Well I got an awesome book and DVD on how to do quality paint jobs in your garage, at home.
Check out the guys site at: http://www.easypaintyourcar.com/

This weekend at Harbor Freight they were having a huge sale on a really big compressor. So I took some of the money I had been saving for the car and got one. It was 90 bucks off.

I am already really good at bodywork so now I just need to study this other material over and over.

The guy suggests Sherwin Williams for paint. They can match almost all the old, original PPG paint codes. I am painting my car the original medium turquoise metallic.

Sherwin Williams paint is good quality and about half the price of PPG!
There is a SW Automotive paint store right here in Phoenix up on 57th Ave.

They are really nice guys. They spent 20 minutes on the phone with me just figuring out if they had the color I needed. The can also make sure you get everything you need from strainers, to cups, even the correct primmer and top coat.

Speaking of answering questions, the guy who sold me the DVD/book set is great. If you write him with any question, he usually gets back to you in a few hours. He is actually a teacher who developed this program and I have seen photos of his cars, outstanding work!

Now on a personal note, my doctor was so impressed with my weight loss and fitness approval he has officially started lobbying me to get a liver.

Because I am in good health besides my, my kidneys, heart, lungs, etc, are all strong I am an excellent candidate.

If anyone wants to share the gift of life with me, I need a donor with a blood type of A+ or O-
They take a 1/3 to a 1/2 of your liver and put it in me. In a few months we both grow full livers back. My insurance will pay for your hospital stay, aftercare, etc.
Recovery time for the donor is minimal. You would be saving a life. I am only 46 and hope to have a lot of good years ahead of me. Thank you.

Everyone have a super week. Stay up, positive and happy. Make sure you take a moment to let your family know how important they are to you!

Tony

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Tony
1964 1/2 Barracuda
Slant Six 225
(my dream car)

Even cheaper (and easier on your vital organs than messing with compressors and such):

Tremclad with a roller.

"Tremclad" is Canadian for what is known in America as "Rust-Oleum", see here.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I remember this a few years back. The "$50 paint job." I was going to try it someday.

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'73 Scamp (the girlfriend): 225ci super/6 2BBL conversion (Almost done!)
'90 Subaru, wagon (the wife): H4-cyl 2.2L

1977 Mercedes-Benz 300D, 5cyl diesel(For sale!)

I've rattle canned a truck before, but never used a roller. I'm thinking I'll give it a go. Mrs said,"why not? Worst that can happen is that you pay someone to paint over what you did."

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65 4 dr. Valiant 200

Duct Tape and Roller!

My 69 dart after a "refresh" .

"Yep.....27 coats of hand rollerd Tremclad"

click to view full-version

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I have heard the larger H/F compressors are okay for a home shop. The price is low too. Some harbor freight equipment is a copy of a known brand and can exchange parts, I don't think the compressors are. The better US made compressors have good service and parts availability back to 20 or 30 years so that you can rebuild them to be like new. I've heard the big H/F compressors are okay. Generally avoid oil less compressors - they are noisy and run hot. I've heard that the Husky compressor at Home Depot is a decent low price brand. If you compare prices you may find that Harbor Freight isn't much lower for many purchases. Harbor Freight sells American branded electric motors with their pump heads.

The MAJOR drawback to painting your own car is the damage it causes to your liver! I am serious. All that toxic stuff floating around in the air ends up in your liver and kidneys. I would hate to see you set yourself back just for an auto paint job.

Do you have a good ventilation system, or a spray booth to use? Do you have a fresh air respirator? So you have a paint suit? Your skin absorbs that stuff too.

I have painted two cars, and could feel my IQ going down with each session in the garage prepping it. It feels like an accelerated Alzheimer. All those chemicals really dull your brain. And, I had a nice downdraft spray booth set up, and a fresh air respirator. I always wore an organic compounds respirator at a minimum, and still felt dumber and dumber as I worked.

Your compressor is a wonderful addition to your shop, so if you do not paint your car yourself, your money is not wasted on the compressor.

The one sort of acceptable alternative for you would be to paint it outside on a nice dry, sunny day. In that case, I highly recommend you use a two stage paint;base coat clear coat. The metalic paint on your car is hard to spray as the metal wants to sag if not sprayed absolutely correctly and evenly. The thickness and wetness of each coat on a single stage paint is what determines the sheen. Trying to manage the sheen correctly can easily lead to too much paint which then sags and runs, leaving metallic drips and runs that simply cannot be rubbed out.

With the two stage paints the thickness and wetness of the first basecoat is not critical at all. It is basically a flat lacquer that goes on quite easily. Then later, if you get runs in your clear coat, you can rub them out completely and have a very nice, professional looking paint job.

I will never paint my own car again. It is just too risky.

Sam

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That getting "dumb" feeling is certainly the chemicals cutting oxygen from your brain.
When I paint (with rattle cans) or use any kind of toxic chemicals or grinding away rust with a wire brush I use military surplus gas masks. They work absolutely great for 8 hours of use per filter and they have the upside of being able to handle chemical biological and nuclear weapons warfare type scenarios. I'm prepared! You can easily get replacement filters for them and often the gas masks them selves you can get for cheap (if not cheaper than those respirators.)
I recently bought the husky compressor from Home Depot. Got it for $60. Only 2 gallon tank but I don't have a garage so I have not room to store big pieces of equipment and this compressor is great for that reason. Not to mention it was almost the same price as harbor freight's cheap compressor but much better as it even comes with a 20 piece nozzle assortment kit (you get noting with H/F's compressor.)

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'73 Scamp (the girlfriend): 225ci super/6 2BBL conversion (Almost done!)
'90 Subaru, wagon (the wife): H4-cyl 2.2L

1977 Mercedes-Benz 300D, 5cyl diesel(For sale!)

There is something to be said for the old enamels and lacquers of years ago. The newer paints are probably more toxic. Years ago I worked in a GM heavy duty truck plant where they were installing robotic painting equipment because it was a toxic work environment. The paint was encrusted on the walls of the paint booth like barnacles.

The 2nd hand commerical quality compressors are often worth looking into. There are videos on Youtube that show how to rebuild some of American made compressions. A $100 kit and and afternoon of work gets many of them back to spec. I have a pump head that was made in 1958 that is in good shape and is still serviceable. The thing which concerns me is the noise of a large compressor, it'll wake up the neighbors if it kicks on at night.