best paint materials to prepare for final project...need sug

Discuss custom painting, artwork and airbrushing



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PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 2:56 am
I need some suggestions. I plan on doing some airbrush work on some engine compartment parts (engine cover and fuse box cover). My plan is to match the car with PPG paint and clear (it’ll be metallic silver – so a sort of difficult background color to deal with vs black).

I am new to airbrushing so need some practice first (I used to do a lot of drawing and brush painting so “art” is not new, just the medium). I’ll do that on illustration board ect. However, I know I need to practice on the real stuff too. Using the final paint I’ll use for the AB and the real base color (matching the car).

So my question is what is the best thing to use to practice on? The car parts will be painted silver the parts being plastic. I'll use adhesion promoter, base, and clear. It's best to scuff the clear and paint over it?

I want to have as little exposure to painting with the 2 part stuff as I can (exploring face masks and respirators as we speak - hard to justfy a forced airsystem for such small aprts that can be done out doors). Come winter I won’t be able to spray the base/clear coat. I don’t have a space to do it (need doors open for safety) as it’ll be too cold. Should I just try and spray some plastic pieces now, clear it and save it for the winter? I have a few computer cases I could use. What other type of stuff is used for practice (that is cost effective)? I plan on making a small indoor spray booth with a bathroom fan for extraction but that’s not enough to spray auto paint in my house safely :). Is there alternative paints or ideas to help me fine tune my scheme and paints that are cheaper and less toxic than my what my final project will use?

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 8:42 am
First thing first. For a respirator I recommend using a Gerson. This is what I use when I'm not using my SATA Air System.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00396YWCO/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=1535523722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000JNS2DK&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0Z31SB04HKXGEA1D8B2Q

For practicing airbrushing you can use pretty much anything. For practicing, get some basecoat that is the same color as you'll be airbrushing and just use your illustration board. Heck I've practiced on thick drawing paper using auto paint. You're practicing to fine tune your technique so it doesn't matter what you work on. Just be careful not to soak the paper down by applying the paint too thickly at one time.

Once you feel good with your technique some old plastic parts, and test on those. Stop by your local bodyshop and see if they have any broken plastic parts pieces you can have. Then test on those.

I suggest using PPG's One Choice System for prepping your plastic. Its what i use and it works great for me. There's a link on this page for viewing the tech info on the system.
https://buyat.ppg.com/refinishProductCatalog/ViewProduct.aspx?ProductID=1d326a6b-0424-4b96-be5d-e56bbc9ec748

Make sure you urethane clearcoat over your basecoat on the plastic parts, before you do any artwork. This way if you make a mistake, you can simply sand it off and redo the artwork. Make sure you prep sand the clear with 800 or scuff with gray scotchbrite before you do the artwork.

Good Luck!
Crazy Horse Custom Paint
And Author of How to Custom Paint Your Car
http://www.crazyhorsepainting.com/



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PostPosted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 6:30 pm
Thanks for the links and information, very helpful.

Just thinking about the practicing on heavy paper/illustration board. Wonder if just getting some rattle can paint (in silver) and clear would suffice? Rattle can would be a lot easier over the winter then setting up the DIY spray booth and getting the HVLP out!

I plan on using the clear that the PPG rep recommends. I have not gone to the distributor up here yet, tomorrow hopefully. There is window between the time I lay the base and need to do the clear, right? Do you recommend 2 or 3 coats of clear?

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