Body work?


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Old 06-10-10, 05:40 AM
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Body work?

Is there a forum for body work, or should I use this one?

Steve
 
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Old 06-10-10, 06:06 AM
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This one should be fine
What are you needing to do?
 
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Old 06-10-10, 06:35 AM
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1994 Nissan 4x4 PU. I'm just trying to learn how to remove small patches of rust around old dings/scratches, prepare scratches for paint, etc. It has clear coat. Doesn't need to be perfect but I'd like it to hide the scratches and have it take a shine.

Also, how do I match my paint color with a canned spray paint? It's white.
 
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Old 06-10-10, 09:02 AM
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Rust is best sanded or cut out. Once the rust is gone you'll probably need a thin coat of bondo to make that area flush, sand and prime until you get it right.

Assuming your truck has never been repainted, you can look up the paint color for your make, model and year. You can also get this info off of most serial numbers...... but I'm not sure what numbers are what
 
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Old 06-10-10, 04:11 PM
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With spray paint, I would just feather the spray out over the existing finish on the edges?
 
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Old 06-10-10, 06:04 PM
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Body work is not as easy as it looks. To do good work you need, a good eye, alot of time, and alot of patience. I'm afraid you will not be happy with the results if you use a spray can, especially if you want it to shine.
 
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Old 06-11-10, 04:26 AM
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It's best to spray an entire section, if you try to feather out the spray you'll end of with flat spots that may or may not buff out Spraying an entire section doesn't mean a whole side, fender, etc. You can stop the paint at a style line and have it look reasonably good - providing the color is a good match and the old paint isn't faded. You would tape off a style line by rolling up the edge of the tape so there isn't a ridge of paint at the tape line.

I agree it can be difficult to get a nice looking job using an aerosol can although I did see a nice looking hot rod [2 seater, kit body] that the owner claimed to have painted with spray cans. I think he said it took 20+ cans The paint in a spray can is thinner than what you would spray out of a gun, that coupled with the small spray fan makes it difficult to get a decent looking job.
 
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Old 06-11-10, 05:24 AM
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Did a quick lookup of Nissan colors that year and looks like there are two, Vail White code 531 and Cloud White code QM1. One of those two codes should be on a sticker on the driver's side door jamb. The code is usually preceded by the abbreviation "CLR/TRM" or similar.
 
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Old 06-26-10, 05:37 AM
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Thanks for the lookup, it's Vail.

Thanks also for the notes on spraying. But to clarify, I'm not looking for perfection, just acceptable. I'm just a DIY looking to make a great truck last longer. I have a few scratches here and there where either primer or bare metal is showing. I want to remove any rust, paint the spots to hide the blemish and prevent further rust, and be done with it.

Main questions are (since I know nothing about this):

1) What are my paint options? I've done this in the past by removing rust with either rust remover or a Dremel with wire brush, then painting with the tiny bottles of touchup paint dealers sell, but it was a pain because that stuff is thick and gooey. Is there a way to get matched paint in cans so I can just dab it on scratches with an artist's brush? Can I do very small areas with spray cans? How would you guys cover a small scratch in the middle of a panel?

2) Do I need primer?

3) If I should I get a spray gun, what kind (cheap)?

4) My main question about any kind of painting is, do I feather out over the clear coat? Does clear coat accept paint? Do I put clear coat over new paint?

5) And finally, I know the color, but where do I get paint?. All I'm finding online is "touch-up paint", which I think is the little bottles. There must be companies that mix paint to order.
 
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Old 06-26-10, 06:09 AM
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I agree on painting a complete panel for the best look.......this is how body shops fix most scratch repair paint matches.

A professional DuPont automotive paint supplier in my home city will mix any coded color and put it in a small aerosol can.
You then buy a spray can of clear coat from them to top it.

Look'em up and give them a call.
 
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Old 06-26-10, 06:17 AM
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#1 - paint touch up with a brush is best limited to scratches. The trick is to fill the scratch up with paint and carefully using a clean rag to wipe off the excess from the surrounding sound paint. Most auto supply houses will have a decent selection of touch up paint in aerosol cans. You can go to any auto body supply shop and have them mix a quart of paint in your color.

#2 - there isn't much gained by priming scratches but if you sand an area down to repaint that section - you should use a primer.

#3 - a cheap gun from harbor freight should do fine for what you need. Do you have an air compressor stout enough to support a spray gun?

#4 - feathering the spray out on metal doesn't work well generally the feathered out area will be duller than the rest. Clear coat is somewhat like the paint minus the pigments. You can paint over it [sand first] although any failing clear coat must be sanded off first. Base coat color must have a clear coat sprayed over top of it. Acrylic enamels don't require a clear coat. I don't think the urethanes do either but I'm not real familiar with them

#5 - look in the yellow pages for an auto body/paint supplier. Generally shipping prices are high for paint so it should be cheaper to buy locally. Besides the paint you'll also need the correct thinner.
 
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Old 09-06-10, 10:08 AM
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I have a 150 pci pancake compressor. Is that stout enough?
 
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Old 09-06-10, 10:17 AM
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Not sure what "pci " means but if you mean psi that is its maximum pressure and that spec really doesn't mean anything.

What you need to find out is what the cfm air requirements are for the spray gun you will be using and then compare that to your compressor's rating at 90 psi.
 
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Old 09-06-10, 11:35 AM
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This is probably getting too much.
To paint a door, fender or quarter panel correctly you're going to spend about $300.00 bucks easy on supplies and it doesn't sound like you have the right equipment anyway
If the car is special to you then buck up and do it right but if this is just a beater then get some sand paper, sand out only the rusted area, clean it, and use the closest color match spray can you can find.
If you buy the correct factory color for this it probably won't match anyway due to fade and age.

Your compressor might....... work but will have a really short duty cycle you really need at least a 50 gallon or more compressor tank.

Just use a spray can and polish it up good after it dries.....you would be surprised! The key to a good finish is how well you prepared the surface.

On the other hand if you want to experiment and practice painting with a compressor.......knock yourself out!
 
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Old 09-06-10, 11:54 AM
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That's close to where I'm coming from. It's not a total beater, but it doesn't have to be perfect. It does get beat occasionally since it's a work truck.

To stop a scratches and scrapes from eventually rusting through the steel I just want to paint them and do it more or less right to (a) stop rust and (b) not have the paint fall off and (c) make it look a little better. Main conclusion here seems to be that I shouldn't try to feather out from the painted area but instead should paint the whole panel.

So if I paint the whole panel do I just paint over the clear coat? Or do I need to do to prep it first? Light sanding to roughen it, or do I need to remove it?

And if I decide to not paint the whole panel, where do I stop sanding? It seems to me that to do this (cans or spray equipment both) I need to feather the paint out onto the clear coat.

It's white BTW.
 
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Old 09-06-10, 02:04 PM
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I doubt a pancake compressor would have enough air reserve to adequately power a cup gun. Spraying and sanding are basically the 2 biggest air hogs that most folks will run into. I have sprayed cars before with a 11 gal, 1 hp compressor but it was tricky waiting on the compressor to catch up and still get a fluid wet coat. The cfm rating on the compressor compared to the cfm rating on the gun should tell you where you stand.

You can paint over the clear coat but it must be wet sanded in order for the paint to bond well.

Feathering out the paint doesn't work well for any gloss enamels, especially on a smooth surface. You need to paint from joint to joint or stop on a style line. Everything you apply paint to should be wet sanded and wiped down with prepsol or paint thinner.
 
 

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