MidnightOwl

WOW! This thread was super extremely helpful. I plan on repainting my vert, since the right side of it has been resprayed terribly (a long time ago before I owned it). It's like a spiderweb of cracks in the paint.

apreludem

hey wonko_the_sane what compressor tank do you recommend...i plan on buying a good impact wrench and air rachet...i need one that will get those really REALLY tought nuts and bolts out...so i guess i need a good compressor cause i want to use it to paint as well..

Thanks

mycarisolderthanme

alright great... thanks again wonko! ill start prepping at the end of summer so im ready to spray once school rolls in.

Can I get an ARCHIVE?

sosofast

yes i would like to know this too

not a specific brand, but specifications, like cfm, psi, duty cycle, anything else

since i will using compressor to spray car and for impact gun.

i've seen a 12 cfm 100psi compressor for cheap. would this be good enough?

thanks

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

I'm glad my write up is helpful
The compressor I'm using, works well for impact guns, air hammers, rachets, and it's overkill for the paint guns. It does of course have adjustable PSI output, so it was nice to be able to spray for 3 minutes or so before the compressor even kicked on. The only thing it's sorta lacking for is in the sander department. Those tools require the largest amount of CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) of any I've found. With mine, I would be able to sand nicely for five minutes, then it would start to fall off. If I pushed it, i could get 10 minutes out of it, but that was the max, then I had to give it a minute or two to load some more air.. It worked okay,though, just took a bit of patience Here's the Specs:

Porter Cable "Jet Stream" or something like that. I got it at Lowes.
135 PSI
6HP/25 Gallons
8.5 SCFM @ 40 PSI
5.8 SCFM @ 90 PSI

sosofast That should be good enough for the two uses you listed. As long as it has a decent size tank.. I'd recommend probably at least a minimum of 10 gallons, as the last thing you need is pressure fluctuations when you're painting. The best way to determine the max PSI you need and such is to take a look at what tools you're going to be using it for. All the tools will say on the box what their requirements are, so it should be pretty easy. Just for the record, my paint guns all run at around 30-35 PSI, and my impact gun goes @ about 90, so It can definatly move some air. It helps to convince your dad that he's going to use it a lot too, to split the costs

apreludem

thanks man.. =)

sosofast

my local hardware store sells cheap air compressors

rated at 5cfm at 40psi and i think 3psi at 90psi

i'm gonna buy too, which should give me 10cfm at 40psi

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

What are you going to do, run two motors into one tank? or just be able to keep two things going @ 5 cfm?

87base RX-7

umm "putty" does bondo fall under that? because i bondoed up where the previous owner got hit at the corner right at the rear light (got it jus bout perfect cant tell a differance if u are not real real super atentive too detail) used cardboard paterns from the other side and everything but anyway it was a pretty big dent and some spots might have up too 2.5in of bondo (not alot but some) and planing on painting it somtime this summer or next (doin all the small dent prep now and using a spray bottle of touch up paint thats real close so it has some paint on it till its done completly) but anyway should the bondo be removed and redone before i do the final paint job?

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

Bondo is a company that makes a lot of products, but I think we're same page.. It's that pink body putty that comes in one gallon containers with a little tube of hardner.

The short answer is yes, remove it. The long answer is:
If you leave it on there, It will become brittle and start to crack, eventually chipping away and leaving large cracks through your paint. If the dent is 2.5" deep in the rear, you SHOULD be able to pound them out pretty easy. The key is that it shouldn't be more than 1/8th (ish, give or take) deep. it can be as long or as wide as it needs to be to cover the area, but it should definatly not be 2.5" deep. Any spot that is deeper than 1/4" can probably use some fiberglass to get closer to level, before you putty it. If the area is large, drill some small holes before you putty/fiberglass, to give it something to adhere to.

So yeah, from what i've read, general rule of thumb is no more than 1/8" thick..

87base RX-7

okay well that sucks guess that project wasnt over lol hmm live and learn. guess i have somtin too play wit next weekend lol alright thanks man atleast i didnt wait do the paint job and then have it crack

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

What sucks: Having to scrap/grind off 2.5" of body putty.
What REALLY sucks: Haveing to do a month after your new paint job.

87base RX-7

true true guess i better get too work on that tomorrow hmm

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

And how did you get a dent 2.5" deep anyway, got a pic of it pre-putty? You should ALWAYS try to pound out dents to as close to original position as possible, a lot of times you'll see how many other things are attached to them (directly or indirectly), and get suffled around when it's hit, like bumper supports, or head light adjustments, etc..

87base RX-7

well it waon the driver side and started right below where the fender edge from over the wheel molds in and right behind the light and it was a good maybe 10" in diameter he had puttyed it a little before jus roughly too hide how bad it was but when i went too finish it i realized he hadnt sanded the paint at all before he put it on and it virtually fell off so i had tooo grind his out and ree do it. it was purly cosmetic and he had gotten a new light and put it on so i dont know how damaged the light was but from the inside it doesnt look real bad. some guy had suposedly backed into him at a parking lot

sosofast

well according to this site
site http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/tools/ar103.htm

two 5cfm compressors runnin at 90psi will equal 10psi at 90psi if i t them together using a t piece, i have to remove the regulator tho. anyone know why?

by the way i did buy the compressors and took the regulator off one sitll gotta do other

can i run the line that from from the two lines joining together by the t piece to one of the compressors regulators that i took out??

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

That is pretty blink'in sweet, Sosofast. . It sounds like that's the idea, to remove the regulator the one (they act as a check valve), and just use it to and the motor to add to the pool... pretty good idea

87base Rx-7 - Hm... depending on how deep it is, and how hard it's goign to be to get it into shape, you MAY (use common sense and don't quote me here! ) be better off to just cut the area out, and deal with it as a largish hole, either by fiberglassing it or putting a plate there, then puttying on top of that... Another option (which I would probably try first), is to get some material that won't degrade over time, maybe good quality styrofoam, or even body putty, and fill in the hole a bit, then fiberglass over that. I'm not sure what the recommendations are for fiberglass, but I can't imagine that you're supposed to go 2.5" deep with it... hopefully someone else will chime in.

sosofast

just a quick question, what would be the cheapest way to measure air flow form the compressor.

are there guages? i tried searchign for them but none turned up so i doubt it.

thanks

Russ

alot of guns come with air flow gauges/controllers (mine did). ive bought 3guns so far. when you goto buy a gun first rule, BUY A PRIMER GUN it makes life easy, second only get gravity feed hvlp guns. siphon guns are bitchs and dont work half as well for all the odd angles your gunna be painting at.

andrew lohaus

WOW, this thread came just in time since im in the middle of painting my aluminum hood swap and redooing my faded sunroof.

so far ive taken the sunroof down to bare metal to get out the rust spots and hit the hood with 150 grit using a finish sander ( it had a nice gloss black on it, so i didnt need to go downt to bare metal).

both are very smooth and uniform looking since i took my time and used a finish sander. do i need to work up to a higher grit before primer, or will the primer lay down OK over this?

im going to be using DuPont quik-prime A-424os primer. the guy at the paint shop baisically said it was the cadilac of rattle can primers, it even says "for use by proffesional trained painters, not for sale or use by the general public" any oppinions on this stuff? is there realy no such thing as decent spray-can primer?

for the base im going to be using Du-pont chroma system. the guy at the paint shop is going to take a digital photom of my current paint (slightly faded s5 blaze red) and use that to mix up a match. is this the right way to go, or should i just use the factory code regardless of the 15 years of age on the rest of the paint?

du-pont primer, du-pont paint. this is a good idea right?

for clear, im going to be using (as per the paint guys recomendation) a urethane 3:1 clear (cant remeber tha brand)
is this the right way to go, or are ther other types of clear i should look into?

im going to be painting both items off the car. will it be better to pain them vertical (hanging) or flat? im leaning toward vertical since i dont want any drips to fall off the gun onto the surface while the gun would be over the hood. any incite?

finnaly, sicne a buddy of mine is loaning my his compressor and hvlp gun for the week to do the job, what should i do for him in return? im thinking pick up his tab the next time our group of freinds goes out for dinner, or does his favor demand more in return? lol

also, im not going for show-quality here. as long as itll pass the 5-foot test (cant be distinguished from oem unless you get right up next to it) ill be more than happy. i think im on the right track but ive never done this before so im not sure.

thanks fora any advice.

send this thread to the archive.

-andy

Steel

This thread is awesome, and has really helped me in my decision to just bite the bullet and bring the car to a paintshop. GM Torch red it is!

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

andrew lohaus - Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what's going on.. The key to any paint job, even if it's just rattle-can, is to wet sand in between every coat, that will ensure an even base, and I've seen a lot of **** work that REALLY should not have, just because the guys put the time in and did it right (well, as right as it can be rattle-can wise ).

As far as hanging the hood and such - GREAT idea.. It WILL make your life a lot easier, especially for gun drips and such. There's a few spots that I'm going to be redoing on my hood when I get my body kit in specifically for that reason...

another tid-bit I've learned doing this: The guys at the paint shop know what they're doing. I'm going to have to agree with him on the digital color matching. It would look silly to have a nice, cherry red hood and a faded body.

And where the payment is concerned, I wouldn't get too heavy with the repayment, grabbing the tab shoudl be good. Remember, it's only about $40 to rent a compressor for a day or two, so it's not a HUGE favor, it's just nice of him

Steel - Yeah, that's probably not a bad idea, if you're more interested in getting the car looking pretty than the process.. There is LOTS of work involved, and lots of equipment... I took on the project myself for two reasons. 1) My fc is my $200 project car and 2) I wanted to learn how to do bodywork. Let us know how it turns out, just make sure to avoid Macco. I had my eclipse painted there years ago. It held up well enough for about three years, but started to flake and such after that.

Steel

yeah... bodywork just isnt my forte. I'll wrench everything in the engine myself without complaint, but when it comes to bodywork, i have neither the motivation nor the confidence that i'll do it right. I'm planning on bringing her down to a local paintshop to get an estimate. I know they do good work because one of the guys there owns the more gorgeous candyapple red stingray you could imagine. I can't imagine it to be too expensive since I want a GM color that seems pretty popular - after all, half of the corvettes you see are red.

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

Steel - What color is it now? if it's red already, you can save a lot by not having to do the door jams, most places charge ~100 extra for each door jam they have to do, I dunno about the engine bay..

A lot of shop will work with you on pricing, if you bring them something already ready to be primed.. i.e. If you sand down the car, and fill up the dents and such (that's not too hard or expensive), then they'll cut you a big discount on price, since the spraying is (physically) easy and not nearly as time consuming as the prep work. So that is something to consider if you have the time, but not the money...

andrew lohaus

thanks for the advice wonko.

sanding is definetly going to be the key with the rattle can primer. i just layed down 2 coats today and relized it left lots of rough dusty bumps from the overspray falling back onto the paint (pretty typical of any aerosol paint) but they came right off when i wet sanded with 320.

im going to lay down 2 more coats of primer, (i missed a few spots around the edges), wet sand up to 600-800, then shoot the color tomoro.

a few other things i learned today: wetting the floor down is an excelenct idea!! i've temporarily converted the tool shed behind my house into a spray booth and the quick mist of water on the floor before moving the parts in and painting realy helped soak up the dust.

also, its a good idea to have some sort of air circulation. aside from keeping you from chocking on the lingering fumes ( i bought a resporator today too, hehe), itl keep the paint that doesnt hit the art and dries in the air from falling back onto the part and creating the afformentioned nasty bumps.

im going to stick a box fan in the doorway tomoro to acheive this effect.

thanks again for all the advice, and ill post back with anything else i learn in the next few days.

-andy