Need info

[Packy]

Hello.

I'm getting ready to do some paint work and I would like to do it myself. This will also be my first paint job so I'm getting as much info first. I do have experience spraying high end furniture with gloss paint, so I'm not a total noob. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for getting info? I've seen a lot of stuff on the net and have talked to a lot of people but I seem to get conflicting opinions on various stages of the process. What is a fail-safe process that will last at least 10 years?

I'm going to buy a soda blaster to start removing paint. This is the one I was looking at:Portable Soda Blaster 40lb Paint Remover | eBay

I was just planning on buying soda from eastwood.

I'm going to use mineral spirits (turpentine) to clean the surface.

I have a 50 gallon compressor and don't know what spray gun to use. Can anyone point me to a good beginner gun that won't be too expensive but won't give me crappy results? I don't want to spend too much money but I don't want junk. I was thinking about the deVilbiss but I also heard I should just get the HVLP system.

Also, can anyone point me in the right direction of the paint process. For example: metal->epoxy primer or etch primer->paint. What kind of epoxy primer or etch primer should I buy and what kind of paint is recommended?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

-P

[Packy]

I think I'm looking for a single stage white paint also.... I think.

[E Sully]

Do not use soda blasting on any bodywork that will be painted, it can cause adhesion problems. Many paint manufacturers will void their warranty.
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Soda_blasting

[Packy]

Do you have a source for a good and cheap plastic media blaster? I think the one I linked to was intended for soda but can use plastic and was only about $120.

Plastic seems to be the preferred media here. What I gathered is sand is best for removing everything and great with rust but may warp panels. Plastic has no heat, but isn't the best for rust. Soda is same, not best with rust, but good for removing the pant and primers.

I have two situations with two chassis. One has some old primer I want to remove and was thinking plastic may be the best and the other has some good rust and was thinking some aggressive soda would work well but now I'm thinking plastic should be the best for both because of the what you're saying about adhesion problems.

Anyone have a good, cheap plastic spot blaster?

[Packy]

Also, what kind of plastic media is typically used? Where do you guys buy your stuff? I'm in SoCal, Los Angeles area.

Thanks again in advance.

[yel911]

I had my car plastic media blasted. For any paint/gun procedure, check with your local body supply shop. My local shop worked with me from bare metal to buffing the clear. Also, I went with base/clear paint, very easy to use.

[962porsche]

soda is a great for removing the finish off of things like plastic bumpers , aluminum and fiberglass panels . not so good for steel bodies .
soda will do little to nothing to remove rust !
plastic media will work great for the panels of a steel bodied car .
it will remove rust up to a point . how ever if it's a scaling rust like many old truck chassis plastic is not the media you would pick for that .

soda like all medias have good points and bad about them .
I have never heard of a paint CO. saying they will not warranty a finish if you soda blasted the substrate 1st as like I stated cars with fiberglass and aluminum bodies that is the media you would tend to pick . even if you soda blasted a steel body you still have to prep it the right way just as you would for any media blasting before you apply any paint co's products over the top of the bare substrate .

you do not use the same blaster for plastic as you do for soda .
plastic is a lot like a very light 001 sand for blasting more like a dust then sand it's self or glass beads in the way it feels in your hand and not at all like a beach sand feel .

so blasting equipment other then the nozzle size you would use is kind of the same for plastic media and a fine sand .

we buy our plastic media from a blasting supply co. that sells all the different medias for blasting . we buy it in 50 gal. drums .

blasting with plastic is the same as you would blast with any other light blasting media .
plastic will not build the heat as other medias will but you still have to take care not to warp the crap out of the panels . but this is the case with all medias when you blast .
a pressure pot blaster is what you would want if your striping a hole car down to bare steel .
the air supply is also very important ! you need clean dry air for blasting just as you do for painting . if you have water or moisture in your air supply the media will stick together from the moisture and you could warp the panels from that as the size of the media will be bigger from sticking together as it's coming out of the guns nozzle .
it will act like your using a bigger heavier media .