i'm seriously thinking of painting my squareback in satin paint (i'm keeping my colour choice a secret for now.....i havn't fully decided yet )

thing is, i know bugger all about paint.

so, anyone got any tips for me, i've got a compressor, and i'm gonna be doing this at home so no paints that require me to wear some sort of respirator....

basically, what should i look for, is there a particular brand that is good? good suppliers who i should talk to....etc.

what about preperation? anything i should do differently?

thanks

kai

There are no special tips as most of those are just one person's opinion. If you want to try and get a decent job on your ride, it is worth your while to do a TAFE night course.

It takes people usually four years of painting every day in an apprenticeship to paint like a pro, and not all of them are very good either.

The only way is to practice.

If you want some good brands of paint to use, go for the bigger names. I would recommend you use acrylic at home.

But seriously, this is not a very easy subject to just 'give a few tips' on.

Ask Dave he'll know

i'm not expecting a professional job.... that's why i'm doing it myself.

i painted my kombi with rattle cans a few years ago, it looked pretty crap close up, but it was just how i wanted it



my squareback is not in mint condition, thereore the odd paint defect will not worry me, it'll still be better than it is now..... plus, i think satin paint will add to the look a bit....

kai

Hi Kai,

If I can offer one bit of advice its cleanliness. Wear disposible gloves as much as you can.

I guess If you're after a half decent job I would wash the car throughly first with warm water(add a few drops of dishwashing liquid). Then wipe down the whole car with wax and grease remover. Do it twice to make sure its clean.

Sand the car back with an orbital sander(pneumatic if available) with 600. Then block wet rub with 800> clean>mask>spray....wait a few days for the paint to cure properly.

Best of luck.

PS: When guying paint get a straight code color; don't custom mix as its a nightmare to match. Also buy 1/2 litre more than needed in case things go wrong!

thanks for the advice.

cleanliness was the main reason that my kombi looked a bit crap close up, well that and dodgy rattle cans.... i did the whole paintjob outdoors, in the u.k.... a lot of it was probably in winter too.....

i wanna get it a bit more 'right' this time

i'll go buy an orbital sander, it was on my list of things to buy anyway....

as for paint colour, i was kinda hoping to find the shade i was after and then say 'i'll have a couple of buckets of that but satin'..... i think i'm proving how little i know about paint here.

anyway, i'm probably gonna start the ball rolling in the next week or two, i figure it'll probably take a while to do the entire car, being a daily driver and all.

kai

i spoke to the local paint supplier and he reckons i'm wasting my time with a satin finish.

i'm still un-decided, although in the last few days i've got it in my head that gun-metal grey would look good.... so maybe i won't go satin after all.

anyway, i'm gonna go buy some filler and primer, i've got a whole load of surface preperation to do before the top coat! (i'm sure i'll change my mind on colour at least 5 or 6 more times....lol)

kai