I'm not aiming for show or even that good as it's my first time doing it all and it's for the experience, I suppose when I get more money later on (3-5 years?) I'll get it re-done to show quality.
Try do it, and do it once. With more experience you will only get better, i.e. aim high to start with, not low. Are you up to the challenge?
Since it is your first car, accept that learning is going to come at a price, i.e. you'll have to do some bits 3 or 4 times, but that's the way it is.
Retarding thinners (10%) to normal general purpose thinners helps immensely, and reduces sanding time at the other end + improves gloss levels.
Thinners are your friend, not in an un-catholic sniffing like manner. 1.5 to 1.8x your paint, or till it just stops streaming off the stirring stick. If it beads, throw some more base paint in (scientific I know).
Thinners are also great for when you accidently try paint something to see what your fan shape and paint volume is like!!!, that in hindsight, maybe you shouldn't have (blame the fumes).
Personally, I reckon do the whole thing at once (coathangers from shed beams are your friend, or cardboard boxes, paint cans, etc.) The main reason, is that you can make small adjustments and understand how your gun works before you get to the more critical top coats. You quickly understand that very small adjustments make a very big difference in the outcomes.
Your first coat should be transparent, it is a keying coat, so don't over do it, a light dusting suffices first up, opacity will come with the later coats.
The more and more you paint, the better you get, so don't beat yourself up. I found compounding the paint challenging, but got that one covered now. I'd almost just get a single crap panel just to practice your paint thickness/compounding on, cause you ain't going to get that right first up. You don't realise how easy it is till you cut through a corner.
That's about it for now. Sounds boring and sort of what you read in the books doesn't it? Gregory's Print a Guide to Spraypainting Book, that you used to be able to buy from Supercheap. I've still only read the pictures and some select pieces of text.
Just give shit a go, and have fun. You can always rub stuff out. Oh, never go over a spot twice (it is very very tempting to).
Yours still in training.
Finally, you have made the most important decision there is to make, that is "to have a go!" Congratulations, most people don't even make it that far.
Edited by Yella SLuR, 05 January 2011 - 09:22 PM.
