Okay I for one am tired about people asking about how to paint and then like 30 people come on and bash it and say its not possible because they tried it and failed miserably most of the time because they didn't know what the hell they where doing, bought a $3 spray bomb, did zero prep work and just lathered it on. When you do this it will fail miserably but I am here to share my knowledge on it (I paint cars and what not) to hopefully help some people out. If I am mistaken anywhere or failed to mention something feel free to correct me cause thats what learning is all about .
Preparation
This is one of the most important steps and the more effort you do here the bigger payout you will get later, you could spend alot of money on good paint but if you do a crappy prep. job it won't even matter.
You will want to start by getting some 80grit sandpaper and "roughing up" your surface that you will be painting. Make sure your paper is clean or else it will leave gouges in the surface. Now you will want to always wear plastic gloves to avoid getting oils from your hands on the surface. Then you will want to get some "degreaser" and wipe down the whole surface, do this by wetting one rag and wipeing it on the gun then taking another clean rag and and wiping it all off. Do a test spot in a not noticable part of the marker to make sure it goes on without ruining the gun cause some degreasers are very powerful. Then get yourself a "tak" cloth and wipe it all down with that. A tak cloth is a special microfiber cloth that removes even the most mniscule debris and grease.
That takes care of Prep. All materials can be bought at a local autobody store.
Priming
Now that you have a perfectly preped surface you will want to prime it. This is a step often missed or not done correctly that can solve so many of those "paint will just peel off" problems.
You will want to use a good quality EPOXY solvent based primer. If you have access to a actual spray gun use it and get a 2-part epoxy. This stuff will bond like no other if applied properly to a properly preped surface. Make sure you get good quality epoxy stuff though, if you get a bad primer (cough cough water based cough cough) it will hold moisture, usually after epoxy solvent based primer cures there is no moisture at all in it. With bad quality stuff and water based stuff it will hold moisture and make it stick terrible and rust through and just not good things. It is worth a little more but belive me you do not want to skimp out here.
To apply paint/ primer properly you need the right conditions. This is another major point where alot of people go wrong and complain about dripping and how it did not adhere properly. Ideal painting conditions it 70 degrees F. Too cold and it will run, too warm and it will not cure properly. Also apply the primer in light coats waiting about 10min between coats. If you put on thick coats it won't cure properly. Also when you paint in one direction (e.g. side to side) never change your pattern!!! This could result in uneven coats and a bad finish.
Make 2 coats and allow to dry completedly. Lightly sand with 180 grit paper, degrease it, tak cloth, then another coat. Then lightly sand with about 350-400, degrease it, tak cloth, and then you are ready to paint!!
Again all supplies can be bought at Autobody Store.
Painting
This is the step that we have all been waiting for!! There is a few ways to go about this, there is the whole Krylon way which I may make in a different thread later, then there is the high quality way which I will explain now.
You will wan to start by making sure that your PRIMED surface has been properly degreased and tak clothed. Then go and get yourself some paint. I would personaly make sure it is solvent based and to buy high quality stuff, other than that the sky is the limit, metalics, candies, pearls, the choice is yours. Then after you get your paint you will want to apply a few coats following the same rules above except just apply a couple of coats waiting about 10mins between each. Apply more if desired or if instructions say so. But do it all in one Period, dont give it a coat one day, then another the next night because then the other coat won't be able to stick well, dust would have settled on it and it just won't be good.
After paint is applied If you want some more protection you can apply a clearcoat, apply in same sitting as painting. Just treat it like another coat applying before paint is completey dry. A couple of coats waiting 10mins between each.
Then in theory...... ITS PAINTED!!!
Colour Sanding
Okay This step isn't really necessary but you can do it if you wish. Colour Sanding just pretty much gives you an outstanding finish. I am not to experienced in this but I will try my best in explaining it.
You will need some very fine grit (like 1500-2500) sandpaper. What you will be trying to do is gently scruff the clearcoat. This releases some gas bubbles or something in the clear coat that will make it shine. make sure you do it in nice even passes with clean sandpaper or else you will gouge up your perfect paintjob.
All supplies can be bought at a local autobody store, If any further questions post or PM or just bug a local autobody man.
good write up. their are a few things i would like to add though. another good primer that is a little easier to work with is self etching primer. it is not epoxy biased but it is specifically designed to stick to surfaces like aluminum. one thing you were saying about the paint is you have to do base coat clear coat. but that is not necessarily true. if you use a urethane based paint you should not use a clear on top it should be fine and glossy without it. one last thing to be aware of is the combinations of paints your using. example you would not want a acrylic enamel base coat and then put a urethane clear on because they will not stick as well. what i suggest doing is going to an auto body place and buying all of your supplies at one time and checking with the expert there to be sure all the paints works well together. anyway thats just my 2 cents
Those grits will work,but personally would do it a bit different. I would start with 80 then 180 the metal, then epoxy prime, then urethane prime, then sand the primer with 400 then 600. I wouldn't prime, sand and reprime with the urethane as it's not necessary.
As far as color sanding goes if you sand your clear coat with 2000 grit it will not make the clear shine, it will make it dull rather. What you have to do after you sand with 1500, or 2000 is buff it with buffing compounds to remove the fine scratches and bring the shine back. I would not recomend color sanding and buffing a paintball gun, it would be difficult to remove the scratches from the 2000 grit on a gun body without burning through the clear coat.
But do it all in one Period, dont give it a coat one day, then another the next night because then the other coat won't be able to stick well, dust would have settled on it and it just won't be good.
This really depends on the paint, too. If you are using something like Duracoat, then this is not really true. If you are using any sort of female/male stencils - for example, an ACU pattern - where you have to layer different shades of paint and apply templates (cut painters tap), you will have to wait for it to dry. Duracoat adheres extremely well to itself already. The key is dust control.
I hang the part off of a wire in the garage, from the ceiling. I have the wire wrapped around a dowel, about five inches about the piece that I can take a box with the bottom cut off and a slot in the top and slide over it to prevent dust. This takes care of most dust since it usually settles down and not rises up.
Those grits will work,but personally would do it a bit different. I would start with 80 then 180 the metal, then epoxy prime, then urethane prime, then sand the primer with 400 then 600. I wouldn't prime, sand and reprime with the urethane as it's not necessary.
As far as color sanding goes if you sand your clear coat with 2000 grit it will not make the clear shine, it will make it dull rather. What you have to do after you sand with 1500, or 2000 is buff it with buffing compounds to remove the fine scratches and bring the shine back. I would not recomend color sanding and buffing a paintball gun, it would be difficult to remove the scratches from the 2000 grit on a gun body without burning through the clear coat.
I dont like to do 180 on the metal because i like it rough so the primer gets a real good bond to it, if its too smooth it won't bond as well.
180 is more than enough grit for an epoxy primer. Finishing in 180 just allows you to use less primer to fill in the deep scratches of 80 and can eliminate the step of prime, sand, reprime. But either way works.
Painting Thread to End All Painting Threads
, now i can paint a happy little tree on my gun
