attn painters.. advice please!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 5,202
Likes: 10
From: cincinnati ohio
St. Jude Donor '09
Re: attn painters.. advice please! (tictocdok)
:iagree: and will add...practice, practice, practice on some scrap panel, garbage can lids, anything to get used to the gun and get a techique that works for you.
Mike :cheers:
Mike :cheers:
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 30,183
Likes: 313
From: Lake Norman NC
Re: attn painters.. advice please! (tictocdok)
orange peel is something thats going to happen almost all the time....its the wetsanding and buffing that takes care of that...as long as whoever is painting it knows what they are doing and have the right materials and equipment...it should be pretty smooth.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 3,407
Likes: 2
From: Carmichael CA
Re: attn painters.. advice please! (tictocdok)
It is almost impossible to avoid the orange peel effect. I'm sure it's possible for the pros that are painting their 1,000's car, but for a backyard hobbiest that will do it for the first time, no way can you do a whole car without SOME orange peel unless you just get lucky and have skills beyond the norm, or that you have agent smith helping you in which case the Zion raiders will be after you as soon as you paint an entire car for the first time without any orange peel effect.
So, what do the pros do? They wet sand the paint after it dries and then spread some rubbing compound over it with a buffer, then go to a fine cut or swirl mark remover for a final mirror finish. You could try doing it by hand, but after I did my front and back bumpers I would definitely suggest getting a buffer for a whole car.
Also, make sure the area that you are painting in is nice and warm...like 80 degrees so that the paint dries fast enough before it pools and forms the orange peel effect. As the others said be sure you mix everything correctly. Like I said, it's "possible" to avoid the orange peel effect, but don't worry about it cause wet sanding and buffing will eliminate it like it never was there.
Good luck! :flag
So, what do the pros do? They wet sand the paint after it dries and then spread some rubbing compound over it with a buffer, then go to a fine cut or swirl mark remover for a final mirror finish. You could try doing it by hand, but after I did my front and back bumpers I would definitely suggest getting a buffer for a whole car.
Also, make sure the area that you are painting in is nice and warm...like 80 degrees so that the paint dries fast enough before it pools and forms the orange peel effect. As the others said be sure you mix everything correctly. Like I said, it's "possible" to avoid the orange peel effect, but don't worry about it cause wet sanding and buffing will eliminate it like it never was there.
Good luck! :flag
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,214
Likes: 0
From: Casa Grande AZ
Re: attn painters.. advice please! (Rockn-Roll)
I think it IS virtually impossible to shoot a perfectly glass smooth finish even if your paint technique is perfect and you are in the cleanest room on earth. Of course it can be shot so there isn't alot of orange peel but I think there will ALWAYS be some across a large surface. I believe the reason is because of the auto manufacturers and the paint manufacturers. You know that brand new cars always have orange peel. Go to the dealership, you will never see a perfectly smooth paint surface. Now consider WHY paint manufacturers produce paint. It's mainly so body shops can fix damage on new cars. So... I think they PURPOSELY make the paint so it will match OEM body panels when sprayed. This means built in orange peel. Could you imagine the extra work if a body shop had to color sand and buff all the OEM painted panels so it would match the newly painted, glass smooth, panel?
Larry
Larry
Racer
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 382
Likes: 0
From: Long Beach CA
Re: attn painters.. advice please! (lbell101)
I just painted my first car. Haven't done the final wetsand yet- so this advice is from a complete novice.
Figure out how long you expect it to take, then multiply by 10.
Don't be too hard on yourself.
More practice panels after you finish the first round.
Take your gun apart and make sure it is completely clean!!! Important! Always!
Shoot on a very warm day (making sure you have the right paint for a warm day).
This is very rewarding work. And a PITA :lol: :yesnod:
Figure out how long you expect it to take, then multiply by 10.
Don't be too hard on yourself.
More practice panels after you finish the first round.
Take your gun apart and make sure it is completely clean!!! Important! Always!
Shoot on a very warm day (making sure you have the right paint for a warm day).
This is very rewarding work. And a PITA :lol: :yesnod:
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