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Ok guys, finally got around to posting up my progress on my black paint job. This project is a huge learning process with lots of trial and error. I read a lot of forums and threads on how to roll on Brightside paint. Read most of the Honda Tech thread http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1555133&page=183 and learned a lot from there. I'm only on page 186 and there's still 60 or more pages to go.
I'm gonna do a picture and description type step by step. Before you start, you need to make sure you have lots of time and good weather. I had a full week off but two weeks would have been much better. Be prepared to wear yourself out with interminable bouts of wet sanding. You'll be sore and tired if done correctly or to get good results. The more obsessive repulsive you get with this project, the better your paint job will come out. Its hard as hell to get paint into tight nooks and crannies with a roller. I'll eventually do my jambs and engine compartment but at the moment, I'm concentrating on the body.
Here goes nothing, the description will be above the pictures:
Did some minor body work with Bondo, which took a full day and a half so I was way behind with my project at the start. My Bondo skills are not great but I felt I had to try and fix the dings and dents. I sprayed black primer on the mud work to let the paint stick. In addition, the whole car was dry sanded with 320 grit to promote paint adhesion.
After the scuffing and body work, wash the car with water and dish soap to remove wax and contaminants. Dry thoroughly and wipe the whole car down with a clean rag soaked in 100 percent mineral spirits. Learned to use pure mineral spirits and not the odorless crap. It does weird stuff to the paint from what I kept reading. Then go over the whole car with a tack rag.
Now you're ready to paint. I tested out the rolling on my hood first and it came out pretty nice, minimal orange peel.
After it dries, always wait 24 hours or more to wet sand and wash, rinse, dry and wipe down. I wet sanded the first coat with 400 grit sand paper. The first coat on the car's body was atrocious, I put it on too thick. And the second coat on the hood was a total nightmare. I only thinned the paint at approximately 10 percent like the can said and had no idea how to roll properly. It came out like crap and dried uneven and was embarrassing. I had to wet sand it all down with 400 grit to get ready for the third coat.
Here is the uneven drying of the second coat with lots of orange peel.
By the second coat on the body, I got the hang of the rolling technique. Load up the roller and keep pushing out as much paint as possible on the paint tray. Then keep rolling paint on the car and try to get most of the paint on the roller onto the body panels. Use a second clean roller to pop bubbles and keep going over the paint to make it smooth. Use light passes with a little more than the weight of the roller. I also thinned the paint about 20 to 25 percent and it went on so much smoother and easier.
This is the second coat after an 800 grit wet sand and wash, rinse, mineral spirit wipe down and tack cloth, ready for coat number 3.
Coat number went on easily and I got the hang of the rolling. It has minimal orange peel and once it dries, I can wet sand with 1000 grit to prepare for coat number 4. I'm gonna thin it out at only 10 percent. Make sure you're painting no later than noon unless you have a garage to put your car in to dry over night. If you paint too late in the , condensation will set in and make your paint dry super cloudy.
This is coat number 3 as it is sitting in my garage right now. Rain is in the forecast for Wednesday which is my day off so I'll have to wait til Sunday to put on coat number 4. I will wet sand with 1000 grit in the meantime.
So no more painting til next Sunday giving time to roll some paint on the jambs and engine bay where I can reach.
Stay tuned for more.
I'm gonna do a picture and description type step by step. Before you start, you need to make sure you have lots of time and good weather. I had a full week off but two weeks would have been much better. Be prepared to wear yourself out with interminable bouts of wet sanding. You'll be sore and tired if done correctly or to get good results. The more obsessive repulsive you get with this project, the better your paint job will come out. Its hard as hell to get paint into tight nooks and crannies with a roller. I'll eventually do my jambs and engine compartment but at the moment, I'm concentrating on the body.
Here goes nothing, the description will be above the pictures:
Did some minor body work with Bondo, which took a full day and a half so I was way behind with my project at the start. My Bondo skills are not great but I felt I had to try and fix the dings and dents. I sprayed black primer on the mud work to let the paint stick. In addition, the whole car was dry sanded with 320 grit to promote paint adhesion.
After the scuffing and body work, wash the car with water and dish soap to remove wax and contaminants. Dry thoroughly and wipe the whole car down with a clean rag soaked in 100 percent mineral spirits. Learned to use pure mineral spirits and not the odorless crap. It does weird stuff to the paint from what I kept reading. Then go over the whole car with a tack rag.
Now you're ready to paint. I tested out the rolling on my hood first and it came out pretty nice, minimal orange peel.
After it dries, always wait 24 hours or more to wet sand and wash, rinse, dry and wipe down. I wet sanded the first coat with 400 grit sand paper. The first coat on the car's body was atrocious, I put it on too thick. And the second coat on the hood was a total nightmare. I only thinned the paint at approximately 10 percent like the can said and had no idea how to roll properly. It came out like crap and dried uneven and was embarrassing. I had to wet sand it all down with 400 grit to get ready for the third coat.
Here is the uneven drying of the second coat with lots of orange peel.
By the second coat on the body, I got the hang of the rolling technique. Load up the roller and keep pushing out as much paint as possible on the paint tray. Then keep rolling paint on the car and try to get most of the paint on the roller onto the body panels. Use a second clean roller to pop bubbles and keep going over the paint to make it smooth. Use light passes with a little more than the weight of the roller. I also thinned the paint about 20 to 25 percent and it went on so much smoother and easier.
This is the second coat after an 800 grit wet sand and wash, rinse, mineral spirit wipe down and tack cloth, ready for coat number 3.
Coat number went on easily and I got the hang of the rolling. It has minimal orange peel and once it dries, I can wet sand with 1000 grit to prepare for coat number 4. I'm gonna thin it out at only 10 percent. Make sure you're painting no later than noon unless you have a garage to put your car in to dry over night. If you paint too late in the , condensation will set in and make your paint dry super cloudy.
This is coat number 3 as it is sitting in my garage right now. Rain is in the forecast for Wednesday which is my day off so I'll have to wait til Sunday to put on coat number 4. I will wet sand with 1000 grit in the meantime.
So no more painting til next Sunday giving time to roll some paint on the jambs and engine bay where I can reach.
Stay tuned for more.
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