Paint your snake?

[simonjrwinter]

Even more...

Firstly paint types. I am not going to go through the various types as there is only one option, TWIN PACK, 2K, call it what you want. I would guess that 99% of todays vehicles leave the factory with this. It's hard and durable, won't fade and it will put up with most types of abuse. Also, believe it or not, although you have to wear air fed breathing equipment the product itself is very easy to use and quite forgiving. Red oxide primer, give the whole lot one to two coats of this primer, it is very similar to a self etch primer but is a lot easier to apply. All of the mixing ratios and amounts will be on the tins you use or ask for a data sheet when you buy the prod*ucts. Polyester spray filler, this is what it says, its a very thick substance in the tin, basically runny filler. Mix it with its hardener and spray it all over the car and panels. Paint the panels separate to the body and try and put on about 3 good coats. This obviously depends on your body condition and your filling attempts. With this product you have got about twenty to thirty minutes pot life, after that it starts to set and if it sets in the gun because you have gone inside to watch the telly or your on a promise then you are going to have a good few hours picking it out. I'm not going to go on about it but you must wear AIR FED BREATHING EQUIPMENT! The gun wants to be of the gravity type with a 2 tip and needle arrangement, and you will need to mask up everything you don't want paint on. A little tip, twin pack sticks to everything (like poo to a blanket), so mask up the underside of the vehicle otherwise it will float up into your engine bay. Fit your doors, boot and bonnet on with all locks and catches and give it all a black guide coat. Get hold of the long rubbing blade with an 80 grit paper, put a bloody good dust mask on and start to SHAPE UP YOUR BODY! Don't just attack it flat out because you will only get great big hollows everywhere and you will be knackered after ten minutes. You boys who say to the girls you are stayers then this is the job for you. It will probably take you the best part of two to three days if all goes right. Try for a gentle even rub all over so that the guide coat has just been rubbed out. Any major low spots refill and spot coat, any minor low spots can be spot re‑polyestered or, if you want to, polyester spray the complete vehicle again and rerub.

THIS IS THE BIT TO GET RIGHT!

there is no such term as "that will do", its either right or not. Leave any bits now and it will show up in the finish. I know you are p****d off rubbing and your arms are aching but tough s**t, stop whinging, get on with it and finish it off properly. Finish the door shuts and edges with some worn 80 grit paper. Provided that all is ok with you and there is a suitable amount of polyester left all over the vehicle rub the complete lot with the various size blades with a 120 grit paper very lightly. This is just to take away the various rubbing marks and make the finish slightly smoother, at this stage do not try and shape it all over now, be patient. Now take the car outside and dust it down. If your very green then lightly brush off most of the dust and then blow off with an air line. If you don't get on with your neighbours and their car is still wet from washing and the wind is in the right direction then blow the lot off and watch their car change colour as if by magic. Mask up the body ready for priming. Apply one to two coats of red oxide primer as above, let it dry for fifteen to twenty minutes before apply*ing the undercoat. The undercoat we use is a high build type, this means it gives good build and allows a good blocking. Whichever type you use follow the mixing instructions. Apply one grip coat and three to four good wet coats to all of the body and panels. This lot can now all be painted separately When dry you will need a rubbing block, not the rubber type you can buy from "Hellfords" chuck them in the bin. You will need a nylon block approximately six to eight inches long and about two inches by one inch, nice and flat with square edges, make sure these are rounded off slightly Wrap a piece of 600 grit wet and dry paper around it and with the undercoat guide coated start to rub in a circular motion all over. This stage is blocking out all of the minor imperfections. Do this all over the panels and body, keep changing the water and paper. If you go through to the polyester don't worry, you can always apply more undercoat and reblock. If you are not too happy with this finish then re‑undercoat the lot again, give it several days to dry and re‑block. Any minor marks can be made good with a fine surface stopper and spot primed. Tackle the door shuts and all returns this way. By now the body should start to look good. Re‑assemble and finally check (for the last time!) the doors, boot and bonnet for fit. If they need some work then do it now before its painted. MAKE SURE THE BODY IS DRY, put the heater on, drag it out in the sun, but whatever you do make sure it is dry! You may have seen some paint jobs with tiny little marks on the surface just like measles, this is called micro blistering, caused by moisture on the surface. If this happens the only remedy is that it all has to come off, you can polish it out but it will return six months later.

Now the shiny bit. I will only cover solid finishes here as base coat and clear systems should be left to a body shop as they can be difficult, especially with the lighter range of pearls now on a lot of modern vehicles, even the temperature can affect these finishes. Mask the car again, damp down the floor and walls to prevent dust and mix up four to five cup‑fulls of the top coat ready Start with one grip coat and three to four wet ones, if you get a run then leave it alone and walk away, flat it down when dry and start again. By now you should see why the hard work was all in the preparation because when you start to look along the side while you are painting it should look nice and flat. Carry this out for the panels as well. In an oven you could flat and polish after one to two hours, but as most of you will be at home leave it a couple of days, no longer. Use brown half sheets of 1200 wet and dry, wet the paper and rub it with a block of soap, this will stop the paper clogging and marking the surface when you are rubbing. Go over the complete car until the surface is dull and all of the peel has been removed. Be very careful on edges, it is very easy to rub through in these areas. Once you have done this, you will know when because your hands will be stained the colour of your car for at least three to four days so everyone will get a sneak preview of the colour of your car. You will now need a polishing machine (hire one) its a bit like a 9" angle grinder but it runs at only 1800 rpm, a foam polishing head and a tin of G3 polishing compound. Wipe a small area with the G3 and spray it with water to keep it damp while polishing. Move the polisher back and forth over the area, keep applying small amounts of G3 and keep it all damp with the water spray, before your very eyes the paint should start to shine. Do this all over the body and panels until all of the dull areas have gone. Caution, be careful of the edges. Once this is done get a pot of 3M Fineseil (I think thats the spelling) and machine the whole lot with this, again damp it down during polishing with water spray When this has been done hand wax the whole lot. If there are any problem areas you can compound by hand with 3M's own product which is basically a "T Cut" for twin pack paints. A note of caution, T Cut is no good for twin pack, it should only be used on cellulose paints that it why it smells of amonia (it helps to polish cellulose). There thats all there is to it. It takes years of practice to learn all of this so don't be dissapointed if you mess up your first paint job, we all have to start somewhere. After all you would have only spent £500 to £700 on materials alone. Getting it right takes time, knowing what to look for takes time, and doing it properly takes time. So next time you phone up for a quote and your told a figure don't say "HOW MUCH?" you now know what goes into a professionally done paint job. You are paying for someone else's skill and expertise and quality never comes cheap.