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MG TD TF 1500 - DIY paint

I know there have been many threads on this topic, but I would like to get some advice from someone who has done this themselves. What are the minimum requirements to paint your car yourself, in terms of compressor, paint gun and spray booth setup? Lily Christine IV needs a new paint job, but I don't have $10,000 to spend this year on her. I could set up a temporary spray booth using plastic sheet in my carport or in the backyard and take the body apart piece by piece and paint her there. I have an 8 gallon compressor but would need the spray gun. And realistically, how good a job can someone who has never done it before do? Any good recommendations on books that would teach me? And how much should I expect to pay for materials?
Thanks!
Geoffrey M Baker

Lots of great stuff on Youtube, including videos of when I did my paint myself and my spray booth. 60 gal. minimum on the air! Lots of books out there also. Time to hit the Google Geoff! Best advice, forget the clearcoat! Stick with single stage. Others will disagree I'm sure.
Ed

efh Haskell

The first question you need to ask yourself is...how hard are you willing to work? A decent paint job is all about preperation...and it's a LOT OF WORK. The next question is...do I have the area to do the work? Are you in a subdivision with close neighbors? They aren't going to like the fumes, noise and most likely paint mist raining down all over the place. Even with a booth, the mist has to go somewhere..maybe you capture most of it with a filter..maybe.

The key on the compressor is the cfm. Do you have a spray nozzle you use for blowing dust off stuff? Go out and hold it open.... for about 10 or 15 minutes. Note what the pressure is in the tank. At what pressure is the compressor able to keep up and not go any lower. If you use the old standard guns, you want to see 60 to 70 minimun. The pressure at the gun needs to be steady at 50 to 60 lbs. You won't be using that much air, but you don't want to run low anytime you're spraying. You get a drop in pressure out the hose to the gun. You need a pressure regulator right at the gun as well. Modern cup sprayers don't need nearly as much pressure, but they are expensive and I haven't seen a home device to measure the tip pressure that they require for setting the gun. Additionally an even larger compressor is nice for air tools you might use as time savers..such as DA sanders or long board sanders.

Books? I've read several over the years. Get one you can pour over for several weeks and then make friends with the supply shop you intend to use. They will give you a lot more than the books will but you need the basic info for starters.

Got a large fence supplier in your area? Great source for something to hang the parts on for spraying. Look for one that fabricates there own chain link gates. They should have some rental panels that are in the 6' x 10' configuration. When they get rented out they often get beat up. Ask for some crap ones.. without the chain link. Ask for some used tubing the same size 1 3/8". If you have a mig welder you can throw something together to hang the parts from for shooting. Put some wheels on at least one end and then you can move it fairly easily. If you don't have the welder they have fittings that will allow you to put something together erector set style. Don't get panels with round corners like you'd find at agent orange.

I shoot outdoors...the key...shoot early in the morning ...period.... less wind and less bugs. I'm not a pro but it works well for me. No booth. Keep the pieces out of the sun before shooting. It raises the surface temps and you will never get decent flow other wise. I roll the stuff (remember the wheels on the hanger?) back into the shade before shooting again.

Cost?

Gun..anywhere from 100 bucks up depending on what you want. If you don't plan on ever doing another paint job, a 80 dollar Harbor Freight job will be just fine.

Paint Materials....expect to have around a thousand bucks in it depending on paint type and color.

While your at the paint store see if they have some mismatched paint. They usually do. Buy some in the type of paint you intend to use along with everything else it takes to spray and clean up. quart size is fine and the paint is usually discounted big time. Find an old fender ( but not a stratocaster) or car panel someplace and practice your body and paint skills on it before you tackle the real deal. You may decide it isn't worth your time or you may discover you have a knack for it.




MG LaVerne

Contrary to how Ed feels about clear coat...it can be done with sucsess.
MG LaVerne

I highly recommend a turbine paint system similar to this. I've used one to paint 2 cars (plus parts of others) and you can't beat them...

http://www.tptools.com/Showtime-90-HVLP-Turbine-Unit-with-2-ProLine-Paint-Spray-Guns,2992.html?b=d*8049
Gene Gillam

Right at the bottom end Geoff it's possible to get a great result using a spray can. I agree with LaVerne. The three most important things are preparation, preparation & preparation! On the cover of a recent issue of TTT2 some guy in Germany painted his TC using spray cans & it looks terrific.

I had a local automotive paint supplier perfectly match my original ivory in acrylic lacquer & fill a dozen cans at $36 each. These Spray Max cans with their high quality propellant & nozzle are made in Germany & are a dream to use. One can gave me 4 coats on the exterior of a rear guard & I spray each panel in the backyard. The over spray is minimal with no complaints from the neighbours. I'm not a spray painter but a friend who is refused to believe I'd painted my panels using a can! I guess I'll use about 20 cans all up by the time I've finished the whole car. If you've got more time than money it's definitely the way to go! And NOBODY will believe it came out of a can! Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

I would do all the prep yourself if you feel you can up to the final sanding coat. Then I would take it to a painter to have it spray professionally. They can check your prep work prior too and will generally do a much better job than you can.

While lacquer is more forgiving for novice to paint, the amount of effort afterwords and chances for a bad job in the end are higher. Plus the paint is no where as durable as the modern paints.

Plus this is better for the environment. Professionals have to take all of those factors into play. While it raises the price there is a reason for that.
Christopher Couper

A lot of great advice. I've told my horror story before. The car spent 5 plus years in the paint shop in primer. The guy finally was shut down by the IRS. So I got my car back home and figured I had to do it myself. Bought a three gun set from Summit for about $200. Picked up a small used Sears 15 gallon compressor. Went to a local paint shop and had my colors mixed. With a lot of sanding and two summers of painting, I'm happy! I did add a regulator for pressure at the tank plus one on the gun. Also a moisture filter at the gun. On a good day I'd set up two plastic folding saw horses, put an old wood ladder across them and then laid the parts out. First big mistake, I painted a black epoxy primer over the yellow primer from the paint shop. Should have taken panel back down to steel and used metal etch, then epoxy primer. This would have made a harder and stronger bond. The yellow primer is soft 2k build primer and seems to chip easily. Started with the running boards after reading many articles on how to set up the gun to spray correctly on a piece of card board. Did three coats of color, five coats of clear. Worked my way thru the lower panels and perfected the technique. Switched to the red and painted the body last. Started sanding to get the orange peel out of the clear. looks good to me and I'm happy. spent close to $800 but lost $2000 at body shop.

RER Rosa

And don't forget to make sure the paint shop tells you exactly what type of respirator you will need. All paints are harmful to your lungs. Some are downright deadly.

A good respirator is a must. I use an air supplied full face respirator, but then I spent 30 years as a safety professional, so I tend to be a bit more anal about those things.
Bruce Cunha

The long rubber strips that the rear of the petrol tank sits on make excellent backing for abrasive paper when flatting down the car. They are long enough to bridge any hollows but are flexible enough to be used on slightly curved surfaces

Jan T
J Targosz

I didn't read through all the other posts but...I did my own.

You will need a good 2 stage 5hp 60 gallon compressor too keep up. Get an HVLP gun (I bought a Harbor Freight set for little $$$). You will also need inline filters, moisture traps, regulators, plenty of hose.

I purchased a 12' x 20' portable garage from Northern Tool for like $240. It's a pipe frame and tarp roof and walls. I bought a second large tarp and put down for the floor. Taped all joints except around the door, and installed a plain box fan on the other end to provide ventilation.

I kept things simple and used plain old acrylic enamel with hardner. Lot's simpler than base coat clear coat. Give a good hard durable finish, very forgiving on application and easy to touchup.

I could go into a ton of other detail but most others have covered that already. Here are some pics of my setup though. Worked great. And when I was done, I packed away that portable garage for any future project.

L Rutt

forgot pics

L Rutt

finished product

L Rutt

another booth pic

L Rutt

ie, the cost of paint. I bought mine online from TCPglobal. I spent less than $200 on paint supplies (gallon of BRG, primers, 2 temps of reducer, filters, mixing cups). I've used their paint for my MG plus several motorcycles I've restored, all acrylic enamel. It's held up just fine over the years. If you want a show car and show car finish, then maybe spring for higher $$$ paint. If it's a driver, nothing wrong with the TCPglobal paint offerings.
L Rutt

L Rutt

Did you do any sanding and/or buffing after your final finish coat with acrylic enamel?

Bill
Bill Schroeder

Very minor wet sanding on a few places that had some 'dry' spots and one spot on a fender that had some orange peel. Then some buffing with a DA buffer.

Enamel is so very forgiving, not nearly as 'toxic' as the BC / CC or urethane options.

I used to try and paint outdoors but between tree crap. sun, bugs, etc. all fighting for a spot on my painted surfaces, I bought the portable paint booth. What a godsend that has been. You can see my shop in the one pic of the finished product, I set things up right next to my shop. No worries that way.
L Rutt

All great comments above. Years since I have painted, and used acrylic enamel back then. The prep work is incredibly time consuming. Make sure your filler is applied correctly, filler/primer/top coat(s) are all compatible- if not, disaster will occur. The thinners/reducers are all temperature dependent- using a quicker setting one will cause bubbles all over if the temp. is too hot. Dust and bugs will gravitate to the wet paint, and a newly painted panel is easily messed up if your brother knocks it over, etc. Yes it can be done, but I like Chris C's idea of doing the prep work and then having the spray done professionally. Bruce's advice about respirator important and the fumes/vapor are likely explosive if done in doors. George
George Butz

RER, re the Leno thread and the "Correct Police," four Correct Police just rolled over in their graves and died again but I think your car is stunning. Beauty, eye of the beholder and all that stuff. Jud
J K Chapin

This thread was discussed between 09/12/2014 and 10/12/2014

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