Boss wants me to paint the hood of one of his vans, it has/had a clear coat finish, the paint is still pretty well intact, the clear coat has flaked mostly off. I can handle the actual spraying, but I’ve never worked with a clear coated paint finish before.
anyone out there done this and care to explain the process or point me somewhere I could find the information?
Replies
Base/clears are the easiest things. If the clear flaked, and it's a factory job, I'd strip the hood , or at the very least sand heavily with a gray scotch bright, spray a sealer/ primer and start from there.
Bases go on like flat paint, spray one dry coat, let flash, spray a medium wet coat. Let it dry the correct time(read the directions) then spray the clear. Clear has to be sprayed in the correct time window, or it does not bond(and peels) or worse, will crinkle. You must wet sand the clear within 24 hours, or it sets up so hard it is unsandable. Color sand with 1500, then 2000 until there are no shiny spots, then get out the buffer(1800-200RPM), and start with Meguires fine cut cleaner, then swirl remover, and finsh up with glaze. Believe me, it sounds harder than it is.......once you do the hood, you'll start to play, then start taping flames.....and the next thing you know, you'll be painting and flaming everything in sight.
Base/clears are set up so that clear provides ALL the gloss, the base is just a thin layer that reflects through the clear. You can candy the clear with some color to kick things up a notch, or mix in some micro flake....so many options.
was hoping you'd stop in here, thanks a bunch
doesn't sound to bad at all.
Edited 11/12/2003 6:47:59 PM ET by CAG
CAG
Your getting to be the jack of all trades there at that place in Kansas, you sure your going to be able to leave come Dec?
Doug
Doug
nope can't leave until Aug when the lease is up and hopefully I can leave then, I want my G/F to find a good job she'll like before we move, I can find work, but she needs to start moving on her career...
Problem is I'm becoming of jack of all but what I want to be, my tool belt is starting to feel a bit lonesome, my saw is collecting dust and not making any...I now have more paintbrushes then I ever wanted to hold.
Problem is I gotta stop saying, sure I'll do that for you. always with a warning, not promising any particular results..
or maybe I should just start screwing up the "new" stuff...
Neil
Neil
When I was in college I worked road construction for one of the summers, the only thing that comforted me was knowing that come the end of Aug. I was out of there.
Doug
good plan having the girlfriend get a real career!
You're well on your wal to becomming a successful Remodeling Contractor!
If that plan goes well ... U won't be one of those complaining about the high cost of self insurance ... if that plan goes great ... U won't be complaining about the high cost of anything!
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
well what good is she if she can't provide for me???
A few other thoughts to add to the excellent advice you have been given.
The secret to good paint work, like everything else, is preparation. When you get your paint, get decent stuff, but no matter what kind you get, be sure it comes with complete instructions and data sheets. Try to get a mixing stick too, to make mixing the different ratios a breeze.
Your place of work must be dust free. Which is tough, as you will be creating a ton of dust sanding the old hood down. Be sure to add tack rags, Degreaser, and the appropriate masking paper to the list.
Figure it will take you longer than you expect. Fuss the details.
Find yourself a junk fender to practice on. Metalics are technique sensitive. The method (dry or wet, cross overlap or row overlap, etc.) will affect the color, and the match. As it sounds as though you will be doing a panel, your end point will be an edge...the easiest way to spot color changes.
Use good gear. A 3 or 4 stage HVLP is best, although you can certainly get great results from siphon or gravity feed conventional guns. Make sure the water seperator is top notch if you go conventional, though.
And to reiterate...a good respirator, a hat, and a full suit of junk clothes are good ideas.
Good luck, have fun. There is nothing so cool loking as fresh wet clear! (It will probably look better than the rest of the truck!)Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
Don't use house paint. A friend did that in high school. Looked about like you'd expect it to.
Boss is cheap, but he ain't that cheap...
Modern auto paints are both potent and pricey. You want a good respirator when you spray, particularly with the clear coat - and smelling salts when you price the paint. Base coats run from about $100 to $1000 per gallon with the clear coat being somewhat less expensive (maybe around $65/gal, $20/qt for clear coat - You might be able to get a quart of base coat for around $35 or so.) Positive pressure respirators have been recommended in the articles I have read.
Matching the existing color is always fun and since new paint fades at a different rate than old paint, a repainted panel usually looks noticeably different after a few years. If your boss simply wants protection, I think 3M makes a protective film, but I don't know what the prep is on a damaged surface. If he wanted to go cheap, you could just paint the one panel with a complementary color using Rustoleum enamel (maybe just with the rattle can...). I have seen some cars with the hoods painted flat black that didn't look too bad.
You can check prices on-line (I have not used this outfit as I buy from a local supplier, but they have a lot of stuff listed on-line - kind fun doing the wish-book thing...):
http://www.ketone.com/categories.asp
edit: raise that price up to $2000 per gallon for the base coat metal flake paint that tends to shift colors as you move around the car. It comes in colors that appear to shift from red to gold or from cyan to purple. Probably not the stuff you want to try your first time out...
Edited 11/13/2003 12:54:14 PM ET by CaseyR
When I buy DuPont Chromabase, I get it by the oz. Since it is mixed 50/50 with Basemaker 2 oz. makes 4 and that is more than enough for a hood(specially on a work truck).
HOK paints, like all the Chamellian colors......$500-800 gallon...ouch. Chromallusion is same.