2013-04-10
PAINTGUIDE FOR SOLVENTBASED PAINT
DIY Paintguide | Per-Erik Gustafsson
Innehållsförteckning
Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 3
Section 1 General Equipment .................................................................................................................. 4
Paint guns ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Air Tools ............................................................................................................................................... 5
Power Tools ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Power Tools VS Air Operated Tools..................................................................................................... 5
Welding ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Section 2 Preparations ............................................................................................................................ 7
Washing ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Masking ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Sanding/Grinding................................................................................................................................. 7
Bondo/Filler ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Plastic Padding (PP100) ................................................................................................................... 7
Fiberglass filler/paste .......................................................................................................................... 8
Section 3 Painting .................................................................................................................................... 9
Preparations ........................................................................................................................................ 9
Primer .................................................................................................................................................. 9
Red primer/Lacquer Primer............................................................................................................. 9
Wash primer / Etch primer .............................................................................................................. 9
Epoxy primer ................................................................................................................................... 9
High build primer ............................................................................................................................. 9
Sealer ................................................................................................................................................. 10
Topcoat .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Solid Colors .................................................................................................................................... 10
Metallic .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Effect Paints ................................................................................................................................... 10
Clear coat....................................................................................................................................... 10
Thinner .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Hardener............................................................................................................................................ 10
Section 4 After Painting ......................................................................................................................... 11
Polishing ............................................................................................................................................ 11
Equipment ......................................................................................................................................... 11
Work flow .......................................................................................................................................... 11
Sand papers ....................................................................................................................................... 12
Polishing compounds ........................................................................................................................ 12
Section 5 Techniques............................................................................................................................. 13
Blasting .............................................................................................................................................. 13
Welding ............................................................................................................................................. 13
Grinding/Sanding............................................................................................................................... 13
Masking ............................................................................................................................................. 14
Painting.............................................................................................................................................. 14
Plastic Painting .............................................................................................................................. 15
Aluminum ...................................................................................................................................... 15
Buffing ............................................................................................................................................... 17
Rubbing.......................................................................................................................................... 17
Polishing ........................................................................................................................................ 18
Super fine polishing ....................................................................................................................... 19
Waxing ........................................................................................................................................... 20
Section 6 Mixing Conditions .................................................................................................................. 21
Primer ................................................................................................................................................ 21
Epoxy primer ..................................................................................................................................... 21
High build fillers ................................................................................................................................. 21
Sealer ................................................................................................................................................. 21
Metallic Base ..................................................................................................................................... 21
Colors ................................................................................................................................................. 21
Clear coat........................................................................................................................................... 21
Section 7 Common Errors...................................................................................................................... 22
Orange peel ....................................................................................................................................... 22
Overspray .......................................................................................................................................... 22
Cracking ............................................................................................................................................. 22
Fish eyes ............................................................................................................................................ 23
Boiling ................................................................................................................................................ 23
Runs ................................................................................................................................................... 23
Patchiness .......................................................................................................................................... 24
Dust ................................................................................................................................................... 24
Introduction
This guide was created to try to help others that might be able to do a bit of body
work themselves. I try to provide easy-to-understand advice, and above all give a
little knowledge about certain products and practices.
I name many different brands and point out the ones I think is good, and has worked
for me.
I hope this guide will inspire you to make progress in the garage, gain knowledge and
be able to dare you to try it yourself.
Good luck
Section 1 General Equipment
When you are to perform different types of work on cars you need different types of
tools and utilities. A good tool box with wrenches, screwdrivers, hammer and pliers
are a good start. Then you can get a socket set. A toolkit will NEVER full, but can
always be extended in all eternity. But now let's talk more specifically about what you
need to do sheet metal and paint job on a car.
Compressors
A hobby compressor has usually a tank between 6-14 gallons and has between 2-3
horsepower’s. It tends to give a maximum of about 10-12 cfm, powered by 110 or
230v.
1 Hobby compressor
A compressor for a small shop/advanced hobbyist should have a tank between 20-70
gallons and have between 3-10 horsepower’s and run on 110, 230 or 400v. Flow rate
is usually between 17-40 cfm.
2 Small shop compressor
A professional compressor often has multiple starting stages. The tank is often in
excess of 70 gallons. It uses exclusively 400v and the flow rate exceeds 40 cfm.
3 Advanced factory compressor
Paint guns
The old spray guns that were used for painting with acrylic paints were spray guns
that spewed out the color, more in the air then on the target because of the high
pressure they worked with. Overspray was a normal thing and the whole shop could
look like a foggy English town. This meant a great loss of paint and a lot more paint
was needed to paint a car. You could call the old spray guns HVHP-sprayers, High
Volume (color) High Pressure. Often they used working pressure up to 65-70 psi for
painting and the air consumption of these spray guns is over 14 cfm.
In recent years HVLP (High Volume Low pressure) guns has become the number
one spray gun and they began to see the light in the early 90's in Sweden. These
guns use a lower working pressure and the pressure is lower at the nozzle and thus
creates less overspray. This result in less loss of paint, more paint ends up on the
surface to paint. Working pressure is about 29-36 psi pressure, but the air
consumption is sometimes 10 to 16 cfm. At the nozzle, the pressure is about 10 psi.
The latest addition is LVLP (Low Volume Low pressure), they use even less pressure
but also lower amount of paint which creates even overspray and even more paint
ends up on the surface to paint. LVLP consumes about 4-8 cfm. At the nozzle, the
pressure is below 10 psi. The transmission ratio is between 70-80% which means
more color lands on car, about 5-10% more than with an HVLP gun.
Air Tools
When you work in a body/paint shop, there are often a lot of air-powered tools.
Mostly it tends to be different types of grinders, wrenches, shears, grease guns etc.
Grinders can be high speed and is then used to remove paint quickly or grind down
welds. Angle grinders is used to cut away the metal for rust repairs, mud hogs are
oscillating sanders used by painters when sanding down paint. The oscillating
creates less swirls and scratches than a high speed grinder. Oscillating means it
spins both around and sideways at the same time.
Power Tools
Power tools are available in all shops and most air powered tools have their
equivalent in electricity.
Power Tools VS Air Operated Tools
When you work at a reputable shop, you usually use air tools because they have
compressors capable of running them. As home pro / amateur, you cannot afford to
buy huge compressors, but you can combine power tools and electric tools.
Welding
A welder is must if you want to do some more thorough repairs. For example
replacing a wheel well, rust repairing floors or repairing larger holes and so on. The
first advice I can give is to invest in a more trusted brand, quality is everything. You
can get a decent welder new for around $ 700. My second advice is to run with gas,
shielding gas gives much finer welds and much less spatter. To weld steel you use a
blend of Argon and Carbon dioxide, a gas tube can be obtained by buying it (smaller
tubes) or writing contracts with any of the gas Company’s subcontractors. In order to
weld stainless you must use pure Argon.
4 Welders
Section 2 Preparations
Preparing the car for paint is the most important part of the whole process. If you
wrong here, it will be visible in the final result. A clean surface gives good finish, well
sanded fillers are not visible and a proper masking ensures that the color ends up
where it should.
Washing
Before doing anything to a car you should wash the car as usual to get rid of any dirt
etc. in the paint. Then it's a good idea to wash the surface to be painted with any type
of grease and silicone remover. You may NOT use petroleum based or turpentine
based cleaners as they leave greasy surfaces. I prefer to recommend reducer or wax
and grease remover.
Masking
Masking can take a long time if you are inexperienced and it's easy to mistakes. It
happens and it's from the mistakes you learn. As long as you are not sure you should
practice on loose parts, or your own car before proceeding to any customer cars. The
masking is done for various reasons and at different times.
A good advice is to bet on masking tape of quality and real masking paper. It saves
masking tape to have real paper instead of having to tape together a bunch of
newspapers.
Nowadays there are different covers of plastic in different sizes which basically
covers the whole car and then just cut out the part you wish to paint.
Sanding/Grinding
When we are talking about preparations it's very much about sanding and masking.
Sanding is done for various reasons. Could be that you need to sand the paint for a
polishing, maybe sand down clear coat, or high build filler. You use different grit of
sanding paper for different materials, more on that later.
Bondo/Filler
Fillers is a science but I always passed me with two different types of fillers and
these, I think most people use in any form and by any brand. I use Plastic Padding.
Plastic Padding (PP100)
A perfect, easy cut "body filler" which fills small scratches, dents etc. One should
always try to get the dents as small as possible before putting on the filler. Thin
layers are the best and dries faster, the smoother you can get the repair, the less you
have to sand. Something that is important is to mix the filler and hardener right.
The filler comes with a hardener and the mixture of them affects the drying time, easy
to work and quality of life. It is important to take and mixing the two components
substantially. You should get a uniform color on the finished putty (not available
strings of hardener left) and it comes to "knead" out any air bubbles. All this must be
done fairly quickly because once you added hardener putty will immediately start the
chemical process to harden. The more hardener you use the faster it’s drying. When
you work in a shop they often use a little bit extra hardener to get the filler to harden
quicker to get more jobs done. They also use IR to harden the filler or they can bake
the car in the spray booth and there are a few other techniques that they use just to
shorten the drying time. If you have too little hardener it might take several hours for
it to dry. Rightly mixed and with the right thickness of the layer it usually dries in
between 30-60 minutes without any extra help.
5 Plastic Padding® PP100 Lightweight Body filler
Fiberglass filler/paste
This product is to be used when you want to protect something from wetness. If you,
for example, have been sandblasting or welding some area, it is a rule that you put
on fiberglass filler to lock the surface from moisture. Fiberglass filler is waterproof.
Fiberglass filler is mixed in the same way as other fillers and there are two different
sorts (long and short-haired). I use long haired fiberglass filler because it is a bit
more durable and somewhat more flexible. One advice regarding fiberglass filler is to
start sanding before it hardens 100%, this makes it easier to sand off. If you wait until
it is fully cured you can sand it pretty quickly anyway with a 40 grit paper on the
grinding machine.
6 Plastic Padding Glass Fiber Paste
Section 3 Painting
Preparations
Before you start painting, you will need to wipe the car with some sort of solvent. You
can use lacquer thinner or alcohol based degreaser or a so called silicone remover.
You do this to remove any grease stains from hands, fingers, silicone residues after
bad wax products etc. I recommend silicone remover or lacquer thinner. Just before
you begin to paint you blow the surface clean from dust and other stuff with
compressed air and has a special cloth (tac rag) in the hand and glide over the
surface to catch the last small dust particles. What you absolutely NOT want is an oilbased product like kerosene or petrol, because then you add the oily stuff that you
want to get rid of.
Primer
Red primer/Lacquer Primer
Is a cheaper variant of primer with fairly good properties for corrosion protection and
is usually used in welded areas and bare metal areas. This is usually one-component
paint and mixed only with thinner. This primer is used on steel a can be used as
second layer primer over etch primer.
Wash primer / Etch primer
This is a primer suitable for both steel and aluminum. This is a so called 2-component
product which has an acid-based hardener that allows the primer etch itself into the
steel and paint. This product can with advantage also be used on bare metal areas
and welded areas and provides better protection than red primer. Note that this
primer must be painted over to protect the metal to the fullest. You can NOT put filler
directly on wash primer, you need another layer on top of this. Epoxy primer or red
primer, sealer or any of the high build primers will do but check on the can to be sure
because there are some brands that can react bad to the wash primer.
Epoxy primer
A primer that is suitable for all metal surfaces, steel, aluminum, etc. 2-component
primer that works to block the filler from showing through to the paint. EP is ideal to
lock wash primer with.
High build primer
This is a primer that builds quickly and is used to fill sanding scratches from the filler
and is intended as the final step before the top coats. This is usually two-component
and can be mixed in a variety of ways, read the package for the correct mixture. This
is usually sanded with 400 dry and 800 wet.
Sealer
Sealer used to lock the filler from showing in the top paint. Sealer can also be used
for restoration to highlight small errors in the work. Adding a dark color that allows
small bumps and scratches to appear so you can correct any mistakes before the top
coat is added. This layer can be sanded with 1200 wet before paint.
Topcoat
Solid Colors
These colors are often RAL-scaled colors. To paint with these colors add hardener
and reducer and usually paint in two layers. This might vary so check ta paint can.
Metallic
Is a color with tiny metal particles that give it a little sparkle look. This is a base and
must be painted over with a clear coat for protection. If this is not done, you can wash
off the paint with solvents or heavy degreasing.
Effect Paints
There are a variety of effects such as Pearl, Chameleon, Chrome etc. Some of these
paints are painted in different layers to create visual distortions. This will produce
different colors at different angles or multiple colors on the same surface.
Furthermore, you can create different patterns yourself with different methods. You
can paint over water droplets to create effects of water drops or you can create a
marble effect by covering a freshly painted surface in plastic and then pulling the
plastic off.
Clear coat
Is a protective top coat you put over the metallic colors and effect colors but you can
also put it over regular solid colors to increase the depth in the paint. This coating is
usually colorless if it is not to be laid over some effect finishes as it may contain some
pigments.
Thinner
Available in two types, one that you wash your equipment with and the other is the 2k acrylic reducer that you mix the paint with before painting. There is a difference
between these two and if you take the wrong one by mistake you won’t get a mirror
finish, more like rough surface where the paint and risen, feels like a sandpaper when
you touch it. Don’t make that mistake!
Hardener
There are three kinds of hardeners: Fast drying, medium drying and slow drying. The
fast curing hardener you want use when the temperature is low. Normal hardener is
used around 18-20 degrees Celsius and the slow curing hardener you want to use
when it is hot. That’s so that the paint does not harden extremely quickly because of
both heat and hardener and make the color dull or get so called boiling effects.
Section 4 After Painting
Once painted, maybe you see a lot bugs in the paint or maybe dust. Then it may be
time for sanding down the clear coat a bit to get rid of bugs or orange-peel. This is
typically done with fine sandpaper 1500-2000 grit, a light pressure if you have a run
otherwise just let the paper do the job. ALLWAYS use water when you sand clear
coat/solid colors. Check frequently by wiping off the excess water, if you have a flat
surface it’s enough. If you have sanded down a light scratch then go over it with a
rubbing compound to get the worst sanding scratches off, then rub the whole car with
the same compound to get the same shine. If you have sanded the whole car apply
the compound to about a two square feet at the time and work your way around the
car in order to get an even result.
Polishing
Polishing is done in different stages. First rubbing, then fine polish, after that a super
fine polish with hologram removal and then a wax for protection. You can then if it's a
car you are extra careful about adding lacquer sealer that protects the paintwork for
up to a year.
Equipment
To do this you need a polishing machine, preferably with adjustable speed and soft
start. Depending on the finish you want, you use as many stages as you like in this
process. Many car dealers uses just two stages and then put wax on top of it. If you
have a car that’s new or a muscle car that’s worth some money you can go all the
way. I use 3M ™ Perfect-it ™ III polish, pads and rags and later I’ll give you a stage
by stage how to do it yourself guide.
Work flow
When you are about to start polishing a car, take a good look at the paint and look for
scratches that needs attention. If the scratches are superficial, hasn’t gone through
the clear coat, you can sand them down with 1500 grit wet. Rub the sanded area fast
with a rubbing compound to get some gloss back, then rub the whole car with the
compound. After rubbing you should use some of the finer polishing compounds in
descending order. The finest polishing compound is the hologram removal which is a
removal of all the marks from the earlier stages. It creates a mirror finish. If you look
real closely at a dark car you might see thin round rings after the earlier stages, very
small and almost invisible. The hologram removal takes care of that. After the
hologram removal the car ready for waxing and any paint sealer. The wax is a paint
sealer but there are newer better ways to seal the paint that lasts up to a year. You
need to wax your car every time you wash it with anything stronger than normal water
but with a sealer you can wash the car with anything but lacquer thinner. Sealing the
paint is for newer cars and cars with a value like American muscle cars, restored to
top quality. I would not recommend this to the usual commuter car.
Sand papers
Sandpaper to take down dirt particles in the paint should be between 1500-2000 grit
to avoid creating too large scratches in the paint and water should ALWAYS be used
when using these sandpapers.
Polishing compounds
Polishes are available in a variety of types and brands, some better than others. I can
recommend 3M's products and can tell you that they give good results. I have also
used a polishing wax called Super Shine from Essex that I highly recommend, it’s
extremely easy to work with.
Section 5 Techniques
Blasting
When you are blasting it is important to get all the rust off. You might need to use
different angles and always use protective gear like gloves, goggles and a face mask.
Furthermore, this is a good way to test bad metal on the car. Usually I use a hammer
to test metal but sand blasting reveals more.
It is very important to have good equipment when you are blasting so buy better stuff,
a little more expensive version with tank is preferred. After blasting ALWAYS put on
a layer of fiberglass filler so that moisture can’t get in and start the rusting process
again.
Welding
The basic rule when you do something on a car is to make the area as small as
possible. The greater the area, the more material you will use to reset the whole
thing. Materials are expensive. Sheet metal is not cheap and nor gas or welding wire.
First fit the parts before welding. If you are good at welding and fabricating you can
fabricate stuff from sheet metal. If you are not I recommend buying aftermarket
replacement parts. These aftermarket replacement parts can be hard to fit sometimes
but they get better and better. You can use scrapyard material to as long as it is rust
free. Take a wheel arch/wheel well for example. You take the new part and uses a
flange tool to get a lip to weld to, on the car you punch holes every ¼ inch all the way
around were the part will be fitted (the holes should line up with the lip on the new
part). Now you can plug weld the holes and the new piece will be in place, weld one
hole in each end and try to weld as far apart from the earlier weld as possible to
minimize warping. This way you will hide the welds well and the need for fillers will be
minimal.
Grinding/Sanding
Bare metal for welding or fiberglass filler: 40-60
PP100 is sanded with 120, 180 and 240.
High build fillers with 320-400 or 600-800 wet.
Epoxy is dry sanded with 400 and wet sanded with 800-1200.
Runs are sanded with 800-1500 wet, begin with 800 and work upwards.
Clear coat/solid colors that are to be repainted are sanded with 1200 wet.
Orange-peel, bugs and dust is wet sanded with 1500-2000 and then rubbed and
polished in different stages.
In addition to sandpaper there is red and gray scuff pads that is used to roughen the
surfaces. If I should use these right should use the gray (fine) to provide attachment
for top color and the red (coarser) to sand primer with to provide attachment for
grinding because mm. But I tend to use the red to grind the seams and edges where
there are extra important that the top color attach so you do not get paint
detachment.
Masking
The masking is done to protect openings and details against dust and scratches from
the sanding machine. When sanding is complete, use air to remove any dust on the
car and then remove the masking.
When you mask the second time you mask off the areas that don’t need to be
primed, this is done to protect it from overspray from the paint gun. This is the primer
and high build primer stage. When you are done you unmask the car and start dry or
wet sand the surface. When that’s done it’s time to wipe it clean from the water and
sanding residues.
It is now time for masking a third time before painting with the top coat. This is done
to prevent fine particles from the primer/sealer to come loose from the masking and
destroy the final result. Before you can paint you need to clean the car with a wax
and grease remover. After the wax and grease remover you need to use a tack cloth
and air to blow off/trap any dust or minute particles that are left.
Now the car is ready for painting.
Painting
When painting it is good to have a 30-50% overlap of previous lap to thereby obtain
the best coverage. Hold the spray gun with 15-20 cm from the surface perpendicular
to the surface, follow the surface at all times and keep the same distance from the
surface regardless of curves or angles.
Blending means a touch-up on a separate area like a door or a panel and uses
nearby surfaces to get the illusion of the same color. Color differences always occur
because the color of the car fade with the years and the paint in the can is like new.
This is often used with metallic to avoid having to paint the whole side of a car or
even the whole car. The technique that is used allows the first layer of base to go out
a bit in the adjacent panels and then allows the second and last layer just sprayed a
little bit further out where the first left off. Then the clear coat goes on if it the color
looks good otherwise you give it a third turn with color. What is important here is to
paint the repaired surface like normal with 25% overlap and just spray into the
adjacent panels lightly. This means that you can get the same color (or trick the eye
into believing that it is the same).
A blend requires a nearby mix area, a front door, for example, must have a back door
and front fender to mix with. A backdoor must have front door and rear fender, a
hood must have top of the front fenders and tailgate top of the rear fenders. This
means that you usually paint several surfaces in a blend and it means that these
surfaces should be sanded or scuffed. Usually I use 1200 grit and wet sand to
abrade the surfaces that acts like blend surfaces. You can also make a blend in an
area like a door and just use the door to blend in. Then you have to be a little subtler
with the gun. It works in a similar way where you put color first over the damage, then
second layer a little further out in the next lap to finally showering a bit in different
directions in the outer edges for maximum illusion.
Plastic Painting
Plastic parts are a section separately and differ a little from how painting metal
surfaces. Metal surfaces are hard and have less flexibility. Plastics often have a
greasy surface, which makes it necessary to treat the plastic in a different way.
Before painting you need to wash the surface with an antistatic cleaner. You can
apply filler to a plastic bumper cover for example if you sand the surface, then the fat
surface disappears. New plastic parts and treated areas that show bare plastics must
be covered with a plastic primer for best adhesion for subsequent layers.
Primers and high build primers can be sprayed on old repairs and new plastics as
soon as the plastic primer has dried. Plastic parts often have small pores and bumps
in it so a high build primer is a smart way to get a better finish. Adding a flexible
additive will make the different layers on the part more flexible and stops it from
cracking. Softeners are mixed in at about 30%. One mixing ratio could look like this
4:1:1+30%
Plastic is painted with a softener in the solid color or clear coat. This means that top
coat will be flexible. It usually involves the normal mixing process for solid color and
clear coat plus 30% plasticizer/softener. Note that no plasticizer is added in the base
(metallic).
Aluminum
When painting aluminum I use Wash primer (Active Primer), a primer with acid as
activator that allows the primer etches itself into the metal. Wash primer must then be
covered by any other primer, red primer or sealers to provide adequate protection. If
you leave the wash primer without a protecting layer the moisture will penetrate
through the primer, and the metal begins to rust.
Another option is epoxy primer that adheres to almost everything and you can also
place filler/bondo on top of epoxy primer. You cannot put filler directly on Wash
primer.
Remember to always use filters to filter through all the steps, filter sealers through
one filter, filter base through one and clear coat through another so you are sure
that you do not get any dust or other particles in the layers. Average size on color
filters for acrylic paint is 190 microns, 280 microns for sealers, primers 226 microns to
125 microns and the water-based paints.
Make sure to have a water separator connected to the hose from the compressor and
preferably also have a manometer directly connected to the spray gun. That way, you
can remove the risk of water in the paint and in a simple and easy regulate the
working pressure of the spray gun.
Buffing
Is something that can be hard work but gives great results in the end. Many car
dealers and people in general is usually content uses only two steps in polishing,
after the yellow bottle they put on wax directly but here we describe an approach that
is good enough even for a little fancier cars even if I then recommend sealing the
paint after waxing.
Rubbing
Apply a small amount of Fast Cut Plus on the pad. Work the product in to the pad
before it is applied to the body.
7 3M ™ Perfect-it ™ III Fast Cut Plus (50417)
Use the green pad. Place the pad on the body and start the polishing machine. Treat
a small area at a time. Try to limit the area to two square feet at the time. Apply more
of the compound on the pad when you start a new area.
8 3M Perfect-it III™ Compounding Pad Green (50487)
Wipe off with the green cloth.
9 Perfect-it™ III High Performance Cloth (60671)
Polishing
Put the yellow pad on the polishing machine.
10 3M Perfect-it III™ Compounding Pad Yellow (50488)
Apply Extra fine compound on the pad. Place the pad on the body and start the
machine. Treat the whole body until it shines.
11 3M™ Perfect-it™ III Extra fine rubbning (80349)
Wipe off with the yellow cloth.
12 Perfect-it™ III High Performance Polishing Cloth (50400)
Super fine polishing
Shake the bottle and apply Ultrafine SE to the pad and put the pad to the body of the
car and start the machine. Treat two square feet at the time.
13 3M™ Perfect-it™ Ultrafina™ SE (50383)
Use the blue pad. Start by working with medium pressure to remove swirl marks /
holograms, and then reduce the pressure for the best possible finish.
14 Perfect-it III™ Ultrafina™ SE polishing pad (50388)
NOTE: The product retains its liquid form upon use. Remove excess liquid with the
blue cloth.
15 Perfect-it™ III High Performance Polishing Cloth (50486)
Waxing
Here I recommend two polishing waxes, the pink polishing wax from 3M and Essex’s
Super Shine that is extremely easy to work with, both on and off.
16 3M™ Perfect-it™ Polishing wax (80345)
17 Essex Super-Shine polishing wax 500ml
These waxes can be put on by hand or with a machine using the black pad.
18 3M Perfect-It DA Glazing Pad (05729)
Then wipe the wax residue with the pink cloth for waxing.
19 3M Perfect-it III High Performance Polishing Cloth - Pink (50489)
Section 6 Mixing Conditions
Mixing ratios vary, because I wanted to take up the point so that you can see that there are different
versions, you might find anything similar to what is written here so always check on the can! Here, a
mixed stand be good to have or cans with dimensions of.
Primer
This can be both one-component and 2-component. Typically 2:1 procedure which means 2 parts
primer to 1 part thinner in one-component primer 2 parts primer and 1 part hardener in twocomponent primer.
Epoxy primer
Here, the mixing ratio is often 4:1 but just read on the can because there are always variations.
High build fillers
It varies greatly on the mix, ranging from 2:1:1, 4:1:1 to 10:1 or 25:1, but this usually I use the lower
mixing ratio as they usually are more easily processed and easy to apply.
Sealer
Often it is mixed 2:1 with solvent like paint but this varies between brands. Check the jar.
Metallic Base
Here are usually mixing procedure 1:1.
Colors
Here are the major brands in Europe worked to find a common standard mix 2:1:1. 2 parts paint, 1
part hardener and 10-30% thinner. However, variations may occur, so check out the jar.
Clear coat
Here are the major brands in Europe worked to find a common standard mix 2:1:1. 2 parts varnish, 1
part hardener and 10-30% thinner. However, variations may occur, so check out the jar.
Section 7 Common Errors
Orange peel
20 Orange peel
A rough surface, similar to an orange structure. The paint was too thick or hardened too quickly.
Solution: Less heat, or more thinner/reducer.
Overspray
21 Overspray
A matt structured surface. If it shows up in the paint it’s too little color, or the first layer had time to
dry too much before putting the second layer on. If it shows up on any other surface then the one
you were supposed to paint its bad masking. Solution: Can if not to severe be polished. Otherwise
wet sand with 1500-2000 grit and buff it.
Cracking
22 Cracking
Cracking of the paint. Could be many reasons. The most common is incorrect primer. It can occur if
an earlier layer doesn’t mix with the paint. Solution: Repainting
Fish eyes
23 Fish eyes
Small changes in the paint where the paint does not cover. May be due to silicone or oil. Solution:
Several thin layers of paint until the rings are filled, then two wet layers, or repainting.
Boiling
Small craters in the paint, looks like pin holes. Can also be slightly dull. Is often due to heat, when the
surface of the paint dries too quickly and trapping solvent. It then becomes a bubble which is then
ruptured with a hole as a result. Solution: Repainting.
Runs
Depends on to much or too thin paint.
Solution: If a hang occurs far down on the car, such as the rockers, you can paint it down by spraying
on more color, so it eventually runs off. In other places you have to wait until the paint is fully cured
and then wet sanding it off and then polish it.
Patchiness
24 Patcheness
Metallic paint can show strings/patches where it is darker or lighter. This is mostly due to an uneven
spray pattern. Solution: Correct the spray pattern on the gun and/or adjust the air. Then lay a new
layer.
Dust
If you don’t care about the result it plays a smaller role, but otherwise it is wet sanding and polishing
that apply. After a year, it usually has been worn down by washing and polishing and is virtually
invisible.