Im am going to paint the top of mi truck,because I did some body work on the roof.Now has anyone ever painted a truck outside.I got a garage,and it worked for painting my dads mustang but my truck aint going to fit in there unless i roll it in on rims.What kind of conditions,if any are good for painting a truck outside.I have painted some stuff but never outside.We got 100 degree days right now so I am thinking about taking this week off and knocking it out.The paint should dry in about 30 if I do it madday when its hot.

Thanks

 

I painted my truck in a non-sealed garage, and here's what I found. First, no wind. A slight breeze is WAY too much. Second, get a tack rag and use it a lot. Third, 70 degrees is ideal. at 100, the paint will bake when it hits the metal. Fourth, get a tack rag and use it a lot. Fifth, follow the directions. Finally, (at least for me) clearcoat and wetsanding made a huge difference in the look of the paint. It will also help get out all the dust and bugs you WILL get in your paint.

Have fun and post some pics and your experiences.

 

I'd try to at least rig up some kind of tarped shelter or something to prevent stuff from falling on the roof when painting. You do not want to really paint in sun and hundred degree temps, paint will be drying before it gets out of the gun, probably giving you a very dry and rough paint job or the top surface of the paint film will dry to fast and trap in solvent, giving you solvent popping. Best would probably be to get all set up and ready, and paint fairly early in the morning, when sun is down, things are still and bugs and insects are at a minimum. Make sure you wipe down with wax and grease remover, no dew is settled on the surface. Allow the w and grease remover time to evaporate well, or blow it off with an airhose and rag before tacking and painting. Years ago I painted a car (an older limo) for a friend of a friend with delstar enamel. But he did have a tarped off shelter to work in. Didn't spray early in the morning, it was actually evening before we got bodywork done and ready for paint. Losing light during last coats. Was an adventure, something I won't forget. All in all it turned out pretty decent. It looked pretty good when spraying as the sun was going down, but I wasn't totally happy with it looking at it next day, didn't spray quite as wet as I would have liked, white can be a little hard to read the flow even in good lighting. I wanted to wetsand and buff it to make it better, but he said he was happy with it the way it was.

 

I agree with kenseth17. You don't want to paint a truck that has been sitting in the sun for any length of time because the metal will be so hot the paint will dry the instant it hits it and be rough as heck. get all your prep work done the day before ( sanding, taping etc), set up a tarp overhead to keep stuff from falling onto your fresh paint, this will also help keep dew from settling on the truck. then get up early. dry the truck off if needed, wipe it liberally with wax and grease remover, let it evaporate then tack rag it and shoot it. After the paint has dried to the touch pull the paper off carefully the pull it into the sun which will help "bake" it. I did this with a fire truck, had to paint it outside cause it wouldn't fit in my garage cause, well, it's a FIRE TRUCK. I shot acrylic enamel with a hardner added. It's not "show" quality but it looks good.