Hey all, i have recently purchased some second hand upper door moulds for my calais, and as they need a respray i thought id post a tech article on how to do this at home using spraycans. If you have an air compressor and spraygun they would be better for the larger areas like bumpers, but for side moulds, wing mirrors and calais skirts cans do a great job for minimal outlay. A few things to remember here are: 1) Preparation is about 80% of a job like this, the more time you spend on sanding/priming, the better the result will be. 2) If you have little to no experience with spraycans, do some practice on some scrap material to get the feel right, many light coats will always be better than 1 or 2 heavy ones, you will know how far to hold the can and how heavy you can spray before the paint runs etc. 3) Be patient. There is a lot of waiting between steps, as the last coat you did must be dry before you can sand it again. A carton of beer comes in handy for this. 4) A good environment for spraying is in the shade, ventilated but not windy, like in a garage with the door up or a carport. Make sure you move all cars well away (especially the old vl) as you dont want overspray drifting over it, and a day where some direct sunlight is available. Typically direct sunlight is never good for spraying, but there are 2 instances during this job where you can make it work in your favour. 5) I am spraying door moulds, however all the same theory, steps and products are the same for bumpers. Obviously this is an easier process with the moulds/ bumpers removed, but can be done whilst still on the car. Just remember to mask everything really well with newspaper and automotive masking tape, its more expensive than normal tape but it wont take the paint off when you remove it. Heres the things you will need.These are all available at any auto parts store like supercheap, repco, etc. 1. Wet/dry sandpaper, i have been using 800 grit and 1200 grit, and a sanding block. [IMG] [/IMG] 2. A random orbit sander. This is optional, but it takes a lot of the work out of the initial sanding down. I used 180 and 240 grit pads. If you are not using one, get the equivalent wet/dry paper. [IMG] [/IMG] 3. A solvent of some kind. I used K&H Wax and Grease Remover, very good for painting and not as harsh as acetone etc [IMG] [/IMG] 4. Primer. I had 2 types on hand from previous jobs, a primer/filler and a normal primer, special plastic primer is also available, this primer is especially for plastics and vinyls, however the primer i used was fine. [IMG] [/IMG] 5. Asteroid silver (for calias), or MX grey (for executive), just ask at the counter if you cant find it. [IMG] [/IMG] 6. Clear laquer. [IMG] [/IMG] Before you start, make use of that direct sunlight. Put all your cans in the sun. Half an hour or so should do it, this will warm your paint a little and give it a nice consistency and fluidity coming out of the can. There is no telling how long the paint has been sitting on the shelf, and despite a full 5 minutes of shaking the can the paint can still be lumpy and spatter when you spray. [IMG] [/IMG] Step 1. Grab your moulds or bumper and give them a good wipe with your grease remover.Then give them a sand with the orbital sander or your heavy grit sandpaper. Taking all the paint off is not necessary, you just want all flaky and cracked stuff off, and try to sand out any chips or scratches in the plastic. Paint stripper is also not necessary. [IMG] [/IMG] [IMG] [/IMG] Step 2. Wipe again with grease remover. Because there were a few heavy scratches in the moulds i was doing, i first hit them with the primer/filler, which is thicker than the normal primer and fills scratches nicely. [IMG] [/IMG] [IMG] [/IMG] Step 3. Wait to dry, then sand back with some 800 or 1200, try both and see what works best for your job. Other grits can be used too, i just found these the best for me. [IMG] [/IMG] Step 4. Hit em again with the primer. Wait to dry and sand again. The sanding block comes in handy here, getting into the 3 lines nicely. [IMG] [/IMG] Step 5. Depending on how happy you are with the finish, you can now spray silver, or keep priming. I find that 2 to 3 coats of primer and 2 coats of silver work best for me, but keep going until you are satisfied with the finish. Remenber that your sanding and priming will ultimately decide how good the job looks. [IMG] [/IMG] Step 6. After the first coat of silver, hit it again with the 800 or 1200. Wipe with grease remover. Now another coat of silver. (I should mention here if you are using anything stronger than grease remover like acetone or turps, you will wipe the paint right off. If this is the case, just dampen a rag with water and wipe to remove dust. Wet and dry, as the name implies, can also be used to wet sand. For this job i didnt use water, its up to you.) Step 7. After the silver dries, hit it once more with the 800 or 1200 and wipe again. Now grab your clear laquer. Hit it once with this, you can be pretty generous with this stuff, then put your moulds or bumper in direct sunlight. The clear lacquer will smooth out nicely and bake on to the paint. This is a method i used to use when spraying hubcaps at a car dealership, and found that the heat of the sunlight gave the laquer a great uniformity and lustre. [IMG] [/IMG] [IMG] [/IMG] You can cool it down and give it another spray of clear if you like, the laquer will also protect the paint from chips and scatches. And thats it! The more you paint like this the better you will get, and for a fraction of the cost of buying new or pro spraypainting you can have almost new looking trim. I personally wouldnt use spraycans on metal panels, as only a spraygun will get the desired finish on these, but spraycans are great for plastics and trim. Disclaimer: 87hevn is not sponsered by or affiliated with K&H, Holts or any other brand featured in this article. I have just found these products to work best for me. I am not nor ever have been a qualified spraypainter, im just some fool who likes to think he knows what hes doing Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

thanks bro, will help alot.

Nice article...gives me inspiration to paint mine now.. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

I resprayed moulds and bumpers on my VL a few years ago with enamel spray. I'm looking at redoing the job properly with lacquer. 1. will the lacquer solvents disolve the enamel? 2. can I sand enamel? 3. if answer to 1 is yes and/or answer to 2 is no, what is the best way of removing the enamel? Thanks!

good write up man.. yea be sure to shake the cans really well before.. especially that touch up paint cos that kind is notorious for spitting blotches of paint out.

Do not sand metallic back before applying clear.... You want to do a VERY light coat in multiple directions to get the metallic particles even. Then apply the clear as soon as the base coat flashes dry. (dulls off). Also, i would recommend rubbing the primer with 800 only, the paint would stick better then it would if you rub with 1200. Also, there isn't much need for a block on door moulds. Just make sure not to dig your fingers in as this will create deep scratches. Try to rub with the flat of your palm, and let the paper do the work. I would do it something like this.... -Thorough wax and grease remover. (Make sure you wipe it on, and wipe it off before it drys) -Rub with 320 dry or similar (e.g 400 wet) -Coat of primer (let it 'flash' dry), then repeat. (2 -3 coats tops, no rubbing in between) -Lightly guide coat the primer with black paint (very light mist, it will show you where to rub, and any imperfections) -Once its dry, Rub with 800 wet. Once all the black is gone, your ready to apply the silver. Good idea to wax and grease remove again. (Not a bad idea to use a 'tac rag' as well, to remove any dust etc.) -Apply a light coat in a horizontal direction. (Wait for it to flash) -Apply your next coat in a vertical direction. (Wait for it to flash) -Continue this until you have complete coverage. -Then hold the can / gun further away, and 'dust' the metallic in all directions to get good even coverage. -Apply the clear once it has flashed off. -Light-medium coat first off. -Then one or two heavier coats.

very good article, going to do mine this weekend, wasnt too sure on how to do it but i was on the right tracks! also going to do gloss black mirrors and a garnish, will post up pics of when its done

i havent looked but how hard are the door moulds to get off? how are they held on?

Urethane.... Can be a pain in the ass to remove sometimes.

Quote: Originally Posted by SYKO3L Do not sand metallic back before applying clear.... You want to do a VERY light coat in multiple directions to get the metallic particles even. Then apply the clear as soon as the base coat flashes dry. (dulls off). Tried both methods on this one (sanding and not sanding), as im sure i didnt used to sand after the base coat, but i wasnt happy with the finish under the clear, it was too rough. And yes the 1200 is pretty fine, id say 800 would be the go. Quote: OldF@rt I resprayed moulds and bumpers on my VL a few years ago with enamel spray. I'm looking at redoing the job properly with lacquer. 1. will the lacquer solvents disolve the enamel? 2. can I sand enamel? 3. if answer to 1 is yes and/or answer to 2 is no, what is the best way of removing the enamel? Thanks! not sure bout that one man, you better ask Da Vinci up there Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

very nice, its looking good, i may have to give this a try

Vl all over Australia will thank you for this post, and will wear the rewards of their owners labor Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Hi ppl. Im currently Painting a bumper, sprayed the flexi primer ( for plastic) , sprayed afew coates of primer, just wondering now that im finished spraying the primer, Should i rub it back before i spray the paint on???? cheers kevin

Quote: Originally Posted by 1BEAST2NV Hi ppl. Im currently Painting a bumper, sprayed the flexi primer ( for plastic) , sprayed afew coates of primer, just wondering now that im finished spraying the primer, Should i rub it back before i spray the paint on???? cheers kevin yea dude definately, use some 800 grit, and if you want a real good finish do it wet.

sweet, just wanted to make sure Cheers Kevin

Nice job mate. The way I paint plastic is more like SYKO3L's method though, seems to work really well especially with metallics. I also find that waiting for the colour coat to dry thouroughly before even thinking about clear otherwise it tends to ruin the finished result. The way I do it is once the colour is dry, leave it if its a metallic or if its a flat colour knock it back with 1200-1500 then wax and grease remover. Then a very light dust coat of clear, let that dry for a few minutes then build up the coats of clear until you get a good wet coat on and let it cure. Thats just they way I find is easiest to get good results with clear, because it's not the easiest stuff to work with. Different methods work for different people and brands etc... Oh and I try and stay away from that primer filler stuff, if you're going to use it try not to wet sand it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Antho The way I do it is once the colour is dry, leave it if its a metallic or if its a flat colour knock it back with 1200-1500 then wax and grease remover. Then a very light dust coat of clear, let that dry for a few minutes then build up the coats of clear until you get a good wet coat on and let it cure. Thats just they way I find is easiest to get good results with clear, because it's not the easiest stuff to work with. cheers man ill try that method next time. thanks for all the comments boys.

ok todays the day for colour BUT just want to know, when i sand the primer back with 800 wet, should i do the black dust coat as someone mentioned above??? And does the primer have to be rubber back alot ??? or just to take the ruffness out of it??? I done it yesturday (black dust coat) and when i rubbed it back with 800 wet, I ended up rubbing the primer off aswell. Would it be ok to 800 wet sand the primer (just to take the roughness off it, not that its bad) , then put a few coats of colour on,let it dry , and then rub it back smooth??? cheers for the help Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by 1BEAST2NV ok todays the day for colour BUT just want to know, when i sand the primer back with 800 wet, should i do the black dust coat as someone mentioned above??? And does the primer have to be rubber back alot ??? or just to take the ruffness out of it??? I done it yesturday (black dust coat) and when i rubbed it back with 800 wet, I ended up rubbing the primer off aswell. Would it be ok to 800 wet sand the primer (just to take the roughness off it, not that its bad) , then put a few coats of colour on,let it dry , and then rub it back smooth??? cheers for the help hey man, yea that method that syko3l was talkin about with the dusting of the black is so you can tell what parts you have actually sanded, i.e. you are supposed to rub all the black off, this will ensure you have sanded every part and not missed anything. with rubbing the primer back, you dont need to take much off, just so its nice and smooth. as far as sanding after the colour coat, read the reply by antho about his method for the clear coat application. both he and syko3l say you shouldnt sand metallics, there seems to be a few schools of thought about how long you should wait for it to dry before you spray the clear. try spraying colour then a few real light coats of clear, no sanding in between, slowly building up the clear spray by spray. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

quick question painted my clubby bumper "STING RED" no metallic, should i rub it back before clear coat??? here's some pics of it, i dont think i have orange peel, but could be wrong!! ok gave a quick rub with wet 1200 and turns out im gonna have to rub the whole thing back before a spray clear.....grrrrrrrrr, what a pain in the ASS,.,takes forever. But i spose if i want a good job better do it properly as this car is my pride and joy. thanks anyways Some original photos have not been recovered yet.