paint spraying advice needed

[weseeyou]

I need to spray my two new front wings two front wheel arches and sills on my LWB Transit campervan which are all in black primer. Not a huge area but its going to consume a huge number of rattle cans which is going to be expensive.

Eventually I'd like to spray the complete bottom half of my campervan to hide all the patch repairs I have done (and some I still need to do like the bottom edge of the rear doors etc) .

I suppose I really should consider buying a spray gun and paint :roll:

I have a suitable compressor which I can borrow so the spray gun and hose shouldn't cost too much.

What sort of primer and top coat paint should I be looking at buying ? Does it have to be a water based paint now ? any advice would be very welcome.
Oh... the van is a 95 LWB Hi Top campervan which is supposed to be Diamond White but it looks like it has already been completely resprayed at some point in its life

 

[the snooper]

as you don't seem to familiar with paint systems stay well away from water based, use solvent based. 2k is the best option but you would need an air fed mask as for diamond white there seems to be an endless amount of shades most of which are probably down to the people that mix the paint, cellulose is an easy paint to work with and can be polished one painted stay away from synthetic so your easiest option is cellulose primer and top coat

 

[Daz1968]

Before deciding which paint to use you really need to find out what's already on there, I would buy a cheap cellulose spray can or sample pot from a supplier and ensure it doesn't react if it does you may need to use bar coat or a different paint system. The non ISO 2k is another option.

 

[richie00boy]

Non iso 2k will react just as bad because it needs thinning almost as much as cellulose. It would be worth finding out what is on there though, dip a clean rag in some thinners and see if the white comes off. If not it's 2k and should be stable to paint over.

When you say black primer do you mean the black coating that new panels come with? If so then use a red scotch pad to key it up and spray a couple of coats of epoxy primer on. Next day carefully flat back with P400 wet then on with white cellulose.

Be aware that as well as buying a spray gun you will need decent bore hose (3/8), water trap, filter, regulator and gauge at the gun. Avoid HVLP guns unless you have a huge compressor as they need loads of air.

 

[weseeyou]

as you don't seem to familiar with paint systems stay well away from water based, use solvent based. 2k is the best option but you would need an air fed mask as for diamond white there seems to be an endless amount of shades most of which are probably down to the people that mix the paint, cellulose is an easy paint to work with and can be polished one painted stay away from synthetic so your easiest option is cellulose primer and top coat

thanks snoop that a damn helpful post . I had some damage repairs done on my car last year with water paint and I was impressed with the finish and colour match but hadn't realised its a pig to use. presumably they baked it too to harden it.

You're right about Diamond white grrrr in 3 years I've never found a match.

I suspect my best bet is to get some cellulose mixed up by a paint factors and spray the bottom half of the van up to a swauge line so it won't show . I have sprayed a car once with cellulose.

Thanks again for taking the trouble to explain that to me

 

[weseeyou]

Non iso 2k will react just as bad because it needs thinning almost as much as cellulose. It would be worth finding out what is on there though, dip a clean rag in some thinners and see if the white comes off. If not it's 2k and should be stable to paint over.

When you say black primer do you mean the black coating that new panels come with? If so then use a red scotch pad to key it up and spray a couple of coats of epoxy primer on. Next day carefully flat back with P400 wet then on with white cellulose.

Be aware that as well as buying a spray gun you will need decent bore hose (3/8), water trap, filter, regulator and gauge at the gun. Avoid HVLP guns unless you have a huge compressor as they need loads of air.

thanks richie that is excellent advice , very comprehensive. I've sprayed various panels with rattle can paint without any reaction so like you say its probably a 2k (whatever that is ) is it 2 pack acrylic paint ?

I have a hose and 600ml gravity spray gun which is great for small stuff and door shuts etc but there are plenty of good deals on guns on ebay at the moment incl low pressure and with several needles,jets etc . I'll make a short list and run the stuff past you guys before buying.

Thanks for all your helpful advice . Its just overcoming the initial anxiety ...the what ifs etc which get worse as you get older lol

Its stupid really as I've done it all before without the sky falling in on my head