Surviving the Elements: Auto Body Paint and Other Blogs

4 Top Tips When Spray Painting Your Car

by Mae Fisher

Do you want to spray paint your car so that you save the money that you would have spent hiring a professional? Read on and discover some of the top tips that will enable you to produce professional-looking results during your DIY project.

Remove the Parts

It is best to remove the parts that you would like to spray paint so that you avoid having to deal with overspray. Removing those parts will enable you to concentrate on the painting task instead of having part of your mental energy devoted to worrying about the risk of overspray. Alternatively, you should tape off the sections that you don't want to spray paint.

Use Light Coats

Do you think it would be wise to apply one thick coat instead of several light ones? That option may appear tempting because it can enable you to complete the job faster. However, applying one thick coat can create an opportunity for several blemishes to appear in the finished product. For instance, the paint may run and form large droplets on some parts of the car. The thick coat can also take long to dry. This prolonged drying time can allow contaminants to embed themselves in that paint. It is therefore better to use light coats so that you avoid the risks discussed.

Be Patient

Paint manufacturers usually stipulate how long one should wait before applying another coat of paint onto a spray painted surface. Resist the urge to apply additional coats of paint before the recommended drying time for the previous coat that you applied. This patience will give you better results because the subsequent coats will adhere better onto the previous coats.

Know When to Correct Mistakes

Mistakes, such as paint runs, may occur if you have limited experience in spray painting vehicles. Don't wait until you have completed spraying the car before you get back to the mistake made. Just finish applying that current coat that you were working on before fixing the error. Why is this important? Halting the application of a coat can cause a discontinuity in the adhesion of that paint. That discontinuity can form a weak point from which the paint can flake. You should therefore sand off the part affected by the error once you have completed applying that coat. It is also wise to wait until the coat has dried before you sand off that affected part.

The key to an effective spray paint job is meticulous surface preparation. This is the area where many hobbyists cut corners because they find it hard to devote ample time to this task. Are you such a person? Just hire a professional so that you can avoid making a mistake that will make your car an eyesore after you have spray painted it.

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