Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 13:35:03 -0500
Reply-To: Doug Alcock <dgalcock@HEWITT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Doug Alcock <dgalcock@HEWITT.COM>
Subject: Re: Brush painting questions
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>I have read that some folks have painted their cars with a brush and even
>won awards at car shows afterwards. They sometimes use auto paints and
>sometimes use marine "topside" paints. In either case, the resulting
>finish seems to be all in the technique of "tipping off" with the brush.
> Boat painters commonly use a brush with good results.
>
>I have tried this on a bunch of test panels using the techniques that I
>read about. However, I can't get an acceptable level of finish. Have any
>of you ever tried this? Can you teach me (and the rest of us) how?
>
>Thanks,
>Mike Phoenix AZ '84 GL '58 Isetta '79 Jet ElectraVan
This is interesting. I was a commercial painter for way too long and
still hold a valid ticket. The 'tipping off' technique you refer to (which
I would have called 'laying off') is designed to get the most even spread of
the layer of wet paint. You do this by lightly 'brushing out' the paint with
your
brush tip until the surface is as even as you can get it and the brushstrokes
that
you're leaving are as light as possible. You'll be able to see tiny
brushstrokes.
If you've done this evenly and perfectly the wet paint will flow together from
the
highs to lows into one perfect surface. This works best on a horizontal surface.
A spraygun leaves a surface covered with tiny pits in the paint layer that also
flow together. The pits
left by a good conventional gun in the hands of someone who knows what they're
doing
are much smaller and more evenly spaced than the brushstrokes of any painter I
ever met.
Paint correctly applied with a spraygun is going to flow together into better
finish than paint applied by brush. I can tell at a glance how paint was
applied; by brush,
hair or foam roller, conventional or airless spraygun. I'm guessing that auto
show
judges can also tell as well and I'd be very surprised if a brush paint job ever
beat a spray job. If so, I wanna meet this guy and his paint brush and I'll buy
the beer.
If you're learning this technique to avoid using a spraygun on a panel or too.
Let
me suggest that you head to your friendly local paint store and purchase a
"tight cell
foam roller" and handle. These leave a wet paint surface covered with tiny,
closely and evenly
spaced bubbles --- which pop to leave a pitted surface flows together (yet
again). You can
get very close to a mediocre spray finish with one of these rollers. Takes a lot
less practice
than brushing too. The key is to get the paint on evenly and then 'finish' the
surface by
going over the whole panel with a zig-zag overlap with a little more pressure on
the leading
edge of your roller than on the trailing edge. I painted a buddy's truck once
this way with good
results --- surprised both of us actually.
Hmmmm this is a little longer than I intended. And if it turns out that Car
shows are
routinely won by brush-painted cars I'm going to feel real silly.
Cheers,
Doug Alcock (ex-journeyman painter)
'84 Westy (in need of a paint job too)
Toronto, Canada
