Editing First paint job

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== Introduction ==

You finally get that project all welded, filled in, and primered, now you want to get a nice beautiful coat of paint on it to complete it. You say, "I havn't ever painted anything before with a REAL spray gun and paint!" You ask yourself, "How am I going to do this?", but you will find out in this article how to do it all yourself. You will learn basic techniques and how to use different paints and equipment.

== General Tips, Tricks, and Techniques ==


 '''Temperature, Temperature, Temperature...'''

Warm and dry conditions are ideal for spray painting the "sweet spot" ambient temperature for spraying is 50-100 degrees Farenheit, as aerosols don't always work best in the damp and colder temperatures hinder drying time, although it can be done. If it's not warm and dry outside, work in a well-ventilated garage, but set it up for painting.


 '''How to make your own temporary paint booth''' 

Painting in a garage lessens the chance of bugs or dust ending up loged in your paint while it is still in its curing stage.
 
One way to turn your garage into a temporary paint booth is to get huge plastic dropclothes from you local hardware store or home improvement store. They are cheap and effective for protecting your tool boxes, "toys"(Atv's, bicycles, Motorcycles, etc.) from overspray. 
Open up your garage door about 1/8 to a 1/4 way up, thgis will help with ventilation, since solvents sink. Place a fan near the opening, facing outside, to help even more with airflow. Opening any side doors and roof vents helps lots too, Place another fan around here. (old box fans work best) Box fans can be found for very cheap at second-hand stores.

 '''Basic mixing tecniques'''

Paint and related finishing products can be mixed in glass measuring cups, medicine cups, soup cans, or shot glasses. However, EZ Mix cups are generally preferred for ease of use. Containers with measurements on the side are generally most useful. Paper cups are cautioned against because some may have a wax coating. Similarly, plastic cups or containers (medicine cups, yogurt containers, cleaned bottle caps, etc.) are also cautioned against. There are many different kinds of plastic, some of which are inappropriate for storing certain types of finishing products.
When mixing double portions of paint or primer, mix one portion at a time. For example,''''' 8:2:1''''' is easier to keep track of than '''''16:4:1'''''. Most, if not all, automotive paint has the correct ratio for the paint/thinner/hardener printed on the label, if not, consult your favoite bodyman for the best ratio to use on your paint. 

After mixing each individual portion, add the two portions together and mix well again. This also cuts down on wasted material when you make a mistake (too much hardener, wrong reducer, etc.). 

''TOO HELP YOU ALONG THE WAY''

GREAT TIP '''When opening a can of paint, punch a few holes in the trough where the lid sits. That way, excess paint will drain out of the trough and into the can, rather than splattering when placing the lid back on the can.'''
-Buy a set of inexpensive spatulas to use as scrapers for paint cans. 

-To preserve hardener, displace the air in the can with inert gas, such as that from a welding tank. Or, use a commercial inert gas finish preservative such as Bloxygen.
 
-For easier pouring, affix a 2-inch piece of masking tape to the edge of a large gallon of paint. Pour the paint over the piece of tape. 

-Use a ladle for handling paint. 

-When purchasing new paint or other finishing products, write the date on them with black magic marker. 

-For stirring paint, use inexpensive "jumbo sticks", tongue depressors, Popsicle sticks, wood sticks, or butter knives. 

GREAT TIP '''Paint stirring sticks with marks for different mix ratios can be useful for mixing paint.'''
 
When opening a gallon of paint that isn't all going to be used immediately, mix it very well and pour it off into quart cans. You can get empty quart cans from a local (private, not chain-store) paint shop for cheap or free.
While pouring, intermix the paint; pour a little bit into each can at a time.
 
GREAT TIP '''Leftover paint with hardener can be placed in the refrigerator. The cold temperature will slow down the hardener., you can even throw you spray gun in there if you find you need some supplies, and you are in the middle of painting!'''

== Proper Clothing and Protection ==
Wear overalls or old clothes - goggles and a mask will keep stray droplets of paint away from your eyes, nose and mouth.

== Spray gun Tech ==
With any spray gun, you get what you pay for! Its best to rent one if your not going to do several cars.

== Choosing the right type of paint ==

== How to mix and spray Laquer ==

Lacquer has been used for many years in the hobby, 

There were and still are alot of good looking lacquer paint jobs out there.  One of the pros is that it dries extremely hard with a quick drying time.  
You WILL NEED to sand and buff the whole project to get a smooth, shinny finish. If somebody is helping you spray it, they can know that modern laquers will basically spray the same as the old laquers. If you spray laquer clear; the clear coat, (as long as it is a quality product) will be easier to control.
You will need about a gallon to a gallon and a half of paint and about two to three gallons of thinner for a car or truck.

''Brian Martin said,''

''I was taught this simple spray technique about a hundred years ago (seems like that) at one of my first jobs. We were shooting lacquer completes. Sometimes these paint jobs had fifteen or twenty coats of color applied. My mentor at the shop pointed out to me to “Move the dry spot around”. If you didn’t you would end up with a much drier area at each of these seams. Remember, this was lacquer, if you have not shot it, it dried FAST. The overspray off the end of the spray pattern could produce a LOT of dryness. So if you did this coat after coat it would build up pretty bad.''

''After shooting a zillion coats of lacquer that way, I continued the practice. I have used this technique all these years with '''primers, sealers, colors, and clears, urethanes, epoxies, enamels,''' all with great success. It just makes sense to me to try to get that perfect “decal” over the panels. I pay particular attention to doing this when I do edges, there is one pet peeve of mine, one thing that boils my blood is seeing fender edges under the wheel well with dry spots or worse yet, no paint! EVERY SINGLE SQUARE INCH of panel should have good coverage. I don’t care if it is going to be hidden with a bumper, under a vinyl top, unseen after the fender or what ever is bolted on, I don’t care, EVERY SINGLE SQUARE INCH gets covered, if it was intended to be so.''

== How to mix and spray Acrylic Enamel ==

== How to mix and spray Urethane Enamel ==

== How to mix and spray Waterbased paints ==

== Paint Defects and Flaws ==

== How to finish off you paint job (Buffing) ==

Buffing is a whole 'nother technique which you do when painting your car, it will be discussed in detail in its own article: [[Buffing your newly-finished paint]]