Scottie's Tribute A352 build

[Paul L]

Scottie - As always, thanks for the honest assessment, as where you go, I will try to follow.

Even on the small amount of body work I have done, I've got a smooth surface made up of filler, gel coat & raw fibreglass.

So I like your "leopard" description.

Good luck, Paul.

[WorldClassAccident]

Try to keep the sanding even across the whole surface so you don't end up with dips at certain points. Try to get it all down to primer befor you get any area down to glass. Slow, steady and diagonal sanding with each set of strokes at about 30 degrees to the rest.

Don't get tempted to deep sand any one point or it will become a bowl and the paint will never be right*.

*Advice from a car painter, not me.

[Ollie]

One tip i would give, and it may sound a bit strange, but it is: try to view the whole sanding process as 'carving', as in you are carving the car to the shape you want it to be....
So, 'carve' across the whole panel, in sweeping motions, with a sanding block, (not just by hand) untill you are happy with the 'mapping' that you see (as you are getting in your bootlid) Dont concentrate on one area too much, as it will end up looking like a dent, esp on fiberglass cars.
Then lay on some high build primer, and leave it plenty of time to fully cure, (very important, as it sinks during curing, and if you rush this bit, the sinking will appear in your final paint finish instead..)
Then sand all over again with 600 to 800 grit, and viola, ready for paint.
Look foreward to seeing it done, all the best, Ollie.

[Scottie22]

Thanks for the advice, Paul, Ollie and WCA.

I have the boot-lid back in primer, lots of it!
And Ollie, I have left it for a day or so before I will flat it and
chuck a guide coat on to see if I've got it right this time!
Will post the resulting mess!

[landmannnn]

Scottie, depending on the paint type it will take quite a while to sink, a good couple of weeks.

[Scottie22]

As long as that?
I may just leave it then and get on with other stuff.

The primer I am using is Autotek professional etch primer, billed as "High covering power" Comes in a 500ml rattle-can.

Ever heard of it Landmannn?

[Ollie]

Me again... i have to agree with landmannnn....if you have no way of baking the primer, leave it for ages before sanding. Without baking, it can sink for weeks....(and ruin a nice job..)
Best bet it to get one panel as good as you can, prime it, then move on to the next panel / area, then come back to the first one for sanding..
Patience is a virtue.......!

[Ollie]

Oh, me again..again...
Scottie, you say it is well primed already...
Flick over it now with a black aerosol, just a dust coat, then when you fine sand it (with a block) you will see instantly how ripple free is is...or isn't...!

[Scottie22]

Well I was going to do that Ollie, but looks like I better leave it a couple of weeks first?

[Ollie]

Scottie, just read your previous post..... Really dont want to rain on your parade, but......i'v been in the car painting trade for over 20 yrs, and i'v never seen a rattle can primer that will even get close to doing the job you need...sorry... You may have to look what high build primer you can find to spray on with a gun, its the only way you will achieve the thickness you need....
But its horses for courses, it all depends on what finish you are trying to achieve....
PS.. if you do spray on, please dont forget proper breathing apparatus...
Sorry to (possibly) be the bearer of bad news.............

[Scottie22]

Well I want a really good paint job obviously Ollie, without one I would'nt dare go anywhere near a car show!

Perhaps I better get some of what you suggest and put it on with a gun.

I'll visit the paint bloke in the morning.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Ollie

... i'v been in the car painting trade for over 20 yrs, and i'v never seen a rattle can primer that will even get close to doing the job you need...sorry... You may have to look what high build primer you can find to spray on with a gun, its the only way you will achieve the thickness you need.... But its horses for courses, it all depends on what finish you are trying to achieve...

Ollie - Clearly you know what you are talking about, so can I ask for some painting advice too?

The paint finish I am trying to achieve is one that looks pretty good, but it doesn't need to be show winning.

However, in terms of horses for courses, I am working outside and at best will have a tent over the car when I paint it.

So no spray booth / baking oven, no compressor, spray equipment, or specialist breathing gear.

As mentioned on the previous page, I am planning to hand paint my car with rollers & brushes as per this thread.

http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/tec...ting-car-98714



I was also impressed with the paint on this car, which was sprayed on outside (painting starts on page 3).

http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/sho...9-chevy-101721



Both of these cars got their final shine with the pre-paint prep work & post-paint work.

I've spoken to Jawel Paints about their "Truck Coat" paint for the top coat.

They recommended using an etch primer first, followed by a "normal" primer / undercoat.

So whilst my etch primer is also from a rattle can, I was expecting the "thickness" you mention to come from the normal primer.

Have I got the wrong end of the stick?

Do you have any practical tips for the DIY painter?

The off white / cream hot rod above cost less than £200 to paint and I'd be very happy if my car looked as good.

I know a professional could do a better job, but I really want to be able to say I painted it myself.

Scottie - I hope this is a helpful post on your build thread, as I know you are also working outside / in a tent.

Cheers, Paul.

[landmannnn]

Paul,

I am not a pro by any means, but the first one looks ok from the big photo, his build shots show the finish is very basic.

Skiming through the second link he seems to have got a very good finish straight from the gun, no runs, sags, orange peel etc. It may have been luck but for an amateur it would be very unlikely that it would be that good, I suspect the guy has had a lot of painting experience.

Just setting expectations, there really aren't any short cuts when painting.

[Mister Towed]

No previous spraying experience +

Lots of research on t'internet +

Advice from Jawel/Mike Miglia/Phil Jacklin +

The cheap tools and paint listed below (and about £50 worth of wet'n'dry paper)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Duty...item5d3dde8c3e

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-Too...item258f45b0c3

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cellulose-...item56579ae628

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FARECLA-G3...item5b0578fd95

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Autoglym-S...item1e90b20f80

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Just do it!

[WorldClassAccident]

Paul - I have a cheap air compressor and paint gun you could borrow for a month or so if you want to wander down to Southampton. It is only small and you my might want to buy youself a better paint gun but it free if you want to borrow it. Same goes for Scottie of course.

i would lend you my paint baking oven too but I need the patio heater


Drive outside, paint, drive inside, bake, drive outside... you get the picture

[Drummajor]

I painted mine my self , outside under a gazebo !!
Spent ages with the mop but its not too bad

[Scottie22]

Drummajor and WCA, thanks for the input

Mr Towed, as usual you have excelled! Your car paintwork looks very good, and thank you for the detailed pictures.

I now feel very humble, as I already have all these things, including a huge compressor, (which after 30 years of use, finally gave up the ghost and needed a new motor last year)

In years gone by, I have sprayed several cars, ( my own) with varied results, so really, I have absolutely no excuses to give.

Why do I still use rattle cans as well? 'Cos I'm lazy, and sometimes I find it more convenient to do it that way.

To get a professional to admit that a good finish CAN be obtained by the
DIY / rattle- can route, is a bit like trying to convince a baker that home bread-making machines are a good idea! It just won't happen!

But there are a lot of people out there that know it can be achieved, Mr Towed is one of them, and I know my paint job will look okay when its done.

I was tempted by the idea of spraying my whole car by rattle- can just to show it can be done, but it will be faster to chuck the paint on with the gun.

I will probably use 1k paint, a lot of it, and mop it to a good finish.


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[landmannnn]

It doesn't look like the exercise machine has had an outing recently either!

[Mister Towed]

Originally Posted by landmannnn

It doesn't look like the exercise machine has had an outing recently either!

Both compressor and home gym equipment look suspiciously like man-toys that a chap has to have, but doesn't actually intend ever using...

[Ollie]

Paul L, i know where you are coming from, wanting to do it all your self, its very satisfying...
Basically, anything can be polished to a super shiney finish...paint, plastic, stainless, granite, diamonds...(if only..) it just takes time and effort.
As far as the paint goes, so long as there is enough material on the panels, however its applied (spraygun, roller, brush, aerosol...) once fully cured, it can be sanded back and polished....
But i would still reccomend trying to get hold of a small compressor and gun, and, once the body has been vigorously rubbed down, hopefully with a block like i mentioned earlier, spray on some high build primer, then dust with black aerosol, like in mr towed's pics, and once cured, block sand again, and you will see where you are at pretty quick....
If not happy, prime again...
You just wont get the thickness from an aerosol..
(try to view the high build primer as a complete thin skim of filler, filling in the imperfections...)
If you go the aerosol route, you can still get a shiney paint finish, but you will also still have the 'rippely, straight from the mold' finish too......
Its all a bit differant from painting a steel car, as you dont get that fiberglass ripple on steel cars....
Hope this ramble helps in some way......