The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Paint Project Materials... How Much to Buy?

Hi guys,
I'm getting excited as I get closer to this stage of my project.
As I am reading about painting my truck and estimating materials I was just wondering how much to buy.
I don't plan on making this a show truck but I want it to look pretty good and I'll appreciate it more that I did it myself.
So far I am thinking of going epoxy primer with the basecoat/clearcoat method. Does one gallon of primer do it? paint? How about hardener? reducer?
Like I stated, I'm just trying to estimate. I'm slowly gathering tools and matierials as budget allows.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Jerry

Figure 2 sprayable gallons of epoxy to get close to what you'll need for a whole truck.

Thanks for that, CASO.
Summit has the primer at $79.95/gal and also base coat reducer and hardener.
Will it also require a couple of gallons each of base coat and clear coat for the entire truck?

Primer- depends on how much you will sand off and respray and sand again.
Basecoat - about a gollon should do it, normal mix is 1:1 so 1 gallon of paint will equal 2 sprayable gallons.
Clear - a gallon maybe 2. This is mixed 3:1 so every gallon is 1.3 gallons sprayable

Thanks David,
I was hoping some experience could shine a light on this... I figured it was a dumb question though.
The info will certainly help me in the "get ready"... the materials are expensive.
I wouldn't mind practicing on some junk first. Is there such a thing as a paint and body shop selling remnant paint? I was just wondering what they do with it if they have some left overs.

sure they all have mis-matched paint. When I went to get the B/C or the 54 and they gave me the price I fell over... then they said if aren't set on "that" color go look in our dead matches..... Well the silver body and graphite fenders look good and because each gallon was free I think they look great! So yes ask what can they say, no?

Just get all your paint and additives from the same place. The same brand. Many problems pop up when different companies chemicals are mixed. Definitely practice on small pieces if u are new to painting. It is not as easy as the pros make it look!!!!!!

I've read about the potential disaster in mixing brands. I plan on sticking with the same but it's sure worth mentioning! Thanks!
I definitely want to practice. If I can't do a decent practice job on something, I sure don't want to do a botched job on my truck. I'll keep at it till I get it right.
The spray gun I'll be using is a siphon feed style. I bought a new Ampro Paint Gun AR6050. Sears sells them for $97 and I found one on Ebay unused for $29 plus shipping. I think I scored, anyway.
From what I've read, the HVLP guns are the preferred way to go but those types have a higher SCFM requirement than my compressor can provide:
Craftsman 6 HP, 140 volt, 33 GAL, 8.6 scfm at 40 psi & 6.4 scfm at 90 psi, 135 psi max.
I figured the siphons have been used for years and it should do fine.
Again, I've never done this so if I'm going in a wrong direction, please by all means, let me know.
I still have to strip the paint from my disassembled parts yet. I'll want to shoot primer right after.
I'm stoked over the idea of putting everything together again but still have a lot of labor to go!
Jerry

The only thing I would change is to get a HVLP gun you'll use alot less paint over the project and save some money.If you look on the internet they have sites that will give you pointers on how to get started painting. Make sure you practice as much as you can before getting started.It's not as easy as the pros make it look but with some practice You can get good results.One more thing when getting a gun get the primer and the finish nozzle.


Pete

Agree big time with Pete.... HVLP gravity feed is the way to go. Head down to your local Harbor Freight and pick-up one of the 30$ guns to learn with- shoot the primer with this gun.....protect your lungs, kinda hard to get a new set.

I looked at the ones at HF and backed away when I saw the air consumption requirements... 12 SCFM
What am I missing here? This wouldn't over burden my compressor?

I do not claim to be a "expert" painter. But I can relate to what you are trying to do because I almost went the same way. I just finished my 50 truck restoration from the frame up. I was going to use about the same size compressor to paint my project and found that they just are not big enough for the job. I went and purchase a 60 gallon compressor a Husky name brand one. I gave $375 for it and I have painted 2 trucks and a car and it has worked very well. I picked up a Devilbiss Finishline series paint kit that came with a primer gun and a regular paint gun for $123.00 and they also have worked very well. The guns are easy to use and do a great job. As far as paint goes, I picked a urethane single stage kit from TCP Glaobal calleed "Restoration Shop" that came with the wet look hardner and reducer a 1 gallon of paint. I picked up 2 kits to do one truck but really 1 gallon did the job per truck. You mix the paint 1 part hardner 1 part reducer and 4 parts paint so you get a gallon and a half of paint The TCP Global single stage kits run me $120 total including shipping. I also restored both trucks as daily drivers so I could not see spending big bucks on paint. The single stage urethane is durable and looks good. I used Eastwood's epoxy primer, runs about $100 bucks shipping and all. I learned on my own how to paint by running searches on the net, and going by a body shop here in town and watching. The HVLP guns are the way to go and are not hard to use. I tried going the little 110 compresoor way but take it from me you do not want to go that way using a siphon or HVLP gun. So if I add in the sand paper, and thinner and tack cloth and the gallon of "pre clean" and your masking tape and paper, and your paint gun filter. It all ran me about $850 bucks to paint the first truck. But the second truck I painted ran me about $150.00 bucks. Because I had the compressor and paint guns and the gallon of pre clean goes a long way. The car i painted also cost me about $150 bucks. So the $375 I paid for the compressor and $123 I paid for the guns came out to be a good investment. Here is a link to my photo album that has some pics of how the truck project went and after my painting http://rides.webshots.com/album/581886710OMlQTD?vhost=rides I used a old car door to practice on and a old fender. also if you notce in the first picture of the truck before restoration, it has a 3 window cab on it. I swapped this out for a 5 window cab I had that was in a little better shape. I forgot to mention, using the single stage urethane you spray it and go. I also forgot to mention that investing in a sand blaster is a good thing, at least it has been for me. I picked one up at tractor supply for $100. A little presure type blaster. And the thing works wonders in removing rust and paint of the metal.

Tracern1,
This is exactly the type of information I was hoping to glean. Thank you for sharing your journey!
I'm afraid I can't view your pictures from work but look forward to seeing them when I get home!
I almost hate to say this but I would've liked to hear that your experience was with the siphon type method... ha.
You see, a few years ago I bought a very small but new Husky compressor for about $150 bucks. It's good for airing up tires and driving a pneumatic staple gun for home projects is all. I soon discovered it wouldn't work with a borrowed pressure-tank sand blaster! More research revealed that the type of compressor I would need to drive a smaller requirement paint gun is about 5 horse with around 8 SCFM. A little more research told me those things ran around $400! I'm on a stick and dirt budget... my truck project is the only reason for all the tools I've bought so far... and I've bought a lot.
The compressor I mentioned above that I found (on Craigslist) had the minimum requirements but the PO stated it took a long time to build pressure. I got it for $50 bucks and spent another $50 for the rebuild kit. It works and looks great now after painting it (using rattle cans).
This thing is 33 gallons and takes up a lot of space in my garage but I think I got it at a steal so I feel justified about spending the money.
The sprayer I bought should be on my doorstep when I get home from work today. Though I don't have my painting supplies yet, I'm thrilled at the steps taken toward the finish line.
Much appreciated is the input on the single stage paint. I had been looking at the two-stage... mainly because I'm not sure which vehicle will have the honor of residing in the garage! I want the paint to hold up if it's not the truck!
I bought a siphon media blaster from HF and tried it with the small compressor... it did fair. I plan on trying the "new-to-me" compressor this coming 3-day Memorial weekend.
Jerry

Whatever you do Jerry...please keep us posted on your progress. Are you planning on setting up a home made paint booth?

Hi Allan,
I plan on converting my carport into a temporary paint booth.
Believe me, I look forward to the day when I can post some "finished" pictures!
I have that '81 Jeep CJ5 that would love to be my practice dummy!

if the Allan that replied to you is the Allan I think it is, I really like your website Allan.

And no problem on the help Jerry, and you did get the compressor at a real ggod price. I guess you could paint your truck in sections that way you could give your compressor time to catch up and keep up some good preasure.. You could paint your fenders and hood, then paint your doors and cab. Then your back fenders and tail gate then your bed panels. The problem with using a smaller compressor would be keeping a pretty close constant preasure on your gun so you can keep a even pattern of paint going on the metal. As you can see in the pictures I did not set up a paint booth just used my garage as one. I used a shop vac to get up the dust. Then I wet the floor down to keep the dust down. I used enamel paint on a replica car I built about 2 years ago. I used my brother in laws 60 gallon compressor then and his siphon gun. The base coat clear coat enamel I used looked good but it doesn't seem to hold up as good as the single stage urethane paint i used. But that is just my opinon about the 2 stage enamel. And the siphon gun had a lot of over spray. But that could have been due to the gun being about 20 years old. If you decide to go with the single stage urethane. Be sure to get the kit with the wet look hardner in it. I used this on the 50 truck and it saved me some buffing because it dries with a nice shine to it. But if you want that old timey look I would go with the kit that does not have the wet look hardner in it. I used one of the kits without the wet look hardner on the 55 2nd series truck i restored. I used a lemonwood yellow on the 55 2nd because i put it back to original specs and it gave it a real nice old timey paint look to it, not to bright and not to dull.

Tracern1,
Point well taken about doing it in sections... which is what I'll be doing anyway! Thanks for that tid-bit.
Also, Though my truck won't be a show truck, It's special to me. Being my birthyear truck I really want to give it special attention. What's with that anyway?
I want it to look shiney... so maybe the wet-look kit is what I need to research! Thanks for that as well... Like I said, I want it to hold up to the elements but I want it to look good too.
I think a wet look Tartan Turquoise would be fantastic!
Oh and I'm at home now and walked the album. Buddy, you did a fantabulous job with that '50! Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Jerry

Thank you Jerry, it was a fun restoration. I still need to install the spare tire rack. i tell my wife that the truck has the 50 look the 70s muscle and the modern comfoorts. the grand girls love to sit in it and watch DVDs. Seeing how i built the truck as a daily driver i did not want to spend a lot on the radio. I found a radio on on Ebay for $92 that had a little DVD player and went ahead and picked it up just for the heck of it. The speakers I pciked up with the power and heated seats from a guy for $250 that came out of a wrecked acura. One of the speakers fit perfectly in the speaker grill and the other speaker went behind the seats. and yes, the turquoise color you like would look very nice. That is one of the colors I was going to go with on the 55 2nd series. But the wife wanted the lemonwood. But I figure for what the paint kit costs I can always go back in a few years and re paint it that color and not have to spend a lot doing it.. that is one reason why i went with the single stage urethane for the trucks. If they get scratched up and dinged i can always go back and repaint them.

Tracern1,
I like how you "modernized" it but it's cool that it still is a '50 and looks like it, in all it's glory.
I've decided to keep mine as original as possible... except I put an HEI kit in the distributor (I kept the points and condenser for just in case).
If the truck were to be a daily driver, I would definitley put modernized features for both comfort and safety.
Did you have to buff and polish much to get the paint surface evened out?

That sounds excellent, can't wait to see it. I plan on putting mine back to it's original Ocean Green, the factory grease pencil "ocean" is still written under the hood.

Thanks for the compliment tracern1, but if you're thinking of a truck web site it could be Alan Horvath.

Now THAT is awesome!
The turquoise is original as well, with white top cab and front.
I was just wondering if I went with the two stage paint route, if the clearcoat could be sprayed over both colors at the same time... ?
I really have a lot of work to do!
Jerry