{"id":28403,"date":"2016-06-28T15:17:37","date_gmt":"2016-06-28T22:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=28403"},"modified":"2016-11-30T13:45:37","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T21:45:37","slug":"prepping-automotive-parts-for-paint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/prepping-automotive-parts-for-paint\/","title":{"rendered":"Prepping Automotive Parts for Paint"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prepping Automotive Parts for Paint<\/strong>
\nPrepping a new or repaired part for paint can be done several different ways. Each painter handles the tasks of scuffing, masking and cleaning each panel differently. Today we\u2019ll discuss one of the many ways a person can make sure they\u2019re doing this job correctly. The prepping of a panel that\u2019s ready for the paint booth is a critical part of ensuring that all the work that\u2019s been done, and will be done, lasts the lifetime of the vehicle. This article will focus primarily on an easy method for anyone to be able to prep and paint their own new or repaired auto body panel for the paint booth.<\/p>\n

1.) Painting Edges\/Jams<\/strong>
\nEach time a new part is received, it\u2019ll need paint sprayed on its interior edges. These are the areas of your new part that won\u2019t be visible from your vehicle\u2019s exterior. The easiest way to understand this terminology is to open up your car door, hood or deck lid, and notice that there\u2019s paint sprayed on the inside and underside, just like the exterior. If the panel you\u2019re painting has been repaired, you can disregard this step because the factory has already done this for you. A red Scotch-Brite pad creates a scratch coarse enough for your new paint to bond to its new part. Don\u2019t forget to clean the entire panel thoroughly before applying the sealer. There\u2019ll be dust, contaminants, and grease that will need to be removed for your paint to stick.<\/p>\n

Tech Tip<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s easiest to prep your entire panel and seal it all before painting the edges on any new part. Once you\u2019ve returned with your base coat, spray your edges\/jams. Spraying the entire part prevents wasted time removing over spray when prepping that part again for paint. When the entire panel is sealed in the beginning, only a light scuff with a gray Scotch-Brite is needed to scratch that part again before masking starts for the paint booth.
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2.) Sanding-Scuffing<\/strong>
\nSanding any packaged defects and scuffing your new panel is essential to how your paint will look and how long it will last. How coarse the grit of sandpaper or scuff pad you use will determine if the primer\/sealer, base coat, and clear coat will bond correctly. Using too light of a grit of sandpaper\/Scotch-Brite won\u2019t provide a deep enough scratch for your material to stick. This type of paint failure is called delamination, or otherwise known as peeling paint. Using too coarse of a grit of sandpaper\/Scotch-Brite will show through your new paint. These deep sanding blemishes are often referred to as \u201csand scratch swelling\u201d and will only get worse as your paint cures. The proper grit of sandpaper to use on a new part is 400 with a red Scotch-Brite.
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3.) Cleaner<\/strong>
\nCleaning panels for paint is a big step to achieve success and clean paint work. If there\u2019s a contaminant such as dirt, dust, grease or over spray on a new part, that flaw will show up in the final results. Any dirt or dust that finds its way into your paint will need to be sanded and buffed once the clear coat has cured. In an auto body shop, \u201cdenibbing\u201d paintwork is a nightmare for any painter. Simply put, this process takes a lot of time, and time is one thing all auto body painters don\u2019t have. To get the best result, make sure the panel you\u2019re painting is properly cleaned with wax and grease remover.<\/p>\n

Tech Tip<\/strong>
\nWhen cleaning a panel for paint, wipe away dirt, grease and grime in one direction only. Wipe from one end of the panel to the opposite end. Do not \u201cwax on, wax off,\u201d as Mr. Miyagi said to Daniel in the Karate Kid. A quality tack cloth is also needed to remove any remaining dust after the panel\u2019s cleaned and the part has dried. Once again, it\u2019s wise to wipe in one direction only and use a pocket-sized air blower.<\/p>\n

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4.) Primer\/Sealer<\/strong>
\nFinally, it\u2019s time to start painting. The first material sprayed on a new part is primer\/sealer. Primer\/sealer promotes adhesion and provides color hiding, so a painter doesn\u2019t over-apply their base coat. I\u2019ve always been an advocate of using a primer\/sealer as close to the paint color as possible. Other technicians may use only gray. Gray\u2019s a neutral color and works well when applying any color based coat over the top. Whatever works for you and your pocketbook is usually best.<\/p>\n

Tech Tip<\/strong>
\nAlways allow adequate material flash time before and after each coat sprayed. If you\u2019re using a solvent-based paint, trapping unevaporated solvent under a new layer of material will cause die back problems, paint failures, and mismatched color issues.
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5.) Base coat<\/strong>
\nOnce the sealer is ready for a base coat application, the fun begins. The base coat is always reduced in one way or another, be it water-based paints or solvent-based paints. The reducer selection is important because it\u2019s what dries the paint and determines how long that process will take. On a hot day, a painter is most likely to use a slow reducer. Congruently, on a cold day they\u2019re most likely to use a fast reducer. If you happen to be spraying base coat with metallic in it, then you will want to error towards a slower reducer based on the current temperature in the paint booth. Using a reducer that works too quickly for the environment will prevent the metallic flakes in the base coat from flowing out and facing the correct direction. When this error occurs, it\u2019s called modeling and looks like dark clusters or spotting in the base coat. I like to have the booth set at 80 degrees and use a combination of slow and medium when spraying metallic colors, but that varies widely from technician to technician and the space in which they\u2019re painting.<\/p>\n

Tech Tip<\/strong>
\nTurning the booth lights off and using a 3M Light Kit is a great way to make sure you have enough base coat coverage. There\u2019s nothing worse than under applying your base coat and not knowing until you pull the car out of the paint booth. Using a tack cloth between each coat of material helps accomplish a clean paint finish.
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6.) Clear Coat<\/strong>
\nApplying clear coat to base coat is a really fun experience. Having the opportunity to see the color, and the fruits of your labor shine like the sun is a thrill. Red and black are my favorite colors to paint because they pop to life once the clear coat is applied. Most all clear coats have an activator, hardener and reducer. The reducer selection that\u2019s chosen, much like the reducer selection for base coat, is selected based on the environmental conditions. Clear coat is what most painters and shop owners refer to as the \u201cmoney coat.\u201d It\u2019s usually the most expensive material used in any paint job and no painter wants to mess up this coat. It\u2019s vitally important that each panel is tack clothed before this application and it\u2019s very wise to take your time. Spraying clear coat is where good painters get separated from great ones. It takes many hours of practicing this coat to make an auto body painter and it\u2019s best to be applied by a professional when seeking optimal results.<\/p>\n

Tech Tip<\/strong>
\nClear coat is not where a person should try and save themselves a little coin. How much money you spend on clear is often directly related to the results you will get when spraying. Cheap clear is just that, cheap and a pain to use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prepping a new or repaired part for paint can be done several different ways. Chase Clute tells us what we need to know.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":28409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5007,11,9],"tags":[4538,4648,4649,282],"class_list":["post-28403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-body","category-how-tos","category-tech-tips","tag-chase-clute","tag-paint","tag-paint-prep","tag-tech-tip"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/image00-e1467152135727.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-7o7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28403"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28412,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28403\/revisions\/28412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}