Paul:
Have painted both of my MG's with great results. Here are my recommendations -
others might say differently based on some personal preferences.
a. HVLP! - high vloume of material with lower pressure and thus, less
overspray. DeVilbiss, Binks, or Craftsman.
b. For the do-it-yourself job, I highly recommend a single stage acrylic
enamel. I use DuPont Centari single-stage, with their 793S hardener. Lays
down nice, heavily pigmented, and can easily be color sanded, compounded, and
polished for a pro finish.
c. Sprayed finishes = lethal! Buy a high quality respirator and WEAR it all of
the time. Also wear eye protection!
d. If you take car down to bare metal, use an etching primer first, then
regular primer that fills/sands, then last coat is a sealer before painting.
Always BE SURE to use all products from same mfr. to ensure compatibility and
full adhesion.
e. A gallon of paint will easilly do an MGB. For me, I used 2 qts. sealer, a
gallon of primer, and a gallon of acrylic enamel. You'll also need to by a
quart of the hardener, some reducer, and lacquer thinner for clean-up or
thinning the primer. The sealer shoots from the can with no reduction.
f. painting is just the first step. Be sure to apply two to 3 coats, then when
cured approx. one to two weeks you can color sand, then compound, and final
polish. I recommend a good DA polisher for this work. You then should wait
approx. two months to apply first coat of wax.
Good luck!
Martin Libhart
72 MGB/GT
77 MGB
>
> From: "Paul M." <rowman22001@yahoo.com>
> Date: 2003/11/12 Wed PM 09:21:43 EST
> To: mgs@autox.team.net
> Subject: Painting questions
>
> Does anyone out there paint their own cars? If so, I
> have a couple of questions, because I'm having some
> rust repaired on my MGB and when it's done I have
> decided I'm going to paint the darn thing myself.
>
> First off, I'm not worried about the BEST possible
> finish. Rather, I'm looking for a good finish that I
> can keep repainting myself in case the car gets banged
> up on the track (or perhaps more accurately, off it).
>
> Here's the deal:
>
> I've never painted a car before. Actually, that's not
> entirely true. I once painted my old rust bucket
> Mercedes-Benz 250SL in my dad's driveway when I was
> 16, but the results were understandably pretty weak.
> Although I did successfully clearcoat a number of
> insects into the bonnet, which gave the car the
> feeling of some kind of twisted mobile nature exhibit.
> (Oh, and I also got enough overspray on my dad's
> almost new BMW to keep him pissed off at me right up
> until about three months ago...)
>
> So in the interests of doing a bit better job this
> time, I have found a decent crossflow spray booth
> right here in sunny Huntersville that I can rent for
> $80 per day. Not a super-high-zoot downdraft model,
> but it's a heck of a lot better than my dad's
> driveway...
>
> My questions are these:
>
> 1) What kind of gun should I buy? Should I get an
> HVLP gun, or one of the regular kinds? The booth has
> an air source, but I need to buy a gun and I have NO
> idea what to look for.
>
> 2) What type of paint should I buy? Enamel?
> Lacquer? I'm looking for whatever will get me the
> best combination of good finish, good durability, and
> something that's also easy to apply. (Although
> probably not in that order).
>
> 3) How lethal are these various paints? I know I
> need a respirator, but do I have to be overly worried
> about it, or will a modicum of common sense likely be
> enough?
>
> 4) What BRAND of paint should I buy? Are most
> companies good enough for a hack like me, or should I
> avoid any brands? Are any easier to work with or
> anything?
>
> 5) What materials do I need to buy? Should I spray
> sealer before I spray primer? How many coats of base
> and how many coats of clear should I shoot, and how
> much paint do you think I'll need to buy in order to
> have enough for my MGB?
>
> Any other help, or recomendations on good books or
> good web pages to look at before I wing this bastard
> would be much appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> =====
> Paul Misencik
> 1971 MGB Vintage Race Project
> Huntersville, NC USA
> www.sopwithracing.com
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