Quote:
Originally Posted by bkw3614
For all you painters out there, how big of an air compressor do you have and what would be a good one to get without breaking the bank or enriching the power company? ... I don't have the means to sandblast it, so it will be a wire brush and sand, sand, sand. I want this tractor to be nice, but I am no painter. What paints would be good to use for primer, red, and clear, if necessary?
Brian Wittman
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The HVLP guns don't take much air at all - and remember that most GT's are small spray surfaces, so even with a regular siphon gun, a reasonable compressor should keep up as long as you can pause between objects.
I use a 30 gallon tank/5 hp compressor in my shop, but have sprayed off a 10 gallon 2 hp one before for small stuff. Starting at around $130 at Harbor Freight or Princess, on up to around a grand for a nice home use compressor. I used an old sears one that was given to me and I replaced the reed valves in for many years!
As far as paint, my best recommendation is to go to your local auto paint store and talk to them about what you want to do. Some things go together and others don't, so they can keep you compatible. Basically, your looking at a primer (go with an epoxy primer/filler to fill in your scratches and imperfections - you can get thick stuff that is almost a spray bondo filler..), maybe a sealer, depending on what you are covering, and a base/clear combination or just a color coat of paint. There will also be reducers, catalysts, hardeners, etc depending on what brand/type you use.
You will also need some supplies - lacquer thinner/acetone (depending on what you use), degreaser, tack cloth, masking tape, etc Again, the paint store can steer you in the right direction...
If you don't have much paint experience, you can practice on a cardboard box - the edges and horizontal/vertical surfaces mimic what you do on the tractor and you can get used to the guns pattern.
Oh, and with red, you hit the jackpot! Because of pigments, red is one of the most expensive colors to buy. But it generally covers well (unlike yellow).