Restoration of a 1987 Bertone

I use an HPLV with 1.3 nozzle with pressure of around 20psi for 1K top coat and around 28psi for 2K clear coat.
Less than that and the gun cannot "explode" the paint enough.
Correct CFM is also critical.
 
Huey said:
Gun settings are a trial-and-error thing for me. They say for an HVLP, the pressure should only be like 5 PSI but I find that to be way too low and can't get the paint to flow so I actually cranked it up to about 18. Use the primer coats to get the gun settings right.

Good airflow in the garage is important. Since I don't have a proper paint booth, I use lots of plastic and a box fan with the garage door open a few inches to attempt a negative air pressure. It will never be perfect and you'll never be able to keep out all the dust but you just do the best you can.

As for coverage, 3/4 cup will do about half the car with two medium coats. To get full coverage on the car, I had to refill the cup twice.

Again, use the primer coats to get your gun and your technique dialed in. Primer can always be sanded back down to erase your mistakes.
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Thanks again for all the tips.

So, you have the fan extracting air, correct, or no?

Another question - for the X1/9, how much clear coat do you mix at a time, and how long do you have to use it before it goes 'off'? Also about 1.5 cups (meaning the paint gun reservoir, I'm assuming) to do the clear? I'm going to have to use measuring cups - the videos mostly say to eyeball it - which I'm sure works when you have experience & can gauge viscosity, etc.

I just know that mixing bondo, for example, I rarely get the proportions right. I can eyeball many things accurately, but volume doesn't seem to be one of those :D
 
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lookforjoe said:
Thanks again for all the tips.

So, you have the fan extracting air, correct, or no?

Another question - for the X1/9, how much clear coat do you mix at a time, and how long do you have to use it before it goes 'off'? Also about 1.5 cups to do the clear? I'm going to have to use measuring cups - the videos mostly say to eyeball it - which I'm sure works when you have experience & can gauge viscosity, etc.

I just know that mixing bondo, for example, I rarely get the proportions right. I can eyeball many things accurately, but volume doesn't seem to be one of those :D
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Drow lines of proportion on plastic cups where You are going to mix color, I use water bottles for that. When mixing bondo in bigger ammounts, I split on half(50%), again 25%, again 12.5, again 6.. 3% was needed IIRC
 
Yes, by "cup" I mean the paint gun cup, not a measuring cup. I went to the dollar store and bought some cheap plastic measuring cups. The base coat requires 2:1 mixing (2 parts paint, 1 part reducer) and the clear coat is 4:1. So I just "scoop" out 4 measuring cups of paint and then 1 measuring cup of hardener and stir them in a plastic container.

When you buy your paint, they will most likely sell plastic mixing cups. I bought a bunch of those to use for stirring paint and also for cleaning the parts of the paint gun. Also make sure you buy the paper funnel strainers for pouring from the mixing cup into the spray gun cup. These will strain out any large particles that may have gotten into the paint.

For clear coat, I like to spray it on heavy so I use much more clear coat than base coat. I bought a gallon and will probably use most of it (at least half.) The clear coat requires hardener so once it's mixed, it has to be used or discarded. It will not last, even in an air-tight container (I tried that and now I have a nice, perfectly clear hockey puck.) How long it lasts after it's mixed (the "pot life") depends on the brand. I think mine says 20 minutes but I can't recall. Since it is expensive, I only mix smaller portions rather than mixing a whole bunch that might go to waste.

Base coat, on the other hand, usually does not take hardener, only a reducer. So excess can be put in an airtight container and saved for later.
 
Did a stupid thing and burned through the clearcoat while buffing the passenger door. Wet sanded it back down and re-sprayed the black but the paint bubbled up in a spot. Sanded it back down, PRIMERED it, and re-sprayed the black. Paint still bubbling in the same spot!!

I give up!!!! Anybody want to buy this car as it sits right now??? Cheap.
 
I’ll buy that for a dollar!

Sorry about the paint woes. I sometimes find walking away for a week and not going in the garage helps
 
Huey said:
Did a stupid thing and burned through the clearcoat while buffing the passenger door. Wet sanded it back down and re-sprayed the black but the paint bubbled up in a spot. Sanded it back down, PRIMERED it, and re-sprayed the black. Paint still bubbling in the same spot!!

I give up!!!! Anybody want to buy this car as it sits right now??? Cheap.
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Bugger. Does that mean you have to take it back to bare metal in that area & start from scratch? What do you use to buff the clear anyway?
 
I find these'll take the clear coat orange peel down nicely...

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Sorry Huey, I know I'm not helping.:D
 
Ugh. I think I got it now. Had to take that panel down to bare metal and start all over again. This paint job is not going to be perfect but I am so ready to just get it done.
 
Clear coat wet sanded, buffed, and polished. Driver's side looks awesome!! Passenger side has many blemishes from when I had to paint the stupid door 100 times and then strip it down to metal and start over. I'll just have to back into the driveway so I only see the driver's side.

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Looks great from here!

Couple more questions - can you provide details on the wheel pads & compounds you use for cutting & polishing the clear? How long does it need to harden beforehand? I hadn't even thought about that end of the job. :(
 
lookforjoe said:
Looks great from here!

Couple more questions - can you provide details on the wheel pads & compounds you use for cutting & polishing the clear? How long does it need to harden beforehand? I hadn't even thought about that end of the job. :(
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I have a Makita 7 inch polisher and a variety of pads. Lesson learned, though, I should invest in a smaller diameter backer and pads because 7 inches is too much for such a small car with tons of little crevices (that's how I ended up burning through the clear coat in the first place.) I wet sand starting with 1000 grit until I see no orange peel and everything is flat. Then I do 1200 and finally 1500. Then start with a courser grit compound and work my way up to a fine polish. I try to avoid edges (some people put tape over the sharp edges to avoid sanding/buffing those areas.)

It's time consuming but when you don't have a professional paint booth to control dust and overspray, it's the only way you can get a showroom shine. Especially with black where every single microscopic mistake will be seen a block away!!
 
I'd like to get more done on the car but it's so hot and humid out there that if I left a cup of powder cocoa in the garage, it would magically turn into a cup of hot chocolate in 15 minutes.
 
Huey said:
I'd like to get more done on the car but it's so hot and humid out there that if I left a cup of powder cocoa in the garage, it would magically turn into a cup of hot chocolate in 15 minutes.
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Same here. I've been working on the X1/9 in swimming trunks (shorts), and changing my shirt pretty much every hour :D
Actually worse today, replacing windows in my Mum's house. More of that tomorrow.
 
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lookforjoe said:
Same here. I've been working on the X1/9 in swimming trunks, and changing my shirt pretty much every hour :D
Actually worse today, replacing windows in my Mum's house. More of that tomorrow.
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Meanwhile, I'm here in sunny California freezing my butt off in 50 degree weather with the wind howling through the stable that my X is in. Our summer usually starts mid to late August but I'd like to have my car on the road before then.
 
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