painting fiberglass???
Discussion
Brush painting will be a nightmare if you want a decent surface finish - use spray filler if there are minor surface inperfections remaining.
Other than that, it depends mainly on your facilities. Obviously you don't want to touch two-pack isocyanates for heath and saftery reasons unless you have the equipment, training and sprary booth to deal with them. I've always used good, old fashioned cellulose, with no problems.
Other than that, it depends mainly on your facilities. Obviously you don't want to touch two-pack isocyanates for heath and saftery reasons unless you have the equipment, training and sprary booth to deal with them. I've always used good, old fashioned cellulose, with no problems.
Normally to get paint to stick to glass fibre, you need to prime the surface with an etch or plastic primer. This is an acid based, rather than solvent or water based primer. The acid eats into the surface of the gel coat or plastic and forms a base for the top coat to stick to, stopping it from chipping off, like you see on plastic bumpers that people have painted without using the correct primer!
For a top quality job then proper etch primer is undoubtedly best.
However, I have sprayed GRP using just normal primer and cellulose top coat on a well keyed surface and had decent results.
It is even possible to spray the topcoat straight onto the gel coat, as per my Quantum (which is a factory applied paintjob!) though not really recommended. Again, well keyed surface required.
However, I have sprayed GRP using just normal primer and cellulose top coat on a well keyed surface and had decent results.
It is even possible to spray the topcoat straight onto the gel coat, as per my Quantum (which is a factory applied paintjob!) though not really recommended. Again, well keyed surface required.
Spray filler is available from any decent paint factor. I get mine from Autopaint International (national chain with shops all over AFAIK), 'cos they're cheap for stuf like primer, thinners and consumables. Only use them for topcoat is you are doing a full respray though - I haven't had good results from them when trying to get a colour match on an existing car.
Spray filler is top stuff and absolutely essential if you don't want to spend the rest of your life filling and rubbing, filling and rubbing, filling and rubbing....
You need a reasonably powerful compressor to spray it, though.
Like Graham, I've had perfectly good results spraying onto properly flatted off gelcoat, without using etch primer.
Spray filler is top stuff and absolutely essential if you don't want to spend the rest of your life filling and rubbing, filling and rubbing, filling and rubbing....
You need a reasonably powerful compressor to spray it, though.
Like Graham, I've had perfectly good results spraying onto properly flatted off gelcoat, without using etch primer.
As an aside, if you have limited equipment, facilities or experience, choice of colour can make a big difference.
Bright colours (like chrome yellow) hide flaws and imperfections very well. Dark colours (particularly black) show up every ripple in the fibreglass and every scratch or sag in the paintwork.
Bright colours (like chrome yellow) hide flaws and imperfections very well. Dark colours (particularly black) show up every ripple in the fibreglass and every scratch or sag in the paintwork.
deathbyfish said:
so what do you paint on top of the spray filler?
Before normal filler and top coat.
Spray the whole surface with a fine coat of black. Then rub it down again. If there are traces of black then you have pits or depressions that need further filling. Fill or spray filler those areas and do the black again. When all the black is gone you have a good surface.
Steve
Martin_S said:
As an aside, if you have limited equipment, facilities or experience, choice of colour can make a big difference.
Bright colours (like chrome yellow) hide flaws and imperfections very well. Dark colours (particularly black) show up every ripple in the fibreglass and every scratch or sag in the paintwork.
seriously???
i thought it would have been the other way round, i was going to do it black for this very reason (to hide inperfections) and my nova was black and it looked ok.
to start with i was going to do it yellow but then i thought that it would show up imperfections, might have to go back to my original idea then?
deathbyfish said:
seriously???
i thought it would have been the other way round, i was going to do it black for this very reason (to hide inperfections) and my nova was black and it looked ok.
to start with i was going to do it yellow but then i thought that it would show up imperfections, might have to go back to my original idea then?
No, seriously...black on fibreglass has to be a real top quality job, or you will see every tiny flaw
Hi Deathbyfish.
I don't want to be insulting but from your posts it would seem that you have rather limited knowledge of paint spraying and i would suggest that you do as much as you can by yourself on the preparation side and then take your car along to a spray shop and ask them to evaluate the work you have done so far. And if needs be then take the car away again and sort out any bits that they might suggest needs more attention. Then take the car back to them and let them up the paint on. If they are able to spray 2 pack paint then all the better as the finnish is much more durable than cellulose requiring less future polishing.
Remember that the paintwork is the very first thing that people see when they look at a car so it needs to be as good as you can afford to get it.
The lighter the colour the more of the colour you see, the darker the colour the more reflection you see, and the reflection is what shows up the undulations in the surface.
Good luck.
>> Edited by Dave Brookes on Sunday 27th February 18:40
I don't want to be insulting but from your posts it would seem that you have rather limited knowledge of paint spraying and i would suggest that you do as much as you can by yourself on the preparation side and then take your car along to a spray shop and ask them to evaluate the work you have done so far. And if needs be then take the car away again and sort out any bits that they might suggest needs more attention. Then take the car back to them and let them up the paint on. If they are able to spray 2 pack paint then all the better as the finnish is much more durable than cellulose requiring less future polishing.
Remember that the paintwork is the very first thing that people see when they look at a car so it needs to be as good as you can afford to get it.
The lighter the colour the more of the colour you see, the darker the colour the more reflection you see, and the reflection is what shows up the undulations in the surface.
Good luck.
>> Edited by Dave Brookes on Sunday 27th February 18:40
all i wanted to do was get some paint on the fiberglass and filler so i could sand it down and see the imperfections.
although when the time comes to paint it, i might see if i could do the primer and base coats and just leave the garage to do the gloss? dont know if they'll do this i was hoping to cut the price down a bit!
As Martin says, everyone has to start somewhere, and so long as you stick to a solid colour (i.e. not metallic/pearl/mica) cellulose you can get a good finish on a poor spray job with a lot of rubbing down.
You don't even need fancy expensive equipment. I resprayed a large part of my Fester runabout (which has a mica finish) outside with a cheap electric spray gun.
Not a top quality job, but after rubbing down and T-cutting it's pretty good and certainly better than the rust and bubbles job it had when I got it.
I'd say read up on it and have a go.
You don't even need fancy expensive equipment. I resprayed a large part of my Fester runabout (which has a mica finish) outside with a cheap electric spray gun.
Not a top quality job, but after rubbing down and T-cutting it's pretty good and certainly better than the rust and bubbles job it had when I got it.
I'd say read up on it and have a go.
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