Ok, so a lot of people are wondering the exact steps involved in painting with spray paint. In my 3 -10″ sub enclosure video, I actually show you how to spray paint a box to get professional results. No one can tell the difference if you do it right. So don’t think that by doing this it is going to look stupid or less attractive. If done correctly you can get any finish you desire.
In fact, a lot of people do not have the skill to use a pneumatic gun, so this will really be your best bet anyhow. What you are going to need, for a box like the one in the video, would be 3 cans of High Build automotive grade primer. 3 cans of your actual finish coat. Just make sure it is automotive grade and that it is a name brand paint. Do not go cheap on this stuff. You can also get an auto clear coat if you would like an extra layer of gloss. If you would be using a light color, you can lay an undercoat of a metallic silver, or gold for colors like orange or yellow. This just helps light reflect back through the paint a tiny bit. This is not necessary, but does add a hint of extra “pop” to your finish.
So as far as grits in your sand paper goes, you will need about 6-7 different grits. I use 80 or 120 grits disc pads on my mechanical sander whenever I am rough shaping the bondo. Once I get my bondo knocked down to the shape I want, I start sanding by hand with a 200 grit pad. Then I take the rest of my grits 300,600,800, and 1000 in the sanding process. Some people wonder just how many times and what grit to use. I have an actual fail proof formula you can go by. Write it down, print it out, whatever, and put it up in our shop. Follow these steps and your finish will be perfect. The numbers just represent the grit to use.
The steps are
bondo, 80, bondo, 80, bondo, 120, sand 200, 300, primer, 200, 300, primer, 300, glazing putty, 300, 600, metallic coat, 600, 800, 1000, paint, 1000, paint, 1000, paint, clear, 1000, clear, 1000, clear.
This will be the same for pneumatic spray jobs. The paints are usually a lot better than spray paint, but again, if you are using a good quality spray paint, and you do these steps above, I guarantee you no one can tell the difference. I honestly cannot tell one way or the other if it is done like I show above.
Just remember to use light coats, do not cake it on. The paint will run and you will have to sand a lot of paint off to get the uniform surface back. Also, when you spray, as I show in the video, start spraying in open air, move the stream onto the box, all the way over, off the side into open air, then let go of the nozzle. Do not press the nozzle down and start spraying on the box. Start and stop in open air. This helps to keep the paint surface uniform on all points the spray hits.
Tags: audio, automotive, mechanic