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I have recently made my first attempt at spray painting. In the 1960's you could buy lacquer spray cans and I used to 'dabble' when I was a kid but those days are over so I need to find another means fo doing my own frames, hubs, brackets, etc. I have no intention of becoming a body guy nor do I aspire to becoming a professional painter, so I'm only looking to become proficient enough to properly spray my own black.
I recently purchased a single-stage acrylic enamel system from a New Jersey company (Trinity1945) through a web site; www.paintforcars.com. I prepped a knucklehead headlight bracket and a panhead seat tee and had at it with my new HVLP touch-up gun; a $250 unit. My results were a little disappointing. After mixing the primer and paint to the correct proportions each coat went on quite well. I sprayed two fairly heavy coats of primer and let the parts set up for 24 hours. No drips or sags. I sprayed three lighter coats of black, hung the parts in my basement and went away on vacation.
The cured paint looked great. The seat tee looks like a true factory-coated part; a shiny but un-rubbed finish. There was a little orange peel, but I'm told that this is almost unavoidable with the newer paints. The headlight bracket looked equally nice. As these were test pieces, I also decided to experiment with rubbing this paint out, although the factory rarely, if ever rubbed out these black pieces. I used different grit wet paper and varying buffing techniques and screwed up the finish on part of the seat tee. But once I got it down, other areas of the tee polished up quite nicely. BUT..., I am having adherence problems with the top coat. In fitting up the headlight bracket I found that the black does flake off of the prime coat a lot easier than it should. However, the primer is very well anchored.
I sprayed the parts outdoors over two 50 (+) degree days and brought them into my warm basement after applying the last coat of the day. I used all of the manufacturer's recommended products and was very careful to mix them to the recommended proportions. I also used the recommended pressure for the HVLP gun, measured at the gun. I emailed the Manufacturer's help site but received no useable assistance. They do publish a phone number in N.J. which I haven't tried yet.
I don't know what I did wrong, but I do believe that the paint is quite good and the Manufacturer does appear to be responsive, but I'll know how helpful they are after I call them directly. I do believe that the problem is most likely due to some novice mistake by the applicator (me). But I think is really cool to be able to do your own black, and do it well. So, I'm going to continue the learning process when the weather warms up. In the meantime, any and all constructive criticism and all recommendations are more than welcome! Thanks...
I recently purchased a single-stage acrylic enamel system from a New Jersey company (Trinity1945) through a web site; www.paintforcars.com. I prepped a knucklehead headlight bracket and a panhead seat tee and had at it with my new HVLP touch-up gun; a $250 unit. My results were a little disappointing. After mixing the primer and paint to the correct proportions each coat went on quite well. I sprayed two fairly heavy coats of primer and let the parts set up for 24 hours. No drips or sags. I sprayed three lighter coats of black, hung the parts in my basement and went away on vacation.
The cured paint looked great. The seat tee looks like a true factory-coated part; a shiny but un-rubbed finish. There was a little orange peel, but I'm told that this is almost unavoidable with the newer paints. The headlight bracket looked equally nice. As these were test pieces, I also decided to experiment with rubbing this paint out, although the factory rarely, if ever rubbed out these black pieces. I used different grit wet paper and varying buffing techniques and screwed up the finish on part of the seat tee. But once I got it down, other areas of the tee polished up quite nicely. BUT..., I am having adherence problems with the top coat. In fitting up the headlight bracket I found that the black does flake off of the prime coat a lot easier than it should. However, the primer is very well anchored.
I sprayed the parts outdoors over two 50 (+) degree days and brought them into my warm basement after applying the last coat of the day. I used all of the manufacturer's recommended products and was very careful to mix them to the recommended proportions. I also used the recommended pressure for the HVLP gun, measured at the gun. I emailed the Manufacturer's help site but received no useable assistance. They do publish a phone number in N.J. which I haven't tried yet.
I don't know what I did wrong, but I do believe that the paint is quite good and the Manufacturer does appear to be responsive, but I'll know how helpful they are after I call them directly. I do believe that the problem is most likely due to some novice mistake by the applicator (me). But I think is really cool to be able to do your own black, and do it well. So, I'm going to continue the learning process when the weather warms up. In the meantime, any and all constructive criticism and all recommendations are more than welcome! Thanks...
I agree with Dale that painting can be fun, and it sure is cheaper to do it yourself. Also, no one is going to take the time and care to try and do a job as well as you will on your own stuff.
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