# Ordering Paint



## efunc (May 22, 2007)

Hi all, I need to do a few spot repairs, like touching up wing mirrors, front valance, scuffs, stone chips, etc.

I have an airbrush and air compressor and I need Audi Phantom Black (LZ9Y) and some VW Black Magic (LC9Z). I know Halfords supply rattle cans, but can anyone tell me where I can get about 500ml I can use with my airbrush/gun? Also, what sort of paint should I be using? cellulose, acrylic, enamel, water based? Likewise I need a clear that I can airbrush on. Finally, I need a blender. Do I need to stick with the same substance type for the base and the clear, or can you use different paint types at each step? Do you get different blenders depending on if you're using Acrylic clear or something else?

thanks


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## efunc (May 22, 2007)

Anyone?

Is it OK to go on the paint code alone, or is it considered better practice to get the paint matched to what's already on the panel?


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## Barbel330 (May 3, 2016)

Paint code is all you need. Just got to a local body/paint supplies and ask for as small an amount of paint as they'll mix for you. Mine does 100ml for me if I only need to do a touch in or paint a very small area.


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## efunc (May 22, 2007)

OK, thanks, that would be good. There's a place called CJ Autos that advertises on ebay that's near me. 

I notice sellers offering solvent based or acrylic. Which would be the best or easiest to work with for an amateur like me with an airbrush?


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## Barbel330 (May 3, 2016)

It really depends on exactly what kind of repairs you want to do and what kind of finish you want to achieve? Will you be rubbing down, priming and painting small areas that are scuffed or are you hoping to just blow some paint into chips and such like with the airbrush just to cover them?


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## efunc (May 22, 2007)

good question. I'm going to first try some modest touching in of a couple of scratches first, but inevitably I'll end up tackling more severe scuffs. I'm thinking I will sand the areas down (e.g. the corner of the front bumper that someone's scraped), mask off, prime, paint, lacquer, blend in and then wet sand and compound to finish. I might use my Das-6 Pro with an interface pad to flat the areas down, or just do it by hand with a cork block. Some scratches/scuffs may need some light filler first, of which I've got no knowledge so will have to investigate - 3M Bondo is referenced a lot in the US, not sure if it's sold here under a different name. The areas in question are small - not whole panels. But I may do an entire front end when it comes to my dad's old Mercedes 90's C-class W202. So, it depends how much confidence I build along the way..


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## Barbel330 (May 3, 2016)

In that case you should look at some 2k paint if your paint supplier will sell you it. Alternatively the more modern water based base coat is just as easy to use and is applied pretty much the same as 2k. Clear and hardener will be the exact same whether you choose 2k or water base. 

First apply the base coat and then a clear coat with a fast hardener added. You'll probably need some fade out thinner for blending the edges of the clear too.

You might find an airbrush to be too small for painting anything more than very tiny areas but you can get mini guns really cheap that will be good enough for what you need, they'll be much more suited to painting bumper corners and such like.

Plastic padding Ultima gold is a very good easy sanding filler, it's available from Halfords.


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## efunc (May 22, 2007)

Thanks for the direction, after reading all night about 2k and stuff I'm having second thoughts though. I'm guessing you recommend it because of its durability and the ease of which you can get good results quickly. On the other hand I just don't have the ventilation, safety gear and workshop to use it safely. I looked at non-isocyanate containing 2k but it don't seem as good (thicker and slow to harden) and see that even water-based can contain isocyanates. That just leaves good old cellulose I suppose, which is what I may have to opt for. Is this what the 1k stuff is?

My very basic airbrush is a 0.8mm so fairly wide spray, but I do have a couple of HVLP guns too. But my fairly merge Sparmax MB-620 Airbrush compressor has a flow of 1.14 CFM 32LPM 60psi so I'll have to test it all out to see what it's capable of. I might pick up a cheap Clarke compressor to run the HVLP guns instead.


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## Barbel330 (May 3, 2016)

2k will be fine mate as you're only doing small bits, just wear a mask and/or paint outside and there's no problem. You should wear a mask whatever paint your using so it being 2k makes no difference.


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## Tintin (Sep 3, 2006)

For around £15 you can get a Gerson 2k mask which is ok for limited use up to something like 30 hours. Obviously you can use it for other paints/sprays too.


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## efunc (May 22, 2007)

Thanks Tintin. I got a 3M 7502 half mask and 3M 2790 04 07 Safety Goggles. The thing is they don't feel a great fit so not sure how much to trust them.


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