I attempted my first paint job. Major orange peel but I'm hoping I have enough clear on there to sand it out. The car is my step dads 58. He had the seats recovered last year and bought all the door panels, headliner etc but the car has been sitting since then with the parts all in the garage. If I can get it to shine then I saved him a few thou $$$. Hopefully sand/buff, install the interior and talk him into some different wheels! Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Before you start correcting that- Take 15 mins and watch this. Sand down all the texture dead flat with 500 and spray a flow coat of clear. If you get no bugs, dirt, or runs you'll be done.
I was moving my gun much faster than that on the clear and consequently didn't get enough material on for it to flow out smooth. The areas where I overlapped beyond panel ends are the best. Blocking it out with 500 and respraying sure seems like less labor than wet sanding with 3 grits and buffing with 3 compounds. Decisions decisions. Thanks Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I always put 4 coats of clear if I'm going to cut and buff, I would carefully wet sand with 1000, then 3000 wet on a DA and buff. If you don't think you have enough clear I would sand with 800 to knock down most of the orange peel and add a couple of coats of clear. Not knowing what type of gun you are using it looks like you might crank the air up a little to atomize the paint a little more, makes it lay out better. I didn't have as much orange peel but here are before and after pictures on my T-Bird.
I put on 4 coats of clear but they're probably thinner than they should be. I was spraying around 17 psi on a cheap hvlp gun with cheap paint in a tent in 66 deg F. Recipe for success, right? Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
For your first time it's not too bad,My first paint job looked like I used a pine top for a brush! HRP
Until you have to do it all again anyways because you are spraying in a tent outside with cheap products.
Looks good. That is the benefit of base clear paint. You have done well for a first effort. Now it is just wet sand and buff to get a professional finish. The beauty is that if you sand through the clear, there is no matching color to touch up. Keep up the good efforts. Keep a photo journal and watch your work progress. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Hmmm. 17 psi. Was that at the hose or at the nozzle? If you were at the hose that's a big reason it's so peely. Even HVLP need more air!!
I was running 80 at the compressor and around 17 at the gun. Really don't know what I'm doin. The white was striping, the blue went on pretty good, then this clear has a totally different consistency and throws me off again! Haha Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
When you say 17 at the gun do you mean at the hose? As in a regulator/ gauge at the end of the hose? If you do that should be much higher, like at least 45lb. I shoot at 60. Disclaimer, I really am not an expert with HVLP, they came out since I quit painting full time. I use one now once in a while and just passing on what painter buddies tell me, I was having lots of issues getting use to HVLP. Miss my old DeVilbiss JGA.
Yep, I put a little regulator on the handle. I'll bump it up and spray a lot more test panels next time. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
We can't have it all. This was done out side with nothing. I wasn't expecting much or needing much more than durable. I wasn't trying to get anything other or more than "DONE" - It came out pretty damn good. Lemme see if I can find a finish pic.
My first came out bitchin', after the first two coats...my friend and mentor, Richie Mignano, (he was 23, I was 14) Richie came over and said, "WAIT!" and proceeded to show me the 'way'... Paint was red Nitrocellulose lacquer, and I had 30 coats to learn on! Sanded between coats, (every 2) and used a suggestion I've always used since: A flat pan of water to sand with, BUT! Add 2 drops of good dish soap to 1-1/2 gallons of water...keeps the wet-or-dry paper from 'clogging', and the 400 & 600 glide over, ever so nicely.
Done was the primary goal here too. My step dad is 80 and I wanted to see if I could help make some progress for less than the $3000-7000 quotes he received. He agreed to let me have a crack at it. He got a good deal on the car two years ago and just wants a driver. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
BTW, my brother has almost a twin to your 58, complete with wrong wheels! As you can see he has a matching can ham trailer to pull with it. FWIW, I don't have a pic but I have talked him into ditching the wheels, now it has steelies, hub caps and white walls. Just noticed, the blue and white are switched on the 2 cars!
Hey guys, I had hoped to flatten out the clear and respray it but I cut through to the base before I got all of the orange peel leveled. It was more like pebbled than just orange peel. Good news is I won't have to decide what to do, only option left is to put a couple coats of base and then clear. Any input on sanding? Do I need a certain level of roughness for the paint to adhere? I'll probably sand the clear off with 400 and then block the base with 600 or 800. Any suggestions. I've searched the interwebs and the answers seem to vary with little explanation. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
If you only cut through in a few places you can just dust a little base over those places and re-clear without applying the base all over again. 17 PSI sounds way low to me even with an HVLP gun. You need to practice spraying on a few scraps of cardboard to make sure you have your gun set correctly and your technique right. You'll get it.
"dust" a little basecoat over the bad areas is good advice. Unfortunately once you break thru that clear you open up some other issues. The sanded edge of clears can wrinkle under more base coat, some clears do it worst then others and the wetter the base the more it will happen. If you do put more base over the clear do it pretty dry (dust it) rather then laying a heavy wet coat and you might get away with it.
I have used nothing but HVLP Guns to spray ( I spray furniture ) 17psi is incredible low , around 29-35psi is what I work with , depending on the type of material I spray with. Primers and base coats around 30-35 , and clear around 25-30. Always get your spray pattern correct , test them before hand, and then you know that the coverage will be even. Also with any paint ask for a data sheet , and this will tell you the pressures and best temperatures to spray at.
Checking again, the data sheet list 10 PSI at the cap. Didn't notice the "cap" detail before. How would this even be measured? I was pretty satisfied with how the basecoat flowed. Definitely not with the clear coat. Fortunately we have plenty of both base and clear for another round. I was so afraid of runs that I was barely spitting the clear on. I would much rather had to sand out some runs than redo the whole two-tone and clear. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You should have a regulator at the gun. If not get one. Adjust your fan setting first then Set that regulator to about 23-25 with the trigger pulled. That should be about 10 psi at the cap. Test your pattern and adjust again.
Watch some videos , take what you see & Try stuff and see what works for you. Practice and see how much coverage you can get away with before you get a run. YOUR most comfortable travel speed will dictate how YOU set YOUR gun and material delivery. Painting a large panel is way different than painting motorcycle parts at well. If I set your gun and then hand it to you, then you would need to keep the same pace and distance as me and hold the gun in your hand the same way. Just one of My quirks- If I'm going left to right I'll adjust the gun different to go right to left because I don't move the same in both directions. If I go middle ground one side would be runny and the other O peeled.
Thanks for the feedback. I’ve watched quite a few of the Gunman’s videos and noticed right away he was way closer to the surface, moving slower and overlapping more. I do have a regulator on the gun. If the weather holds out I might get another crack at it before the rain sets in. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Hey Guys! Had my rematch with the 58 today. Still some orange peel but nothing like the disaster my first go-round. I’m stoked, my arms tired. Did all the final prep, taping, taping and re-taping, two coats of each color and 3 coats of clear. About 9 hrs. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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