metallic paint really harder to spray?

[jperry1290]

looking to paint my eb myself. i ve shot gloss black auto paint before with good results, i would really like to shoot a metallic color and i am looking at copper, light green, or maybe blue. I ve heard that metallic can be harder for inexperienced guys and will tiger stripe. not looking for a show winner, just half way respectable

 

[Pa PITT]

I sold Dupont for 30 years. Yes some metallics might be slightly harder to spray But I wouldn't let it stop me from using one.
... Now that I've said that let me explain one step farther.. Silver will dapple or steak on you. But Just a mettallic Blue you should be fine with. Although when you buy some Exocite House of color and don't have the proper paint gun to spray it. Then yes it may streak on you..
... I'm going to say go for it Just ask these guys plenty of your questions.
..It's been 15 years since I've got to play in the paint so I'm really behind in the modern colors.

 

[plumbdoctor]

Change direction w/ each coat.... i.e. left to right, then up/down and you'll be fine

 

[turbotim2]

Be careful of runs too, the metal flake will concentrate in the run and you won't be able to sand it out.

 

[allenfahey]

What type of paint? Enamel, acrylic enamel, urethane? Even as a beginner you shouldn't have any problems spraying even a silver. Urethane will be the most forgiving and actually the best type of paint to use, also called a base coat/ clear coat. Make sure to mix it properly and use the correct reducer in the base to lesson the chances of mottling (tigger stripes). To spray any urethane though you need proper gun setup and technique. First thing you need is a good gun that will give you a consistent spray pattern. Some will say get a gun from Home Depot but I guarantee you a good gun will give you better atomization and lay the paint down better. (still need to do that spray gun test%). A Devilbis GTI is middle of the road gun but still decent and not priced as high as a SATA at $5-600. You also need the proper air fitting... an HVLP fitting for the air compessor end, both hose ends, and the gun. Then you need to setup the gun. I like a 1.3 tip for everything from sealer to clear. I paint rather close to the panel and fast so my spray pattern is wide and fluid flow is wide open too. On a flat surface you MUST bend your wrist so the spray pattern is even and the tip of the gun is parallel to the panel. I would go by a bodyshop and ask them if you can have an old hood out of the metal bin that you can practice on. A large flat surface is where you are going to have most of your mottling problems so a hood is the best panel to practice with the base. The clear is what you want to practice on vertical panels because of runs. It isn't hard to get base to run but is more unlikely. If you do then it's very easy to fix. You want to apply a medium wet coat and have about an 80% overlap. Let it flash off then apply another one, let flash and apply a drop coat or orient coat which is a light coat to orient the metallics. It just takes practice but you will be fine. PM me and I'll give you my number if you have any problems.

Sherwin Williams paint sucks but they have a great trouble shooting guide.... http://www.sherwin-automotive.com/~/media/Sherwin-Williams-Files/Files/Reference/Trouble%20Shooting%20Guide/tsg.ashx

 

[John Marinan]

Paintucation videos by Kevin Tetz. He has a website forum where he answers your questions quickly.

 

[bad 68]

With a metallic urethane you will be spraying your color on first and thats all you have to worry about, just laying down the color nice. Then you will spray your clear coat and all you have to worry about is getting a wet coat without dry spots and without runs, not laying an even color pattern. Actually much easier to spray than a solid color single stage. Also clear is much cheaper than color so it can cost less to spray 2 stage paints if you don't waist a lot of color.

 

[pcf_mark]

Like others have said you can do it.

1) Read the directions and understand them 125%. This will save you many headaches and make you a better painter. If you know the product (and its additives, hardners etc) you avoid dumb stuff and can understand when something goes upside down
2) As another noted buy the correct gun. Maybe you can borrow one but good luck with that. I bought a super high end one on e-bay (Sata Jet) because body shops go out of business too. There are cheap guns but the results are cheap too.
3) Part of the directions is going to be your spray pattern and over lap. This will also dictate flash time. Stick to it!
4) Finish with a drop coat but experiment with this on some masking paper to get the gun adjusted right
5) Clear will run so take your time and watch the falsh time and do not rush!

One other tool I bought was a Wal Mart clock with a thermometer and humidy built in. Give me everything you need to watch.

Exepriment it will be worth it! Then we all argue over color sanding techniques!