I wouldn't say you have to learn from a pro (especially these days when there's a YouTube vid for anything) but it's all about experience. I have dabbled in bodywork off and on for 30 years but I'm honestly still a hack compared to a pro. But in the end, after I cut and buff this thing, I'll have a 9/10ths paint job at a 1/20th price.
The key is all the work leading up to the paint. A paint job is 95% preparation and 5% application.
When you said in your recent post that you were bored of all the sanding, what were you sanding? Bondo? Glazing? Primer?
Also, when I see these guys sanding with high powered disc sanders, I wonder how the surface could possibly be left smooth and uniform. Do the power tools make things easier?
I know that's a wide open question.
Nice work indeed!
BTW, I think the 'ear' on the gas cap is usually positioned to point towards the driver's side...
At least you don't have it pointed straight back - that would be very bad (contacts the raised boot lid).
It's PPG Delfleet Essentials. It's a fleet paint that I was frankly pretty wary of using, but this stuff is awesome. It covers beautifully, lays out flat and is not expensive. The guys at the paint shop said I'd love it and they were right. Great stuff, great price. It's a 3-part Polyurethane enamel (color, hardener, activator/reducer) mixed 6:1:1. https://www.bapspaint.com/docs/psheets/PPG/Commercial/Delfleet_Essential/DFE20.pdfWhat paint system are you using for your top coat?
Yes, I used a pair of box fans at the base of the garage door and used the man door on the side of the garage as the inlet. I covered the door opening with a large furnace filter and cardboard so that any air coming in had to pass through the filter.As for your booth, did you ventilate it?
I painted mostly in the low 60s-low 70s (I know, brutal California winters!). The activator/reducer part of the paint you change based on the ambient temp. The lowest range they sell for Essentials is for 50-60 degrees so you could conceivably paint as low as 50 degrees.What kind of temperatures are you dealing with? It's 5 below here and I cant justify heating my shop to 60 above to get anything done at all.
I got my Moss Motors Triumph TR2, 3 and 4 Parts & Accessories book today and thought WOW, Mink has really made progress! But I then realized it was the photo of a blue TR4A. However, it is from the same state.