Have this stalled out project, sons '62 Fairlane Sports Coupe. we need to paint the interior and move forward. I have all the equipment, but my painting experience is limited to trailers and parts and whatever, not with automotive type paint. I have the paint and clear coat, but am not sure exactly how to prep it. The color is the original red color. what grit does it need to be sanded to? will I need primer, sealer or anything like that? I really need a step by step, tried searching but there is so much info out there and honestly its confusing. any advise will be appreciated, thanks!
Search out the threads Paintguru has been posting on here, he's putting out a lot of info that would help a novice painter. Good luck, as long as you understand how to handle a paint gun and follow the instructions for the paint your using there is no reason you can't get an exceptable paint job.
Depends on the finish you are looking for. The ideal situation would be as follows. Some steps could be removed. 1. finish removal of crank handles etc. 2. I would sand to bare metal all visible areas just to make sure I did not have lifting. This step could be skipped and go to step 7 after step 3 is completed. 3. Sand dash to clean metal. Coat with ospho / metal prep then sand again 4 hamner / metal finish any accessible dents. 5 seal with epoxy primer. 6. Flatwork / filler work any areas where it is needed to 320 grit 7. Scuff epoxy / paint with a scotch brite pad to promote adheasion. And seal with a high build primer. If skipping steps seal the bare metal and skip step 9. 8. Wet or dry sand visible areas with 400 or finer grit and mask. 9. Paint dash and interior. If you are unsure of spraying then crank the flow on your gun all the way in and then back it out 2-3 turns. This should get you in the ball park. I like to do 2 coats for each piece. For example on a door. I do the edges, then starting at the top work my way to the bottom then back to the top. If the paint looks dry then open the flow a little more. Watch yourself with bc/cc systems as the clears tend to flow for a bit so if you lay it on trying to get is smooth it out it will run. It may look dry when you initially apply the paint but with in a couple minutes it should smooth out. If not open flow to allow for more material. This is using HVLP. I usually do 2-3 coats of color and 1+ coats of clear depending on how the first coat lays out and if I will be wetsanding and buffing. 3 min if I plan to sand and buff. Allow to dry then wetsand andn buff any spots if you want Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
Careful getting too much gloss on the top of the dash. It causes a real bad reflection and makes it hard to drive in certain light. I had a Falcon street Gasser that had a beautiful gold metal flake dash that I had to put a piece of carpet over late in the afternoon or you couldn't see to drive. Get some old sheet metal and prep it and paint it . Sand it off and paint it again . Repeat as needed to get good with your paint gun. Buy the best gun you can afford and take care of it. Sometimes body shops or paint stores have paint that never got picked up or left over that you can get cheap so you don't have to use up your expensive paint for practice. Paint stores put on seminars ,some are free and they usually serve pizza! The reps from paint companies explain the process.
while no one has mentioned it be fully aware of the need for professional gear to protect you from the "air" that you will be exposed to while sanding and painting
Practice on a few door spots to get your adjustments and feel. Then go at it. You'll be happy. Then give us a new pix.
I used Rattle Can from Automotive Touchup on my '62. Been using them for years, 'cause their paint is FANTASTIC! You'd have to be a real dope to mess up. I've never had runs, and the finish wears like iron. -Let me know if you need any Parts. I have a ton of New and Used left-over stuff I didn't need/use.
I like how the tips vary from using a spray can, to doing a full on professional repaint job from stripping and epoxy primer, up. you might find that somewhere in between is what you want. Depends on how much money you want to spend, how much work you want to do, how long it has to last, how good it has to look. When I did my Chevy II interior a few years ago, I sanded it to bare metal, 180 grit. then sprayed on lacquer primer, then sanded with 400, then painted with catalyzed acrylic enamel. It worked fine. I should have fixed a couple of the dents that I didn't notice...but it's just an old race car, so it's not a big deal. If you are looking for a perfect finish, then do the prime/sand thing a few times, so you'll find more of the imperfections.
Wow, Thats some longer wait times than Im use to hearing but I have heard of longer wait times in general being better without the specifics given, However Im no pro at all, Im just tryin to learn.
You really will have a hard time finding better products, advise or people than at SPI. And Squirrel is right, there are many levels of intensity to paint work. To me, the sanding is the worst part. If you decide to go to bare metal then the little bit of extra work and money to spring for epoxy primer and doing a little extra sanding before paint makes the finished product much more gratifying. But yeah, a scuff and spray can be perfect if that's what you are looking for.
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