Painting your classic

Post by **katiekat** » Wed May 06, 2009 8:08 pm

Hiya! Has anyone ever bought paint spraying equipment to paint their classic car? I am interested in doing this but don't know much about it. Is the equipment expensive?

What would I need to buy? Does anyone know a good supplier? I am very interested in doing this. I already do all my own bodywork repairs and I am getting quite good at it and can repair holes in bodywork etc.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks very much.

Kate

Post by **davidmiles** » Wed May 06, 2009 9:55 pm

Hi Katie, I'm thinking of doing this as well in the distant future, I read somewhere you need at least 300psi from a compressor, powering a sprey gun, (not an airbrush) for a start on price comparison try machine mart. plus you'd have to consider a temporary sprey booth and extractor filters.

Post by **MGFmad** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:44 pm

Its not the psi that needs to be that high (I use my gun around 40 -50 psi) but your compressor needs to have a cfm rating of at least that and preferably far more than the cfm rating of the gun. Generally though the bigger the better so you have enough air to keep the gun fed otherwise you have to stop and wait of the compressor building up pressure again.

My compressor is around 90 litre capacity (not sure exactly as its old and not stated on the makers plate) and is great for spraying a panel but cannot cope with a complete respray. For that I used a friends 150 litre compressor which kept the air supply constant (including an air fed mask) but would run continuously.

Paint wise, some places still do cellulose which is better from a health & safety point of view but you still need a decent mask. The main stuff now I believe is water based but I have not used it.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:58 pm

As long as you are happy to just do one panel at a time - a smallish compressor is fine. Mine is from Aldi - and works well. Spaying has been diuscussed many times - the thinners are both harmful and flammable ! I now only spray celly outdoors on calm/warm days. Two-pack paint is very hazardous to health - DO NOT attempt to spray that without a full face mask with fresh air supply.

Post by **katiekat** » Thu May 07, 2009 7:53 am

Thanks that's really helpful.

So first i need a good air compressor with a high cfm rating and a large litre capacity?

Is the litre rating really that important? I had a look on the machine mart website and they sell some air compressors with a much lower rating than that.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... pressors-2

Thanks very much!

Post by **Stig** » Thu May 07, 2009 8:13 am

The other option is HVLP - High Volume Low Pressure. I think a popular make was Apollo. Cheaper and smaller than a big compressor but I've not used one so couldn't comment on paint finish, ease of use etc.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:50 am

Machinemart quite expensive (unless a special 'sale') - best with Aldi or similar deal. Also Co called 'Wolfcraft' or similar who sell compressors etc.

Post by **katiekat** » Thu May 07, 2009 11:09 am

Would this Aldi system be any good?

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/58_5174.htm

Post by **plastic_orange** » Thu May 07, 2009 2:26 pm

Plenty compressors on ebay. My mate bought a 13cfm with 50 litre capacity for under £200 (seally) from an on line seller - very similar to the one I bought from Machine Mart 4 years ago for £350.
Mine will spray a car no bother at all without complaint, but struggles to keep up with a DA sander.
You can still get 2 pack paint, and base coat from suppliers if it's for an old car.

Pete

Post by **MGFmad** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:55 pm

katiekat wrote:Would this Aldi system be any good?

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/58_5174.htm

Aldi had that compressor back in again a few weeks back - great value for money - I think it would be fine for spraying panels or small areas but doubt it would cope with continuous spraying for a whole car.

Post by **ASL642** » Thu May 07, 2009 11:04 pm

It might be able to cope if you only sprayed a panel at a time and slowly worked you way around the car.

Post by **alainmoran** » Fri May 08, 2009 12:38 am

Buying your own compressor and doing it yourself is definitely the way to go ... I paid £600 for a 'professional' to respray mine and I can be 10000% honest and say I would have been MUCH better off buying a compressor and doing it all myself ... sheesh, even if I'd done it outside in the middle of a dust/midge storm I would have ended up with better results .. bah!

Post by **bmcecosse** » Fri May 08, 2009 10:02 am

Yes - that's similar to mine which was from an earlier Aldi deal. It's an excellent buy. You will find that spraying one panel at a time is PLENTY - especially as a beginner!
But do realise there is very much more to spraying a car than simply buying a compressor and spray gun - and pointing it at the car!! Much preparation is required - you also need to know what the existing paint is - it may not be compatible with your new paint, and effectively it may all have to be removed (v tedious process) before any spraying can start. Best way is a 'bare metal' respray - but that' a huge amount of work. So - assess the job fully before buying the compressor. Although it is handy anway for tyre inflation and wheel nut removal!

Post by **katiekat** » Fri May 08, 2009 11:10 am

Well I went and bought one from Aldi as for the price it seems worth it. I prefer to do one panel at a time anyway but I will let you know how i get on.

I got some trafalgar blue paint from a local paint supplier that a man in Helfrauds recommended to me. I think he's a Mini restorer as the mini shop is next door to the paint supplier shop, and I sort of recognised him from there.

I've started rubbing the mog down now as she had been hand painted and there were runs all over the car! The paint mixer guy seemed pretty sure I've got the right colour but I'll probably spray the whole car anyway. She certainly needs it as she looks like she's been painted with some runny interior woodwork paint!

Post by **alanworland** » Fri May 08, 2009 11:52 am

I did mine outside panel by panel (wings off doors off etc) outside on suitable days. The good thing about cellulose is give it a couple of days and it can be wet flatted with something like 1200 wet & dry to lose any imperfections! The worst bit I found was the roof, I got some milkcrates and made platform both sides - so I could nip round the other side and continue while the paint was still wet!
Good luck.

Post by **ASL642** » Fri May 08, 2009 11:58 am

I did the roof standing on a ladder. Not easy!

Post by **katiekat** » Fri May 08, 2009 1:21 pm

The hardest part for me will be sanding the whole car as she has a bumpy texture all over that looks terrible. I sanded one wing and the bonnet this morning and she looks better already!

Post by **bmcecosse** » Fri May 08, 2009 3:28 pm

Aye - but is that paint cellulose - or is it some kind of enamel ?? Perhaps the dreaded 'Rustoleum'!!

Post by **bmcecosse** » Fri May 08, 2009 3:33 pm

You will need several coats of primer before you spray any finish coat on the car! Probably need at least 2 litres of 'high build primer' and then two litres of colour - many will advise much more than this - - these are pretty much minimum quantities. And of course at least 5 litres of thinners!!

Post by **ani** » Fri May 08, 2009 3:35 pm

Hi Kate,
Just out of interest what are you using to sand it? Are you using the compressor with discs?