[Troutman]

Yesterday I ended up getting more than I bargained for when I started to do some colour coding on my Laser using a spray can that soon ran out of paint. It turns out that both it and the Falcon are exactly the same colour (Stark White) and between the 2 I could end up using a few litres of paint, so I knew that spray cans were no longer going to do the job.

Kmart's current 20% off Auto sale inspired me to pick up this Arlec beast, normally $129, for little over $100. It's an air compressor capable of 120 psi, with a respectable 2 horsepower rating. I also picked up a spray gun to match for a bit over $30. Only a few other items are needed - a tin of stark white, thinners for cleaning the gun, hoses, and in time I'll pick up a tyre inflation connection so I'll be able to check tyre pressures from home. The possibilities are endless.

As some of you may be aware, my EA currently has no rear bumper. The old one turned out to be an ill-repaired POS which was so cheaply installed that even a $5 clip had been substituted with a load bearing screw. Previously the plan was to spend $250 on a new bumper, then probably $100 on professional painting, etc, and learn nothing in the process. Now I'm hunting for a cheap EA GL bumper...

I never realised how cheap and easy this stuff is, and would recommend this purchase to everyone!

 

[Starscream]

I may be able to might to muck around with motors and gearboxes and weld like a beaver building dams but I seem to be born dyslexic when it comes to any sort of painting. I envy you of sorts that compressor also is a bargain.

 

[smut]

dude thats awesome! I would love to be able to colour code my own stuff

 

[kiwishau]

Yep Brilliant. Have had one for years. Paid more though and am spewing at the prices these days.

 

[Kenaz]

Wow! That's awesome. Can't wait to see some of your efforts on the bumper etc. When you really build your skills up you can paint my door handles :s6: hehe...

Ash

 

[Walkinshaw]

thats my next puchace and some air tools.

 

[XRated]

How much is the paint, if you don't mind me asking.

I have got to get my arse into gear and set aside a date to colour-code the bumpers on my ED. Luckily two of my brothers own air compressors of the best quality... Just gotta get me a paint gun, paint and thinners.

Can I also ask how you prepared your bumpers? Sanding? Priming? Anything? How many layers will you do? Do you need clear coat?! Sorry for all the qs!

Good stuff, Jack :thup:

 

[mongrelEB]

Yep got me one of them, bigger though :s6:
Going to cost me $300 to respray the Falcon - just a few coats of nice blue paint and some clear - but bumpers should be a lot less. A litre of factory colour paint will set you back about $90 (well I dunno about Eastern States pricing, but that's what I pay) and should do both bumpers. Thinner, ummm $40? And sandpaper will be like $20-$50 depending on how much you use hehe.

Xrated - What sort of finish do you want? Unless you want a hell shiny bumper, I wouldn't bother doing more than clean the bumper with thinners. Primer you don't really need but should probably do
1 litre of paint should make close to 3 litres when thinned down, this should do like 3 or 4 coats on each bumper + mirrors + handles......
Clear coat if you want, good protector IMO

Alex

 

[EFFalcon]

i'll be spraying a bumper rather soon too
hopefully i can manage it with Heritage Green being apparenlty a bitch to do a proper cover.
should turn out to be a handy skill in the future
i was lucky enough that my dad has all the stuff needed (compressor, spray gun etc etc) so less costs for me

 

[NZ]

Whats the flow rate of your compressor jack? What do spray guns need to run?

 

[FoxMulder]

Primers are always a good idea, unless your willing to respray every few months. Realistically you only need an etch primer, to make the paint stick to the bumper. If you find the surface to be too rough, then you can always use a primer filler, and give it a light rub down.

You probably already know that, but it doesn't hurt to hear it again.

 

[XRated]

Xrated - What sort of finish do you want? Unless you want a hell shiny bumper, I wouldn't bother doing more than clean the bumper with thinners. Primer you don't really need but should probably do
1 litre of paint should make close to 3 litres when thinned down, this should do like 3 or 4 coats on each bumper + mirrors + handles......
Clear coat if you want, good protector IMO

Alex

Cheers Alex, much appreciated. In regards to the finish, I just want everything matching!

Dammit, now all I gotta do now is wait and get paid again! LOL!

Primers are always a good idea, unless your willing to respray every few months. Realistically you only need an etch primer, to make the paint stick to the bumper. If you find the surface to be too rough, then you can always use a primer filler, and give it a light rub down.

You probably already know that, but it doesn't hurt to hear it again.

Thanks for the info. Not all of us know all this stuff, so don't be afraid of posting any relevant info. That's why these forums are so great :thup:

 

[Troutman]

Cheers all - I am slowly working towards my goal of being able to do a decent respray of the cars. I wasn't going to bother with primer for what I'm working on now, but will add it to the list!

Ash, I'd be more than happy to help with your handles. However, that's one area where one really needs to get it right, because they're always being 'handled'. I'll see how I go with the Laser...

Karl, I don't know the specs except what I already mentioned - 120 psi etc. Maybe someone else would know more. It should be ample for this purpose though.

Will let you know how it goes!

 

[not ford]

That compressor would be lucky to do more than an actual 8cfm, for the price you could daisy chain them and still be under $400. My 15cfm unit cost me $750 but its full cast iron with a large tank and a 3hp motor. The alloy units are no good for continuous operation, this means definitely no die grinder or D/A sander (mine runs nearly all the time).

I really do recomend a decent compressor if you are wanting air tools. I got my comp, SMC reg, 30m hose, fittings, die grinder, impact wrench, air ratchet, air drill, degreser, and inflator for $1020. Air tools halves my time when working on the car.

Also with raw plastic it should be clean enough to eat off then wax and grease removed, tacked and then plastic primed. Failure to do ANY priming will cost you in adhesion, take it down to car lovers and it will blast off first time. At panel shops they actually use a comercial gerni to strip the old paint off plastic.

 

[Timmeh]

Good for you Jack! Hope you get good use out of it!

Gotta hate those dodgy E-series bumper repairs, one thing I don't miss is the constant battle of making the rear bumper align to the body. Hope you find a good one!

Cheers......... Tim

 

[EFFalcon]

some handy tips there, i'll be making sure the bumper is well prepped before i spray mine

 

[kiwishau]

Mine is a 2HP unit and pushes out 0.11m3/min. I think the tank is 30L though maybe 40L.
Have no problems spraying a car with it. The main thing is to ensure that the paint mix is right and you spray evenly. Too close and heavy and you get runs too light and far away and it doesn't flow together. Get used to releasing the trigger at the end of your swing and retriggering as you come back and keep your distance from the vehicle even. I am no expert but have sprayed a few cars and the main thing I have found is the better the preparation the better the finish.

 

[not ford]

Its not hard to align them, the alignment is basically controlled by only two brackets.

On my father's fairlane I just bashed them untill the bar bolted up straight and then liquid nailed the bar to the bumper because the clips were mostly snapped off. Used 2 tyres and rolled the car against another to hold the alignment while drying. The bumper is actually no more ridgid than before. Although if an accident occurs the whole entire centre section will be junk.

Also for any bumper repairs I use Dominion bumper plastic repair. This is an 1:1 very flexible bog which goes on very smooth, mixes easy and rarely needs spot puttying.

 

[mongrelEB]

Mine is a 15CFM 3 HP compressor. Does painting just fine, a little bigger than needed really. It's a bit small for running a rattle gun though, fortunately it gets pleny of time to recharge between uses Cost $500