Painting X need advice

Well ive seen alot about painting our trucks and things like that...But i wanted to know what i should do...i dont want a gorgeous paint job or anything like that.....Im gonna prep my truck and fix small **** that i have to fix so im gonna spray paint my whole truck then hit it with clearcoat....what should i use to prep the truck?

Im gonna sand down the entire truck (what paper size)?
After i prime it what size paper to sand it down?

How many times should i do this?

Thanx
Jay

 

[MONMIX]

Paper size ? Do you mean grit?

 

[lXl Explorer lX]

grit size same thing

 

[xploda01]

if i were you, i wouldnt spray paint it then clear coat it....if your on a budget, which it sounds like you are, i'd go to lowes or homedepot, get a cheap air powered spray gun, go to a local paint shop and get the paint you need....i'd get acrylic paint if i were you, this eliminates the clear coat because acrylic paint is shiny anyways. Clear coat is hard to apply for most people because...well its clear, and most people put it on too thick and it gets runs in it. for the intial sanding i'd use like a 200 grit, then after you've applied the primer, i'd use a 400 or higher grit, remember, the more dull you have it the better, i'd put a lot of primer on it and eventually use really fine sand paper before the first coat of the paint because it will give it a better finish.

 

[MONMIX]

Okay, what ever.

We finish mud in 180 then finish primer in 320.

 

[lXl Explorer lX]

Where can i get that acrylic paint?....is it a can or spray on with a gun? If i decided to paint it with the acrylic what is involved in prepping the truck?

Thanx
Jay

 

[bates]

has anybody ever painted a truck with a wagner power painter?

 

[lXl Explorer lX]

whats a wagner power painter?

 

[stretch]

It's a power painter made by Wagner that is intended for walls, houses, fences, etc. Don't use it on your X! They spray too much paint at once to get a smooth automotvie finish (overspray, runs, too thick of paint layer). If your going to do it at home at want a reasonably decent looking paint job, at least get an air compressor and a decent spray gun. If you aren't being that particular about it just get spray cans.

 

[bates]

o dont worry im not going to i thought it would be funny, wanted to see if anyoen had done it... did anyone see that episode of dukes of hazzard where boss hogg stoel the general and painted it black then when bo and luke got it back they made boss and rosco repaint it. well they were using power painters on it. thats where the idea came from. hahaha

 

[Perry]

Originally posted by MONMIX


We finish mud in 180 then finish primer in 320.

I have to agree with MONMIX.
You don't have to sand everything down to metal. In fact that is a lot more work. Just fix your bad spots then sand the rest with 320.
I would recommend you use Dupot Chroma One which is a good paint and you don't have to clear. No matter what paint you use if you aren't used to painting you will have trouble. It takes practice to lay down enough paint without running it.

Good luck!!!

 

[Xcalibur00]

i was able to finally clean my truck very nicely last weekend...spring is finally here...excellent. While I did a thorough job detailing the X, I was a bit unhappy with the polishing and waxing job i did in the back: the swirl marks were there again...i used meguiars this time, and Im still getting swirl marks...what the hell should i do next...is there anything that I could spray on the truck after washing before i wax, to further reduce or eliminate swirl marks??

 

[ERIK2173]

Xcalibur... Try 3M Swirl Mark Remover it does a good job on swirl marks. Are you doing this by hand?

 

[Xcalibur00]

yep...i usually do it by hand, the car wash i go to has personal spray booths that i use, then i go home and polish, wax, etc...Swirl mark remover...cool...ill check it out.
thanks alot