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alright , i ,m just going to ramble and post as think of stuff that might help , feel free to argue with me , but everyone has their own tricks and techniques so if i,m doing something a way you don't like ... tuff , i,m just posting what ive been doing for many years , and i don't claim to know it all or even close .
one thing ive learned the hard way is paint shrink !! it looks great and then a month later the paint cures in the sun and you start to see all the sand scratches , some body shops in buss for many years still dont know what they are doing wrong , the secret ??? stay away from lacquer based primers , yes they are easy to sand , but they also shrink the most later on , i now use 2 part primer surfacers . next . guide coat , guide coat as seen in the pic is used to find low and high spots BEFORE you paint and see all the flaws . spray it on light or heavy and then block sand in a crisscross motion , see the dark spots ??? they are low spots and would appeared wavy once painted , this part of my car was never damaged to my knowlage and when it was black i really didnt see it , but i want to look as good as it can so i will block this until its perfect . more later
to keep my sand paper from clogging up too much , i take a paint stick and smack the sand paper every few min of sanding , this keeps it clean and keeps it works as i sand , sand paper and everything else is expensive now a days so this keeps it lasting as long as it can . ( see pics )
#1 for areas that are rounded and compound curved i use a heater hose , left over from other repairs it conforms well to many areas ( see pic ) , #2 also to mask off tires i use large garbage bags , but keep in mind this is primering only , make sure to not have plastic where you are final coating , after one dry coat of paint on plastic it can dry and then flutter from the air of a paint gun and come loose and then into the next coat of new paint , ( see pic ) use paper or a old blanket to cover the plastic bag .
# 1 if you live in an area where its cold you need to know the true temp of what your working on or painting , it may feel warm in the garage but the true temp of your paint and the metal can be much different and effect dry times and so on , i use a non contact temp meter ( see pic ) there are better ones out there but i,m still using this one i bought for about 20 bucks . this is one of the many items that is critical to know and correct if its too cold . you can also use a heat lamp or infared lamp to help dry areas if needed .
it looks good again !!! now its time to make it look like crap again ( wet sanding )
RUNS !!! i had a run at the door handle , i guess i shot too much clear in there making sure i got clear up behind it , i take a new razor blade and at a 90 degree angle ( straight up ) i shave the run off untill its flat , then wet sand over it all , see pics .
i always ground my cars , i got lucky and i have a pipe running into the ground inside my garage , but its important to do this as it keeps down the static electricity and doing anything to keep down the dust in the paint will help , even in a paint booth some guys do this .
Also, warm paint flows better. I use a heating plate for about 5 minutes prior to spraying to warm the paint up to about 65 degrees.
not a bad idea , ive been keeping my paint inside so its room temp and i dont bring it out until i need it , but i just make sure my temp of the car and shop are warm as well .
great info so far! How about painting a plastic piece, specifically the trunk latch cover. The piece that goes over the trunk release button and covers up where the license plate lights are? I would be using a can of spray paint.
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member and partial creator of pimpin the auto club
great info so far! How about painting a plastic piece, specifically the trunk latch cover. The piece that goes over the trunk release button and covers up where the license plate lights are? I would be using a can of spray paint.
i dont know exactly what part it is , but i used to work in a paint shop for GM and all the plastic parts came in black an we would paint them to the color of the car or truck , you need to find a can of plastic prep , its primer for plastic and then get paint for plastic , ( its normally lacquer based ) and paint away , let it dry over night and dont wax for at least a few weeks
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