Hi all. I think the title of the article speaks for itself - “do-it-yourself car painting steps, a step-by-step algorithm”, therefore, there will be no short announcement of the article adopted on our website .... straight to the body...
The first stage of painting is the choice of paint.
If the car is partially painted, then the choice is not worth it, we take the paint that the rest of the body is painted, if the car is painted completely, then you can change the color and type of paint, in other words, about how to choose paint for a car on our website
The second stage is washing and damage assessment.
At this stage, we inspect a completely clean car, evaluate the corrosion of body elements, and decide on the need for welding.
The third stage is disassembly.
At this stage, we remove all components and assemblies that will interfere with us when painting the car. For example, when painting a wing, it is necessary to remove the locker, repeater, headlight, and sometimes moldings.
When the car is completely painted, it is necessary to remove handles, windows, door locks, mudguards and wheel arch liners, moldings, antennas, headlights and similar elements. Dismantling - each time is carried out individually, and what exactly is removed depends on whether the entire body or only part of it is painted.
The fourth stage is welding and straightening (if necessary).
At this stage, with the help of a grinder, all damaged body panels, or parts of body panels (for example, arches) are cut out. Immediately after welding, the welds are ground with a grinding wheel on a grinder and treated with a seam sealant.
If the body parts are damaged from impacts, sometimes they may need straightening (this will improve the quality of the repair and reduce the consumption of materials in the future).
The reverse side of the panel after welding and straightening is processed with Movil, bituminous mastic, or anti-gravel. These coatings are applied in accordance with the instructions for use, in some cases the coatings are applied over a primer, such as anti-gravel.
The fifth stage is puttying and matting.
At this stage, primer is applied to all surfaces to be painted. The primer is applied to a previously prepared surface.
By prepared surface I mean old paint, bare body metal, or putty that has no gloss and is matted with 240-360 sandpaper. When applied to a glossy surface, the primer will not stick and fall off during the first wash.
Immediately before applying the primer, it is necessary to degrease the surface with a silicone remover or gasoline (we also have a separate article about this).
The primer is applied in accordance with the instructions of a particular manufacturer from a spray gun with a nozzle of 1.4-1.6 mm.
After application, the primer is dried until completely dry.
The eighth stage is preparation for paint.
At this stage, we apply the mat to the ground, sequentially processing it with sandpaper with numbers 240-480 (for acrylic), and 240-800 (for metallic). Matting is better with water, as the speed of work increases, the consumption of sandpaper decreases and the amount of dust in the air decreases.
The ninth stage is re-pasting.
At this stage, we replace old films on glass and elements that do not require painting. The fact is that when applying paint, the films will inevitably sway and the primer that has previously flown on them will fly off from them, as you understand, according to the law of meanness, it will fall in flakes on fresh, not yet dried paint and ruin the coating.
It is better to re-glue the film with primer before painting! Personally, I prefer to paste over the car with newspapers or wallpaper for painting (they do not flutter like a film and dried paint does not fly from them)
The tenth stage is coloring.
At this stage, paint is applied to the prepared soil and the glued car. Immediately before painting, it is necessary to degrease the surface with a silicone remover.
The paint is applied in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations using an airbrush with a nozzle of 1.2-1.3 mm. Usually the paint is applied in 3-4 layers. If acrylic enamel is used as a paint, usually the coloring ends at this stage and by the 12th stage (drying). Although acrylic enamel can also be applied under varnish.
The eleventh stage is varnishing.
After the base enamel has dried, in the case of a metallic one, it is necessary to remove dust from the surface. This is done with the help of a so-called sticky napkin. antistatic.
Before varnishing, the metallic surface is not degreased, as washing off the silicone will wash it away! Therefore, varnishing begins 20-30 minutes after applying the last layer of metallic.
The varnish is applied in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, usually when varnishing, an airbrush with a nozzle diameter of 1.4-1.5 mm is used.
Lacquer is applied in 2-3 layers depending on the manufacturer and painting conditions.
The twelfth stage is drying.
After applying the last layer of varnish or paint (in the case of acrylic), drying is necessary. Full drying time for acrylic enamels under normal conditions is 24 hours. At elevated temperatures or when using ultra-fast hardeners, the drying time is reduced to 2-6 hours.
During this time, the paint dries completely, but does not "get up" i.e. does not gain final strength. Full polymerization of varnish/paint usually takes 1-2 weeks.
The thirteenth stage is assembly.
After the paint has dried, we paste the car and install all previously removed elements (headlights, windows, repeaters, moldings, etc.) in place. When assembling, accuracy is important, as fresh paint scratches very easily.
The fourteenth stage is polishing and eliminating deficiencies.
Often, if you painted for the first time, there are dust marks on the paint, non-spreading shagreen, all these troubles are removed by polishing. Polishing can be carried out no earlier than 2 weeks after painting the car.
If there are smudges on the paint, they are sanded out according to the described technology.
To say that you will be pleasantly surprised when you hear on the phone or read on the website of a car service the cost of local painting of parts of your car or, moreover, full painting, means to say nothing.
car painting technology
And you need to paint. The time has already come for a complete painting of the car, or a situation has arisen when you need to do it further. Exit? There is always a way out. It consists in painting the car body with your own hands. Don't worry, everything will work out for you. Just before you start painting, practice on the old body parts, which are in abundance around any garages.
Let's start by revealing a "secret" to you. Auto painting technology has general principles of action, it doesn’t matter whether you want to produce or paint in metallic, paint a body part or carry out.
The difference will be only in the selection of materials for painting and the time you spend. Do not forget to include here the material and time for training - training painting. A little more time, a little more materials, but the experience gained is worth it.
So, we will conditionally divide the technology of painting a car into the following areas:
- Stages of car painting.
- Car painting process.
- Vehicle painting technique.
But conditionally, because these areas of action can change or organically complement each other.
Stages of car painting
Preparation of material and equipment. What do you need to paint a car? Painting materials: putty, primer, paint and varnish, depending on the area and your choice of car color. standard.
The main elements of the equipment are: a grinder with circles, a building hair dryer, an airbrush, a compressor, sandpaper, a grinding planer.
Body preparation. This stage includes: washing the body, dismantling everything that does not need to be painted, repairing parts of the body if necessary, preparing the surface for puttying, puttying, priming the surface.
That's it, your car is ready for painting. But this requires preparation. The instructions for painting a car directly indicate the presence of a perfectly clean place when applying paint and varnish. Here we will make such a spray booth from the garage.
Site preparation. A stage that is rarely mentioned is the preparation of a place for painting. This place is the garage. A standard 3x6 garage is not suitable for full painting, but it is ideal for local painting of body parts. The technique of painting a car completely requires at least a space of 4x6 meters.
We remove everything superfluous and perform a general cleaning of the premises. With a vacuum cleaner and "Dichlorvos" in the summer. Thus, we eliminate the possibility of dust, debris and insects to spoil your car painting efforts during the varnishing stage. Wet the walls, floor, ceiling with water. There is no need for puddles, but there should not be dry places either.
As an option: the garage from the inside, after the full preparation of the body for painting, can be covered with plastic wrap. To do this, you just need to have adhesive tape and a film.
Car painting procedure
Each master has his own procedure for painting a car, but, nevertheless, there are basic principles that should be followed. All removable parts must be removed and painted locally. This applies to doors, optics, handles, moldings, etc. Those. the body of the car must remain "naked".
Painting parts should begin with internal or hidden surfaces. Exterior painting is carried out last, and it begins with the roof of the car.
car painting technique
The technique of painting a car for different types of painting is also no different. If you are using an aerosol can to remove chips and cracks, the instructions for use of the can are given on it.
When painting a car with an airbrush, it is important to follow the general rules of painting technique. They do not differ in complexity, but the quality of the layers depends on their implementation, and as a result, the appearance of the car.
- for applying paint. Recommended No. 1.4. It all depends on the paint.
- Compressor pressure selection. As a rule, 2.5 - 3 atm is optimal.
- The distance of the spray gun nozzle from the surface to be painted is 150-250 mm.
- Application layers. 2-3 coats of paint are recommended. Application movements should be uniform and it is important not to overdo it with the thickness of the layer to avoid smudges. Otherwise, this place will have to be repainted completely. The intervals between applying the layers should be 15-20 minutes to dry the paint.
Expert opinion
Ruslan Konstantinov
Automotive expert. Graduated from IzhGTU named after M.T. Kalashnikov with a degree in Operation of Transport and Technological Machines and Complexes. Over 10 years of professional car repair experience.
After painting, the coating is subject to various influences for several more weeks, despite the fact that the varnish hardens after a couple of days. On average, it is better not to use the car after painting for at least one and a half weeks for optimal paint crystallization and creation of a film on the surface. At this time, you can not use brushes for sweeping dust, avoid direct sunlight and precipitation on the coating. If there is no way to meet the deadline, then you should avoid traveling on country roads and over long distances. As for polishing, you can do this procedure only a month after painting. Until then, you can use the usual gentle paint care products containing wax.
Many motorists are wondering when it is possible to wash the car after painting and not harm the paintwork. You can wash the car, and even more so with high-pressure washers, only after two weeks. Someone washes a car after a couple of days, but in this case, there is a high probability of damage to the coating, especially if washed incorrectly. First of all, at least a month you need to exclude detergents with an aggressive chemical composition, you can not use household chemicals. It is advisable to use a soft sponge and clean water at first, it is better if it is flowing. Do not wash the car in the sun, because water drops can become real lenses and heat up certain areas, thus damaging the paintwork.
Here, in fact, such is the technology of painting a car. After painting, in 98% of cases a car is required.
Good luck to you car lovers.
It often happens that minor repairs to the car cover are not enough. The paint is aging, does not perform protective functions, a grid or cobweb of cracks appears, the presentation is lost. In general, a complete painting of the car is required. To do this, you need to know how to breed car paint.
You will need
- Car paint, thinner, "Sadolin", dishes for diluting paint, wooden stick for stirring.
Instruction
It should be remembered that the painting of the car is carried out after a number of preparatory work. Before painting, the car must be thoroughly washed and dried.
Any paint is applied in two layers. The first layer is called developing, all surface defects are clearly visible on it. In order to dilute the paint for the first developing layer, take 4 parts of thinner and one part of "Sadolin". Stir the mixture thoroughly. For the first painting of the outer surface of the body, 1 liter will be enough. Teach that just before painting, the surface of the body must be thoroughly degreased and dried again.
Apply the paint with a regular household vacuum cleaner. Remove the dust filter from it, connect the spray gun and hose. Pour 100 grams of solvent into the vacuum cleaner tank to adjust the spray pattern. In this case, the paint should be sprayed without splashing, evenly, and the torch should be vertical. After adjustment, pour the diluted paint into the tank and apply the first coat. First paint the boxes, doorways along the sealed places, then the main area.
Apply the paint with quick horizontal strokes from top to bottom. This will make it easier to avoid leaks. Don't worry if there are minor gaps somewhere - this is only the first layer, it is much thinner than the main one. The paint should dry well for 20-30 minutes.
While the paint dries, prepare the solution for the next coat. The second layer is called decorative, so the paint should be a little thicker. Dilute it with three volume parts of the solvent and one part of "Sadolin". Mix the composition for complete uniformity. Apply the base coat in the same way as the developing one - quickly and efficiently. After painting, leave the car in a closed garage for 2-3 days.
To dilute the paint, use the 646th, 647th or 648th solvent. Keep in mind that the higher the number, the fatter the solvent, and this is an additional opportunity to make more smudges.
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At first glance, the technology of using a solvent for automotive paint does not conceal any difficulties. In the instructions, the manufacturer indicates ratios, recommendations and exact instructions - you can make a mistake here by negligence and nothing more. However, not every instruction printed on paper is the best solution, and writing it stimulates not only the desire to play it safe, but also the commercial component: most manufacturers recommend using their company's products, i.e. solvent is expensive and reliable. Meanwhile, understanding the principle of dilution of enamels, the degree and quality of its influence on the result, allows most of the expensive products to be replaced by domestic numbered products.
The principle of using solvents
The result of painting is a hard coating that protects the metal not only from corrosion, but also from minor mechanical damage. However, car enamel is supplied in liquid form, and for its application to the surface, it must also be diluted. Once an automotive paint is applied to a surface, there is no need for a solvent, i.e. it should evaporate. Evaporation rate is the first parameter by which solvents can be classified:
- Fast - more often used in winter.
- Universal - designed for transitional seasons.
- Long (slow) - it is more logical to use at elevated air temperatures.
The enamel concentration is adjusted by the manufacturer even before the final packaging of the product. The reason lies in the safety net and the need to keep some substances active in the composition before starting work. The abbreviation in the name indicates the degree of enamel concentration: LS (low-filled enamels - Low Solid), HD and HS, MS, UHS, VHS (highly filled enamels - Very High Solid), etc. The best fullness gives the best transfer by an airbrush on a surface. The viscosity of the substances is approximately the same, but the concentration of the polymers is different, therefore, the volatility is also different - strong dilution of the LS systems is not allowed.
Further dilution depends on what diluent the manufacturer used. Properly dilute with a substance with a suitable chemical composition, and even better - with the same one. Much depends on the base: you can dilute acrylic enamel and acrylic varnish in the same way. Limit concentrations and the composition recommended for them are the same, because acrylic lacquer is acrylic without coloring pigment.
Dilution of paint with a solvent
The main components of a standard solvent are toluene, white spirit, solvent, xylene, butyl acetate, nefras, etc. The difference between most diluting compounds lies in the ratio. So, for example, the most popular composition is No. 646, the main advantage and disadvantage of which is aggressiveness, leading not only to dilute the base, but changing its composition. It must be used with great care, although the 646th is quite suitable for acrylic and most primers. Despite the exact composition, the original purity of the substances used in its manufacture can vary, so most painters use 646 only for washing pistols, where its aggressiveness is put to good use.
It will not work to dilute acrylic enamel with white spirit, but it is excellent for dissolving slate, rubber-bitumen and ordinary mastics. However, the main field of application of this substance is the degreasing of surfaces, since domestic white spirit contains a large amount of impurities that precipitate after a year of standing on the shelf. You can replace it with artistic white spirit.
The 647th solvent can be diluted with nitro-varnish and nitro-enamel intended for application to cars. They also need to be used with extreme caution due to the aggressive composition. No. 650 has a slightly softer composition, the use of which is recommended when working with most enamels and varnishes.
Alkyd enamels are recommended to be diluted with a multi-component solvent P-4, consisting of a mixture of toluene, butyl acetate and acetone. It can also be used with enamels based on chlorinated polymers (XC and XB). The latter can be diluted with pure toluene and xylene.
Polar and non-polar solvents
Conventionally, in modern products, two classes of substances can be distinguished: solvent and diluting. The terminology is very vague, but the difference between the substances used to obtain the working viscosity can be serious. Before purchasing materials, you should familiarize yourself with the composition of the enamel and solvent. The substances in them must have the same polarity, since polar and non-polar materials interact with each other in the worst way. The most correct method of dilution is dilution with a substance already used by the manufacturer (which is why it is recommended to use products from the same manufacturer for dilution).
Polar solvents are all alcohols, ketones, and substances that contain oxygen in their molecular composition, such as water. Kerosene, white spirit and hydrocarbon compounds are non-polar substances. Therefore, paint diluted with water (water-based paint, water-soluble acrylic) can be diluted with any ethers and alcohol, but white spirit, which is a non-polar substance, will be rejected. The difference between alcohol (which necessarily contains hydroxyls) and white spirit (nefras - a mixture of hydrocarbons) is huge and cannot be replaced with each other.
Most enamels can be diluted with benzenes, oils, etc. Xylenes that can work with substances of different polarity have a variable polarity. But acetone can only be used with other polar substances - it will conflict with classic enamels.
Proper dilution of paint
The ratio of diluting and coloring matter is indicated on each can. For example, if there is an activator in the system, it is correct not to dilute the acrylic heavily, but to add only a small amount of thinner necessary for ease of application. In relation to the finished composition, this is no more than 10-15% of the volume. You can replace the acrylic solvent with P-12.
You need to control the viscosity with a viscometer according to the indicated data, but correctly diluted enamel is the one that fits better. By eye, this moment can be determined as follows: if the paint is pouring - it is diluted too much, it drips - it is diluted normally. The best control is trial staining, i.e. a small test after stirring the hardener and adding thinner. There is no single instruction, each spray gun has its own characteristics: it must be laid in continuous dense layers (drops), which dry already on the surface, and easily dissolve in each other. For the test, you can add a solvent directly into the glass of the spray gun and note the result.
Viscosity is directly related to temperature and saturation of air with water vapor. Before you start mixing, you need to have data on the air temperature in the chamber: if ° C deviates by 4-6 degrees from room temperature, the solution must be diluted more. In addition, it should be borne in mind that the drying of the enamel begins immediately after contact with air, i.e. its viscosity varies from layer to layer: if the temperature is high and the work is slow, you will have to add a solvent to the finished paint.
