7 replies to this topic

[danm]

Apologies for what is likely such a novice question to some... DIY Airbrushing.

A full professional body blast/prime/repray = $$$. Many don't really need this, and frankly, cannot afford to right now.

But most want to drive their mini with a need to prevent the rust at some stage. At a budget they can reach.

There are the hotshots doing the major faux pas of can spraying their minis... usually in eye-insulting matt black. Much cheaper, but the results questionable.

My question regards using large hobbyist airbrushes and hoppers. I am not talking about a kids toy airbrush, I mean the real deal, but on a smaller scale usually used for general airbrush art. Is it widely done around here on car work? Particularly body scuff correction?

After brushing/scrubbing/welding/sanding/filling/buffing/more sanding/priming the nicks and tin worm rot on a partially stripped car, is there anything blindingly obvious I am missing that would prevent using a detail airbrush to slowly respray the bad patches on bodywork?

Sure, it would take forever, and just doing patches would guarantee colour match issues. But I am trying to work out if it would be possible to respray the entire car this way? I know you can layer paint badly with a smaller spray, but surely this wouldn't be that bad for the casual mini owner, not the concours fanatic?

And surely an airbrush used by an experienced user is much better than anything a can could do - provided preparation is run on a tight ship?

Time and storage are not a problem.

I am also thinking this would produce very little mess at such a large scale with being such a small unit with tiny, if any, overspray.

What are your thoughts and opinions guys? Is it a well used procedure for the DIYer? Anyone here do it?

Thankyou in advance for any pointers :)

Edited by danm, 19 November 2012 - 03:59 PM.

[Minidarren83]

If you are trying to cut down on costs why not try roller painting you can achieve fantastic results and as there is zero wastage (unless you knock the paint over) you will use far less the most widely used paint is rustoleum but others have seen good results with dulux household paint both think down with about 30% white spirits or to your desired thinness 6-8 coats with a foam roller at one per day light sanding between coats and your done all for less than £60 check out the rolledon forum. It was to be my way of painting but opting for spraying purely due to the fact I can't dedicate the time it needs between coats but I think even a weeks roller painting will be quicker than an airbrush and would probably leave you with a better finish and more paint on the car to beat back the dreaded tin worm
Darren

[danm]

Thanks for the reply.

I've read numerous threads on roller painting across various car boards, if done correctly it can indeed look well with the right prep work.

However, my issue would be regarding the interior edges, notably door jambs etc.

How exactly would the foam brush ends paint this sufficiently, let alone getting a buffer in there.

Would be rather difficult!

There are a few diy airbrush users - id suspect rolling the larger areas and airbrushing the smaller fiddly bits would be a good compromise.

[Minidarren83]

You use little foam brushes like little sponges on on a stick for the edges and door openings and in these areas polishing is really not needed

[Andi-p]

My mates dad brush paint his mini a few years ago after my mate crashed it. I had all the bent panels replaced he keyed the whole car. Few coats of primer. Flatted it back. Few coats of top coat and flatted back. You couldn't tell until he showed you the one tiny blemish in the finish. He adviced on using a used brush as virgin brushes lose bristles.

[Noah]

I have thought about this too as I could save a massive amount by getting a painter to only paint the front from the a panels onwards and the bootlid.

And with a paint correction from a D/A the rest of the paint would be up to scratch.

[tiger99]

The problem I see with an airbrush (which is really only a small, precise spray gun) is that when painting anything, by any method including brush or roller, you are supposed to keep a "wet edge" on the paint at all times, so the paint from one sweep of the brush, roller or gun merges into the still wet previous sweep. You would seem to have to work at a frantic pace to manage that with a tiny gun which is only covering a small area.

My opinion, for what it is worth, never having tried it, is that you could probably paint a smallish area like an A panel very successfully with an airbrush, but I have severe doubts about doing a roof or body side. Depending on what kind of paint you use, the overlaps between successive sweeps may be ok insofar as they are watertight, but they may show as stripes, which could need a lot of sanding afterwards. Experts seem to be able to get a good finish direct from the gun, without hundreds of hours of rubbing down afterwards.

But for smallish areas, or touching up around localised repairs pending a full respray at some later date, if you have an airbrush you have very little to lose by trying it. I am sure we would all like to see some pictures of how it works out.

As for rollers, there were some successful attempts many years ago to use mohair pads instead, and these come in various sizes, including small ones for awkward corners. Has anyone tried these?

Edited by tiger99, 24 November 2012 - 12:36 AM.

[danm]

I'll probably be experimenting over the new year/winter with this and let you know progress on the repairs first.