Noobie painting thread

[Halon]

Jet, you should know better than to try and share or ask anything here without getting ridiculed by the peanut gallery!

[Grappler]

My last job was at Wagner and I hired Spaz and Grappler when I was there :P

:wave:


I do like the direction this thread is going I'm in for updates :D

[AwdGSX13]

what color is your denali or do you know the paint code? Chances are, unless its black there will probably be a few variances of that color. Let me know if you need some help, i am not a genius when it comes to this but I have been an estimator at a high volume body shop for the past four years and know a good amount about auto body and paint work.

[JET]

what color is your denali or do you know the paint code? Chances are, unless its black there will probably be a few variances of that color. Let me know if you need some help, i am not a genius when it comes to this but I have been an estimator at a high volume body shop for the past four years and know a good amount about auto body and paint work.

Thank you, finally a constructive comment! I am about to say F this thread with all the stupid ass gun comments by people that haven't even researched it. How can you say the gun is crap when you have zero knowledge of it? It IS a Devilbiss gun without the name on it. Some people actually got the gun with the name ground off.

Code is 805k and Welle said there are no variations on that one. That is why I decided to go with the PPG value line instead of the premium. The value line does not offer variations, but the premium does.

I have done a little body work before, but have always sprayed from a can (custom mixed PPG cans at Welle) and it actually looked as good as the factory paint just out of a can! I find that prep work is 90% of the paint job. This will be my biggest job by far, so I am sure there will be a bit of a learning curve there. My biggest concern is probably avoiding fish eyes and orange peel. It seems like cleaning is the big key there. Any insight or tips are appreciated!

[tehehodi]

At least he's not using a roller. \_(. . )_/

[AwdGSX13]

Thank you, finally a constructive comment! I am about to say F this thread with all the stupid ass gun comments by people that haven't even researched it. How can you say the gun is crap when you have zero knowledge of it? It IS a Devilbiss gun without the name on it. Some people actually got the gun with the name ground off.

Code is 805k and Welle said there are no variations on that one. That is why I decided to go with the PPG value line instead of the premium. The value line does not offer variations, but the premium does.

I have done a little body work before, but have always sprayed from a can (custom mixed PPG cans at Welle) and it actually looked as good as the factory paint just out of a can! I find that prep work is 90% of the paint job. This will be my biggest job by far, so I am sure there will be a bit of a learning curve there. My biggest concern is probably avoiding fish eyes and orange peel. It seems like cleaning is the big key there. Any insight or tips are appreciated!



Yeah definitely preperation is key and painting in a clean environment is important. Wash the truck good and make sure their isnt any hidden dirt. We disassemble everything to avoid dirt hidden in wheel liners ect. also to not have any tape lines and to make sure the product comes out 100% and will last. Avoid ANY products that have some sort of silicone base because this will cause fish eyes.

I looked up the paint code - looks like a black metallic? we have a few variations but thats more than likely is because we spray with waterborne which is a different ball game entirely.

[Dark2g]

Sorry man didn't mean to sound like .

[AwdGSX13]

Having a good quality paint gun is important, I do not know much about paint guns, our painters use SATA and so does my brother who is a painter also. When you do it every day, having a nice gun and spending the $$ on it is a no brainer.

For someone who will do one or two jobs maybe, i dont see spending an uber amount of money on it. If you did the research and people have had good luck with it, id say give it a shot. Maybe do a couple panels first and see how it turns out. you never know until you try.

[jeremy1375]

In my experience of learning to paint, I found that a surface that hasn't been properly cleaned can result in an uneven color pattern, fish eyes, orange peel. I bought Eastwood PRE Painting Prep based on it's reviews and it does a good job of cleaning up.


I don't know, a lot of harbor freight reviews are mostly from guys who love to buy harbor freight tools. One of my buddy bought one and said it was a piece of crap. Spray pattern was horrible and he threw it away after using it.

I find the Harbor Freight reviews to be extremely useful and reliable. I bought the same paint gun as the OP and found it to do a good job. It did end up leaking at the trigger, but I had no trouble returning it for one that didn't have that problem.

[JET]

Thanks guys, this thread is headed where I wanted it to go. I want this to be informative for someone looking to do this themselves later on. Not a total how-to, but a good initial read to get them pointed in the right direction.

Yeah definitely preperation is key and painting in a clean environment is important. Wash the truck good and make sure their isnt any hidden dirt. We disassemble everything to avoid dirt hidden in wheel liners ect. also to not have any tape lines and to make sure the product comes out 100% and will last. Avoid ANY products that have some sort of silicone base because this will cause fish eyes.

I looked up the paint code - looks like a black metallic? we have a few variations but thats more than likely is because we spray with waterborne which is a different ball game entirely.

It is a metallic charcoal grey. After doing some more research I am probably going with the premium line. They say the value line has less solids in it so it takes more coats. Here is the recommended list that I put together, may go a little cheaper if I won't sacrifice quality.

DP50LF epoxy primer for the initial coat
DPS3055 sandable primer over that, probably 2 coats
Deltron base coat with DX57 hardener, 2 coats
2021 clear coat, 3 coats

I have an extra clear coat on there and may or may not do that, but I wanted to leave a little extra in case I have to wet sand afterwards. This dark metallic paint actually looks like it will be pretty forgiving.

I was worried about a couple of scratches on the one door so I busted out the new polisher last night and the Meguiars 105. 10 minutes later the scratches were gone and it looks great! I was pretty shocked it took out that big of scratches. Now I don't have to paint any doors, huge bonus!