Spray your own car ? am I dreaming ?
Discussion
the front of the Chim is radidly approaching the appearance of having been attacked by a 12 bore. Having watched intently when the ChipsAway guy did a few repairs I came to the conclusion ( probably wrongly ) that it didn't look that difficult. As the worst spot is right down under the number plate where only small mammals will really get a good look at it how feasible is it to spray the car front myself ? I have a compressor and am willing to buy a spray gun etc. and practice a few times first . Has anyone tried this and not made a pig's ear of it . Sorry for long post !
Have been spraying cars at home since I was 16. It takes a lot of practice. And there are a lot of problems. First you need a compressor with both the power and the capactiy to spary a large area. Then you need the paint. There are 2 types of paint. Cellulose and 2 pack Arcylic. You also need the finishing equipment. I don't have too much time to poast but if you give me a mail I can give you more details.
Steve_T said:
Talk to incorrigible - he's done this sort of thing and a lot more.
although I've never seen one of these chips away guys at work, do they do loads of really small areas or what ? Whenever I paint something I tend to do the whole panel, people much better can get away with less
How much does a chips away front end cost ?
I've been spraying cars on a purely hobby basis for some years. I use cellulose, have a 14cfm compressor and three sprayguns and I would say have a go but start on something cheap! 
Most of the time you can make up for lack of technique with lots of patients. I tend always to spray complete panels. To my mind the 'black art' of paint spraying is making sure the surface is well prepared and at the right temperature for the paint. The rest is trial and error with the sprayer.
Any mistakes can be removed but remember that a few seconds with the gun can take a few days to re-prepare!
Good luck and have fun.
Most of the time you can make up for lack of technique with lots of patients. I tend always to spray complete panels. To my mind the 'black art' of paint spraying is making sure the surface is well prepared and at the right temperature for the paint. The rest is trial and error with the sprayer.
Any mistakes can be removed but remember that a few seconds with the gun can take a few days to re-prepare!
Good luck and have fun.
Spraying a car is a little like plastering. You're either good at it or not. There's no middle ground.
By all means, find out for yourself which side of the fence you're on, but like others have said, you need the right kit, materials and the right environment before you even think about it.
Whatever you decide, I hope the car looks a dream afterwards!
By all means, find out for yourself which side of the fence you're on, but like others have said, you need the right kit, materials and the right environment before you even think about it.
Whatever you decide, I hope the car looks a dream afterwards!
I find that spraying is like welding. Some days I can't weld worth a damn, other times it looks like a robot welder did it. Some days I can spray paint that would shame Rolls-Royce (well, perhaps 
), other days I could apply Hammerite with a catapult and get a better finish.
None of which prevents me from owning two MIG welders and a 100L 14cfm compressor...
Ian
), other days I could apply Hammerite with a catapult and get a better finish. None of which prevents me from owning two MIG welders and a 100L 14cfm compressor...
Ian
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