Home spraying

[Andrew V]

Hello I'm looking for some advice on spraying my car myself. Since seeing the amount I can save it's really got me motivated to get off my backside and do it myself! I know Ade has sprayed his car himself so he should have lots of advice and warnings! :o
I was looking about and is synthetic paint the one to use? I know two pack needs breathing equipment etc...
Basically my dad has a couple of spare garages that I can use and he's sprayed a car before (marcos kit car although in cellulose) so he should be of some use.
I want to do the following:

GSI bumpers
DTM Mirrors
Bad boy bonnet (ready made)
PVD louvered drivers side wing
Other front wing replaced
New (from a scrappy) doors
Both rear arches rust repaired etc (this may involve cutting one out and welding, would get this done professionally)

And finally all resprayed aside from the engine bay. I was looking at a colour similar to Breeny's ----> http://www.novaload.net/forums/images/avatars/d50183913d7785ec18dc7.jpg

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. I really need to know if synthetic is a good paint to use also.

Thanks
Andrew

[Breeny]

Colour is standard vauxhall nova breeze blue. Don't ask me about spraying though, i had it done at a bodyshop. It's not as expensive as people thing, you just gotta know the right people :wink:

[Nova-Flair]

how much did u pay for your respray breeny?

[Andrew V]

thats breeze blue?! :o I thought it was much darker than that. maybe because yours is new etc.. I would like to give it a go myself because if you look at it this way; even if I fcuk up I have wasted ?200 max and can get it done professionally if it all goes tits up, plus I will have gained experience and the satisfaction of saying that I did it!

anyway does anyone know whether I should be using synthetic or cellulose?

[Breeny]

I couldn't really say how much mine costed because i had a lot of other work done at the same time. I find that breeze blue comes out in all different shades depending on the light and quality of camera etc etc

[apples]

synthetic paint is very much like household gloss, its good for vans coz its cheap and covers well but to its hard to get a proper finish with it and can take months to fully cure.it can also be a twat to paint over if it goes wrong.
celly paint is very forgiven to a beginner, runs and orange peel can easily be flatted and polished to get a nice finish.it has a quicker drying time and is also a cheaper option.
2 pak is the best as far as paint goes, but you need proper breathing equipment and ventilation, and can be very expensive.

i would reccommend you try celly.

what ever you choose you should wear a suitable mask. a full respray creates a lot of dust.

[ade]

I agree with apples. On reflection on doing my car I'm glad I used 2 pak but you must have right equipment.

Overall, you didnt mention you were totally respraying the car - just panels on it - based on the panels being done I'd go for the whole car to get an exact match.

With 2 pak the only thing to remember is if using it and you dont have a ventalation system (fans) in the area, take a break every now and again and blast the respirator with an air gun to clear the vents.

HSS Safe & Sure hire them out for about ?100 a week - if you can use an HVLP compressor and spray gun - this reduces the overspray and paint dust by half (hHVLP = high volume low pressure) meaning more paint sticks to the car rather than creating a nasty fog - the dangerous bit of spraying! That will set you back about ?100 also

Paint - depends on what you go for - prob ?150 for 3 ltrs - thats enough to totally respray the pouter skin on a nova 3 times and then some.

The main thing is prep work - you must prep the body and panels proper;y - skimp on prep work and you will trash the whole job!

Also time of year - we are now effectively in winter so spraying in these conditions will adversely affect your overall finish (blooming - moisture causes paint to go milky) - weather is the biggest thing that effects paint finishes - that and bad technique.

I can recommend a couple of painting books that will help you - PM me & I'll send you the dtls if interested.

If spraying in the winter hire some infra red heat lamps - this will help in the curing process - especially important if using celly. 2 pak is hard and car be flattened back in 24 hours - celly can take a few days.

If its just the panels you are doing, it maybe cheaper in the long run to get a body shop to do them.

Ade
:wink: