New Paint Job for 2009

As some of you remember I got really screwed over by a paint & body shop and got my van back in boxes, less many parts and a little over $2,500 that I had forked over. I painted it in 2006 myself, as it is shown in the gallery. Well I never was happy with that paint job, it looked OK from a distance but just really wasn't a good job.

The weekend before Christmas I started sanding on it, and since I had the friday following Christmas and the entire next week off, I worked on it almost every day since Christmas. Well I painted it two colors instead of 3 this time.....You gotta wait to see the photos to find out what colors...., I painted the first color 3 separate times before I was happy, and painted the second color twice. The first try the job paint ran terribly as I was trying to learn to use my new HVLP gravity feed paint gun. I sanded it off and shot it again only to come out the next morning to find that the humidity had clouded the paint to almost a white color. The third time I cranked the heat in the shop up to almost 80 degrees, and after a little buffing it looks really good. The second color has heavy metallics in it, and the first coat the metallics just didn't flow out as good as they should have, so it ended up on the floor of the shop with the rest of the paint. The second try turned out very nice, has a slight bit of orange peel that can be buffed away, but a few tricks with the final coats made the metallics flow out really well. It's sitting in the garage tonight, with the heat still on, I'll turn it back down to about 65 tomorrow morning on the way out to work. I used acrylic enamels this time instead of clear coats, and have to say I am so much happier with the paint depth, and overall finish than I was before.

The hours I have in the job are unbelievable, and the amount of money I've spent painting this van I'm afraid to add up, but I think I finally have something I can live with. Going to add some vinyl graphics, but going to work through some ideas on the computer at work before I make a final decision as to what.

As soon as I can get it backed out of the garage in the daylight, which may be next saturday, I'll post some photos.


Rob

not only did you learn something you also have the confidence to do it again, good job! some people would get discrouraged and abort the whole project. i paint outside in the summer/fall . ive learned that adding a little more reducer to the metallic paint makes it flow smoother. but im still useing the old devlibiss gun i dont think they make them any more. some day ill try a gravity hvlp gun.

my truck was painted with dupont nason paint because the guy who did it liked working with it better than base clear paints. its an enamel thats dirt cheap to boot but he laid it on thick and flat and it looks very good even after 6 1/2 years on the road. doing it in a downdraft booth really helps too. i was never brave (or stupid ) enough to even think about handling the spray gun so thats why it turned out as good as it is.congrats on the hands on end result that you can say I DID IT.

I did my first paint job this last summer using nason paint...2 stage base and clear. A great learning experience in learning what to do and big no no's. But to be honest I can't wait to do my next paint job. I should finish my first one though. I wet sanded the clear with 1000grit then 2000grit and still have to sand with 3000grit and buff...ALOT of work! If I had to do it all over again I would stick with a single stage paint for sure.

Another thing to think about is block sanding...I used 2 gallons of primer...using a 16" block sander found the slightest of low spots and reprimed those area's until the surface was perfectly flat before applying base coat. That way I could avoid any waves in trying to get that mirror like finish.

Rob,After your frist paint job , can't wait to see your new one. Mo all your work does show on your van. Wish I would of took more time on my 64 Nodoor

cant wait to see the pics, its great you did yourself!!

Tried to post a photo of the new paint, but if it didn't work it is also in my gallery

OMG I Love it, especially the red pinstripe! Very classy touch! Am I reading right that this is the old paint job you did? If mine looked like that, I could stare at it hopefully for many years!

this is the new paint job, the old one had silver, black and blue with a flame design.

Thanks for the good words! Hopefully this will keep me satisfied for a while.

Rob

Hard to tell from the pic, but what kind of mirrors are you using?

those are universal mirrors that I picked up from Advance Auto Parts, they have a slightly textured black finish, and a cover that hides the mounts. They're cheap and look really good on the van, I've had several people ask about them

Hey robw,
That's one really sharp looking Van.......bet it turns heads!! Very classy paint!!

Very nice job robw!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope when it comes time that I can do half that good.

Robw...The silver/black looks good.But your simple,not overbearing red stripe really sets your van off.
mo1040...your finish looks slicker than a babys butt!You have more picks?
Hats off to both you guys!

never would have thought of that color combo, I really like hats off!!!

Looking good. Nice design, very clean lines. Good job!!

Really hope I can get some on mine this year. Got way to many projects. One can only hope. Still up in the air on the design....