Painting a car

Hey guys,

This is my first post here. I just got a 1956 Chevy Bel Air, 4 door. The body is overall in great shape, straight as an arrow and already coated in PPG epoxy primer. The interior is not in the car, floors and trunk are solid, and the windows aren't in the car either.

I'm the type of person who wants to do everything themselves, so I would like to paint the car myself. I have some experience using spray guns, as I worked at a boat factory spraying gelcoat and an electronics factory spraying conformal coating on circuit boards.

First off, my plan is to turn my garage into a spray booth by covering every surface in plastic sheeting (I want to paint the car, not the floor, ceiling and walls) and get some sort of large industrial fan to move the air out. Of couse, this is just my thinking, if anyone has better ideas feel free to say so.

My real questions come in here....does the topcoat get applied directly on top of the epoxy primer? Should I sand the primer first? Should another layer of primer go on top of the existing primer?

After I do spray the topcoat, what about sanding that? Should I sand the car down with 600 grit or so and buff it shiny?

As you can tell, I've never painted a car before. If someone wants tell me a little more about the procedure, I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks in advance,
Brian

Welcome to AF. That sounds like a fine project there!

I would strongly suggest reviewing PPG's paint systems that are specifically intended for use with the primer that is already there. Other types of paint or paint systems may not be fully compatible.

Either PPG or your local dealer/jobber would have the info regarding sanding and application. Go with their recommendations for that paint system.

Generally, metallic topcoats cannot be sanded after spraying ; some solid colours can be. This is handy if you experience runs, sags and other imperfections; they can be sanded out and resprayed, either with clear coat or more paint.

Also, metallic topcoats are less forgiving, and may show a brush-stroke effect in the metallic particles.

Consider practising on some scrap sheet metal first, to get a bit of experience. Besides, it may be cool to paint your beer fridge the same colour as your Chevy.

As for painting in your garage...... modern paint systems are often EXTREMELY toxic. At the very least you would need the paint mask suitable for that paint system. Sometimes, a dedicated frsh air system for the mask is recommended.

If your garage is attached to your house, do not paint in it. The risk of stinking out the house or harming others (fumes, explosion, etc) in it is not worth it, . It is easy to build a simple wood frame out-doors (using 2x4's) and stapling plastic to it, to make a paint booth.

EDIT: A fan blowing air out of the booth is a good idea, but you need to include an air inlet, too. Incorporate a furnace filter as an air inlet to keep the worst of the dust/dirt out.

well, some things are simpler than you would expect. i would try putting a good couple of coats of 3-n-1 (primer/surfacer/sealer) over your existing primer, though you want to scuff the original first with some 300-ish grit paper. then after you spray 2 or 3 coats of 3n1, let it dry at least overnight and then get some contrasting color and put just a slight mist over the entire primed area, not too much, just make it look like you oversprayed accidentally on it, or like there is some dust on it, just a little is needed. once that mist coat dries (takes about 5 seconds lol) you take some 400 grit wet paper, or if you want perfection, 600 or 800 wet paper and wetsand the entire car using a block to keep the paper uniformly flat. little areas that are curved or in corners, like door jambs can be done by hand without the block, just use your palm. the longer the better for the block if it is on large flat panels. basically, use the previously applied mist coat as a guide. you know you are done sanding when the mist coat is gone, as in you sanded it off... this allows you to see where you need to add glazing putty to low spots and also makes sure you have smoothed the entire surface to be painted. after this, use a garden hose and a paper towel to clean off the sanding sludge/residue. just make sure to wipe every square inch and wring out your paper towel often. if you miss a spot, you will be able to see it when the water dries and can get it then. after this, make sure there is no grease or oil from your hands on the surface by wiping it down with shop towels and a pre-cleaner... make sure to be sure it is a cleaner that will not leave any residues. usually paint suppliers sell "wax and grease remover," which should work fine. after that, mix your color and before spraying, wipe down the car very gently with a tack rag. if you press the rag against the car, it will leave residue, so just let it slide along almost like you're just dragging it along the surface. then go ahead and shoot the color. if, and only if, it is a solid color, when it sets up good, you can use 1000 grit or higher wet paper to take off any dust nibs and whatnot, then shoot the clearcoat over the color. make sure not to wait too long after spraying the color to spray the clear, or it might not stick very well. the clear will have an orange-peel look to it (look at any factory clearcoat finish and you will know what im talking about) and if you dont like that, then put on many coats of clear so you can buff it later on to make it perfectly level.

you can do the masking you described of the garage, but on a calm day it is not entirely necessary. i just wet down the garage floor, the driveway, the lawn, and any bushes nearby, and the frame of the garage door, to drap dust in the water. this really works pretty good, just get a decent sized fan to blow overspray out of the garage or the paint will look like little pieces of sand were sprinkled on it and you will be mad lol... ive done it before, not fun at all to sand again and redo it

painting at home is somewhat easy, make sure you have poly to hang from the ceiling to floor covering all walls around the car, hose down the floor so that dust from the gun doenst lift dust onto the car, use large house fans to pull paint fumes and overspray out of the garage to outside.

I wouldnt paint over epoxy, it is meant to seal metal, use a PPG DP-40 high build primer, this is great for filling in filler scratch marks and or small imperfections in the metal. Sand with 320, then 400 then lay on your base, you can wet sand the base as long as its not metalic. from here clear, if enough coats of clear on on thecar you can wet sand the clear after throughouly drying, the paint actually emits solvents and takes a week or so to really dry.

have fun

Does anyone know what the ambient temperature must be to paint? I'm sealing off my carport with plastic and it's winter in virginia.