# Questions from a newbie!



## dns (May 19, 2013)

Hi chaps!

A friend asked me if I'd help do up her car to sell so I agreed and started to try to sort a few dents and scratches the same way I always have, with decent quality filler and rattle cans.

Quickly realised that getting a colour match (Ford Moondust Silver) was going to be nigh on impossible with aerosols, so decided to invest in a compressor and all the kit.

After a lot of research online, I bought a 2k basecoat and lacquer from a local bodyshop suppliers and set to work. After lot of messing about and repeatedly rubbing down poor finishes, I'm now able to get a decent finish on a single panel.

I'd now like to learn to blend in the lacquered finish to the exisiting paintwork but am a bit stumped as to how to do it!

I'm working on a door panel and have filled and rubbed down where there was a minor dent. I've sprayed the primer and basecoat on the repair and all looks fine. However, when it's come to blending in the lacquer, it clearly doesn't work like it does with rattle cans or non-metallic paint!

Can anyone give me any tips on how to blend in with 2k lacquer?

If I can't do it, it's not a problem with the door, I'll just spray the whole thing, but the next job is section on a rear side panel and there's no obvious place to stop spraying!


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## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

easiest way would be to grey scotch pad the panel you want to blend

waft out the basecoat away from the repairs then clear the whole panel 

you can blend the clear away too , but id stick with doing the whole panel for now


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## fazadelic (May 16, 2013)

dns said:


> Hi chaps!
> 
> A friend asked me if I'd help do up her car to sell so I agreed and started to try to sort a few dents and scratches the same way I always have, with decent quality filler and rattle cans.
> 
> ...


The blending should be done with base coat an then lacquer on the panel you repaired and the adjacent panel where you blended.

its not an easy skill to learn over night but can be learned with practice but you have to be careful spray too slow you'll have orange peel spray to fast you may miss bits stay to long on one area you will get runs you have to overlap each stroke so you wont get any shadows or lines. The panel has to be correct temprature so it grabs and have a fan blowing out the overspray. Put some music on and enjoy painting.


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## dns (May 19, 2013)

Thanks for the tips chaps!

I think I'll stick with base coating the repair area and clear coating the lot until I get a feel for the gun etc.

If you've got any other top tips they'd be very gratefully received!


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

perhaps this may help abit.





It takes alot experience to learn how to blend/fade out laquer and actually get it right. your best option would be to use a second hand wing or door to practice on, to learn how to get it right. :thumb:


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## dns (May 19, 2013)

Hi chaps,

Thanks again for the tips and advice. Just got a couple more things to pester you with!

1. Does the 2k refer only to paint or lacquer which is mixed with a hardener? If so, what type of paint is the basecoat I've been using? It's Ford Moondust silver but I've got no information about it at all. I just mix it 50-50 with thinners and away I go.

2. A few times today I've noticed a few blobs appearing on my panels, as if the gun is spitting occasionally. I've also noticed that paint tends to accumulate on the nozzle and drip occasionally (typically on to a freshy painted area!). I'm using a 1.2mm nozzle on a gravity fed gun (just a cheap-ish one). I've heard the "spitting" can be caused by not adding enough thinners to my basecoat so I've added an extra splash which seems to have helped a bit, but I still get dribbles from the gun. Any tips on how to avoid this?

3. I was thinking about using aerosol lacquer to cover the parts where I need to blend into surrounding panels, as I've done it before and know what I'm doing whereas I don't with 2k. Is there any problem with spraying this over the basecoat I'm using?

Apologies for the silly questions, just really desperate to get to grips with this!


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## dns (May 19, 2013)

Sorry to bump this chaps, but I really need a bit of advice!

Can anyone answer my questions?!


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

dns said:


> Hi chaps,
> 
> Thanks again for the tips and advice. Just got a couple more things to pester you with!
> 
> ...


2k means it needs to have activator added to it, which is normally either laquer or a 2k solid colour

If you have been adding thinners to your basecoat (moondust) it will be solvent, it should more than likely be mixed at 2:1 ratio, which is why you may have problems with it spraying. Regards to spraygun is it gravity fed (pot on top of gun) if so on the lid in the centre you should have what looks like a cap check the centre of it to make sure te little breather hole is clear. Then check that everything on the gun ie fluid tip, air cap, as it could be leaking air around them, its a hard job to tell with out seeing the gun working. But my guess is either he paint is not thinned properly or its to lower air pressure at the spraygun.

With 2k laquer you spray it as you would from an aerosol can, then where you intend to blend it in, what you need is a fade out thinner spray this over the blended edge over the laquer and it will dissolve it fading it out.

Don't worry about th silly questions if you don't ask you'll need know. :thumb:


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## dns (May 19, 2013)

Thanks the the reply, really appreciated!

I was always told to do 50-50 thinners and basecoat, but am happy to experiment with other ratios. If I try 2-1 is that 2 parts paint, 1 part thinners, or the other way round?

I'll definitely check the cap on the paint reservoir, it's quite possibly not been cleaned properly. Initially I didn't notice the breather hole at all and got confused as to how it would work anyway! I'll make sure it's properly clear and try again!

With regards pressure, can you recommend a suitable setting for my compressor? Bearing in mind I'm using a fairly cheap compressor and going according to the pressure gauge on the unit, is it worth me getting a plug in pressure gauge to connect to end of the hose to make sure it's right?

Cheers!


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

dns said:


> Thanks the the reply, really appreciated!
> 
> I was always told to do 50-50 thinners and basecoat, but am happy to experiment with other ratios. If I try 2-1 is that 2 parts paint, 1 part thinners, or the other way round?
> 
> ...


Yes mate that's it 2 parts paint 1 part thinners, it should have a data sticker on the tin with the ratio. If not run it at 2:1 if its still not right slowly add more thinners.

I use a small compresser at home, which i run the spraying pressure at 1 to 1.5 bar, what you need is a gauge that screws to the bottom I the gun where the airline plugs in them you can set the pressure to what you want.


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## dns (May 19, 2013)

Thanks again for the help, thought I'd update on the progress.

I've sprayed a whole panel (boot lid) today and it's looking sooooo much better than my previous attempts. Colour is very even now, I wasn't aware of the importance before of keeping the gun at 90 degrees to the panel at ALL times!

Lacquer is looking ok, but slightly orange peely in places and there's a single place where there's a small run. I guess that both of these issues can be cured when it's hard with a cutting compound and my rotary polisher. (although if this is wrong please someone say!)

For the benefit of other beginners, here are two obvious but valuable lessons I've learnt...

1. Don't underestimate the importance of good prep! I'd had trouble before with scratches showing through the basecoat, so this time I picked up a load of wet and dry 400 and 600 grit to thoroughly flatten the old paint first. Looks sooooo much better!

2. Know when to stop and walk away! The run in my lacquer was caused because once my final coat was done, I realised I had a bit left in the gun so thought I'd "add" it to the panel... Doh!


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

Get yourself some 2000 grade w&d and a block (small rubber block or a small smooth wooden block) for the run. 
If you try to polish or just flat by hand you will go through the lacquer in other places rather than flattening the highs off the run.
Gently w&d 2000 the peel with the flat of your middle 3 fingers (edges of paper wrapped up and held in by little pinkie and thumb)
w&d = wet :thumb:
Then polish :buffer:


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## dns (May 19, 2013)

Cheers squiggs!

Done as you suggested and it's now looking pretty good! I'm paranoid about going all the way through the lacquer but I'm learning the right pressure to use etc!

Another quick question for anyone who'd like to answer!

Did another panel today (door) and this time I got the basecoat right pretty much first time (yaaaay!). Problem is that I still got a slightly orange peely finish with the lacquer as I'm not quite used to setting up the gun.

How's the best way to prevent this from happening in future? Is it likely to have been caused by the lacquer being mixed too thick (add a drop more thinners?) or me putting on too heavy a coat?


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

You can't compensate gun set up by mixing differently or changing your application technique. Having the right size needle and using the correct pressure are key.


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