Steps to painting a truck?

9 LIVES

9 LIVES

Demolition Expert
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Oct 29, 2006
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My dad is going to paint one of my trucks. Its been 15 years since he has painted any vehicles.

I need to refresh him on the steps we need to take. He is using a triple turbine HVLP with a gravity fed gun and one moisture filter pre-gun.

From the directions we received with the paint it says to wash the truck with a amonia based soap to get all the grease off the truck. Then to bring the truck inside and start sanding to scuff up the paint. Next take a cleaner and rag and go over the truck again to remove any grease or dust from the sanding.

Then start spraying the first of two coats of primer. Now it does not say anything about sanding the primer? do you need to sand the primer to get it smooth?

Next it says to shoot 3 coats of color with 15 minutes inbetween coats. The final coat it says to shoot from 18-22" away from the truck (metalic paint) to get the metal flakes to give that extra ' pop ' .

Then it says to wait 15 minutes and then start spraying the first of two clear coat applications.

After clearcoat has had ample time to dry it says to buff & polish

I want to throw some racing stripled down the center. At what point do you mask off the area to do the racing stripes? Do you wait till after the base coat has been cleared then mask off,sand,spray,clear & buff & polish the racing stripes? Just thinking about it i've never had luck with masking tape it always seems to pull the fresh paint up even if it has dried for a couple days.

The directions it gives me seems a bit different than what I've heard from others on here. I know im more than likely wrong but I will state what i've heard that was different from the directions I have.

I've been told to sand the primer before painting? I guess to get a flat surface? Last truck we shot primer on I can remember it being a little rough like sand paper so that makes sense?

Next i've heard of wet sanding after clear coat? Not sure why this is done but is this how its done? Wet sand then buff & polish to get the shine back?
 
After washing the body well with soap & water, wipe the vehicle down with wax & grease remover or laquer thinner. Then dry with a clean towel. Sand the body with 600grit wet sandpaper, using blocks on flat surfaces to assure a straight body. Sand until there are no "shiny" spots & use a grey "Scotchbrite" pad in the hard to sand areas. On bare metal areas, you need to spray epoxy primer. If any body work is done, you will need to apply a high build urethane primer then sand smooth. All topcoats should be done per manufacturers tech sheets. Each paint is different.
 
Also after your primer is scuffed you have a window in wich to paint it.

I want to say its 48hrs?
 
We are going to try and do it as quickly as possible.

Roachie do you have suggestions of what "discount" product to use? dupont nason, ppg shopline, sherwin williams are a few that I've heard of.

I know NOTHING about automotive paint but do know that I can't afford House of Kolor that I want. They quoted me $1,200 for primer,base & clear....That's a bit much for a truck that will be lettered up with sponsor decals covering up that pretty expensive paint:doh:
 
Why not a complete wrap? They've come way down in price (2k) when I checked in Feb 09.
 
If its strictly a puller and you dont want a show truck but, you want it to really shine....Enamel. I hate that type of paint but, its way cheaper that a base clear system. On a DD Id say base clear though.

Im assuming its a track only rig since you said sponser decals. In that case, look at neon paints. All the big paint companies have them, cheap, and they are so bright it hurts you eyes to look at.

Cant really say much about which discount paint is best though, we only deal with glassurit and RM.
 
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