i encourage folks to do their own painting when it's practical. while it does take a fair amount of practice, this is one area where people can, in time, do a pretty reasonable job. these are, after all, old trucks that were painted solid colors, and with enamel paint.
to practice, get old sheetmetal parts from a junkyard or behind a body shop. since they are practice pieces they need not be perfect. what martin tells us (and is right on the money) is we are looking for the same thickness of paint at the taillights as at the headlights, with as little variation as possible. remember constant movement when painting, and that the gun be moving before, and after depressing the trigger.
constant, even movement, and always hold the gun at a given distance. it should NEVER be thicker in the middle of a pass, and lighter at the ends. this takes alittle practice.
one thing i do is to never stop in the same place, either above or below the previous pass. when shooting a finish coat i try to walk the entire distance, front to back, of the vehicle. it's alittle difficult to keep the gun moving at the same speed and distance from the work, but again, with practice, it can for the most part be done. for the roof area i make alittle scaffold i can erect just high enough to allow me to paint from front to back without stopping, and allows for even paint thickness in the middle of the roof. this little trick i learned from painting big trucks and shooting some rather nasty stuff called imron.
a good idea is for you to paint EVERYTHING, even from a rattle can, like you were painting the most expensive car in the world. even smooth coats with equal coverage, and a nice gloss without runs when complete.
good topic martin, and i bet it will help alot of folks.
