CARPAINTING

CHECKLIST
Paint
ingacarmayseem l
ikea
secondar
ybecause.
..
Whatmat t
ersmostisundert hehood,ri
ght
?Thepai ntj
obispract
ical
l
yanaf tert
hought
.Butthatcouldn'
t
befur
therfrom t
hetrut
h.Whi l
etherestoft
herepairj
obissimplymechanics,it
'
ssaidthatcarpai
nti
ngi s
anart
.Afterall
,thepai
ntisthefi
rstt
hingyounoti
ceaboutacar.Event houghmostpeoplehardlyglance
atagreatpaintj
ob,everyonenoti
cesabadone.

Carpai
nti
ngi
saninvol
vedandpainstaki
ngpr
ocess.I
fyou'
renotcar
eful
,ther
esul
tcanendupasagi ant
mess.Sohowdoyoupaintacarproperl
y?Whatdoyouneedtoknow?Her e'
sacarpai
nti
ngcheckl
i
stto
hel
pyouonyourway:

1
SAFETY
Whenpainti
ngacar,youneedt
orememberthatyou'
reworki
ngwit
hpot ent
ial
lyhazar
douschemi
cal
s.
So,t
hefi
rstthi
ngyouneedtodoismakesur
eyou'vetakenallt
hepropersafet
yprecaut
ions.

•Gl oves–Li keallsafetyequipment ,yourglovesneedtopr ovideast r

ongbar r
ierbetweenyouandt he
painti
ngchemi cal
syou'rewor ki
ngwi t
h.Becauseoft hi
s,youshoul davoidlat
exgl oves,si
ncet heydon' t
protectagainstmostsol ventsusedi npainting.Nit
ri
legl
ovespr ovi
debet t
erprotecti
onagai nstmanyof
thestrongerchemi calsyou'llbewor ki
ngwi th.However,t
heywon' tstandupt ofulli
mmer sioninmet hyl
ethylketone(MEK)f ormor ethanacoupl eofmi nut
es,sobecar efulandchanget hem often.Othertypes
ofglovesyoucanweari ncludebut ylrubberandPVA.Bef or
ewear inganygloves,inspectthem carefull
y
forholes,tears,puncturesorot herdefects,andcheckwiththemanuf act
urertoseehowof tenyoushoul d
changegl ovesovert hecour seofaj ob.

•Respi rat
or–Whenwor ki
ngwithspraypai
nt,i
t'
scr
it
ical
l
yimport
antthatyoupr
otectyourselff
rom
breathi
nginthepaintf
umes.Asimplefacemaskisn’
tenoughprot
ecti
on,youneedar espi
rator.
Ar espi
rat
orprovi
desabarri
eragainstt
hefumesandactuall
yfi
l
ter
stheairasyoubreathe.Thisis
call
edanai rpuri
fyi
ngr
espir
ator(
APR) .

Whenchoosi nganAPR,l ookatther ati

ngoft hefi
lt
ertoseet hesmal lestpart
i
clesizeit
'sabletoblock
out.Youshouldlookf orafil
tert
hatcancapt ureparti
clesassmal las3mi cr
ons.Youcanal sousea
suppliedai
rrespir
ator,whichkeepst hepai ntfumesoutent irelyandpr ovidesyouwi t
hasepar atesupply
ofcleanairtobreathe.Thetypeofrespi r
atoryouneedshoul dmat chthesizeofthepaintjob.Someone
whoonl yneedst odoasi nglepaint
ingjobcangetawaywi thusi ngani nexpensi
vemodel ,buta
professi
onalwhopai ntscarseverydayneedsaqual it
yr espirator,that'
scomf or
tabl
etowearf orlong
periodsofti
me.Manyr espir
ator
sarebui ltintoahoodt hatcover syourent i
rehead.Ifyour
si snot,you'
l
l
alsoneedt owearaheadsockt oprot ectther estofyourface.

2
•Ot herProtection–Inaddi t
i
ont oglovesandar espirat
or,you'l
lneedsever alotheritemsofpr otect
ive
apparel
.First
,andmosti mportant,aregoggles.Eveni fyouhavear espi
ratorwithahoodt hatgoesover
yourenti
rehead,i t
’
ssti
lli
mpor t
antt ohavesomesor tofprotect
iveeyewear .Youreyesar eimportantand
verysensi
ti
ve,soyoucanneverbet oocaref
ulwheni tcomest okeepi ngthem saf e.Thesecondt hi
ng
youneedi ssomepai nt
er’scoveralls.Theydon’thavet obequi t
easdur ableast hegl oves,butthey
shouldst
il
lcoverallofyourremai ningexposedskin( mainl
yar msandl egs)andr egularclot
hing.Youcan
buypacksofdi sposabl
ecoveralls,orreusablenylonorcottonones.

•PaintBooth–I nPhi
l
adelphi
a,it
'
srequi
redbylawthatyoudoyourcarpai nt
ingi
naspeci
all
yspray
pai
ntboothorpr
epstat
ion.I
notherpl
aces,i
t'
snotr
equired,butsti
l
lrecommended.Apai
ntbooth
ensur
esthatt
here'
saconstantf
lowofai
rthr
oughyourwor karea,prevent
i
ngabuil
dupofharmfulpai
nt
f
umes.

Ther ear ethreebasi ctypesofpai

ntbooths.Themostpopul arisadowndr aftdesign.Aircomesi n
throughvent sinthecei l
i
ngandmovesdownwar dwi t
hgr avit
yt obeexhaust edthroughaventi noneof
thewal ls,orthroughanexhaustpi t.I
nacr oss-
draftbooth,ai rentersthr oughaf i
l
teri nthedoorand
fl
owst ot heopposi t
eendoft heboothtobeexhaust ed.Thi sisnotr ecommendedf orlengthybooths
sinceitt akeslongerf ort
heairtovent.Thi
sincreasest hechancef orgr eaterbui l
dupofpai ntf
umesin
theair,andcanal socauset hequalit
yofthepaintitselft
osuf fer
.And,Fi nally,aside-draftbootht
akes
i
nai rthroughaf i
lt
eri nonesideandexhaust si
toutt hepposi teside.It
'shi ghl yr
ecommendedt hatyou
useoneoft heset ypesofboothswheneveryou'repai nti
ngacar .However ,ifyoudon' thaveaccesst o
apr ofessionalsprayboot h,besuretodoyourspr aypai nti
ngi nawel l-ventilatedar ea.

3
Onceyouhaveyoursaf
etyequi
pment
,youneedt
omakesur
eyouhavet
her
ightequi
pmentt
oper
for
m
t
hepaint
i
ngjobit
sel
f.

•Paint–Obvi ously,t
hisist hemosti mpor t
antmat er
ialtohave.Ther ear etwomai ntypesofcarpai nt:
water-basedandsol vent-based.Sol ventpaintsusear esint ohol
di ttoget
herandt osti
cktothecar ,
whil
et hesolventmakest hepai ntthinenought obespr ayed.Wat er-basedpaintusesdif
fer
entt ypes
ofbindingagentstohol dthepai nttogetherandmakei tstick,anduseswat ert
othinoutthepaint.
Unli
keot hertypesofwat er-basedpai nt(e.g.water
colors),carpaintobviouslydoesn'
twashof fwi t
h
water.Inst
ead,thewat erget sinbetweent heindi
vi
dualpai ntpart
icl
esandkeepst hem separate.
Then,ast hewat erevapor at
es,thepar ti
clescomet ogetheri nt
oasol i
d,evenlayerofpai
nt.

Thet ypeofpaintyouchoosedependsonyourownneedsandper sonalpr

eferences.Thetwoki
nds
arerelat
ivel
ythesamei nter
msofcost,andproduceapproxi
matel
yt hesamequal it
yresul
t.Wat
er
paintmayhavemor edif
fi
cul
tydr
yinginwett
ercli
matesandisbestusedinclimate-cont
rol
l
edareas.
I
t'
sal somoreenvi r
onmental
lyf
ri
endlythansol
vent-
basedpai
nt.

•PaintSpr ayer–Inthepast ,carpaint

ersusedhigh-pr
essurespr
aygunswi tht
hebot t
leofpaintatt
ached
belowt henozzl
e.However ,thesecausedanumberofpr obl
ems,incl
udingairpoll
uti
on,.Todaythe
preferr
edtypeofsprayerformostpr ofessi
onal
sistheHighVolumeLowPr essure(HVLP)pai ntgun.
WithHVLP,t hepainti
sinat anklocat
edabovethesprayer,andisfedintothenozzlethroughthe
naturalfor
ceofgravi
ty.HVLPpr ovi
desamuchmor eeff
ici
entpai
ntjobwi t
hlesswasteandbet t
er
coverage.

•Pri
mer.
•RustI
nhibi
torSpray.
•El
ectr
icSander,SandPaper
,andBuf
fer
.
•Bodyfi
ll
er.

4
PREPARATI
ON
Bef
oreyoucanstar
tpai
nti
ng,afewthi
ngsneedt
obedonetogett
hecarready
.Ift
hecarisn'
tpr
oper
ly
pr
epared,i
tcanl
eadtoasloppy
,unevenpai
ntj
ob.Her
ear
ethebasicst
epsyouneedtotake:

•Repai
ranydent sorotherdamage–Obvi ousl
y,ifyou'
redoingcoll
i
sionrepairwork,youshoul
dtackl
e
t
hedamaget othecarbeforeyoupainti
t.Buti
fsomeonej ustwantsanewpai ntjob,yousti
l
lneedto
makesurethecar'
ssurf
acei ssmoothanddent-f
reebeforebeginni
ng.Alsomakesur ethatext
ensi
ve
r
epai
rstothechassi
saren'tnecessar
y.

•Washthecar–I
fthecarisdi
rt
y,yourf
il
l
erandyourpai
ntwi
l
lhaveahar
dti
mest
icki
ngt
othecar
.
Washt
hecaronl
yusingcarwashsoap.Donotusewaxshampoo.

•Removebumper s,t
rim,mir
rors,handles,andanythi
ngelsethatcanberemoved–Remove
anyt
hingyoudon'
twanttogetpainton.Coveri
ngi
temswithmaskingt
apeisal
soanoption,butit
's
al
wayseasiersi
mplytoremovethem.Youshouldalsocoverorr
emoveallt
heglassi
nthewi ndows.

•Removet heexist
ingpai
nt–Wit
hanel
ect
ri
csander
,usea220-gr
itsandi
ngdi
sctoremovet
heold
pai
nt,andthenswi
tcht
oa400-
gri
tdi
sct
osandt
hesurfaceoft
hecarunti
li
t'
scompl
etel
ysmooth.

•Removerust–Light
errustcanberemovedwit
hrusti
nhibi
torspr
ay,butf
orseverecases,you'
l
lhave
t
ogetri
dofthemetali
tsel
f.Youcancutoutt
her
ustedsecti
onandwel donamet alr
eplacementpat
ch,
orj
ustr
epl
acetheenti
repanel.

•Findt hedent s–Nomat t

erhowwel lyou'
verepairedthedent sanddamaget oacar ,i
t'
svir
tual
ly
i
mpossi bl
et ogetthepanelsperfectl
ystrai
ght.Fil
l
erisusedt osmoothoutther oughspots.They'
re
small,andver yhardtosee.But,onceyougett hepaintont hecar,t
heysti
ckoutl ikeasorethumband
maket hepai ntj
obuneven.Becauseoft hi
s,somepeopl eliketoapplyapr el
iminarycoatofpaintt
o
thecar ,toshowt hem wherethef i
l
lerisneeded.However ,aneasi erwayistouseal ong,st
rai
ght,
steelruler.Posit
iontherul
eragainstthebodyoft hecar,andasyoumovei talongt hepanel
s,youwil
l
seegapsbet weenthecarandther ul
erthatneedtobef il
l
edi n.

•Applyfil
ler–Useaplasticscr
apert
ofil
lint
heanygapsyouf
ound.Onceyou'
refini
shed,l
eti
tsi
tfora
f
ewmi nutest
omakesur eit'
sdryandreadyf
ort
henextst
ep.Then,use80-
gri
tsandpapert
osand
downthebumpsinthefil
ler.

5
PAI
NTI
NG
Nowyourcari
spr
epped,st
ri
pped,f
il
l
ed,andr
eady
.It
'
sti
met
ost
artpai
nti
ng!

•Appl yprimer–Wi t
houtagoodpr imer
,yourpaintjobwilll
ookbadandwi llhavetroublestickingtot he
car.Thisisal
sowhyi t
'
snecessarytostri
ptheoldpaintoffthecarf
i
rst
.Iftheol dpaintjobisn'tperfect,
i
twi l
lcauseprobl
emswhenyouputanewcoatoveri t
.Useyourpaintsprayertoappl ycorrosion-resist
ant
,
self
-etchi
ngpri
mer.Thisprimercr
eatesasmoot h,evenlayerovert
hefil
ler
.Then,l etthepr i
mercur e,and
besur etofol
l
owalldryingti
messpecif
icbyt hebrandlabel
.Somepeopl eliketoapplyt wocoat sof
pri
mer :oneofsel
f-
etchingandoneofepoxy .Epoxyprimerworksasanant i
-corr
osiveagent .However ,
thereismuchdebateamongpr of
essi
onalsoverwhetheryoushoulduseet ching,epoxy ,orbot h,and
howt heyshouldbeappl i
ed.

•Sandagai
n–Use600-gri
twet/
drysandpapertosmoothoutpaintdr
ips.Cl
eanthecaragai
nwi
th
acet
onet
ogetr
idofanyoi
lorot
hercontaminantst
hathavecol
lectedonthecarsur
face.

•Applypaint–Useyourpai
ntsprayerandapplyanice,evencoatofpai
nt.Don'
trush!Goslow,be
methodi
cal
,andcar
efult
odoitri
ght.Thenleti
tcure.Thi
smayt akeanywherefr
om onedayt oaweek,
dependi
ngonthepai
ntyouuse.Besur etokeepthecarcleananddust-
fr
eewhi l
eitdri
es.

•Sandoncemor e–Use1200-gri
twetsandpaperandmakesuret
hecoatofpai
nti
sper
fect
lysmoot
h
al
lover
.Rinseof ft
hesandi
ngresi
dueandl eti
tdr
y.Whendry
,usethebuf
fert
opoli
sht
hecarandgive
i
taglossyfi
nish.

6
CONCLUSI
ON
Thesearejustt
hebasicmat er
ial
sandpr ocedur esthatyou'l
lneedi
nor dert
operfor
m apropercar
pai
nti
ngjob.Paint
ingi
sn'tt
oodi f
fi
cul
t,butdoingi twellandgett
ingi
tri
ghttakespl
entyofpract
ice.
Therearealotofmediocrepaintj
obsoutther e,thatcanmakeagr eatcarlookbad.Whateveryou'r
e
dri
vi
ng,youwantittol
ooki t
sbest.Nomat terthecondi ti
on,youcantakeadull,l
ackl
ust
ercarandr eal
l
y
makeitshi
newi t
hsomet hi
ngassi mpleasagr eatpaintjob.