Spray paint advice

[djsubtronic]

Hello guys

I lost my front bumper tow eye cap and I've been rocking a beautiful light grey replacement I got on eBay for the last few months. I've decided I'm going to buy some from Halfords and paint the little thing. I'm not too fussed if the colour isn't exact (Panther Black btw) because anything will look infinitely better than that hideous white circle, and it's a tiny piece anyway.

The part I got is apparently primed already, so I'm just wondering what exactly I need to do to spraypaint. Do I bother getting primer and priming it or should I go straight for the paint? How many coats? How much time in between coats? How do I apply the paint? Soft bursts/long sprays, etc? Do I need lacquer? Coats? You get the idea. I have absolutely no idea so any step by step on how best to paint this little plastic piece would be great.

Thank you

[ajzetecs]

hi mate save you money done buy any more primer, do about 3 coats of colour, 1st a very light coat leave about 20mins then do another coat and completely cover part and leave 20 mins or longer then give another good spray then leave a few hours, give a little blast with a heat gun/ hair dryer but not too close just to bake it off. Buy some wet and dry when completely dry give a rub over not for long to flat and imperfection and give a flat finish then wack few coats of lacquer on same process as paint just build it up, you can give light rub of wet and dry after completely dry but you need to buff of with an abrasive polish 

[djsubtronic]

6 minutes ago, ajzetecs said:

hi mate save you money done buy any more primer, do about 3 coats of colour, 1st a very light coat leave about 20mins then do another coat and completely cover part and leave 20 mins or longer then give another good spray then leave a few hours, give a little blast with a heat gun/ hair dryer but not too close just to bake it off. Buy some wet and dry when completely dry give a rub over not for long to flat and imperfection and give a flat finish then wack few coats of lacquer on same process as paint just build it up, you can give light rub of wet and dry after completely dry but you need to buff of with an abrasive polish 

Thanks a lot for that! Just one quick question - what's the proper way to use wet and dry? I've only ever used dry sandpaper for sanding wood but never for sanding paint.

[Russ]

53 minutes ago, djsubtronic said:

Thanks a lot for that! Just one quick question - what's the proper way to use wet and dry? I've only ever used dry sandpaper for sanding wood but never for sanding paint.

Just as it says, wet and dry, basically get a piece of the 'paper' and soak it in water then just use it like sandpaper, gently sanding as you don't want to remove all the paint off. Just wipe the residue off when finished, just remember to use plenty of water on the paper.

[djsubtronic]

51 minutes ago, Russ said:

Just as it says, wet and dry, basically get a piece of the 'paper' and soak it in water then just use it like sandpaper, gently sanding as you don't want to remove all the paint off. Just wipe the residue off when finished, just remember to use plenty of water on the paper.

Ah got it, so first use the it wet and then use a dry portion to wipe off residue. Thanks!

[Ian Lanc]

Add a very small amount of washing up liquid into the warm water, this will aid in the wet & dry paper not sticking and will remove the paint layers far better, also have a empty washing up liquid bottle full of warm water to keep rinsing the part as you rub.

Buy or only use high quality paper like Matador, Halfords paper is crap.

Don't use anything below 1200 grade! If you do you'll scratch the part, making it even harder to get the finish right.

[Russ]

45 minutes ago, djsubtronic said:

Ah got it, so first use the it wet and then use a dry portion to wipe off residue. Thanks!

No, wet and dry means you can use the sandpaper either 'wet', or dry as normal. When I said wipe the residue off I meant with a dry cloth.

[djsubtronic]

16 hours ago, Ian Lanc said:

Add a very small amount of washing up liquid into the warm water, this will aid in the wet & dry paper not sticking and will remove the paint layers far better, also have a empty washing up liquid bottle full of warm water to keep rinsing the part as you rub.

Buy or only use high quality paper like Matador, Halfords paper is crap.

Don't use anything below 1200 grade! If you do you'll scratch the part, making it even harder to get the finish right.

 

16 hours ago, Russ said:

No, wet and dry means you can use the sandpaper either 'wet', or dry as normal. When I said wipe the residue off I meant with a dry cloth.

Thank you guys. Gonna give this a shot today methinks.

[biff55]

just dont rub as hard as you would sanding a skirting board lol

;-D

 

tip - leave the sanding sheet to soak in warm water first to soften it up and use a bit of fairy liquid which aids as a lubricant.

 

just hope the OP sees my post otherwise all those coats of paint will be rubbed of in 10 seconds ......

[Ian Lanc]

8 minutes ago, biff55 said:

just hope the OP sees my post otherwise all those coats of paint will be rubbed of in 10 seconds ......

If he uses 2000 grade paper and has a keen he won't.....lol

[djsubtronic]

27 minutes ago, biff55 said:

just dont rub as hard as you would sanding a skirting board lol

;-D

 

tip - leave the sanding sheet to soak in warm water first to soften it up and use a bit of fairy liquid which aids as a lubricant.

 

just hope the OP sees my post otherwise all those coats of paint will be rubbed of in 10 seconds ......

Thanks. I couldn't find 1200 grit anywhere but I found 3M wetordry that goes up to 600. I'll use it gently after soaking it in warm fairy liquid water.

[Ian Lanc]

DON'T USE ANY PAPER BELOW 1000  Anything below 1000 is used only for removing paint and filler quickly and it WILL scratch.

Buy this sort of paper! Best on the market and Aston Martin use it!! It will last you years, used stuff isn't thrown away but cleaned and re-used again.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261651360568?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[djsubtronic]

24 minutes ago, Ian Lanc said:

DON'T USE ANY PAPER BELOW 1000  Anything below 1000 is used only for removing paint and filler quickly and it WILL scratch.

Buy this sort of paper! Best on the market and Aston Martin use it!! It will last you years, used stuff isn't thrown away but cleaned and re-used again.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261651360568?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Oh damn. I already used the 600 albeit very softly. I looks fine though. I know Screwfix do higher grades so I'll get some tomorrow. 7.20 for sandpaper is a bit too much for a part that cost me like 4 quid lol.

[Ian Lanc]

13 hours ago, djsubtronic said:

7.20 for sandpaper is a bit too much for a part that cost me like 4 quid lol.

Remember that the paper will last you for years and will come in handy at a later date for any such paint jobs, remember its 12 sheets in any grade!

I've know some paint sprayers pay £200 for paper but they do use a hell of a lot...lol

Halfords sell 15 sheets of wet & dry paper for £7 and it's utterly crap and starts to break up after a few hours use.

You'll have to let me know what the paper is like from Screwfix ?

[djsubtronic]

51 minutes ago, Ian Lanc said:

Remember that the paper will last you for years and will come in handy at a later date for any such paint jobs, remember its 12 sheets in any grade!

I've know some paint sprayers pay £200 for paper but they do use a hell of a lot...lol

Halfords sell 15 sheets of wet & dry paper for £7 and it's utterly crap and starts to break up after a few hours use.

You'll have to let me know what the paper is like from Screwfix ?

It's Titan brand. Just got some now and using it. I'm no expert with sandpaper so I don't really know if it's good or not. It feels smooth and it's staying in one piece when soaked. Reviews on Scewfix were good. http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-wet-dry-sanding-paper-230-x-280mm-1200-grit-pack-of-10/98101