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Date:         Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:49:15 -0500
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Bit o' stopped Rust
Comments: To: Roland <syncronicity1@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <38e334640903311612r3f304ce6nc52a8a4d7f12a171@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Roland, your story is just about where mine is, help from the paint shop (Finishmasters, I think it's a "chain") and practice on little panels first. Then I bought a volvo with really crappy paint for $100 to give my daughter. I painted the whole thing and it looks good. I hope to repaint my whole camper this summer or fall.

I did not like the gravity feed gun at all. I just don't get it--yet. I used it for painting my vanagon steel wheels, and, while they look great, I am glad I wasn't trying to shoot a body panel.

Bennie Boy had some good advice on masking products a while back, worth looking into.

I am happy with the results of my work, which includes a beautiful paint job on a kayak, and can generally do a better job and a lot of the work I have paid good money for in the past.

Jim

On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 6:12 PM, Roland <syncronicity1@gmail.com> wrote: > Guess I might be able to build on Jim's encouraging remarks, > > I recently did body work on my other car (the non-Vanagon). Yes, I felt > pretty certain about the sanding and filling, figured that a reasonable > person might have a shot at preping the area with sanding and then filling > in with "play doh", and then sand some more etc.  Don't forget to use a > block for block sanding.  One trick I might pass on to get the area really > smooth is 2 color primer paint.  First you spary the area with a light > colored primer, and then a dark colored primer.  If you then sand on this > combination the places that are still high and low really reveal themselves > because you are sanding through 2 different colors.  So for example a high > spot will show real quickly since there will be colored rings around it. > > The real courage part came with the painting.  I bought a gravity feed spray > gun and a matching compressor;  it is important to make sure the compressor > can deliver the kind of airflow that the gun needs, so please study the > issues about right sizing the compressor to the gun you choose (for example, > the little ones used for nail guns will not be sufficient for spraying). > And I got the accessories, especially a moisture filter, and a good pressure > gage attached to the gun, extra long hose. > > Then I worked with the local auto paint supply store.  All they sell is > automotive paints and assorted supplies to go with it.  They gave me all the > stuff I needed, it was 2 part paint, a metalic paint with a clear coat on > top.  They gave me nice things like tutorial, answer dumb questions, and the > detailed specs on the paints, which for example tell how much reducer > (thinner) to add to the paint/clear coat at different temperatures and > humidity in the garage on a particular day.  I also bought some returned or > useless paint that was the same base/brand and similar to my shade for > really cheap dollars that I used to practice.  You have to be careful about > the spray gun settings;  mine has 3, one for air flow volume, one paint flow > volume, and one for the spray pattern (from a vertical slice to a small > centralize spot).  Basically you have to hang a bunch of painters plastic (8 > foot wide roll) from the ceiling in your garage, and part of it becomes a > trial area where you adjust the gun and make sure you have it right before > applying to the work. > > From there is was mix the paint, 2 coats of metallic (with only 10 minutes > between coats), 2 coats primer after about 1/2 hour of letting the paint > dry.  And then you can wet sand and buff the next day as you choose in case > you get orange peel or some odd spots. > > Anyway, the equipment totaled about $325 and the special paints, primers, > clearners, thinners, hardener, etc. was about $90.  There was probably > another $50 in odds and ends.  The point is I was probably looking at > perhaps $1000, $1,500 or maybe $2000 in a body shop, and this method work > suprisingly well.  I took my time, and experimented and tried to do it well > rather than fast.  Lots of friends were all amazed, but not as much as me, > cause I was quite afraid of trying this stuff, and really pleased that it is > possible for us to do in our garage.  And I now have a compressor "for free" > to keep my tires up, and all kinds of other uses.  So please try it!  You / > we can do this body work and painting ourselves!   I need to do the roof of > my Vanagon since the clear coat is flaking aways and have no hesitation.  oh > the by the way, my non-Vanagon is a Porsche, not some half-baked secondary > car, meaing that it had to come out good enough. > > Roland >


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