Hi.
I've painted a bunch of fiberglass cars over the years, so I've learned to
screw things up, then fix them.
You only need to strip it if it's badly deteriorated. If it's the original
paint, not checked, cracked or flaking, sand it with 180 on a D/A or a hand
block then prime it with a good urethane surfacer which will fill minor
scratches. If its flat and ready to go, block sand with 600 wet, tack it and
paint it.
If it needs repair, then a different approach is needed. Let me know.
Use a urethane paint, any one you can get locally. I use PPG - Concept or
Omni. A quart will be more than enough, but if you need to re-spray you'll
be glad you have it. You will need a good respirator, and doing it outside
will give you plenty of ventilation!
You could use laquer if you can get it in your area, works ok, won't last as
long, has it's own application problems etc. Forget enamel, takes forever to
dry unless you add a hardener, so might as well use urethane.
If you never painted before, get a piece of sheet metal or an old fender and
spray a few coats on it to get the feel of the gun and how it lays on the
paint.
Forget about building a spray booth, you don't need it. You have about ten
minutes of actual spraying, three coats, should take less than three minutes
for each coat. So spending a day rigging up a booth is overkill in my
opinion. Put it on a couple of saw horses outside and spray the underside.
Let it dry, mask it, flip it and spray the top. If you get orange peel,
bugs, dirt or whatever, sand it with 1000-1500 and buff it. White is easy.
We're coming into a good time of year for painting, it's warming up, but the
bugs aren't out yet. At least in Massachusetts. If you really want to spray
in your garage, just put a fan in each window, keep the door open to get
some flow. Plastic tends to attract dust, (like fiberglass) and will be more
of a problem than it's worth. Wet the floor, surrounding area and don't
paint on a windy day.
Good luck,
John
----- Original Message -----
From: <SDOliner@aol.com>
To: <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Sent: Sunday, March 12, 2006 4:26 PM
Subject: Painting?
> I need to paint a fiberglass hardtop. I see this as an opportunity to
build
> up to painting cars.
> I have a HPLV gun and adequate air supply.
>
> I have an extra single car garage outbuilding, which I will line with
> plastic (floor ceiling and walls, and rig up some ventilation. How big an
exhaust
> fan should I use? What kind of filters should I use at the intake vent?
>
> Now the hardtop.
|