What are the advantages of spray painting your car with compressed air? To begin with, it can be a real money saver in the long run. There is an investment required in the initial purchase of the equipment, but once you have it then you begin saving money on your projects from there on in. Another great advantage is you have more flexibility in the use of the compressed air. In today’s day of age air pollution is a big issue. Therefore, the use of aerosol propellants are frowned upon. The best solution to this is the compressed air sprayer.

Often people shy away from using compressed air sprayers because they think they are too difficult. This is not the case. Once you get a little practice, using them there is no way you will want to go back to the aerosol spray.

The best paint to use in these sprayers is enamel, but if you add an appropriate conditioner to the acrylic and latex paints then you can use them successfully as well. This will allow the paint to flow properly through the tube as it thins it down.

Set up your working area properly. Whenever you are going to do any type of spray painting there will be a certain amount of over spray. Take all the proper safety precautions. Do your work in a well-ventilated area. Wear a mask for sanding. Be sure to wear goggles and preferably gloves as well.

Once you are all set up then you are ready to start. You will want to grind or sand off any rust and corrosion or rough spots. Then you must make sure the car is perfectly clean and dry before you start the application. For oil based paints use mineral spirits, and for the latex ones soap and water will work fine, but rinse well.

If need be, prime the surface. Do your mixing of the paints and thinners you have chosen to use. This can be a messy job, so protect the mixing area with a drop cloth.

Now its time to turn on the air compressor. You want it to build up pressure while you are preparing your paint. You will need some of the air for priming and testing. If you look on the compressor, you should see a regulator. This will allow you to set the pressure you need for the sprayer. If you don’t do this then the air flow will fluctuate and you will end up with uneven spraying.

Attach the hose coupling to the sprayer. It is important you have an airtight seal so make sure it is attached tightly and wrap the join with some Teflon tape if you want.

If you follow the exact instructions that came with your particular sprayer, it will walk you through all of the steps. To begin with, practice the paint application on another object. This way you will get the feel of handling the sprayer and be able to judge the right consistency of the paint application.

By: Mario Goldstein

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Whether you are just interested in re-spraying a small area to cover up some paint chips, or want to treat your car to a custom paint job that will let you enjoy envious stares from every pedestrian you pass, you will need to follow a few basic rules, and have the right tools to hand in order to carry out the work to a high standard.

The first thing to mention about auto paint jobs is that you should always work in a well ventilated area. Paint fumes can include a number of solvents that can leave you feeling light headed and even poison you if you inhale them, so make sure there is free passage of air through your work shop when you are painting. You should also wear a respirator mask during painting or preparation to avoid inhaling any paint and loose dust that you release.

To get the best effects when painting, you also need to make sure that you are able to keep dust to a minimum. You can achieve a good environment by hanging sheets from floor to ceiling in the area where you are working, and wearing overalls. You should also vacuum clean the area where you are painting at the beginning of every session.

When you apply auto body paint, the main thing is to get a good even finish that looks good, and the key to getting a good finish is having a good start. Preparation is everything in paining. Get it right, and you will be able to enjoy a fantastic smooth finish that will last for years and look great, skimp on your preparation, and your finish will look shabby straight away, and then get worse over time.

Before you paint, you need to strip off the old paint job. You can do this with a solvent based paint remover, or do it the hard way by sanding back the panels to bare metal using a sander. Whichever method you choose, you need to make sure that you have a very smooth base. To achieve this, use the finest grade abrasive paper available, and be prepared to put serious time into the job.

Once you are satisfied with your base, you can start applying the primer. Use a HLVP spray gun connected to an air compressor, as this is much more even than an aerosol, and will be much cheaper in the long run. You should use long sweeping strokes in a single direction to get a good base to paint onto. After every coat, allow the paint to dry, and then sand it back to a smooth surface. Then apply the next coat in strokes that go at 90 degrees to the previous layer, as this will produce an even color.

There are two types of auto paint that you can use on a car, cellulose based and Two Pack auto paint. Most painters now use Two Pack because it gives a better finish, and metallic colors are available, whereas cellulose paint can be tricky to deal with, and is best used on classic cars where you are trying to recapture an older style.

As with the primer, you should apply the auto paint in coats, spraying in a single direction, then sanding back to a fine surface to remove any imperfections, before applying the next layer at right angles to the previous one.

In between coats, it is imperative to clean the nozzles on your HVLP spray gun, as otherwise, small flakes of dried paint can be caught up in the spray and cause imperfections that will spoil the final effect.

Once you are satisfied that you have got a good covering and applied enough coats of auto body paint to create an excellent finish, apply one more coat for best effects, allow it to dry, and then sand back for a smooth finish. You should leave the paint to dry completely for 24 hours and then apply a wax polish to the whole body in order to protect your new paint job and give it a shine that will certainly catch the attention of anyone you pass on the road.

By: Jason Miller

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When you scratch or dent your car, removing the paint in the process, you have five options regarding the car paint repair from which to choose.

The first option , primarily for more extensive damage – is to take your car to a paint repair specialist (bodyshop or crash repair centre) to fix the damage and repaint the affected area. Usually this type of repair job can take several days.

The second option , primarily for minor damage (and if the car paintwork is not damaged) – is to have a paintless dent removal technician work on it, which will be much faster, cheaper and convenient as their mobile service personnel can come to you at a suitable time, rather than you going to them during your working hours.

The third option is to use a SMART repair technician (small to medium area repair technique) as these paint repair technicians specialise in minor repairs such as bumper scuffs and small scratches.

The fourth option is to attempt to do the repair job yourself, although this only solves the paint repair, not the actual dent or scratch itself. It goes without saying that if you’re not experienced in this type of work, you could end up doing more harm than good, with a result that is a lot worse than when you started!

And the fifth option is to do nothing and leave it as it is. Of course, that doesn’t really solve anything, but it doesn’t cost you anything either. However, it is recommended that you at least “touch in” any scratches to prevent rust forming.

Which method of repair you choose depends on several different factors: the cost, the make of the car, the extent of the damage, and your car insurance cover.

If you don’t have much money, then the first car paint repair option is eliminated. However, if your car is a Porsche, where the paint job comprises 21 different stages to ensure its durability, you may find the first repair option the only viable one available for major damages.

If the extent of the damage is minor, then the second or third paint repair options become the most practical, although the rather primitive touching-up method will always show much more so than the method of paintless dent removal followed by touching in, which is designed to disguise the damage to almost invisible. It is important to note that paintless dent removal is largely used when there is very minor or no paint damage.

Whichever method you choose, it is still hard to believe that the “paint” used in Auto Industry paint repair originated from a substance comprised of items such as berries, blood, plants, soot and ash, during the cave men era.

As the demand for vehicle paint increased dramatically, technologists were commissioned to discover faster ways of applying paint to automobiles. The three days needed for the numerous coats of standard paint to dry was hampering supply and a damaged car needing car paint repair was taking almost as long as a new one to finish!

Aside from perfecting the spray gun so that greater quantities of paint could be more accurately and evenly dispersed over the shell of a car, “dilutable” paint resins incorporating water were produced. These were more environmentally-friendly than previous ones, releasing water into the atmosphere upon drying instead of organic solvents and are still the ones used today.

Later, tiny metallic pieces which when administered would only be a depth of 15 microns (15 millionths of a metre) were added as well as pigments to the paints to vary the car paint palette and choice of car paint repair materials. To finish, a clear coat of protective resin was introduced over the paintjob to seal in the paint, add to durability, and give it that lustrous shine.

This explains why when you take your car to a garage it takes so long, why paintless dent removal is such good value, and why when you do a “touch up” car paint repair job yourself, it looks so noticeably different from the original manufacturer’s paintjob.

Ultimately, the idea is to try to avoid needing vehicle paint repair by driving safely and carefully, whilst still enjoying your pride and joy on the roads

By: Steve Magill

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