How did you teach yourself to paint?

[Cuda416]

PPG is very good and VERY VERY expensive. Omni is colored water. For base/clear Southern Poly for all primers and Universal Clear. For the base, Wanda or Motobase from Automotive Arts is what the pros over there will tell you (also SPI if you are ok with the few colors they have). All my cars are completly SPI or Motobase base and SPI for everything else.

Jim

Well that answer my next question. Omni, yay or nay, sounds like a nay from your experience.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Well that answer my next question. Omni, yay or nay, sounds like a nay from your experience.

Covers like crap.. no money saving as you need 2x the paint and the guy on the SPI forum says it has no depth and looks flat regardless of the clear.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Well that answer my next question. Omni, yay or nay, sounds like a nay from your experience.

SPI and Motobase will cover in 2 coats easy.. I use 3 just to make sure it is even coverage. I have not used Wanda the other recommend based from the forum.

 

[ValiantRacing]

This is Omni single stage, i was suprised how well it covered and looked when i was done.

 

[SpeedThrills]

I'm a SPI forum member. I also watch Paint Society. Both are AWESOME!

I'm just getting started on prepping my Duster. I'm going to try to do all of the prep, do the base on the engine bay, jambs and trunk. I'm probably going to farm out the base on the body.

I spent most of the winter reading and watching videos. Time to s*** or get off the pot.

I know I'll screw stuff up (I already have!), and have to redo things, but no matter what, it'll be cheaper than paying a shop. It's hard to think about spending on materials, because they cost so much these days, but again, it'll be cheaper than paying a shop.

 

[Bodyperson]

With a 50% overlap, you have to "burn" 50 % of your first passes.

 

[Cuda416]

With a 50% overlap, you have to "burn" 50 % of your first passes.

Uh.. what?

 

[Bodyperson]

Uh.. what?

You can not get 50% overlap if the first pass does not end up wasted on to the masking. Does that help? It's hard to explain.

 

[Cuda416]

You can not get 50% overlap if the first pass does not end up wasted on to the masking. Does that help? It's hard to explain.

Nah I'm tracking. Makes total sense .. thank you

 

[Bodyperson]

You can not get

Nah I'm tracking. Makes total sense .. thank you

More of a repair technique than a complete repaint technique. Something i had to learn on my own.

 

[Inertia]

Dust was our biggest issue. 4th car was perfect, great paint, no runs, very little dust.

We spray early Sunday morning, preferably after a rain , on a gravel driveway, wet down the gravel .
We tried cleaning out the shops, but dust was always kicked up.
Tried hanging plastic, tarps, section off an area, - outside proved easiest.

Next barn, with have dedicated paint booth.

 

[Inertia]

Runs . . . .

If you get a run in a perfect panel, it is possible to "shave" the run, by carefully dragging a razor blade or similar, along the excess, and remove run material down to near "fair" then sand to match surface .
It's kinda an art

 

[barbee6043]

Get NEW masks!
Read TDS sheets, always!
I taught myself years before the Vids.
Find a retired body man for advice.
Like said you learn by doing.
For some, the learn curve is STEEP!
Master single stage, then you will be a pro with bc/cc!
I always ask the Good Lord for no wind, it is Hell to shoot under a pine tree!

 

[Bodyperson]

Don't spray at night without good filtration. The bugs will ruin you.

 

[DartGTDan]

Back in the late '70s I had a friend whose dad (Jerry) mixed colors for GM. Jerry taught me how to paint using RM (if I remember correctly) lacquer products. I practiced on mom's car ('75 Malibu), my younger sister's car ('77 Monza), then my '77 Monaco (winter beater).

Then, when I thought I was good enough, I painted my toy car. My 1980 Chevy Monza. I had purchased the car new as a dark green, Buick V6/TH350, tan interior, with the 2 round headlight version. I swapped the nose to the "Spyder" style (4 rectangular headlamps) with a fiberglass cowl induction hood and painted it '75 Corvette Yellow, pulled the Buick V6/TH350 for a SBC 350/TH350, and then swapped the tan interior for black. I did everything on the car except for the machine work on the engine and the upholstery on the seats.

I wish I had that kind of drive/energy now!

 

[JDMopar]

Back in the late '70s I had a friend whose dad (Jerry) mixed colors for GM. Jerry taught me how to paint using RM (if I remember correctly) lacquer products. I practiced on mom's car ('75 Malibu), my younger sister's car ('77 Monza), then my '77 Monaco (winter beater).

Then, when I thought I was good enough, I painted my toy car. My 1980 Chevy Monza. I had purchased the car new as a dark green, Buick V6/TH350, tan interior, with the 2 round headlight version. I swapped the nose to the "Spyder" style (4 rectangular headlamps) with a fiberglass cowl induction hood and painted it '75 Corvette Yellow, pulled the Buick V6/TH350 for a SBC 350/TH350, and then swapped the tan interior for black. I did everything on the car except for the machine work on the engine and the upholstery on the seats.

I wish I had that kind of drive/energy now!

View attachment 1716538612

View attachment 1716538611

How long did it take you to knock the rear end out of it with the small block! I always liked those cars. They made nice looking hot rods!

 

[barbee6043]

Back in the late '70s I had a friend whose dad (Jerry) mixed colors for GM. Jerry taught me how to paint using RM (if I remember correctly) lacquer products. I practiced on mom's car ('75 Malibu), my younger sister's car ('77 Monza), then my '77 Monaco (winter beater).

Then, when I thought I was good enough, I painted my toy car. My 1980 Chevy Monza. I had purchased the car new as a dark green, Buick V6/TH350, tan interior, with the 2 round headlight version. I swapped the nose to the "Spyder" style (4 rectangular headlamps) with a fiberglass cowl induction hood and painted it '75 Corvette Yellow, pulled the Buick V6/TH350 for a SBC 350/TH350, and then swapped the tan interior for black. I did everything on the car except for the machine work on the engine and the upholstery on the seats.

I wish I had that kind of drive/energy now!

View attachment 1716538612

View attachment 1716538611

I love the green!!! Must be an 80s Mopar thing!!

Energy? yes, but back before big screen TV and video games!

 

[DartGTDan]

How long did it take you to knock the rear end out of it with the small block! I always liked those cars. They made nice looking hot rods!

The rear end was definitely the weak link. If I remember correctly it was a 2.56:1 (?) gear set. Had I kept the car, my plans were to Pro-Street the rear. But instead I decided to get married and start a family. The car sat in mom's garage until I sold it off. I got the itch for a toy car again when my youngest (son) was 6 years old we found the Dart GT.

 

[70SwingerGuy]

Runs . . . .

If you get a run in a perfect panel, it is possible to "shave" the run, by carefully dragging a razor blade or similar, along the excess, and remove run material down to near "fair" then sand to match surface .
It's kinda an art

Run and sag removal, DEFINITELY an art, and the bane of any painter, one that is learned by lots of trial and error/resprays, and is the cause of many grey hairs and heart murmurs.
I used to use razor blades and even body files cut down into an inch long. An old apprentice of mine uses a small block made out of titanium, he says its a game changer.
Sags were generally not to bad to remove, the worst were the drips/runs that came off of a mounting hole or high spot, or worse yet, rivets. Fully cured paint is critical to success.
This is where a premium gun matched to the paint that you are spraying is key to long-term success ie: avoiding them in the first place! The backyard painter has all the time in the world to fix defects or respray when the fix goes wrong, a production painter doesnt have that luxury.
But to answer the OP's title question.... I went to autobody school then started working in shops as a prepper in the paint shop, as most painters do. I taught myself gun technique by spraying primer, lots and lots of primer, then from there by spraying "inners", ie: areas that required color coating but arent so critical if not 100% perfect, inner doors, fenders, jams, underhoods etc. Then from there on to small refinish jobs, working my way progressively up to larger and more difficult/challenging jobs, until one day you find yourself standing in the paint room wondering why you didnt become an electrician or pipefitter.

 

[plymouth67]

I went to school for autobody and paint. I don't do it for a living but, I do it on the side. Everybody does it a little different. Plus or minus a few pounds of air pressure, plus or minus reducing of base and clear...etc. There are a million ways to skin a cat. I think as long as you more or less follow the data sheets and, if you stray a little bit from them you need to understand what that does with flash times, cure times etc. Just because something works for one guy doesn't mean the next guy will get the same result. Practice and finds what works for you. This is the last car I painted...in my garage.

 

[Dartnut]

Being patient is a virtue...
I learned how to paint by watching someone who didn't know what he was doing.
He mixed the paint and reducers and the hardener like a mad scientist!
A little bit of this and that = close enough!
Then when he was spraying, he moved his wrist back and forth and sort of fogged it on (Dupont acrylic enamel single stage).
Then I decided to try it one night and locked my wrist and did panels myself with his shop, gun, and materials (measured properly) and had a better result first try on my '69 Coronet beater's front clip...
He couldn't believe it.
He asked what I did differently from what he did and I told him I just followed the instructions on the can and went with it.
Then he replied that the instructions were a guideline only for amateurs and that experienced painters like him knew the real way to get the proper results is by changing mixtures and techniques a little here and there.
Okay then...

Since then, I have painted a few cars with decent results by merely following the instructions on the product to a T.
That includes single stage acrylic enamel and base coat clear coat.
I have even painted some beaters with Tremclad or Rustoleum with good results.
I am by no means a pro, but I have been happy with the paint jobs that I have done on my ''driver'' type cars.
I have not tried metallics though, and I hear that it's an art in itself.
There are a lot of great tips posted on here for you to follow.
My advice is to practice on some junk panels and get your technique working for you, mixing the paint accurately, and cleanliness is a must on both the surface of the car as well as the paint gun and air supply.
Good luck!

 

[LO23M8B]

How do you keep track of what primers work with what paints, and what body fillers do that or that, and tell if they're compatible with one another?

Use all the same brand from start to finish. Talk to the mfg. if possible. We had painters at work so I talked to them and got a lot of good information. And spend the money and get a good gun. Wipe the whole project down with cleaned and tach it all off before you start and between coats.

 

[YY1]

I fixed a couple runs with sandpaper wrapped around 1/2" PVC pipe.

Worked great.

 

[barbee6043]

I think a lot of us "amateurs" do not realize the effects on how it all turns our is the temperature. Reduces, activators related to temp., and humidity.

I have always been successful with a metallic simply because I was so extremely aware of how it had to go down, especially that last coat.

 

[Inertia]

Just a personal thing. - first paint goes on/under the wheel arches, exposed door/trunk edges, valance, rear valance, - anywhere that you may not spray effectively in the main applications, - then lay on the main coats.

I had a few experiences with "thin" paint on edges, my own driver door that I notice everytime I go to open the door, and see that "transparent" edge of the door.
Jmo