NFB Painting Tips Anyone?

[95TransAm]

A buddy of mine just received a professional paint gun from his uncle, and being that his '84 bird desperately needs a paint job, and my front end is primered, we decided to take on the job ourselves. We're not looking have the most professional looking jobs, i just want them to look as good as possible.

I'm trying to match the black that is the rest of my car, and he his attempting to make his whole car silver. I've got a spare fender, hood, bumper, as well as many other things that we can practice on before we actully tackle our cars.

Any tips on painting? What kind of paint/clearcoat is the best? What should temps/humidity be? etc...

[TraceZ]

I'd recommend using plastic sheets (visqueen) to limit the dust in the area you choose to paint in. Also use a hose to wet down the floor so no dust gets in the air from it.

To achieve the best results on a home paint job I'd recommend applying several coats of clear over your base coat/s. This will allow you to wetsand the living crap out of it and eliminate any imperfections in the finish. Complete the project by buffing it to a shine.

The biggest hurdle is going to be getting familure with the gun, and a painting technique. You'll need to learn what line pressure to use, and how changing it a little can change the way the paint applys. There are different nozzles for different spray patterns. There are also different distances to hold the gun from the car, and speeds to move it accross the panel to avoid drips and runs. Practice makes perfect! Different brand paints will even apply slightly differently.

I'm no paint expert, but I have spent some time in bodyshops watching the pros do it and asking questions. Make sure you have a filter on the air line and make sure you pour the paint through a screen before using it to remove any debris from it.

Good luck!

[95TransAm]

Sounds good. I'm gonna take all of that in to consideration. I never would have thought about sprayin the floor down, glad i came here to get some insight . I too am going only on what i have seen/heard by people who actually paint for a living. I'm definitely gonna practice a whole bunch though to get familiar with the gun before the time comes. Hopefully i can make it look pretty good before i get it professionally done.

[Joe 1320]

Spend most of your time making the bodywork perfect. Treat the paint as color only. Don't think it will cover any imperfections, it won't. Primering and block sanding are the most time consuming and their results contribute greatly to the overall look. I've done paint jobs in my driveway that ended up looking stellar because the work underneath was flawless. White is also the most forgiving color to paint.

[95TransAm]

Lucky enough for me, the panels i am painting are only 5 1/2 months old, came primered, and are nearly flawless. I will make sure all imperfections are gone and all panels are properly prepped before the actual painting starts.

White is the most forgiving eh? Well, my car is black...i wonder if that makes it the opposite