Painting - A 'how To' Guide

[Boro Sera]

How To Paint

Right, here's how to repaint those annoying aftermarket parts on your car using the

power of shakey tins.!

The secret is all in the preparation, so if there are any deep dents or scratches in the part then you'll have to sort these out with filler first and sand flush.

For this example I'm painting an MR2 rear panel.

First you need to key the part ( scratch it ) so the paint has something to stick to.

This is done with 400 grade wet and dry paper. If there are tight curves that you can't really get to then a Scotchbrite pad will do for these areas. Sand every surface that you're planning to paint, then wipe the dust off thoroughly with meths or panel wipe and a cloth. This removes the dust and also degreases the part. From now on grease isn't your friend.........so don't touch the part with your fingertips if you can help it. A latex glove helps here, but the less handling the better.

First rule of Shakey Tins - READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE TIN !

If it says to shake for 2 minutes then shake it for 2 minutes, not 20 seconds. Don't paint in sub zero temperatures and expect a good finish. When you spray, start the flow beside the part to be painted and spray across and off the other side before you stop the paint flow. This greatly reduces splatter in the middle of your new panel. If it says wait 20 minutes between coats then wait 20 minutes, not 10. Paint in several light coats rather than lashing it on as this will cut down on the manual work to come and also helps to prevent runs forming.

Four or five light coats of primer and it's time for the Guide Coat. This is the painting equivalent of Engineers Blue - a visual indicator as to the high and low points on the primer.

Get a Shakey tin , any colour that will show up well against the primer, and very lightly fog paint over the whole panel. Do this quickly so that it leaves the whole thing speckled - we're not after any sort of total coverage here, just speckles.

When this is dry it's time to sand the primer flat. Using DRY 400 grade wet and dry paper, sand the whole part until the speckles are just about all gone. This means that you've got the primer as flat as possible. Don't get carried away, take your time with this bit. If you go through to the bare panel underneath you'll have to reprime the area and reflat it. Concentrate on flat areas. Any tight curves where the paper might scratch the primer can be smoothed with Scotchbrite pads. Dont' forget to keep your fingers off the primer, and DON'T get it wet as primer is porous. !

Here you can see a primed panel with the guide coat partly rubbed down.

Remember when I said 'don't get it wet'?

The panel is primed and rubbed down and ready for paint - nearly.

Using meths/panel wipe on a cloth, wipe the panel to remove sanding dust and any other contaminants that have got on to the job. This will obviously get it wet, but as meths or panel wipe evaporate really quickly, it's not wet long enough to cause a problem !

Painting, like priming, is done in several light coats. If you get a solid colour after 2 coats then you're putting the paint on far too thickly. Apply four or five coats and let dry.

( the paint I'm using is 202 Astral Black here, just a flat colour paint rather than a candy or a pearl. These require some additional work, but the basics of flatting and polishing are the same )

With the paint on and dried ( very important that it's fully dry - overnight is a safe way ! ) the panel now looks black, although not too shiny. At this stage you can Tcut the paint and polish it, but where's the fun in doing that. All that hard work so far and you want to just cut it and call it finished?? Shame on you !!

Overspray and the general shakey tin finish leaves it looking like this, there's some shine there, but it's not a good reflection - although on a brighter note there's an extra 10% off furniture this weekend.

( I'm doing this post in Real Time, so there'll be a short delay until the odyssey is over ! )

Part 2 to follow shortly !

[Boro Sera]

Ok then, Part II - The Money Shot !

Now we need to flat the black paint ready for lacquer. To do this use 800 grade wet and dry.

Get a bowl of clean cold water, an old chamois leather and steal a bar of soap from the bathroom. Use the wet and dry paper wet, and rub it on the soap bar in the water before you rub the panel. What we're trying to achieve here is to remove the high spots from the panel, just like we did with the primer. This time however, you don't need a guide coat. Flat part of the panel, then wipe it over with the chamois. the high points will have a matt finish, the low points glossy. Be very careful near curves/corners. The main reflective area is the big flat bit, so that's where you want it the flattest. For intricate areas and tight curves, just gently scrub the gloss finish off the panel with ScotchBrite. You should end up with a matt finish, silky smooth panel.

Lacquer time !

Wash the panel with clean water and a soft, clean cloth to remove dust etc. Dry it thoroughly then spray on 3 or 4 generous coats of lacquer. Try not to put too much on at once or runs form. This can be resolved later if it happens. On curved areas or detail where flatting may be tricky you should lay the lacquer on a bit thicker to keep it's natural shine. This way it won't need so much polishing.

When the lacquer is fully dry, get some clean water, soap ( again ) and some 1200 grit wet and dry. Like we did with the paint coat, flat the lacquer coat in all the key places, scotchbrite again will sort out the curves. Half done in pic below.

When all the overspray is flattened and the surface is smoothed over, use something like Autoglym Super Resin Polish and a soft clean cloth to polish the topcoat to a perfect shine.

You can even read the Australian Times through it !

Job Done !

The spray booth miraculously becomes my kitchen again !

[bigshark]

can you use hair dryer to speed up to drying process?

[Best-Gear]

can you use hair dryer to speed up to drying process?

You could, but you would run the risk of firing lots of dust into your uncured paint surface....so the answer is nope...

DJ

[Boro Sera]

I tend to let the paint dry naturally ( in a warm place if possible ).

Like DJ said, a hairdryer can blast all sorts of nasties onto your fresh paint. I do use one however, but only for drying the excess water off things after a wet flat.

[Best-Gear]

...If you want to dry things quickly, use a clean supply of compressed air.

When I say "clean" I mean filtered to ensure that as much moisture and (worse) oil is removed from the air.

DJ