paint em up

[ropensaddle]

Wow I did not know it was illegal to paint!?/////

 

[Nemus Talea]

We ended up purchasing a Kobalt sprayer. Gravity fed, top of the line ( as far as Loew's is concerned ) for 97 bucks. It seems a decent unit, we'll see tomorrow. I have a gallon of primer ( acrylic ) with 1 gal. thinner and 2 gallons of "Oliver green" industrial paint from TSC. The guy at napa said epoxy paint was the best but we'd do just fine with acrylic. Guess we'll see.

Good luck and have fun. A guy I know bought a cobalt sprayer to touch up his snow plow and it worked good for him. Don't expect it to last very long though. His seal pack failed after three uses. I only owned Binks spray guns that were rather pricey but you can get a good job out of your cobalt.

Variables like your paint, temperature, and humidity will dictate but a good rule of thumb is that your paint should be reduced till it slightly splashes from your mixing stick into your paint cup as it drips.

gotta go, let's see the pics when you're done.

 

[outofmytree]

Man, this all sounds complex. Anyone would think painting was a trade........

I'm going back to my corner now before the wave of abuse washes over me and I drown... :jester:

 

[Blakesmaster]

Good luck and have fun. A guy I know bought a cobalt sprayer to touch up his snow plow and it worked good for him. Don't expect it to last very long though. His seal pack failed after three uses. I only owned Binks spray guns that were rather pricey but you can get a good job out of your cobalt.

Variables like your paint, temperature, and humidity will dictate but a good rule of thumb is that your paint should be reduced till it slightly splashes from your mixing stick into your paint cup as it drips.

gotta go, let's see the pics when you're done.

Fun? Ha ha ha! What a PITA! We finished our metal work, degreased, sanded and primered today. The gun works decent, I can't complain for just a hundred bones. I would've liked a nicer one but couldn't find any for sale last night. Oh well, we're going to shoot our fist coat of paint in the am and hopefully the sun'll cook it enough to spray another afternoon. My bandit dealer will be sending the new decals along with some other odds and ends next week so it should be looking good soon. I'll be sure to post some before and after shots when we're done.

 

[PurdueJoe]

I finished throwing a coat of white to my bucket yesterday and now its a coat of black for the underside. Doesn't look to bad for a truck painted next to couple of ponds and a corn field. Couple of bugs here and there but a whats the point of an 8K paint job on a 10 year? I like the idea of getting the voce boys to do the paint job however don't do what my old boss did and pay them cash at the beginning of the day. He paid them to fix the rusty spots on the old international and they spent half a day masking an outrigger then left never to be seen again.

 

[treevet]

:camera: Man, this thread needs some pictures.

Maybe a summary as well for the layman equipment painter that is listed in numbers and embellished by others to a final thought.

Anybody game for that.

Here's my dummy sequence.

1. Take truck etc to a truck wash and spray it with Simple Green then scrub and wash to get all grease and dirt off.

2. Take to lot and tape and paper it and cover wheels with a tarp.

3. Sand all shiny old paint with any kind of sand paper and primer (cheap spray can) all bare metal. Wipe off sanded material.

4. Roller paint and brush where nec and then re roll to prevent runs. We use an additive they said will keep the paint from stiffening and help with humidity...... Wait a day and half and pull the tape.

5. Tire shine the tires and then spray the wheels gloss black out of a can.

Total time for a chip truck usually a day and a half.

 

[Nemus Talea]

Fun? Ha ha ha! What a PITA! We finished our metal work, degreased, sanded and primered today. The gun works decent, I can't complain for just a hundred bones. I would've liked a nicer one but couldn't find any for sale last night. Oh well, we're going to shoot our fist coat of paint in the am and hopefully the sun'll cook it enough to spray another afternoon. My bandit dealer will be sending the new decals along with some other odds and ends next week so it should be looking good soon. I'll be sure to post some before and after shots when we're done.

I don't know what kind of paint you are using but if it is acrylic enamel, 15 minutes between re-coats would be good enough. If you are enjoying the same weather as we are near Buffalo this low humidity is great for spraying.

The other day I intended to walk you through how I would paint equipment but was called away. I guess by now you have figured it out for yourself. The biggest trick to laying paint is using the trigger correctly, distance, and timing. The trigger is two stage. The first stage is just air and the second stage sprays the paint. At the end of each sweep with the gun let the trigger off to release only air so the nozzle can clear itself and not leave too much paint at the end of each run. Depending on paint and wind your aircap should be about 8 to 10 inches away from the painting surface - do not let the gun arc. Timing is important when you cannot see the paint as it lays on - a hard angle, high low angle, or the sun's glare.

If you used a hardening additive be sure to clean the gun immediately after use. If it dries overnight the spray gun will never be serviceable again.

Not having fun? Obviously the neighborhood cats are the same color today as they were yesterday. (Easy PETA d-bags, I'm just joking.)

 

[treevet]

What is the value of a hardening agent?

I have found a spray gun and pot (separate) combination in the Grainger catalogue that holds a full gallon. One of my many problems, beside having little patience, was that it really was a bother to refill the pot. I had a quart pot separate from the gun (that I ruined) that was a Binks Debylis (?guess) and it seemed better than spraying with the pot on the gun either below or above it just from the standpoint of weight on the spray arm while moving back and forth. What is your preference if spraying a huge truck?

 

[Nemus Talea]

:camera: Man, this thread needs some pictures.

Maybe a summary as well for the layman equipment painter that is listed in numbers and embellished by others to a final thought.

Anybody game for that.

Here's my dummy sequence.

1. Take truck etc to a truck wash and spray it with Simple Green then scrub and wash to get all grease and dirt off.

2. Take to lot and tape and paper it and cover wheels with a tarp.

3. Sand all shiny old paint with any kind of sand paper and primer (cheap spray can) all bare metal. Wipe off sanded material.

4. Roller paint and brush where nec and then re roll to prevent runs. We use an additive they said will keep the paint from stiffening and help with humidity...... Wait a day and half and pull the tape.

5. Tire shine the tires and then spray the wheels gloss black out of a can.

Total time for a chip truck usually a day and a half.

If I had to paint something nowadays that's how I would have to do it. (Got rid of all my body and paint tools) The paint just has two stick right? The truck shop I used to work at was pretty fast-paced. Masking came off as soon as the spray gun was cleaned. Still wet. Several times, at the insistence of the front office clowns, trucks would roll out into snow or rain after having dried only an hour! In two years I only saw one come back because the paint severely blushed when the rain hit it. 90° summer thunderstorm.

How much do you have to reduce your paint so it will roll on?

 

[tree MDS]

We painted my old bandit 200+ with the epoxy primer and imron (dark green) paint about 13 years ago now. I sold it last winter and the kid that bought it still keeps a shine on it. Properly applied (liberally and prepped well) that paint is absolutely amazing. My dump still looks good too, same paint, twelve years latter.

Hopefully next winter I'll get to finally painting the new 250 company colors. I figure so what if it takes three months (laid back beer drinking months mind you) if it lasts anywhere near as long as the last one.

The factory imron paint jobs dont hold up as well unfortunately, my newer chipper has the imron option, its in its fith year and the 200+ almost looks as good after 13. Maybe they watered down the imron sinse I last used it?? I think they changed the epoxy sealer along the way too.

 

[Nemus Talea]

What is the value of a hardening agent?

I have found a spray gun and pot (separate) combination in the Grainger catalogue that holds a full gallon. One of my many problems, beside having little patience, was that it really was a bother to refill the pot. I had a quart pot separate from the gun (that I ruined) that was a Binks Debylis (?guess) and it seemed better than spraying with the pot on the gun either below or above it just from the standpoint of weight on the spray arm while moving back and forth. What is your preference if spraying a huge truck?

Binks and Dyvilbis are the husqvarna and stihl of spray guns. (and like saws some models are better than others.) When we painted big dumps we always had the dump body half raised so we could spray the underside and any modifications to the frame. (the hydraulic scissor frame chocked in place of course) The only way to spray the cab shield and front half of the body was from a 20 foot folding ladder and scaffold. Running up and down that to refill a paint cup was no fun. We would use the big paint pots on these big jobs but accurately mixing the paint was difficult and the lines from the pot to the gun would trip us as we tried to climb up and down the ladders.

As I said before we sprayed a lot of paint and you know a loaded paint gun gets pretty heavy. Scrawny kid as I was, I soon became ambidextrous. Switching hand-to-hand and having an extra guy just mixing paint soon became standard operating procedure on the ladders. The only place we liked using the pot was for painting the top of the cab shield and insides of the body because one load would put on two coats. (Of course this paint would be destroyed in one use but it's a new body and we had to splash a little color on the inside of it.) Still, a lot of extra trouble to clean up.

 

[Nemus Talea]

We painted my old bandit 200+ with the epoxy primer and imron (dark green) paint about 13 years ago now. I sold it last winter and the kid that bought it still keeps a shine on it. Properly applied (liberally and prepped well) that paint is absolutely amazing. My dump still looks good too, same paint, twelve years latter.

Hopefully next winter I'll get to finally painting the new 250 company colors. I figure so what if it takes three months (laid back beer drinking months mind you) if it lasts anywhere near as long as the last one.

The factory imron paint jobs dont hold up as well unfortunately, my newer chipper has the imron option, its in its fith year and the 200+ almost looks as good after 13. Maybe they watered down the imron sinse I last used it?? I think they changed the epoxy sealer along the way too.

I haven't played with Imron paint in 20 years. I loved it and hated it. It sprayed on real nice and was supertough. Applying it to NYSEG utility bodies was brutal because all that nasty overspray came right back in your face when spraying the insides of the cabinets and the pull out parts drawers. My eyebrows and eyelashes would be orange for a week. To compare, regular paint overspray would wash out immediately.

Don't get me wrong it's a great material but I don't think a novice without proper equipment should apply it and the painting surface must be meticulously prepared. This stuff costs a lot and if it flies off in the breeze it's money wasted. And as with all urethane and polyurethane it is very very dangerous to breathe. Think, "chainsaw operation without chaps." A regular respirator is not good enough.

I got out of painting as rules became stricter and water-based paints became the norm for regular automotive. Perhaps Imron is now safer and more earth friendly but whatever made it so nasty probably made it so good.

 

[tree MDS]

I haven't played with Imron paint in 20 years. I loved it and hated it. It sprayed on real nice and was supertough. Applying it to NYSEG utility bodies was brutal because all that nasty overspray came right back in your face when spraying the insides of the cabinets and the pull out parts drawers. My eyebrows and eyelashes would be orange for a week. To compare, regular paint overspray would wash out immediately.

Don't get me wrong it's a great material but I don't think a novice without proper equipment should apply it and the painting surface must be meticulously prepared. This stuff costs a lot and if it flies off in the breeze it's money wasted. And as with all urethane and polyurethane it is very very dangerous to breathe. Think, "chainsaw operation without chaps." A regular respirator is not good enough.

I got out of painting as rules became stricter and water-based paints became the norm for regular automotive. Perhaps Imron is now safer and more earth friendly but whatever made it so nasty probably made it so good.

I couldnt agree more dude. Good post, rep coming.

Funny thing, when I was starting out I would have done shots of that crap if I thought it would have turned my equipment green faster. lol.

 

[Ted J]

We painted my old bandit 200+ with the epoxy primer and imron (dark green) paint about 13 years ago now. I sold it last winter and the kid that bought it still keeps a shine on it. Properly applied (liberally and prepped well) that paint is absolutely amazing. My dump still looks good too, same paint, twelve years latter.

Hopefully next winter I'll get to finally painting the new 250 company colors. I figure so what if it takes three months (laid back beer drinking months mind you) if it lasts anywhere near as long as the last one.

The factory imron paint jobs dont hold up as well unfortunately, my newer chipper has the imron option, its in its fith year and the 200+ almost looks as good after 13. Maybe they watered down the imron sinse I last used it?? I think they changed the epoxy sealer along the way too.

I think that the quality of the paint being used will determine how long it last, as most evebody will probably agree. Even though it's a work truck, and you might eventually trade it in or sell it down the road, then you might get more for it because it looks good.

If you can put on one coat and have it last 10 years like tree MDS did, then it might be the reason he had it as long as he did, 'cause it probably still looked good. How many times have you looked at your truck, with that faded out paint job with 3 coats on it and decided it was time to get rid of it. You probably had or will lose money just trying to get rid of it.

It's all about curb appeal, and how much your time is worth. I'de rather mask it off and prep the surface the right way the first time, than do it 3 times. Most things get screwed up when ya get in a hurry.

There are some industrial coatings that you can spray, brush or roll, and recommend different additives for each. Most of the industrial brands make coating systems that are used together, and are formulated that way for a reason, to minimize any reasons for screw-ups in the finished product.

When I used to go out to the chemical plants I would see them apply the paint in any or all three ways and they always looked good. They had to look good, the customer was putting out some big bucks $$$.

Here is a link for one manufacrurer, that I have no affiliation with, but you can go to the individual product data sheets, that describes the prep, application and clean-up. http://pc.dupont.com/dpc/en/US/html/visitor/b/dic/s/product/dic.html

Later,
Ted

PS: I agree that this post needs more PICS though, or it just ends up being :spam:

 

[Ted J]

I haven't played with Imron paint in 20 years. I loved it and hated it. It sprayed on real nice and was supertough. Applying it to NYSEG utility bodies was brutal because all that nasty overspray came right back in your face when spraying the insides of the cabinets and the pull out parts drawers. My eyebrows and eyelashes would be orange for a week. To compare, regular paint overspray would wash out immediately.

Don't get me wrong it's a great material but I don't think a novice without proper equipment should apply it and the painting surface must be meticulously prepared. This stuff costs a lot and if it flies off in the breeze it's money wasted. And as with all urethane and polyurethane it is very very dangerous to breathe. Think, "chainsaw operation without chaps." A regular respirator is not good enough.

I got out of painting as rules became stricter and water-based paints became the norm for regular automotive. Perhaps Imron is now safer and more earth friendly but whatever made it so nasty probably made it so good.

I was painting cars as a hobby 20 or so years ago, and I use to vaseline coat the inside of my nose with q-tips, and also apply it to my hair and face with a light coat making me look like a greaser. It did make clean up so much easier, even though I had all the protective gear on.

Ted

 

[treevet]

That is a good idea. Man, when it is 90 degrees out it is hard to keep safety clothing on and eye protection gets steamed up. If you had a booth and a/c it would all be a pleasure. (relatively speaking).

Here is a pict of the next candidate for improvement. It is currently getting an engine rebuild.

Couple of fenders, then a quick makeover. We use this truck for a lot of things. It pulls the mini skids, small stump grinder, small sprayer, runs around on a golf course, etc

 

[Blakesmaster]

I don't know what kind of paint you are using but if it is acrylic enamel, 15 minutes between re-coats would be good enough. If you are enjoying the same weather as we are near Buffalo this low humidity is great for spraying.

The other day I intended to walk you through how I would paint equipment but was called away. I guess by now you have figured it out for yourself. The biggest trick to laying paint is using the trigger correctly, distance, and timing. The trigger is two stage. The first stage is just air and the second stage sprays the paint. At the end of each sweep with the gun let the trigger off to release only air so the nozzle can clear itself and not leave too much paint at the end of each run. Depending on paint and wind your aircap should be about 8 to 10 inches away from the painting surface - do not let the gun arc. Timing is important when you cannot see the paint as it lays on - a hard angle, high low angle, or the sun's glare.

If you used a hardening additive be sure to clean the gun immediately after use. If it dries overnight the spray gun will never be serviceable again.

Not having fun? Obviously the neighborhood cats are the same color today as they were yesterday. (Easy PETA d-bags, I'm just joking.)

My old man showed us the trick with the trigger and we got fairly decent by the end. Of course, there's a few runs here and there and it's not pro by any means but we used good quality paint and primer, plus spent a lot of prep time so I'm pretty satisfied with the results. I'll post some pics as soon as I get the decals on. It's a little too much green right now. Thanks for all your help, boss.

 

[treevet]

The trick at the trigger being....you pull it and air only is expelled. Then you span a sprayed area with more trigger emitting paint. Then at the end of the span you let off trigger and the paint is cleared from the lines and you have just air again to start the next span with just air. Is this the trick?

 

[Blakesmaster]

The trick at the trigger being....you pull it and air only is expelled. Then you span a sprayed area with more trigger emitting paint. Then at the end of the span you let off trigger and the paint is cleared from the lines and you have just air again to start the next span with just air. Is this the trick?

That's what I was referencing. Nice little system. Keeps everything much more consistent.

 

[capetrees]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it in here but every couple years I paint my frames and underbodies of my trucks with a Wagner power sprayer, the wagner paint crew, http://www.wagnerspraytech.com/portal/wagner_paint_crew_spray,43225,747.html
and I have been using rustoleum and have had pretty decent results. It does dull out but it defends against rust great. We plow the trucks in the slush and salt and undercoating is a must. Clean up of the paint crew is a bit much but man does it put out some paint! Drips are everywhere but thats a good thing for undercoating.

What designation is rustoleum? Is it acrylic enamel or what is it? I'd like to use the same set up to paint the outer shell of the trucks and equipment but need a paint that won't dull out as quick and can clean up easy. Any insights? I've seen mentioned the Imron paints. Any others? I understand Urethane enamel is the best but where would I buy something like that and is it easy to apply?