I'd like to say this will be my last painting question, but I don't want to lie. I'm planning the logistics of painting all the pieces not attached to the car (trunk lids, engine lide, headlight covers). It shouldn't be hard except I'm spraying 2-stage metallic which complicates things a little. Some considerations:

1. Metallic should be sprayed with panels oriented the same as they will be on the car to avoid funky discontinuity in how the flakes lay where panels meet (e.g. trunk to fender).

2. PPG DBC base coat has to be clearcoated within 24 hours.

3. PPG Concept clear coat requires minimum 16 hours air dry time.

I can think of a couple ways to tackle this:

1. Lay panels flat and upside down on racks. Spray base and clear on the underside, then give them a day or so to air dry. Then flip them over and and repeat to paint the top sides. That means the whole car will be painted in stages over 2-3 days.

2. Same as above but spray base coat on bottoms. Let dry an hour or two. Flip over and spray base on the tops. Let dry. Then hang them so I can clear coat both sides at once. Complete car sprayed in 1-2 days but more handling parts.

Which would be less likely to bite me in the ass? Or maybe something I haven't thought of.

Our shop has a pro painter and booth. Ive never seen them hang a panel. Only paint it on the car or lay it flat on a stand.

All I know is the pressure on the silver 1st stage (BASE) must be the same as what you used on the rest of the car or you can tell.

This shit is tricky innless the new stuff is more forgiving?


Best,

Bob B

Yep, just to be clear, both options I outlined would have the panels laying flat on stands to spray the color. The second option would only hang the panels after the color has dried and would be for spraying clear only. The exception will be the doors which can be hung in the same orientation they will be on the car. I'm partial to option 1 with no hanging but have never done this before.

@burton73 I hear you Bob. Everything I have read is that metallic is tricky to paint and silver is trickier still. I've watched a lot of Youtube vids on people doing it. That said, I am very happy with how the single stage paint came out on the interior. Supposedly, one of the advantages of PPG DBC paint is that it is easier to match. I'm not sure exactly what that means though.

Other than what I mentioned I know nothing about paint but I'm happy to give you the number of a pro painter who is a friend of mine. The only downside to his advice is he could probably shoot paint outside in a windstorm and make it look good. Skill is skill.

Silver has to be hung in the direction it will be on the car so for example the doors can not lay flat. Putting the painted parts on the car will be a major challange yourself

[quote name='mb911' date='Oct 9 2019, 01:52 PM' post='2753489']
Silver has to be hung in the direction it will be on the car so for example the doors can not lay flat. Putting the painted parts on the car will be a major challange yourself
[/quote

With a couple of buddies you can do it!

Bob B

You can always finish the back sides with carbon fiber vinyl if they do t look right.

Thanks gents. I know I'm lousy at asking questions, but I'll try again. The question isn't about how the panels should lay for painting. I know they need to be the same as they will be on the car. That means trunk lids flat on stands and doors hanging vertically as they would be on the car.

The question is: how would you tackle spraying both sides of the lids given that clear coat MUST go on within 24 hours of the base coat?

For hoods and deck lids painted metallic I shoot the base and clear on one side at same time. I’ll do the bottom sides first then after 24 hrs flip them over and spray the top sides.

I just did the same with my 3 lids and 2 doors. Backside first. Takes forever!

Paint the backs, mount them on the car. Seal the jambs and flanges and paint the entire car as it sits so you don't have the flake lay issues. 3m makes good Soft Edge Foam Masking Tape for just this situation.

Thanks all! That's what I needed to know.

@914forme I thought about your method of mounting them on the car after spraying the backs. I need to spray the seal gutters too though. How do you handle that? When I sprayed the interior, I masked from the inner flanges of the gutters.

I would take a jamb gun and spray out all your detail spaces and get it to the point I could spray the body assembled. If the flake pattered is off under a seal who knows - only the people you tell.

Then your back to the point that you can soft mask all the places. And lay the silver metallic down in a natural flow. Let it cure, and then pull it apart for final assembly.

Your making great progress, can't wait to see it in color.

I only spray single stage on inner and detail places, and spray 2 stage on the exterior panels. It allows for easier repair when something has to be changed, or repaired. I hate having to spray clear all over a car, or trying to match base and clear on inner metal when I do something, which for me will always happen.

I happen to like using a welder if no one noticed. I like it as much as one of my friends like duct tape.

I considered doing this, but running a dry test, I had trouble keeping the same distance away from all surfaces of the rear trunk lid and frunk lid with the gun with those parts mounted.

Others may have longer arms.

Can be an issue, I am 6'2" so it works for me.

Back in the mid 90s I did a car with real gold flake, PPG charged just shy of $1200 per gallon back then. I am just glad it was the exterior color and I could use none metallic black every where else on the car.

Long of the short, got base on the car, owner stopped by hated the gold metallic, and had me reshoot it, with a traditional metallic. Hey he paid for the labor and materials, so why not.

Somewhere there is a pimped out farm trailer running around with real gold in its paint, as that is what I shot next to get rid of the rest of the gallon.

Good food for thought. Thanks! I'll have to mull this over a bit and practice my arm reach. I'm 5'10" and shrinking.

Okay, I'm just about finished blocking my second round of K36 with 220. Just a couple last spots that need addressed which I should finish tomorrow. I think I'm going to go with a full coat of DPLF epoxy wet sanded to 600 over the K36 as my final seal coat. Other than the film thickness and need to sand before applying base coat, is there any functional difference between a wet sanded full coat of DP epoxy vs reduced DP as a sealer? I sure can't think of why there would be any difference.

I think I'm going to follow Stephen's advice and mount the panels on the car before spraying. I should be able to spray the bottoms of the lids, inside doors, jambs, and seal gutters one day, then mount everything up to spray the rest another day. I re-watched a bunch of Youtube vids of spraying silver metallic again last night and I think spraying the panels off the car just introduces one more variable for me to screw up.

Thanks for all the advice

My concern is epoxy primer will gum up as it takes a while to fully cure which you don't have. The attached picture is a car I painted this summer with k36 wet sanded to 400 then epoxy as a sealer and right away base and clear.. Turned out niceClick to view attachment

Good point. I didn't think about that. I'll stick to the original plan of spraying epoxy as sealer over the K36 and just before base coat.

No telling how much time I have. Could be weeks, could be zero. Monday, I sprayed primer. Tuesday, I sprayed K36. Both days sunny and 70. Then on Wednesday, I plowed a foot of snow off the driveway. Today, sunny and upper 50s. I just sprayed a little primer. It's just a dance at this stage trying to get the prep work down to be ready to spray when the weather is good. I should be able to get there, but it is stressful.

That car looks Great!