Fenchurch paintwork

Post by **alex_holden** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 8:54 pm

Still haven't quite finished the endless spraypainting on Fenchurch...

Tomorrow I need to find somewhere that still sells cellulose and can get it to me this week, because I think I'm probably going to run out.

Post by **chickenjohn** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 9:29 am

alex_holden wrote:Still haven't quite finished the endless spraypainting on Fenchurch...

-snip-.

How much cellulose paint did you buy just out of interest?

some from East kent branch are going but not me.

Post by **alex_holden** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 9:53 am

chickenjohn wrote:
alex_holden wrote:Still haven't quite finished the endless spraypainting on Fenchurch...
How much cellulose paint did you buy just out of interest?

You'll laugh when I tell you. I seem to have used far more than people said I would, and I'm not sure why. I did put six coats on the body shell (probably one too many in hindsight), but even that doesn't explain why I've used so much. I used five litres of high build primer and probably could have used another litre if I hadn't run out, and at the rate I'm going I'll end up using probably slightly more than six litres of topcoat. That's before thinning it down 50:50. I'm also getting quite a bit of orange peel in the final finish... Not sure if that's because of my technique or the cheap gun.

I've just managed to order some more for delivery tomorrow from the same paint factors I got the first lot from: Auto Paint St. Helens.

Post by **chickenjohn** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 9:59 am

are you painting the inside of the car as well and the engine bay, floor pans and underside?

Post by **alex_holden** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 10:10 am

Not with the Cellulose.

I'm not putting loads of coats on or spraying it so thick that it runs; the stuff just doesn't seem to go very far.

Post by **Orkney** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 10:29 am

Shant be going this year, but next year is a definite - was to soon to plan for this year having not had the car for very long.

Think its always the way with any sort of paint, never seems to do the coverage it says on the tin.
Sods law too that when you think you dont have enough and buy extra the bit you never thought was going to be enough always seems to get the job done.
Probably wouldnt have if you hadnt bought more

Post by **chickenjohn** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 10:32 am

Thats surprising, I've found that just 1/2 a litre, six coats will do 2 or 3 panels. So I reckon that 3 litres should be enough for the whole of the outside of a traveller. 6 litres would be 12 coats.

Maybe you have not got the gun set up right? pressure too high, excessive orange peel and high paint consumption suggests too much paint is being sprayed on at once.

On the bright side, though, 6L of paint on the outside of the car, there should be plenty of paint depth to allow for wet sanding the orange peel to a smooth finish.

Post by **alex_holden** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 10:47 am

Interesting. It's quite possible the gun is set up wrong as I just experimented with the settings until it appeared to be going on OK. I thought that as long as the paint didn't run or slump then it wasn't too thick... Next time I spray some panels I'll try turning the pressure regulator down and see what happens. ISTR I turned it up in the first place because the (rather thick) zinc primer I was spraying at the time was going on dry.

Post by **chickenjohn** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 11:03 am

I would change the pressure and gun settings from whats suitable for the thicker zinc primer to the thinner celly. Its possible that the volume of air dried the thinners enough to prevent runs.

maybe we should continue this on Bodywork section and get Jonothans expert opinion!

Post by **alex_holden** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 11:29 am

Can a moderator please transfer these paint-related posts to a new thread over in bodywork?

Post by **jonathon** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 12:00 pm

I think the problem of the orange peel could be either the settings on the gun or the gun itself. I presume the zinc was sprayed with the same gun.
You should really have a primer gun, 'big nozzle' and a re finishing gun 'fine nozzle', the 50/50 mix could cause problems with so many previous layers if they were sprayed on wet on wet.I'd allow a week for drying before working the surface.
I'd spray 3 coats let them dry over 2 days in a warm environment, wet flat with 600, then apply 2-3 more with the last being 50/50 this will give a glass like finish with the correct gun set up properly.
Having said this if the paint is dry, and only when you cannot dig your nail(finger) into the paint, can you wet flat with 1500 upwards to achieve the finish required.
6-9 L is about right for a respray, especially if its in individual sections/parts. Think my traveller had 12 altogether but that was inside/out underneath and clear over base.

Post by **alex_holden** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 1:51 pm

Unfortunately I only have the one gun and I don't think it's a particularly expensive one. If I'm measuring the right part, its nozzle diameter is about 1.55mm.

I'll have a play with the gun settings and let you know. Any tips on how to tell when it's set up optimally, or is this a "I know it when I see it" kind of thing?

Post by **Judge** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 5:21 pm

Orkney wrote:...........having not had the car for very long.

Have you managed to meet many of the other Orcadian Minor owners yet, there seems to be quite a few

Post by **alex_holden** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:29 pm

I found that reducing the pressure helped a bit - the paint came out slower so I could take more care over where I put it, a litre went a bit further than it did before, there was less overspray, and the final finish hasn't got as much orange peel as I was getting before. It's still not perfectly smooth out of the gun, and I'm not getting as much coverage as Chickenjohn, but it'll do considering impending deadlines mean I need to get her back on the road ASAP. I've now sprayed all the panels except the bonnet, which I can't do until I get hold of some more paint of the correct colour.

Post by **chickenjohn** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:49 pm

Thats better then! Sounds like you have more control and less wastage of paint. I think I set the compressor to about 30psi for spraying celly and play with the gun settings till I get an oval of the right size, never measured it though.

I believe it takes practise and experience to get perfectly smooth out of the gun, not quite managed it yet myself!

Sounds like you could now re-assemble the car and get him back on the road, then do the bonnet at your leisure.