18 replies to this topic

[Amsfeld]

Hi all.

I'm looking to repaint my mini myself to try to save some cash.

I've experimented with roller technique, but it takes a lot of work....

I was looking at air guns and compressors, when I found the airless spray gun below. Has anyone tried it, or anything similar? Is it the answer to my prayers, or would it be wasted money?

Obviously I'm not expecting a professional finish, but I don't want it to look totally s**t.

Thanks

Ben

http://www.machinema...ctric-spray-gun

[Down&Out]

My dad resprayed minis with a garden fence sprayer back in the 70s with decent results.

Theres no reason to say it wont turn out ok. Its no different to rattle cans and you'll need less rubbing down than you would with a roller.

Go for it!

[Alex_B]

Its not airless, an airless spray gun would be a paintbrush ;) 


its just an electric one which uses a built in compressor / blower, I wouldnt think its as good as a standard setup but it should do the job, but I would apply an extra few coats of paint so you can flat it back and polish up without worrying about rubbing through to primer 

[Daz1968]

The earlex spray station is another cheap painting system worth considering as it can have different sized needles installed. As long as you are prepared to put more effort in finishing the paint then you should get a good result just need to experiment with thinning the paint to get best finish and flat everything with wet and dry before polishing. May be a lot of hassle cleaning out though compared to a gravity spraygun.

[Amsfeld]

Yeah, I thought it was a strange name to give a product - should be compressorless possibly.....

Looks like it might be worth giving it a go. 5 or 6 coats of paint, then sand it back and see what I get

[Alex_B]

Yeah, I thought it was a strange name to give a product - should be compressorless possibly.....

Looks like it might be worth giving it a go. 5 or 6 coats of paint, then sand it back and see what I get

Compressorless, 


doesnt exactly roll off the tongue ;) but yeah with any painting the quality of the finish relys on the amount of work put into it, so making sure the car/ panel is in top condition ready for paint without any marks or contamination, then spraying in a perfectly clean environment and all the work in finishing the paint afterwards will mean it looks as good as possible 

[sam7]

pebbledash effect!!!! if u like that kind of finish. 

[Amsfeld]

Think I'll try it on an old boot lid then, and see how it goes

[AVV IT]

If you use celly, then even if the finish ain't all that great, you can always flat it back afterwards.

I've only ever used one of those electric spray guns for painting a fence with. Back in the seventies though, some vacuum cleaners used to have an air outlet on the back of them, that allowed you to connect the cleaners hose to it, and utilise the air blown out of the back of the machine. You could even buy a spray gun that attached to "Hoover" cleaner hoses for spraying paint with. (Effectively creating an electric spray gun). My father sprayed quite a few cars using one of those, and with pretty impressive results too. When I was a teenager, the first respray I ever did was actually with one of those "Hoover" guns, and after a couple of hours with a rag and a bottle of T-Cut, you really couldn't tell it hadn't been done with a compressor and spray gun.

[Daz1968]

I know of a mk2 cooper painted with a vacuum cleaner attachment and it is one of the best paint jobs I have seen, the result is down to preparation and flatting with p1200 afterwards, the modern equivalent would be the earlex type of hvlp paint system some can be had for about £70, I always find a job done by myself is far more satisfying than paying someone else and I enjoy the learning process.
It's why I am interested in classic cars just driving them would be boring to me.

[Amsfeld]

Thanks for all the responses.  Here was me thinking it was too good to be true, but it may be a success.

 

I'm going out to buy it tomorrow, so I'll see how it goes.

[Rog46]

When a teenager I painted a couple of small panels on a 1934 Rolls with one of the "hoover" spray guns, the owner was delighted. The results were excellent they were the forerunner of the HVLP systems around today?

Edited by Rog46, 20 November 2013 - 02:54 PM.

[gkmini]

IMO paint isn't something to mess with. Go with a compressor. What's the worst thing that could happen? Sand it down and start over? Eventually you'll get it right, then you'll have learned a skill and a way to make a few extra bucks on the weekend.

[Shifty]

Really it depends on what you call acceptable, I know that there's no way I'd try and paint a car with a gun designed for fences.  

[Rog46]

With celly it really doesn't matter what you use, just takes longer! Put on lots of coats until you have enough thickness, flatten off with progressively finer wet & dry paper then finish off with a polishing compound. This way you can get a flawless finish however you put the paint on , takes ages though if the paint isn't smooth to start with! I can't comment on other finishes, never used them!

The real trick is knowing how sanding works - (there's lots of grades 180 240 360 420 come to mind right up to 1200 & 2000)
Start with one of the coarser grades (something around 200 grit comes to mind) this is the one that does 90% of the work use it to get rid of any runs or unevenness. Use plenty of water to keep surf dust washed away, a spray bottle helps. This leaves you with a flat surface covered in small scratches.

Then work your way through ALL the other grades, don't miss any out! The scratches get finer and finer, you only need a few passes with each grade. Really these are just knocking the peaks off of the scratches put on by the grade before, miss out a grade and you won't get to the bottom the scratches put in by the first grade.

Finally finish off with the polishing compound of your choice, (50 years ago Duraglit wadding was popular!)

Lastly I've often heard that a worn coarse sanding paper is like a medium grade, IT ISN'T it's a blunt coarse grade, throw it away!

Edited by Rog46, 24 November 2013 - 09:44 AM.