See It In Paint, Part 1- Tricks of the Trade

by CAE, Jul 01, 2007

Finally, the clear coat gives your paint job deep shine and protection against the elements. This BASF R-M clear coat is a three-part mix, with four parts clear, one part hardener and one part reducer.

Again, mix the ingredients and pour them into the gun using a funnel filter.

To avoid contaminating the panel, don't touch the surface with your hand after cleaning. A clean surface is critical to getting a good, long-lasting paint job.

Mix the basecoat thoroughly with a paint stick. I like these clear quart cups because they have measurement markings on the sides, making it easier to keep track of the mix ratios.

Spray the clear coat using the same technique as the base coat. The clear coat is much thicker than the base coat, so the trick is to spray just enough to get a shine, but not so much that it starts to run and drip. Again, practice makes perfect for this technique.

After three coats of clear with 10 minutes of drying time in between each, your panel should look like this. Look closely at the reflected images in the paint. The slight blurriness is called orange peel. Next month, we'll show you how to get rid of this.

The last step in the cleaning process is to remove dust and lint from the surface with tack cloth (tacky cheesecloths).

The final line of defense against impurities in the paint is to use a funnel filter. These are free at most paint stores, so for some added insurance use them whenever pouring paint into your gun.

Lightly rub the tack cloth over the surface. Fold the cloth to a clean section and repeat. Now, we're ready for painting.

Adjust the gun pressure for just enough pressure to atomize the paint, usually about 15 psi. Start by painting the hard to reach edges and corners first. Be careful to add just enough paint to cover.

You'll need a decent air compressor for painting and they're very handy to have around for lots of other things as well. This old beater has painted a car, boat and countless small projects. You can get one brand new for less than $300.

Three medium wet coats are just right to cover the panel correctly. Wait 10 to 15 minutes between coats; then allow the primer to dry for at least three hours before sanding.

Spray the entire surface of the panel with Auto Prep and wipe dry. Do this twice to remove any dust or oil on the surface.

The basecoat, or color coat, is the first paint step. This BASF R-M black basecoat mixes 2:1 with reducer for a ready-to-spray product.

Next, paint the larger parts of the panel by spraying in even, overlapping strokes. This is probably the trickiest part of the process to master, so practice on some scrap pieces first. Spray three medium coats and wait five to 10 minutes between coats.