painting/spraying my mini?
Turbo Mini Forums

After stacking my mini before christmas I have just got round to starting on my new shell. The welding is nearly done and one of the next jobs would be to get the car sprayed. I have never really done much spraying before but would it be worth having a pop myself? I no that i would have to buy the kit but atleast i would then have it. could anyone give me some advise???

Prep prep prep prep prep. That's what 99.99% of getting a good paint job is about mate.

From my own experience:

U can get a reasonable finish using spray cans but I wouldn't bother if you have a whole car to do! If you can get hold of the kit - all u need is a compressor and a paint gun (plus the usual thinners etc.) then it's easy enough so long as you have somewhere to do it. Never try outdoors as you'll always get sh1t stuck in the paint.

A shed or garage is good so long as there's little or no dust. It'll help if you can get hold of some big polythene sheets and staple them round the "spray booth" to seal it off as best you can to stop drafts & dust getting in.

After that just remember that patience pays huge dividends. The more layers the better, as lots of thin layer are safer than thicker ones. Start spraying just off the left edge of the panel you're doing, move it smoothly from left to right, then stop spraying. Start spraying again and move it back to the left then stop again. If you keep spraying whilst you change direction you'll end up with a heavy amount of paint at the end of each stroke compared to the middle.

Scotchbright the car, then paint Once the paint's on leave it to dry overnight. Then wet & dry your lovely shiny paintwork until it's dull. It's important that u don't rub the wet'n'dry in circles. Short straight line sand back and ALWAYS keep it wet. You're looking to flatten the surface here, not scratch it.

Once that's dry then apply lacquer just the same way as the paint.


I'd always encourage someone to have a go themselves as you CAN do it with a little practice. Accept that you'll c*ck it up a few times and you'll have to rub it back down but even if u try and then give up & pay someone else to do it - U haven't lost anything really. U can always sell the compressor on ebay for prob what u bought it for (if 2nd hand) but why bother - they're HUUUGELY useful tools to have in the garage.

My vote say's have a crack at it :)

Jim

have a go
use the best gun u can afford , and decent sized compressor , with a pressure reg on it . If you prep well and prctice it is poss to get mirror finishes straight from the gun .

Everyone knows that instructions only have to be read if the thing doesn't work....

looks like i will be having a go then. will start looking for the right tools for the job and go from there.

thanks for the info i now have a starting point

i take it as you have never done this before you will be using a cellulose paint? (as i am going to)
my tip to you is this (i have been doing a bit of research into it)
To avoid your colours blooming (meaning to go milky) make sure that when you are applying your paint that there isnt a sudden change of temperature (for instance if you are doing it indoors and you have warmed uo the garage or something, make sure the wife doesnt bring u in a nice cuppa and opens the garage door in the process so there is a sudden cold breeze. If you are doing the spraying outside make sure that it is on a dry day with as little wind as possible! If you know you will be spraying in high risk conditions make sure you use anti blooming thinners, they are expensive, but less expensive then having to redo the job if you fudge up

NO LONGER A <3 lover of BOLT-ON plastic <3 .... (and DOUBLE proud of it)

beg to differ on the outdoors coment, shine a torch at eye level in a garage andyou weil see lots of dirt, do the same outdoors and you will se nothing.


Provided u pick a warm, mild, non-humid day ul have no trouble spraying outdoors.. IMHO.

i sprayed my mini outdorrs on a humid, freezing day and it turned out ok.. a few hours of polishing would se it in a+ condition... shame im to lazy.

turbo 16v k-series 11.9@118.9 :)

Denis O'Brien.

i have only doen small amounts of spraying before i have never tryed to do a whole car. I only have a single garage and my work bench takes up most of the room. I have enough room to spray the door etc in there but the main car will have to be done outside. will buy a tent of somthing like that so i have some protection from the weather

NO LONGER A <3 lover of BOLT-ON plastic <3 .... (and DOUBLE proud of it)

Its ok in my garage, thou I am suffering from paint fumes as I type! lol

Alex

AlexF

what type of paint are you using Alex

celulose... easy and non-leathal!

Alex

AlexF

Why are you guys not using 2pack to spray with? I haven't done much spraying before, but I did a few jobs last week which turned out good.

Team Racing

Well celly is half the price of 2-pack... it doesn't require a air fed mask.... its not illegal to spray outside... and its not lethal.

Need I go on?

Celly is fine to spray yourself, just take your time and do some practice (the inside of your mini is a good place to experiement!). The time consuming part is the prep, and its also the key to a good finishm sadly most people don't want to put the effort in at the early stages and so are disapointed by the results.

Alex

AlexF

will have to pratice on old doors etc brfore i start on the car. Have done nearly everything myself on my turbo will be good to spray it aswell.

Anyone tried an HVLP set-up? I have previously only used a compressor and the results were ok but I thought about trying the HVLP gear. Any thoughts??