Hey everyone, I am nearing the end of body work on my 1958 F-100 and am going to paint it myself. I do not have high expectations for it but I am trying to learn. I am most likely going to do single stage urethane paint but I am not at all an expert on knowing if this is the right idea. I ask you guys what your experience with single stage is and if there is any things I should get instead. My goal is to have a glossy look that I can take care of relatively easy, I have looked in other forms and single stage urethane seems to be the best for that but if I am wrong please let me know. These photos are old but its just to show the truck itself, Thank you for any help that you can provide as this is my first time doing this all.

 

I found single stage overall easier to mix and spray. One complication for me was the paint has more tendency to run. To get a nice gloss the instructions had me put it on wet coats... it only had a run in the valley area of the panel.

I recommend buying extra paint so if you have any unsatisfactory areas you can just sand and repeat. This way you succeed regardless!


Be sure to get the hardener too.

 

Guys will say got to do 2 stage and I call that BS!
I am lazy and I could not see painting my truck 2 times , why do you think they call it 2 stage?
Color is stage 1 and clear is stage 2, twice the painting in my book.
Clear will give it a little more protection as the clear will take the hits (scratches & stock chips) and it also makes it look deeper.

I did my driver in single stage like I said I am lazy and I was already doing two different colors so was already doing more painting than if just 1 color.



I think that was after a year on the road. I did not color sand or buff that paint, it is the way it came out of the gun. But I do have to tell I know how to do body work and paint just did not paint anything in like 30+ years till this truck.

I also would say you do not need top of the line HVLP spray gun(s). I have the Debilvis Starting line 3 gun kit I gut on sale through Eastwood a few year back.
It has 1 primer gun w/ large cup, 1 small jamb gun that I have a large cup on and the large paint gun w/ large cup.
The HVLP guns use different tips & needles for different products like primer & paint and why the 2 large guns.
All guns / cups use Dkup liners that hold the paint, easy clean up just throw the liner away and run thinner through the gun to clean it.

This truck is the first time using a HVLP gun, all other painting was old school guns.
For you and anyone starting out painting start with an area that needs paint but if not 100% will not make a difference.
For me to learn the gun(s) I painted the firewall, then the inside of the cab door jambs and door edges when on the cab, inside of the fenders off the truck and same with the under side of the hood. This way I could get a feel for the guns and how they spray and adjust them for how I wanted them to spray.

For the bed I would say try painting the inside of it first even if you are going to have it lined. Like me you will get the feel for the gun, how fast or slow / close or far you need to be for the paint to lay down good. You dont have to worry if it runs just move a little faster or if it is to dry just move slower.
This will also tell you how many coats it will take to cover the outside. My red had a lot of clear so it took more coats than the white did. I found this out doing the firewall & inside the cab.
Once you get that down then do the outside of the bed and you should have a pretty good job. BTW it will be easier doing the outside. The bed inside you need to do the walls first and once covered do the floor as you will not be able to get up inside once the floor is done to paint the walls.

Just to let you know the paint I used was from NAPA and was their lower line, read less money, but I think it sprayed great. I used all the same product, paint, reducer, hardner, yes I used hardner and followed they mix ratio other than the last coat. The last coat I thinned out more and did what we call 2 dust coats.
You move faster than when painting but you are laying down the 2nd coats right on top of of the first before moving on to the next panel.
Because there was paint down already and set up a little longer between coats the 2 dust coats being thinner flows out so not cut & buff needed.
Maybe as a beginner skip the dust coating part but it is a trick I used back in the day with hot paint jobs. You heat the paint, no reducer 1 coat a lot faster than normal let set up and the 2 dust coats and walk away as it was done. Could not use hardner as the heat would make it react and harden in the spray gun LOL.

If you do have runs a trick you can use if it has not set up is use masking tape and use the sticky side and "lift the run off" the panel. Tape only touches the run not the paint around it. Next coat should flatten it out so no tape mark. You kind of do the same for bugs that get on the panel, pick them out and next coat should flow out the area. Worst is you may have to let it day a few days, sand and just give it a quick coat or 2.

Paint area as you will not have a fancy spray booth but if you do good for you.
Try and do the painting in the garage if you can. sweep the floor, blow off all benches and the floor. sweep the floor and blow it again.
Cover the walls and benches with plastic (see my picture plastic covers everything) wet the floor just before painting but not to wet because when moving the air hose the water may get kicked up on the panels to be painted. Water keep the dust / dirt down also try not to have to much air moving as that will kick up dust / dirt.
A MUST A GOOD PAINT MASK,THE 2 CARTAGE TYPE, and wear a paint suit.
Think that covers it and then some
Have fun, it will feel good when done and you can say you did the paint job.
People are shocked that I painted my truck and I show them the pictures of all the work I did.
Good luck
Dave ----

ps hope you have a good air compressor, I do and I have 5 air hose drops in my garage so I dont have to go far for air.

 

Wow! Thank you so much for all of the tips and tricks. I have not looked a lot into guns yet but I know I need to, I am willing to spend a good amount of money because it will still end up cheaper then a commercial paint job. I absolutely love how yours turned out and if mine could even look half that good I will be happy. I definitely am going to practice painting before I go straight in, do not wanna mess it up big time. I am lucky to have a good auto paint shop in my area that has high quality stuff that I can buy, after doing more research and this I am 100% going with single stage as I do not want to paint it two times . I do not have to worry about air but I definitely am going to spend a lot of time on setting up the area to be correct. I am going to get colored primer that matches the paint, I know its not a necessity but I want to do. I do not think there are any downsides to doing that but if there are please let me know. I am extremely grateful you shared this so thank you!!

 

No nothing wrong at all and it is best to go with primer close to the color of paint you will be painting as it will take less coats to cover.
With all the block sanding and different color primers I knew I had to prime the truck all 1 color before the paint went on.
If you watch any of the shows on TV and they put a "sealer coat" that is what they are doing, getting it all 1 color before putting down the paint as light & dark under coat can and will show through even with a lot of paint put down.

Primer is cheap paint is not. Just the red paint on my truck was $1000, no reducer, hardner, primer, thinner, etc. So the less paint needed the better.

I have not used a HF HVLP gun but they might be good enough for the price?
Other wise I think the Starting line 3 gun kit I got from Eastwood is a great gun for us "nobody painters" for the price LOL
I got mine when it was on sale so maybe look for a sale. Think they also list a 2 gun kit but cant remember what 2 guns?

I have used a $20 old school spray gun on a buddys race Jeep, it was black.
He had guys wanting to know who painted it and how much sanding & buffing to get it to look like it did.
He would tell them that is the way it came out of the gun and they did not believe him.
He then would point them to me and I said word for word how it was done not knowing my buddy told them how and pointed them to me.
So I believe a good painter can use just about any gun if it sprays half way good and get a good job from it.

I have at least 1 more car and maybe my drag car would be 2 cars to paint and if you clean the guns really good after each use they should last forever.

Oh I did not say this but you may have seen it posted, a good paint job is only maybe 10% of the look, its the 90% in the prep before the paint goes on that makes the paint job look good. So prepping the body is the hard part. I also did not say I hate body work, painting not so much but the body filler part I HATE!
The body filler dust gets everywhere and thats what I hate.
Dave ----

 

Consider putting up a temporary low cost paint booth with plastic/tarps. I did mine with tarp and you need lots of good lighting to see the paint laying down and the wet line. This is especially true when having matching color primer! I use grey primer which takes careful coverage to not shine through but helps you see it flow on. A couple pics of my temporary booth and truck.

 

Thanks!! I am looking into guns at the moment and will probably decide soon. I do have to agree with you about the body work... It sucks, it is slow but I know it is important and am trying hard to think the more work I put in the better it will be. Thank you once again for all your insight and advice (:

 

Wow! I love how your blue came out and the truck overall looks beautiful. Thank you for the advice on the setup and everything like that. I really appreciate and when I am done I will have to update this thread!

 

The paint is no better than the prep so be advised everything shows up once shiny. Take your time and be thorough...