painting with cans

[andrew.searston]

hi everyone
do you get the same thickness of paint spraying with cans as you do with a paint gun
if not, how many coats from a spray can to equivalant 1 coat from a spray gun??
i think this makes sense

[bmcecosse]

First off - pre-heat the cans in a bucket of hot water, and just spray thin coats in warm sunny weather with little wind. Don't be in too much of a hurry - let each coat dry for a few minutes before lightly adding another layer. It is perfectly possible to make an excellent finish using cans - just be patient - don't rush the job.

[andrew.searston]

ok good advice
how many coats of primer and paint sould i use to get a hard finish

[bmcecosse]

As many as possible! And be sure to use primer as near the final colour as possible. Many thin coats is the way forward - and just do one panel at a time.

[chickenjohn]

You will need quite a few spray cans to get enough film build to enable wet sanding and polishing to get a really good finish.

I used two cans of ESM cellulose just on the front wing of my traveller (pictured). You will also need a couple of spray cans of high build cellulose primer to enable enough priming to get the prep really flat before the top coat.

Since then, though, I have bought compressor and spray gun, although sometimes it is easier to use spray cans.

[bmcecosse]

Some suppliers sell larger spray cans (eg Tom Roy/Bull Motif) - which tend to be better value.

[chickenjohn]

I've found the ESM supplied cans have the much better nozzle which allows a spray fan more like from a spray gun. Some suppliers may appear cheaper, but I'd rather get as good a finish as I can out of the gun (or can for that matter).

Your local auto paint factor will be able to make up the colour you need in cellulose and put it in a spray can for you, and if they are as good as my local supplier (C.A.R.S. in St Peters) the spray can will have the better nozzle on it as well!

[andrew.searston]

ill be only painting a rear wing
id hate to think how many cans it would take to paint a whole car
anybody on hear sprayed a whole car with paint cans?

[bmcecosse]

The Tom Roy can I bought last year is fine - and the Bull Motif cans I had before were good too. Heating the can in water raises the pressure nicely -and nozzles can be swapped about between cans too........

[chickenjohn]

The nozzles don't always fit between different cans.

BMC- the best spray cans of Minor colour I've used were from ESM or my local paint factor. Bull Motif ones are ok for painting wheels.

Andrew- two cans of primer and two of top coat will do a rear wing nicely.

enjoy, and pick a nice warm day (20-25C) for spraying the top coat.

good luck
cheers
John

[dp]

ill be only painting a rear wing
id hate to think how many cans it would take to paint a whole car
anybody on hear sprayed a whole car with paint cans?

In the 90s I negotiated with the Halfords manager to get 40 cans of a Volvo blue (used on Volvo 340s) that was extremely close to Trafalgar blue. Unfortunately the environment I painted wasn't ideal so the paint reacted some time later. But for the reaction, 40 cans covered the car quite well once the various repairs had all been blended with one colour of primer.