BEATv1,

It's the front bumper and you're keeping it black, it's not a big job. I'd jump in and just do it. You will be surprised on just how easy it is. Plus you'll enjoy a lot of satisfaction in doing it yourself.

Dave

 

Dave, i love the confidence you're giving me! i'm replaying it in my head like i won the Superbowl with my front bumper as the trophy, everyone cheering and confetti coming down ahahah
in due time my friend, i'll bite the bullet and tackle it.

 

okay doing a bit of research already and need a bit of advice. im a mechanic on the budget and because of that, make everything harder on myself but as long as it gets the job done right, im all for it. with that said, the nearest appliance store is harbor freight for me and their tools work for the amount of time i use them and are pretty cheap (although the i never buy wrenches/sockets/bits from them).

Search results for: 'compressor'
so judging from the above psi i'm assuming these compressor would work since the minimum on their catalog is 100psi? but what about the amount of hp?

Search results for: 'hvlp'
these are the guns. one's 17bucks (i dont trust it lol)

High Volume, Low Pressure Spray Gun Kit
im leaning a bit towards this. it's got good reviews from their site and for small projects, it might be ideal.

 

Hi BEATv1,

I have no experience with the rig you are leaning towards but my gut feeling is that is not for you. If you were painting cars, you would want at least a 5hp two stage compressor but you are not painting cars, you are painting a bumper. If that is about the extent of your painting, I would get a good compressor that would do other things around the shop in the 2 to 3 hundred dollar range. Make sure you have a couple of oil/water traps and pick up a hvlp gun that feels good when you squeeze it. For a job like this, almost any will do. READ all the instructions for the paint. Go to your local automotive paint store and tell them what you are attempting, hear the advice they will give you. Let them know that this is a home job; we all know, home jobs make choices and it's not a perfect world. Cost and circumstances play an important role. But it's not a difficult job, more just taking your time and not getting in a rush. But as most home jobs - the satisfaction level is high.

Dave

 

If you are going to tackle this, I would go over to you tube and watch as many videos as You can stand. A lot good advise over there. Right down to the equipment to buy. If you were closer, I would just let you borrow mine. With a paint shop an 1/8 mile from me, I don't have to worry about it. Follow Dave's advise, and make sure you cover everything with plastic, and wet down the floor unless you are laying plastic there as well. Try to control the environment as much as you can.

 

That is not an Auto paint gun, it states for stain etc. If it doesn't state the tip size, ie 1.8 1.4 1.3 etc it probably isn't meant for cars. By the way you will need at least 2 different tips to do a paint job, 1.8 for primer and 1.4 or 1.3 for color coat and clear. Spend a little more for the gun, it will give much better results. Also, I use a single stage 2HP Quincy and it is rated at 8.6 cfm at 40 psi and 7.6 at 90, that is enough capacity to do a lot of things. I have several guns but my favorite is the Concours from Eastwood which came with 2 tips. You are not going to get a decent gun for under $150 clams/

 

BEAT1V,


I don't want to get into a pissing contest with Jefasold, I'm sure he knows a lot more about painting than I and I will bow to his expertise.


I'm a home do it kind of guy, I just painted my crossfire and you saw the results, everyone that sees it just goes on and on about how beautiful it is and most say it looks brand new. It was the 14th car that I've painted and I've enjoyed great results on all of them except one problem with my dune buggy, but that didn't have anything to do with my work. I hadn't painted in a couple years; usually I use a Binks and I have an old gun I usually use for primer, but I couldn't find mine, I had a nice little off-named gun I picked up at the swap meet handy and used it for the primer, the base coat and the clear. I have no idea what nozzle it had, but I sprayed it against the wall and got the pattern where I liked it and never looked back.


From what you've wrote and described, you seem like you are on a budget with limited space and my advice has taken all of that into account. I seriously don't believe you need to overkill this project; a bumper just isn't that hard to paint.


Dave

 

Hell, Dave. I haven't painted anything in over 20 yrs, and have had guys wanting my old equipment as they can't buy them anymore. I think you adapt to the equipment you use. With that, good luck my young friend. Plenty of us here to support you.

 

I will agree with you, no need to overkill but $150 for a decent gun isn't a lot and you still need a compressor. I did not spend a lot on my compressor (Northern Tool) and I use it for many things around the garage. If you have a gun the requires a lot of air, you will need a fairly expensive compressor. And yes, there will be a lot of support for his desire to do this himself. I have to repaint my bumper also, I bottomed out coming out from my brothers driveway and really cracked the paint on the splitter. I respect your opinion and I never take offense, the differing opinions are one of the best things about the forum.

 

first and foremost, thank you all for contributing to this post and spreading your knowledge. i've spent my last weekend helping a friend install exhaust manifold and muffler on his ninja650. then i worked on the valve cover breather gaskets and had to put her to rest for 24 hours so that killed my saturday and sunday lol

americanretrodave, i think you understand my plea and mentality. i'm not trying to paint cars but small projects, like bumpers, maybe rims and other things around the house. So finding a setup that fits my really basic needs is ideal.

JEFASOLD, it does seem like you know what you're talking about! when i get a better place and job ahaha i can spend on more expensive materials so i'm trying to keep my costs low for the mean time. maybe if i can find some preowned guns then i wont feel too bad. also doing some math, if i buy the spray gun + compressor + paint + materials + time, i would be over the maaco job of $360. by how much? i guess it depends on the things i get. ALSO, keep me updated on your bumper repaint job. i really want to see your process.

oledoc2u, thank you for the encouragement, i know im in good hands with the people at crossfireforum. i need to make new friends and annoy the heck out of them by borrowing paint guns and tools all the time! by the way, your tips about covering the garage in plastic and wet the floor is very helpful.

"I respect your opinion and I never take offense, the differing opinions are one of the best things about the forum. "
probably the most respectable thing about this forum. so rare when it comes to the internet lol

 

So i may go with the LVLP setup but am still searching for the right ones.

also this may be a dumb question but where can you buy automotive paint? i only need about a quart but not entirely sure where to look. i meant i tried the obvious like google lol should i contact my local collision center and see if they can mix paints?

 

I had a similar parking lot mishap a few years back on the rear bumper of my 2007 Limited Coupe. Driver-side was scuffed up and the taillight assembly was cracked. Shop I've been using for years did the repairs & re-paint for $350 total. Included removing the rear bumper, repairs & re-paint, re-install and installing the taillight assembly. Color is Machine Gray Metallic. Shop had the car for 3 days. Considered myself lucky.

I'm not an advocate of using MAACO for minor repairs and/or repaint. They're okay if you want to get an older car, that's in good shape with weathered paint, looking like new by repainting it. But their paint doesn't tend to hold up long-term under the elements. I had my oldest son's 1999 Ford EXP Sport repainted by MAACO a few years back. Car was black. Within 2 years, the top started to fade. And I kept the car well groomed with polish & wax.

MAACO can do some amazing work. A few years back at the Ford Nationals in Carlisle, MAACO had a new Mustang that was custom painted by one of their shops. Car was truly remarkable looking. But that paint job was somewhere north of $8000 (I asked).

Later,

 

You shouldn't have any problems finding an auto paint store, a lot of Napa Auto Parts stores sell automotive paint, just do a quick search on the net and you should find one.

Dave

 

well ill try my luck in painting, i've always wanted to try it. seems easy enough and if i do well, i may have the confidence to spray my 84 supra. ive been neglecting her anyways, i found a place (Auto Body Supplies, Auto Body Equipment | Paterson, NJ) they seem to have what i need. i'll visit the place soon to see waht they are about. I know Autozone/Napa has automotive paints too but they are basic colors, not much variety.

anyone watch Mightycarmods- https://www.youtube.com/user/mightycarmods ? they have good vids on DIY tutorials and recently found
customspraymods - https://www.youtube.com/user/customspraymods
they have a similar setup but with spray techniques. they make a rattle can look easy. although, i wont go that route.
of course AMMONYC https://www.youtube.com/user/AMMONYCdotcom has the best and most meticulous ways to approach imperfections.
great vids to waste time at work lol

 

Dont forget to post your results.

 

Hello! back again for some progress...

i'm leaning towards this rig set up (bought the gun already because it was on sale black friday and couldnt pass up the offer)
spray gun: SPRAYIT-LVLP Gravity Feed Spray Gun
compressor: 8 gal. 2 HP 125 PSI Oil Lube Air Compressor
oil/air trap: HB Oil/Water Trap (id love for more suggestions because this didnt get too many rave reviews)
hose: im not sure of this one whether to get a coil or a rubber?

the LVLP needs about 3.5 to 3.9 CFM @ 30 psi and the compressor shoots 5.5 CFM @ 40 PSI. so doing math, the CFM would get higher at a lower PSI? I heard you need about 30% more for buffer so that would leave the highest numer of 3.9 CFM to ~5.07CFM @ 30 PSI maximum for the gun. that's still a lower number than the compressors specs of 5.5 @ 40 PSI. I know it's a 8gal tank but if i'm going to do small jobs, i don't necessarily need a big compressor (plus i want it to be practical in portability and space issues). if i do need to run in longer than 10-15 min, i just need to give it a rest inbetween to catch up? what is the 2HP for? usually i see this compressor setup with a lower HP and run a LVLP (ex. ]) his setup doesnt look ideal but it worked on a fence! lol i've watched all these videos of lvlp guns but they really dont walk about their setup, mainly what compressor they use https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lvlp

is this an adequate setup for basically a bumper repair?
once i have this down, it's on to learning about paint!

any more insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

For a small job, and I include painting the bumpers as a small job, what you are looking at would be fine. Remember the best paint jobs are in the prep work, make sure you have the bumper sanded down good and any repair work is done right. If you are a real perfectionist, you can remove the bumper from the car, it would make it easier to spray, but leaving it on the car is fine too. If you are leaving the bumper on the car, once you mask it off you might get a plastic sheet to mask up to your masking so you can protect the car from overspray. Just take your time, primer first so the base coast covers evenly over any repairs and then just don't get in a rush, wait inbetween coats for it to tack up and be careful not to load up an area too much so it runs. The base coat is super easy to spray and if you miss up, you can sand out any runs, wait a little and spray it again. The clear coat is a little harder, just be careful and take your time and you will do great. Let it dry a little more in-between coats on the clear coat and dust your first couple of coats on. The shine will come on your third and fourth coats, the first two some would call one, but I like to dust the first one really thin, let it tack up good and then do the same thing again, this will give you a good base for the next two heavier coats to hang on to.

Imagine you have a microscope and you are drying and sticking all these little dots of clear coat to the base coat. Then you do it again after the first one has tacked up. Now each one of these little guys have grabbed that base coat and they are hanging on for dear life, they have moded themselves into the base coat. Now you come in with two heavier coats which will really grab and hang onto those first two coats which have already attached themselves to the base coat. In my mind this is the way to do it, some may disagree, but if you spray the clear coat on in three heavier coats, they will tend to stick to themselves and basically you have a sheet of plastic over your base coat, which could peel later. Just my thoughts.

Don't let all this detail scare you, I can't tell you enough, it's an easy job and you won't learn, until you jump into it.

Dave

 

dace, thanks for the reply and insight. i think i'll get the compressor while it's on sale too. probably going to be a Christmas gift form my girlfriend lol i've been watching vids non-stop and reading articles and i think im ready to paint....in spring. lol well, what do you guys think? it's pretty cold here in the east coast. it's only going to get colder. i have a garage, it's not heated but is 10 degrees warmer than it is out with the wind and stuff. i hear the compressor may need thicker oil in the colder temps. paint in the other hand, im not too sure how it'll react in this weather. so that's why im waiting until it gets a tad warmer.

 

For sure.
Do not attempt auto painting below 65 deg, and that's not advised either. 70 - 80 degrees is ideal.
You will get orange peel, sags or 'paint popping' ( little holes in the paint )

 

FINALLY i jumped into the painting project but instead of the spider cracks, which what this was initially for, i tried my first job on the stock rims. Ill comment with the appropriate images.

9V5t2vm.jpg
this is my setup and tools. i had a long talk with the good folks at "Gavin's autobody supplies" in Paterson NJ. great guys and very knowledgeable. i bought a spray canned high build primer to relieve an extra cleaning step for my gun. they gave me paints that had the right hardeners for the weather and humidity. again i went with the setup of a LVLP gravity feed with a 2hp 125gal compressor. they confirmed with my setup and said it would work but give it more time to cool down.




lJOlBhu.jpg
had some curb rashes




xFGpuj3.jpg
sanded them down and filled with bondo




j7Kd0UE.jpg
primed came on nice and smooth



AGAiejD.jpg
2:1 base. 2-3 coats of base, 15 min in between. flashed on light then went heavy on coat 2 and 3. loved how easy this step was and i had a hard time going on to the next because i liked the satin look




r3GUPOn.jpg
4:1 clear coated. now it's here where i was getting problems. i dont have a close up of them yet because im ashamed lol but i can't achieve the mirror-like finish. i sprayed light-wet-wet on the clear and still either came uneven or orange peeled. i had 4 tries and even then i could only get minimal orange peel. i increased the air flow and adjusted the for more paint to come out and had a decent practice spray on a sheet but when i layed it on the rims, the buildup was i guess too much? i'm waiting a week to fully cure and then im going in with 1500 grit then 2000 then 3000 if necessary to level it out then cut it back with a compound. but i wish i didn't need to do this step




rwtfexK.jpg
i know it's too late since i've done it already (just want to be safer next time) and I know for the rear, the differential is a spot to lift the back end but in the front--is this a good spot to lift? right behind the oil pan plastic, i believe is the crossmember?




3VaShbm.jpg
finished!

once i get the clear coat process down, i think i'll be ready to start painting panels. i'll keep practicing with the left overs for now.

thank you all for the help and i'll keep everyone updated again with more projects. i just hope it won't take another 6 months!