Project "What was I Thinking" 68 SWB

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by CC69Rat

Keith -- just give it a try man. You can paint. Just remember it's 90% prep, and the end result is only going to be as good as what's underneath it!

Originally Posted by knomadd

You can always spray a few practice panels if you're not comfortable with it. I can tell you that a solid color is much easier to spray than a metallic. And a pearl is the hardest to spray. By using practice panels, you can get your technique down (and confidence up) before attempting it on the truck. I'm sure you could pull it off. I sprayed the door jambs, underside of the hood and trunk on my GTO in a pearl paint for my first ever attempt at painting a vehicle. My only practice before that was primer. I wasn't confident in myself for the outside of the car, so I paid a painter to spray the outside of the car.

If you want to paint, you'll definitely want to spray the primer yourself to get some practice in.

Originally Posted by 87Jimmy4JP

a good paint job absolutely starts with good prep work...and having as clean an environment as possible...which can be done on the cheap by the way..turning your garage into a temporary spray booth with fans, ect...

I have also found that getting a better than average spray gun is key...you dont have to go nuts, but dont buy one at Costco if you know what I mean.

If you have a body shop guy, or your buddy or your dad, ask them for their advice on decent equipment.

Spraying practice panels is a great idea. Try to use decent paint and thinner so you get a good feel for how this stuff behaves. If your really good with a spray can, you will be even better with a spray gun...

You can even practice by follow the contours of your panels with your hand only first, then add the gun, then the hose, then just air, then add water with a little dawn dishwashing detergent to give the old girl a bath.....if you see nice even application with this solution, it mimics painting....sort of....

when painting, look at the surface you are painting and not the gun(more specifically, you do need to look at the distance the gun is away from the surface from time to time, but to see how the paint is being applied, you really have to watch the surface as the paint is being sprayed on it....your angle to any light source is important too) ....look for the panel to get shiny as your painting maybe on the second or third pass...once thats achieved, move on to the next panel. Unless spraying with one stage enamels, you dont have to go too heavy with the color....you will be clearing over it anyway....

how fast you move your arm back and forth comes with practice and is in proportion to the distance you are away from the surface, your air pressure, paint consistency, ect....

Its really a lot of fun once you get it down....Im in a similar learning curve with welding right now and just beginning to enjoy it.....


Your truck is awesome, by the way...great work...very inspiring...

JP

Originally Posted by Bucks68

Great advice right here!!

Thanks guys for the boost of confidence and all the advice. You guys are inspiring me to give it a try. I know my father can give me pointers and I would like to try it but I'm a perfectionist and if I don't think it looks right it will drive me mad.

Thanks JP for all the advice on painting and for checking out my build. I will definitely be painting in my garage as I have nothing else to do it in. I also plan on solid colors, Red with a White grill, no metallics and no pearls. If I try it I want to keep it as simple as possible. I also don't know if I should paint it with BC/CC or single stage. Because I'm a complete noob at this I would think single stage would be easier to spray because I would only be spraying color and not clear but then I read that BC/CC is easier for noobs like me. I'm not against trying anything, what do you guys think?