first of all, i'll start by saying I've read all the warnings, and the sticky threads, i know the dangers and i know the precautions i have to take! so lets not cover old ground please

ok, so i promised a guy i'd spray his van for him, sorting out rust patches etc, and now i need to get it sprayed. I've bought cellulose from halfords before, and thats what i was going to do. easiest soluition for me right now.

went into halfords, ended up with 3 people, 1st one was on break, said he's got all the stuff in, 2nd guy was checking there was enough of the paints needed to mix the right colour. he didn't know the price, he gets someone else. last guy stares me in the eye for about 15 seconds and says, there was a bit of paper, we can't do it anymore. we can only sell metallics and pearlescent paints, no flat colours. but couldn't explain why. wtf?! whats that about?

anyway, i'm now stuck as i have to finish the job, and its going to have to be 2k. not my ideal choice given the health warnings, but never mind.

question, how is the paint mixed? i know theres hardener and a drop of thinners normally.
with cellulose, you mixed equal parts with thinner, ie 500ml of paint gave you 1litre of sprayable paint.
how does it work out with 2k? will i need more paint?
what thinners would you use? can you use the same cellulose thinners?

any good online guides anywhere? i knoew i was going to have to take the plunge and learn at some point, didn't know it would be so soon though lol

why can't you get suitable non-2k paint elsewhere?

There's no shortage of suppliers...

any suggestions as to where? i'd need it really for thursday or friday. if this rain keeps up, i can maybe push it back a bit to next week, i'd prefer cellulose really. no where locally sells it anymore. even asked in a body shop, and the guy was great help, giving me loads of tips, but didn't know where to buy paints lol

cellulose is crap.
primer= 5 parts primer /1 part activator/ 1 part thinner (5:1:1)
base= 50/50 no hardener (1:1)
clear= 2 parts clear/ 1 part hardener plus 5% thinners (2:1:+5%)


buy a mixing ruler that has the mixing scale on dont guess.
adam

quote:

---

Originally posted by oadamo
cellulose is crap.
primer= 5 parts primer /1 part activator/ 1 part thinner (5:1:1)
base= 50/50 no hardener (1:1)
clear= 2 parts clear/ 1 part hardener plus 5% thinners (2:1:+5%)


buy a mixing ruler that has the mixing scale on dont guess.
adam

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by blakep82

quote:

---

Originally posted by oadamo
cellulose is crap.
primer= 5 parts primer /1 part activator/ 1 part thinner (5:1:1)
base= 50/50 no hardener (1:1)
clear= 2 parts clear/ 1 part hardener plus 5% thinners (2:1:+5%)


buy a mixing ruler that has the mixing scale on dont guess.
adam

---

awesome
what do you mean 50/50 no hardener for the base though?
i really didn't want to have to learn a new way of painting now lol
also, with it being plain white, do i still need a clear coat? the rest of the van doesn't have a laquer

been looking for online guides, there is mention of isocyanate free 2k paints. are they available yet?

[Edited on 10/5/11 by blakep82]

---

and unless you sand the van down with a da it will look poo you can do it by hand but it will take you a week and still look poo
adam

the van's a 10 year old merc vito. its got no laquer on it already. just gloss paint. you can get 2k as a gloss paint though can't you? so no laquer?

Just finished spraying my Land Rover in 2k, as said, celly is crap. So despite the risk I always
use 2k, but I only do it very rarely.

Used a solid colour, no lacquer required and I have a shiny finish I'm very happy with.

Mix depends on manufacturer to a degree. I used to use stuff from Autopaint International
with a 4:1 or 5:1 mix adding thinners to taste (metaphorically ). This lot came from Cunbar
paints and is a high solids mixed at 3:1. You should use 2k thinners for best results.
Not being the worlds quickest at painting I used a slow thinner to give me a bit of time to
avoid overspray. Does make the floor go sticky though !

Don't try to get a really smooth finish from the gun, stop at the point where you feel it needs a
last little tickle as the paint flows together as it dries. So easy to get runs if you go that bit too
heavy.

I tend to put three or four coats so if you do end up with a few speckly patches or the odd run it
can be flatted off and polished.



[Edited on 10/5/11 by NigeEss]

You can still get cellulose locally to me, but choice of colours is becoming limited. I paid £30 for half a litre mixed recently so the price is going up too. I think the idea is to deter the diy user and make them change to modern paints read: professional sprayers.

my 2p,s worth

i think celly is the best,very forgiving and easy to use,never used hardner just 50/50 for primer and 50/50 bottom coat and 75/25 for nice shine

yes you do get a good finish from 2k which i know from doing my 5 series front bumper but even with 4 coats on it, it will chip off very easy.

thats why people clear coat the finish to give it protection.

good luck with the paint.

ensure you have the room your spraying in or the gazebo is warm and not damp otherwise its an uphill battle.

if your after an ok finish then wet and dry between each coat but make sure its fully dry.

dont heat up the panel your working on as this causes issues too. i had my heater too close to the bumper on one side which made a mess of one side of one coat.

i just wet and dried it down and sprayed it again and it was ok.

http://www.upd.co.uk/Members.aspx

Dunno about this 2k stuff, other than it's dangerous for home use, but that's been covered already....

What I do know though is that CPC in Hayes sell celly paint and can mix to any colour you want. No idea if they'll deliver, but I've got to go down there this week anyway so I could get what you need and courier it....

Chris

Celulose paint supplier link
Or why not use single pack polyester base coat and a single pack clear laquer?

cheers everyone! sorted now i think. ordered some from an ebay seller, was already listed as the colour i needed, £16 for a litre plus about £8 post? should be here by friday he reckons but can't guarantee, which is fine coz the weather's sh!te anyway