2K primer and yes, its fathom green!

The Texas late January temps are in the high 60s/ low 70s so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to primer the beast.

Total cost with paint, booth, supplies is just over $500.  This is near a may -co cost of a quickie acrylic that may last 5 years kept in a garage and pampered. 
I though- am using single stage urethane that is basically really industrial shiny tractor-like paint.

 Did you guess the color picked from the last post?
http://jims73mgb.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-final-panels.html
I'll give you a hint, it's green, but not from Britania.  Sorry Charlie.

**Notes:
  ** use a respirator- this stuff has crap in it that will make you stupid or give you cancer or both!
Wear a tyvek suit and gloves to keep this crap off of you.  You don't need to drink it to get it into your system and do damage **

If you have rattle canned a vehicle or chair or whatever you will have the very most basic, general idea down on spray technique.  Also go to you  tube and check out how to paint from different sources, each will give you pointers on spray pattern, technique  mixing, etc...

**have everything set up before you think about mixing paint.** 
I had 2 compressors hooked in unison through a air filter and a moisture filter then set the gun to shoot between 30 to 40 psi with the trigger pulled.  Then all I would have to do is set the spray pattern and trigger pull while in the booth.

My primer said it had a pot life of 3 hours, I gave it 2 just to be on the safe side. 
  The first paint mix and set up is a bit tedious trying to get all the parts mixed the right way.
Mine was a 4:1:1 mix meaning 4 parts primer (mix the hell out of it every time you open the lid)
to 1 part reducer, to 1 part activator ( also known as catalyst , hardener)

This mess is mixed in a graduated paint mix bucket (get more than you need), poured through a strainer (If you think you need 3 strainers- get 6!) and into the paint gun. 
Get the $9 stand that holds the gun and strainer- worth every penny!

Go in the booth and spray the plastic wall or a sheet of paper to get the pattern down and to see if it is runny, too concentrated, or both.  The runs will happen here instead of on the car.

There is a flash time (mine was 10 to 15 minutes) that must be observed between coats, this allows the nastys to evaporate and leave the primer where you sprayed it.

The 10 to 15 minutes between coats while mixing a new batch of paint is just enough time to strip down the gun and clean the paint out of it before it sets up.  Do it - or have blotches and runs and drips on your car!

I did 3 coats that took about 1.5 hours.
It took 1/2 gallon of primer,  and a quart of hardener and a quart of reducer.
The 20 oz (600cc) spray gun would do about half the car on a heavy setting.

I will re tweak the spray booth for final paint to have more airflow with a finer filter, but it worked pretty good.

Can't even see where the cow molested the car in the field can ya?

No its not zz top, the hood was balanced so I could reach all of it.

This thing may turn out fairly straight after all of this...

I sprayed the trunk surround and the second coat put the "boot" back in place

BEFORE: What it started out as...In late November or December

AFTER:  a grey masterpiece.  Not masterpiece, maybe a beginners gallery showing.





harbor freight paint system... Eh- it works.
$47 for gun kit with 1.8 tip, 1.4 tip and a 1.0mm touch up gun.
  Paint mask worked great. $16,  extra air fittings $6, new hose for booth only $17,
wire brushes for gun cleaning, $2, and other stuff.    Total $120

When I opened the paint box, I found there wasn't any reducer for the primer.  The nason was a o'reilly special order for
$40 extra bucks over the $220 for the paint and primer.