Non-BMW Stuff on a BMW Forum

[SteelBlue]

Did you wetsand the base coat before laying the clear?

[Jdesign]

Its too large of a surface to get an even "wetcoat" using a small aerosol can. You might be able to polish it out, but it will be much less work to just shoot it with a gun.

[gilber33]

SteelBlue said:

Did you wetsand the base coat before laying the clear?

Everything I read said to not touch the base coat before clear as it will mess it up. That if you were to wetsand the base coat then you need to shoot another coat of base over that. 

Jdesign said:

Its too large of a surface to get an even "wetcoat" using a small aerosol can. You might be able to polish it out, but it will be much less work to just shoot it with a gun. 

I’ll polish and it will look fine for now. I’m looking forward to doing it with a gun. The more I read into it the more I see people with little experience achieving great results. 

Gives me hope. Haha

[jc43089]

gilber33 said:

Everything I read said to not touch the base coat before clear as it will mess it up. That if you were to wetsand the base coat then you need to shoot another coat of base over that. 

I’ll polish and it will look fine for now. I’m looking forward to doing it with a gun. The more I read into it the more I see people with little experience achieving great results. 

Gives me hope. Haha

Correct, sanding the base coat if it has metal flake will mess it up.

Yes it seems that you were not able to maintain the wet edge which allows the clear coat to flow over the surface evenly and smooth out.

Watch some videos on youtube with the guy from Eastwood, I found them very helpful to watch before I painted.  It helped me know what to look for and what to do about it so I wasn't stuck with a problem after the gun was full of paint.

[gilber33]

jc43089 said:

Correct, sanding the base coat if it has metal flake will mess it up.

Yes it seems that you were not able to maintain the wet edge which allows the clear coat to flow over the surface evenly and smooth out.

Watch some videos on youtube with the guy from Eastwood, I found them very helpful to watch before I painted.  It helped me know what to look for and what to do about it so I wasn't stuck with a problem after the gun was full of paint.

I’ll watch some more videos. Part of my problem was the aerosol cans. They just didn’t seem to do well on the flat surface. Once I get an hvlp setup, I’ll do some more practicing and watch some more videos. The bumper turned out great though.

[gilber33]

Anyone familiar with Coleman Powermate brand air compressors? I found one while casually perusing Marketplace that is 7.7scfm at 40psi for $100. Eastwood sells a gun that operates at 4.25scfm at 30psi. 

It sounds like these two would pair together really well. 

I don't need a larger air compressor for a while, but this seems like a good deal that could save me some money in the long run.

[Jdesign]

gilber33 said:

Everything I read said to not touch the base coat before clear as it will mess it up. That if you were to wetsand the base coat then you need to shoot another coat of base over that. 

I’ll polish and it will look fine for now. I’m looking forward to doing it with a gun. The more I read into it the more I see people with little experience achieving great results. 

Gives me hope. Haha

Its super easy, you could buy a cheap harbor freight gun and compressor and get great results.

gilber33 said:

Anyone familiar with Coleman Powermate brand air compressors? I found one while casually perusing Marketplace that is 7.7scfm at 40psi for $100. Eastwood sells a gun that operates at 4.25scfm at 30psi. 

It sounds like these two would pair together really well. 

I don't need a larger air compressor for a while, but this seems like a good deal that could save me some money in the long run. 

That "should be" efficient to get a small job like a trunk done, but it will be running the entire time. If you are looking for a used unit you can get much larger ones for the same price if you have the room.

[gilber33]

Jdesign said:

Its super easy, you could buy a cheap harbor freight gun and compressor and get great results.

That "should be" efficient to get a small job like a trunk done, but it will be running the entire time. If you are looking for a used unit you can get much larger ones for the same price if you have the room.

The only issues is most large compressors that I have seen require 240 - which I do not have. The compressor I found on Marketplace is a 21 gallon compressor which is in the same size arena I'd be buying new - but this one pumps out a lot more air than the new ones I've put on my list.

I'm just not familiar with that brand of compressor.

It's been fun reading about how the compressor and gun work together and what to look for. There's way more to it than I thought, but from what I gathered the HF gun uses 6scfm @ 40psi. The Eastwood gun that's 4.25scfm @ 30psi would use less air and work better with the 20-30gallon tanks that are in my <$300 price range.

Unless I get a compressor with a 60 gallon tank, the compressor is going to be running off and on quite a bit - but if I can get a used compressor to justify spending a little more on a gun that's more efficient, I'm OK with that. Regardless, I'll be spraying the car in sections to minimize the continuous run time of the compressor. Because ANOTHER thing I read is the more it runs, the hotter it gets, the more condensation there is, and the more water you get in your lines (I'll still have in-line water separators).

***Sorry I beat topics to death, but I like talking about it and learning new things and how it all works together. And painting cars is new to me, so it's fun***

[Jdesign]

Painting metallic panels one at a time is not always the best. There are a bunch of variables to take into account that can cause uniformity issues.

For example;

Humidity and temp percentages can vary unless you have a controlled booth. This can cause differences in the curing and the overall density of the paint, thus a lighter or darker tone.

The angle in which your spray pattern occurs naturally. Let's say you spray a fender and a door on the same side of the car at the same time. If you paint the fender hanging from the ceiling upside down but the door right side up, the metallic will "lay" in a different direction causing the two to appear as slightly different colors/tones when the light hits them and they are right next to each other. 

FYI I am not a painter by any means, so take this info with a grain of salt .

[gilber33]

That all makes sense. I’m working with what I got within my parameters - and that includes a sub $300 compressor and making the best of it. I think if I’m careful and take my time and I’m consistent with what I do, my results will be halfway decent.  The car is no clear coat on most of it now, so it won’t take much for it to be better than what it is now.

[jc43089]

As long as you get a compressor that is not "oil free" you should be ok running it pretty hard.  Steer clear of the oil free ones, they are pretty flimsy and not intended for running long duty cycles.  I can show you how to make an extremely effective air dryer for really cheap so although the air in the compressor will be very wet you will have excellent dry air at the gun.  Keep an eye out for a second tank, mine came from an old compressor that had failed, I think it is a 30gal upright with wheels so I can fill it and move it around for topping off tires etc but there are also small ones around 5 or 10 gallon portable ones also that would work well.  I go from the compressor to the dryer, then to a second "dry" tank, then to a regulator to drop the pressure for the HVLP.

[gilber33]

I cannot find any non oil-free ones within what I want to spend. Those seem to be in the more expensive range of compressors.  I’ll keep looking  though.

[jc43089]

You should look into a used one.  I bought mine used for 60$ I think.  

Here are a couple in my area, just watch craigslist.  You can get a lot more for your money.  Then you will have some money left for a filter/regulator setup.  An oil free compressor will not last long under hard usage like painting.

https://wausau.craigslist.org/for/d/stevens-point-air-compressor/6972619791.html

https://wausau.craigslist.org/tls/d/port-edwards-roll-air-compressor/6949521027.html

Why can you not do a 240V unit?  You can buy used ones for cheap and they are so much more powerful.  If you need advice about wiring it I am a master electrician, it's not hard at all.

[gilber33]

jc43089 said:

You should look into a used one.  I bought mine used for 60$ I think.  

Here are a couple in my area, just watch craigslist.  You can get a lot more for your money.  Then you will have some money left for a filter/regulator setup.  An oil free compressor will not last long under hard usage like painting.

https://wausau.craigslist.org/for/d/stevens-point-air-compressor/6972619791.html

https://wausau.craigslist.org/tls/d/port-edwards-roll-air-compressor/6949521027.html

Why can you not do a 240V unit?  You can buy used ones for cheap and they are so much more powerful.  If you need advice about wiring it I am a master electrician, it's not hard at all.

Because my garage is wired for 120v and it’s detached from the house. 

There’s this one locally to me: 

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/tls/d/waukesha-speedaire-air-compressor/6966869481.html

I assume that 4.9 scfm @ 100psi would mean that it’s well above 6 scfm @ 40psi

[jc43089]

Perfect time to bury a feeder for 40-60 amps and have MORE POWAAAAAAAA! 

That looks alright, maybe on the high side of price for a used compressor.  

Check this one out.  My small one is a Puma and it has been working great for many years.  This one is belt drive which means it will be quieter than the direct drive units. 

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/tls/d/germantown-puma-air-compressor/6963043391.html

Here is a listing for a new one 450$.  It says 3.8 @ 40 and 3 @ 90.  It seems like it would pump more than that but with additional storage it would work well.  I think Napa also sells Puma compressors.

https://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/Puma-PK2011VP-Air-Compressor/p11112.html

[gilber33]

jc43089 said:

Perfect time to bury a feeder for 40-60 amps and have MORE POWAAAAAAAA! 

That looks alright, maybe on the high side of price for a used compressor.  

Check this one out.  My small one is a Puma and it has been working great for many years.  This one is belt drive which means it will be quieter than the direct drive units. 

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/tls/d/germantown-puma-air-compressor/6963043391.html

Here is a listing for a new one 450$.  It says 3.8 @ 40 and 3 @ 90.  It seems like it would pump more than that but with additional storage it would work well.  I think Napa also sells Puma compressors.

https://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/Puma-PK2011VP-Air-Compressor/p11112.html

If you want to come over and tell my wife that I’m going to spend a weekend running new wire out to the garage so I can have a more powerful compressor to have more capabilities to paint my car and she’ll need to watch our 3yo and 1yo while 6mos pregnant by herself you’re more than welcome to. Lol.

I have 120 now and I’m going to work within the parameters of what I have. 

And I did see that one in Germantown but when I looked up the specs, I found the scfm is really low. Seems like it should pump out more than that, but I’m not risking it.

[jc43089]

gilber33 said:

If you want to come over and tell my wife that I’m going to spend a weekend running new wire out to the garage so I can have a more powerful compressor to have more capabilities to paint my car and she’ll need to watch our 3yo and 1yo while 6mos pregnant by herself you’re more than welcome to. Lol.

I have 120 now and I’m going to work within the parameters of what I have. 

And I did see that one in Germantown but when I looked up the specs, I found the scfm is really low. Seems like it should pump out more than that, but I’m not risking it. 

I can relate, and buying the wire, breakers, panel etc would be at least 300$ depending on how far you have to go.  That one you linked does look good, when you go get it check if it has water in the tank, that might indicate if the owner usually drained it after use or left it with water inside to rust.  Those older ones like that are built heavy duty, not like the newer throwaway stuff.

[gilber33]

jc43089 said:

I can relate, and buying the wire, breakers, panel etc would be at least 300$ depending on how far you have to go.  That one you linked does look good, when you go get it check if it has water in the tank, that might indicate if the owner usually drained it after use or left it with water inside to rust.  Those older ones like that are built heavy duty, not like the newer throwaway stuff.

It’s about 40 feet to the garage. Plus another 30 feet from the house to the panel. 

My one concern is the compressor only says what the rating is at 100psi. So how do I know it’s going to be sufficient at 40psi? I ASSUME it will be, but is there a way to know?

[jc43089]

gilber33 said:

It’s about 40 feet to the garage. Plus another 30 feet from the house to the panel. 

My one concern is the compressor only says what the rating is at 100psi. So how do I know it’s going to be sufficient at 40psi? I ASSUME it will be, but is there a way to know? 

The ratio is not fixed because it changes based on the compressor dimension bore x stroke will change the compression ratio.  But it is usually somewhat higher so i would think it would be fine, also I saw on craigslist several portable tanks for cheap (usually old oil free air compressors that failed and the compressor is removed)  I got my 30 gallon upright tank for 20$ and it is a nice wheeled one from a craftsman compressor.  I will try to take some pictures of how I plumbed it to be easy to fill and then use the air, just having it between the compressor and my tools eliminates a lot of moisture at the point of use because it has time to cool and condense.

[gilber33]

jc43089 said:

The ratio is not fixed because it changes based on the compressor dimension bore x stroke will change the compression ratio.  But it is usually somewhat higher so i would think it would be fine, also I saw on craigslist several portable tanks for cheap (usually old oil free air compressors that failed and the compressor is removed)  I got my 30 gallon upright tank for 20$ and it is a nice wheeled one from a craftsman compressor.  I will try to take some pictures of how I plumbed it to be easy to fill and then use the air, just having it between the compressor and my tools eliminates a lot of moisture at the point of use because it has time to cool and condense. 

I'm likely picking up that Speedaire compressor and my Dad has a 20 gallon tank sitting in his shop that he doesn't use. I'll build a little rack for the compressor and tank and plumb them together with an inline dryer. At the end of the day I'll have an oil-lubricated compressor with about 40 gallons of air. Should be sufficient to do what I want with it. It will also be nice to get some air tools again.