Page 3 of 3

Re: Newbie Painting with HVLP Spray Gun

PostPosted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 8:57 pm
by TheFoxRocks
PhilCutz wrote:Im in the same boat as you. I found i can rent a pretty robust gas powered compressor for about $60 a day. Im going to do that instead of fighting with the 2 HP compressor i have now. You should look into it.


I just now saw this and I might have to look into it. It sounds like a lot of work though. Because I am guessing it is probably pretty heavy right? Also there is the pressure of making sure everything is ready to go so you can get it all done in a day or two. If you do two coats of primer, two base coats and at least two clear coats of clear you are talking about a lot of drying time too correct?

Something I forgot to mention is that I have sort of put everything with this project on hold on account of I do not want to be miserable out in the cold.

When are you planning on doing this? I would love to know how it goes and what equipment you used.

Re: Newbie Painting with HVLP Spray Gun

PostPosted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 9:46 pm
by Rebel Racing
TheFoxRocks wrote:Hey guys,

Sorry I have not been back here on the thread. I have had other things to do. I 'attempted' to go to a local junkyard here in hopes of finding a hood to match my Firebird. I also forgot that there is going to be a slim chance of me finding one too, because my Firebird was a little bit more rare of a model called a WS6. It uses what GM was calling "Ram Air" I believe and actually had real scopes on the hood to force air down into the intake. I believe that the other regular Firebirds are missing the scopes on the hood so I would have to find a perfect replacement.

Anyway, I am rambling like always but I wanted to stick to my original plan, which was buying a replacement hood and painting it and seeing what type of results I get. Preferably I would find an exact replacement to go onto my WS6 Firebird. So if I liked the result I could just finish the job and swap out the hood. Also I wanted to take a stencil/decal tracer and put a phoenix or something on the hood as well before spraying on clear coat. I thought that would be a cool touch.

So going back on this post a little bit if I attempt this with my little twenty gallon air compressor what would be my best bet? A LVLP spray gun as others have mentioned? I do not know if I mentioned it to you guys before but the car needs a lot of other things done to it and I do not want to start another project right now of upgrading my electric box and air compressor. That is something I would like to do progressively, especially since my side landscaping business is not making any money right now.

Firstly, I found this video on YouTube where this guy uses a smaller compressor than what I have to paint an entire car. I realize that I am not going to achieve perfect results and YouTube is not the best place to get advice. This guy did not even put clear coat on the car which has to be an enormous mistake for any motor vehicle used on the road. He also showed a couple areas that had some orange peel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W8bVQ45Gy8&t=313s

Second I have also been doing some reading (I think it may have even been off here) but someone was trying to figure out if they should go for the LVLP gun or a HVLP gun and guessing they had a smaller compressor like me. I saw a couple people recommend the HVLP gun and said hope they achieve realistic results. It was close to the time that when I was on here but I looked at some of the guns and tips they were talking about which are now out of stock.

1.)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CPQDCXH/?c ... _lig_dp_it
2.)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CJ17HFT/?c ... _lig_dp_it

They were both in stock last time I checked and much cheaper. One was suppose to be for primer and paint I believe and the other one is strictly for clear coat. I realize the tip is probably what is important here but having two guns would probably simplify cleaning and such.

Since this is already turning into a flood:

1.) Most of you guys are agreeing that I should go with a LVLP with my current setup instead of a HVLP?

2.) What paint do you guys recommend that I could I achieve decent results with? I think I am going to paint the car white again actually so I do not have to paint the inside of the door panels and other stuff as well.

3.) Should I consider other stuff like the air dryer thing you plug into your compressor? I have seen it in several videos and mentioned quite a few times.

I think I am still going to try to get a scrap hood (of any vehicle if necessary) and try my luck on that before I do anything paint related with this car.

Also if you want this cars life story which I think I mentioned a little about before it cannot pass inspection without some work. It has a bad tie rod and think I am going to replace them all before getting it lined up. It needs new tires which I am going to do at the same time and possibly swap wheels to a little larger ones to flare out the rear tires as well. It also needs a couple holes in the muffler patched as well.

Finally the biggest issue is the water pump is leaking and on these fourth generation Firebirds that is a big no no because it leaks right onto the Opti-Spark Distributor which is how most of these cars go to the junkyard from my understanding. The car is still running like a champ so I have been told that it is probably fine and all I need to do is cleanup the Opti, replace the water pump and I should be good to go. Anyway the car is definitely a project that I do not mind working on.

Trying to think about how I could possibly make this any longer.
:happy:
Personally, I would address all the mechanical things on the car and make it drivable before I tackled the paint. Nothing wrong with making a long term goal but I'd get it drivnig first.

Re: Newbie Painting with HVLP Spray Gun

PostPosted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:45 pm
by TheFoxRocks
Rebel Racing wrote:Personally, I would address all the mechanical things on the car and make it drivable before I tackled the paint. Nothing wrong with making a long term goal but I'd get it drivnig first.


This is probably the best advice ever. I guess I am just putting so much work into the car I am not going to be satisfied with it just running. So I know I am getting ahead of myself. The only thing that has me somewhat nervous is the Opti-Spark. I have never done anything like that before, but the rest of the stuff is just normal stuff I will have no problems with.

I just got done replacing the window motors on both sides and man that was definitely a job, but I got it done.

Re: Newbie Painting with HVLP Spray Gun

PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:11 am
by TheFoxRocks
Hey so a couple other things that I have been wondering:

1.) If I decide to paint the car a different color (it is white now), do I need to include the door jams to make it look right? For instance, if I were to paint the car red and leave the door jams and stuff white is that going to look bad? It is one of those things I feel like I am going to be okay with and after I leave them out I am going to hate it.

2.) In the same respect do I need to cover areas that are not tightly sealed while painting? For instance, like the windows and door handles are given but do I need cover gaps between the door hinges and between the hood and fender? If I fail to do this will overspray get in there and make it look bad?

Re: Newbie Painting with HVLP Spray Gun

PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 7:12 am
by Rebel Racing
TheFoxRocks wrote:Hey so a couple other things that I have been wondering:

1.) If I decide to paint the car a different color (it is white now), do I need to include the door jams to make it look right? For instance, if I were to paint the car red and leave the door jams and stuff white is that going to look bad? It is one of those things I feel like I am going to be okay with and after I leave them out I am going to hate it.

2.) In the same respect do I need to cover areas that are not tightly sealed while painting? For instance, like the windows and door handles are given but do I need cover gaps between the door hinges and between the hood and fender? If I fail to do this will overspray get in there and make it look bad?
Well, since it is your car, I'd say do what you want to do. However, door jams that are a different color will make the car look unfinished. And yes, mask any area that you don't want overspray to get onto--it will go places you won't believe. Just my experiences.

Re: Newbie Painting with HVLP Spray Gun

PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:33 am
by AutobodyGreensboro
TheFoxRocks wrote:
PhilCutz wrote:Im in the same boat as you. I found i can rent a pretty robust gas powered compressor for about $60 a day. Im going to do that instead of fighting with the 2 HP compressor i have now. You should look into it.


I just now saw this and I might have to look into it. It sounds like a lot of work though. Because I am guessing it is probably pretty heavy right? Also there is the pressure of making sure everything is ready to go so you can get it all done in a day or two. If you do two coats of primer, two base coats and at least two clear coats of clear you are talking about a lot of drying time too correct?

Something I forgot to mention is that I have sort of put everything with this project on hold on account of I do not want to be miserable out in the cold.

When are you planning on doing this? I would love to know how it goes and what equipment you used.


I'm looking to buy a new base and clear guns, been looking at Stata Jets and DeVilbiss, any recommendations??

Re: Newbie Painting with HVLP Spray Gun

PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:08 pm
by TheFoxRocks
AutobodyGreensboro wrote:
I'm looking to buy a new base and clear guns, been looking at Stata Jets and DeVilbiss, any recommendations??


No offense, but you may want to start your own post from scratch so people can understand what your situation is. If you plan to rent your own compressor like the previous user then you have many HVLP options both from expensive brand names and cheap ones you may want to look at if you are only doing this once.

If you are like me and have a smaller compressor and you want to try your luck on a scrap panel or something similar to what I am planning then you may want to look into LVLP guns. I keep coming back to the SPRAYIT SP-33000 for my setup, it is highly reviewed and fairly cheap.