Paint and Body Fox Body Painting 101

@Davedacarpainter Regular foam double-sided tape or is there an automative application double-sided tape?

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So I got a new paint gun.

I used to be a Sata man when it came to paint guns. Then about 13-14 years ago I switched to Iwata. I haven’t used a Sata since then.

Not that they were bad at the time. They shot about equal to the Iwatas. They just used a bunch more materials.

Just lately I’ve had the chance to use the latest Sata on the market. It’s a Sata 5500 with a 1.4 O tip. Plus, it’s an HVLP.

Sata’s first attempts at HVLP technology about twenty years ago were not terribly stellar. So I never looked at their stuff.

I tried this model 5500 with less than high hopes.

Boy have they improved! My paint jobs are coming out even smoother now. I’m very impressed. My Iwata’s are simply old technology now.

My boss gave me a brand new 5500 for Christmas! Woohoo!

Sata has changed things up with this new series. They offer both an “I” tip and an “O” tip. The different tips simply have a different spray pattern. “I” tips are great for base, and “O” tips are excellent for clear and solid base coats.

The catch? They’re expensive as hell! I guess not so much when the boss gives you one for free :D . Roughly in the mid $700s depending where you buy them.

Now I got to figure out how to buy one more for base coats. Maybe two more really. An “O” tip for solid base coats would be best.

Anyhow, pictures.
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He’s ok then?

I just started a new blood pressure medicine that doesn’t allow me to have more than two beers at a time without falling asleep.......I’m still trying to decide if this is a good thing or not...........
 
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He’s ok then?

I just started a new blood pressure medicine that doesn’t allow me to have more than two beers at a time without falling asleep.......I’m still trying to decide if this is a good thing or not...........
He was fine..... until in got there. Thank goodness for 80s volvo front end impact ratings
 
He’s ok then?

I just started a new blood pressure medicine that doesn’t allow me to have more than two beers at a time without falling asleep.......I’m still trying to decide if this is a good thing or not...........
It's gotta be great for the grocery budget at least? Sorry you're on meds. How's the ttop coming?!!?
 
Some day when I'm rich (never) I would love to grab a top of the line paint gun.
I just spray paint occasionally as a hobbyist but find it to be very satisfying.
A few years ago I stepped up from your basic HF/Lowes gun to a Finex 3000,
for me I get way better results with the Finex especially laying down clear.

As a side note, I was over my buddies the other day and he had a friend of his who
is a professional painter respraying a fender for him.
To my surprise the guy was using on of those 3M guns with the interchangeable plastic tips,
job came out great.
 
Well hell.......

I’ve become so enamored with my new clear gun (that Sata 5500 above) that I had to try the 1.3 I tip I mentioned above.

Holy cow it’s a wonderful gun! It shoots metallics and pearls so well. Even large, difficult metallics spray with next to zero mottling. EXCELLENT gun.

I had to buy my own. This is now the most I ever paid for a new paint gun. With the built in air gauge it cost $950 with tax included.
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Since this is what I do for a living, I decided what the hell. It makes me appear to be an even better painter.

I ponied up the extra couple hundred for the digital air gauge since the gun shoots solids best for me at around 27 psi and metallics and pearls at around 22-23 psi. It’s worth it when you use it dailly.
 
My old color gun is Nick, not the clear/ solids color gun yet. I’ll need to get one more of the Sata’s before it can go.

This latest gun set me back and it’ll be a few months before I pony up for another.

If you’re interested, PM me and I’ll call. It’s been awhile since we talked anyhow, it’ll be good to hear from you.
 
Let me get through the heater core replacement, I would have already started if I hadn't gotten sick as a dog over the holidays... I need to make sure it's all good and then I think my next major project might be paint. If I do that next, I think it'll be a very long process where I first get to sanding and put it in primer and do bodywork, and then I'll decide if I want to paint it myself or not. I've never owned a nice paint gun, and I've done decent jobs with CHEAP guns, so I can only imagine how much easier it is with a quality tool.
 
Hi I happened upon this thread just now. Went through about 10 pages or so, what a great idea. I don't have time to get through the whole thing right now although I'm sure I will eventually.

Do you have any tips for dealing with the window trim seals? Specifically I'm painting the roof only on a 99 mustang gt coupe. I won't need any blending since I have the exact paint and the roof doesn't touch any other panels anyway. But the trim on the rear window and windshield is rubber and tight to the roof.

Last time I used a small wire to hold the trim up a little until the paint work was done. It worked okay but just wanted to see if you had any other tricks.

Some history, the first time I had the car sprayed they used some new on the market clear coat and it ended up peeling in sheets right off the paint (paint still intact and attached to the car like the clear didn't stick to it) only a couple years later. I heard that thats what happened with the particular clear in the next few years but I think the cause is that they waited too long to spray the clear. Had to have the whole car completely sanded down and re-sprayed. This 2nd time around about 3 years in, the roof began cracking in a couple spots, pulling up. Not sure why it's really bizarre because the rest of the paint is perfect. I'm wondering if it's from sitting out in the sun too much as it is black and I park in the driveway mostly in summer when I drive it a lot. I don't believe there was any bondo at all on the roof. I know there was some bondo in a couple other spots and those areas are still pristine.

I've done a good amount of painting cars and bikes as a hobby, but this was my baby and I wanted to pay to have it right. Now I feel like I should have just done it myself to begin with and the old saying if you want it done right do it yourself comes to mind. I just hate the cutting and buffing I have to do to get the results I want or I would paint a lot more.