004, 12:10 PM

sorry to thread highjack... Whats the best way to get rid of orange peel on a finished product (for instance my current mugen wing)? What jt said? Sand the clearcoat with very fine grit sandpaper and buff back with a buffing compound?

neoekai · 04-23-2004, 12:49 PM

ok, i talked to the guys who work at mattos, this is what they said:

The fumes are going to be really bad and they will seap (sp?) into the house and that you really should do it at a paint shop. The fumes can also bother my neighbors and they can sue because of it.

The red paint is approx 50 dollars while the clear coat is 150 dollars, so around 200 for just the paint...

I am beginning to rethink this because i do not want the paint smell in my house.

So couple of options: Find someone to do it for me
or paint how i did it before: with just spray cans.

sigh......i really wanted to do this too but the paint is toxic... so you need a respirator as wel.....

Has anyone done this in their own garage??

j_t_heilbrun · 04-23-2004, 07:04 PM

Disposing of paint and waste thinner:

You can call body shops and ask if they recycle used thinner and see if they will take it for a fee or something (if they'll take it at all)
As far as it being illegal I don't know about Maryland, but here in Colorado we can sell paint to anyone, it just won't have a warranty. If you do any painting at all GET A RESPIRATOR paint is very bad for you and you must get something to protect you. And not just a dust mask, get a full paint respirator. $45~

Hardner:

Hardner would go in your clear coat and some primers and sealers (best to have it that way). The way paint works is you have a resin, a solevent, and a activator (aka hardner). When you spray the paint (wheather it be primer clear whatever), it flows onto the surface and the solevent begins to evaporate. As it evaporates the resin and activator come together and begin to cure. Once all the solevent is gone its fully cured. So without the hardner it wouldn't cure.

For the fumes:

You can get a large box fan and put it in a doorway seal the rest of the doorway with plastic and have it blowing out. Very illegal but you prolly wouldn't get caught. Also open the garage door to let air in. It will do a descent job of getting the fumes out but not near as good as a paint booth. It should be enough to keep them out of the house but they will still be around the yard for a while.

Prices:

Red is the most expensive color and that seems a good price. Its probably not premium paint and that sounds like its for a quart. For the clear that sounds like a gallon and seems to be a good clear. It doesn't sound like the price is with the reducer or hardner. My paint alone, at cost was $900 for all my stuff, retail would have been around $1800. Mine was a tri-stage pearl job with the best of everything but still your paint sounds cheap. I suggest if your going to do it make sure you spend the money and take the time at least get the best primer, sealer, and clear coat you can get. The basecoat quality isn't as important since you color match doesn't have to be perfect and thats mostly what you pay for (that and how easily it covers).

This is for the "leasonal" type of paint....

no idea what this is never heard of it, maybe a brand name?

fyi: good brands of paint are:

Sherwin Williams (Martin Senour through NAPA)
Dupont
PPG

they are the top three and the only I would ever use. Others have good stuff too but usually aren't up on the technology.