Painting your car, yourself.
Turbo Mini Forums

Is it still possible to paint your car yourself in a normal garage using these waterbased paints? or do the cars need to be baked for so many hours?

also are the gravity fed guns the ones to use?

finaly is this an adiquate (sp??) air compressor for general diy garage use, and the odd bit of spraying> http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...-air-compressor

Can't comment on waterbase, however you can still get cellulose and 2 pack, both of which can be painted DIY.

i thought you had to have special masks, and ventilation for them though? thus meaning i can't do it as i have neither.....

Special masks....
celly, not a bad idea....
2 pack (2K), DEFINITELY.... I use an air fed hood

As for the compressor - I use exactly the same one. For 5 years it has performed flawlessly...... last Friday it packed up

I won't know until later this week why... I think (from the noise) one of the valves has failed, hopefully no serious damage, but other people I know have used that Clarke model with no problems at all, and mine has had a lot of use over the 5 years.....

EDIT - from the original question, apart from the fact my one has temporarily died , yes, about the right capacity for home use. You can't get much larger on single phase 240V anyway, but it kept up with spraying and air fed hood, running about 80% of the time. Other lower capacity air tools, it just laughs at....

Edited by Rod S on 21st Apr, 2009.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Two pack paint produces isocyanate gas when it cures, so when the overspray has settled and the garage seems clear this is when the greatest danger arrises.

Normal masks cannot filter out the gas/fumes given of during curing.

I use a 3M Charcoal activated mask for spaying then bug out for a few hours before opening the garage from the outside and letting it vent before re-entering.

I have a full air fed mask set up but its a little cumbersome in a garage.

Own the day

You do definitely want an air fed mask for 2k, I have one of these.

where do you get these air fed masks from? i see they are still selling 2k, is it the easiest paint to use for a DIY job in your garage?

Also whats the best type of thinner to use.

and finally how much paint for an mini, inside and out?

where do you get these air fed masks from? i see they are still selling 2k, is it the easiest paint to use for a DIY job in your garage?

Also whats the best type of thinner to use.

and finally how much paint for an mini, inside and out?

Edited by Mr Joshua on 21st Apr, 2009.

Own the day

The "mask" I use is this
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...ed-safety-visor
plus this
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...e-set-regulator
Maybe not the best, but good enough for me..

EDIT - I should also add, I have the inlet to the compressor ducted to outside the garage (not much point in breathing in the cyanide if the compressor was just sitting in the garage and sucking the air from there) and a charcoal filter after the compressor before the air gets to me (in case of oil vapour from the compressor).....

Edited by Rod S on 21st Apr, 2009.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

2k does put a good coverage down, however there are also the health risks and mess that go with it.

Another option is cellulose, this is much less toxic and only needs a basic mask, you can get a very nice finish with it but it does take more work than 2k. The DON was painted by myself and Carl in cellulose and looks good IMO, certainly a good enough paintjob to get on the cover of Mini Magazine.

Very true, if you want that deep shine the one you could fall into then cellulose is the winner IMHO but it becomes less flexible the older it gets. We have all seen those cars with the big flakes of paint missing, I guarantee the paint was cellulose ( plus the prep was poor)

2k is far more flexible so will retain the finish longer. Also bare this in mind you will have to leave the car alone for atleast 3 weeks to let the cellulose go completely off trying to flatten it before it has gone off will end in tears.

Own the day

I disagree, we flatted and polished the DON about a day to 2 days after paint. Use plenty water to stop it burning and it looks fine.

Would you be able to get away with a 50 litre air compresor for spraying cellulose with a non air fed mask?

I agree with Tom. on many occasions when circumstances demanded it I have sprayed,flatted and polished on the same day -not ideal, but it works if you are not too heavy handed.

Edited by Mr Joshua on 22nd Apr, 2009.

Own the day

Own the day