airbrushing cars...

[TheArteest3]

well i wanted to know is it hard to airbrush on cars...becuz i airbrush shirts and this guy in my town paints cars but he wants me to airbrush the details if i end up doing this do yall got any tips???

[Stang]

It's a whole new ball game. Best if you read every subject on this site. There's endless info about painting cars. Again, practice makes perfect. get an old car hood or mailbox, toilet seat or anything before you tackle a car. It will stress ya out.

[blinddog 99]

Arteest, I don't mean to discourage you, but I would be dishonest with myself if I didn't say you probably need to work up to that. You have shown one T-Shirt on here, and probably need a little more practice before you tackle urethane paints, Kandy colors, intercoats, clear coating, etc., there is a great deal to learn. Unless you are doing something really loose, which would be unusual on a vehicle, you will possibly need a finer airbrush as well. As Stang suggests, read up, study and practice on some metal surfaces. Personally I would not attempt car graphics with your T-Shirt paint, but that's just my opinion.

[Skids]

tell the guy you need a set of those X-otic paints to work with.....start off right man! you can get a real deal on em on the website here. ( i can't wait to get a set myself)

[Skids]

I wish i'd started out using the right thing ya know. i started out on cars using bits of car paint a shop had...catalyst and all. DEFINATELY the wrong way!!

the internet has opened up so many opportunities.....one of them being newbies can get it right the first time. Nothing worse than having to struggle with learning the skills and fighting the wrong equipment/materials too!

[jason prouty]

just go for it man. What ever you do, if you mess up you can wipe it off, play around, the last thing you need is to be thinking too much with your left brain when you're trying to be creative!

[TheArteest3]

thnx at least i get some encouragement...thnx alot guys really..that put a smile on my face...:)

[blinddog 99]

Arteest, listen to Denise. The last thing in the world I would want to do is discourage a young man from tackling anything! Set auto graphics as an eventual target and you will get there! Start with a couple of metal blanks, maybe a couple of Uro colors, especially white, and give it a whirl. After T-shirts, it will seem like the paint refuses to sit still on a smooth metal surface. You will likely see a lot of "spiders."

Imagine painting the hood of a friend's car. You scuff the clear, lay down a nice graphic, some Kandy colors to make it pop. Looks good, everyone's happy, then your friend has it clear coated. All the colors sink into each other, and the job is ruined, bleeding colors everywhere. What went wrong? I could tell you here, but I would rather encourage you to read and study, and find out for yourself. (This recently happened to me because, although I have done this type of work several times, I forgot one vital step.)

If you go into auto graphics, first of all, please invest $ 18 in a 3M respirator before you even consider doing any work with these type of paints. Good luck & keep painting, you can achieve anything you want. You have a whole life of airbrushing ahead of you, and judging by your first pieces, you will do just fine!

[TheArteest3]

wow i wanted to quit before i even seen this...and reading that i might as well just put the shit back in the package and send the shit back....

[Steelhorse]

Hey Arteest. You need to take a step back Bro and listen to some of what the people here have said to you. The ones that you feel are giving you the bad crit's are your friends and will bend over backwards to help you!!! Take their advice as constructive advice. You will regret not listening to them and will feel bad for the things that you have said. Trust me! Constructive criticism may be a pill that is hard to swallow, but once you swallow it....it does a Body good! Peace to ya. Think a little bit about what I have said! Steel

[TheArteest3]

as much as i want to keep doing this i think i am goin to focus more on the pencil scetching obviosly this isnt where i belong...pencil im used to and i think im goin to stay that way.....

plz no more comments does anyone know how to delete your posts??
plz PM me....

[Steelhorse]

as much as i want to keep doing this i think i am goin to focus more on the pencil scetching obviosly this isnt where i belong...pencil im used to and i think im goin to stay that way.....

plz no more comments does anyone know how to delete your posts??
plz PM me....

How long have you been pencil sketching? Did it take ya some time? How long have you been airbrushing? Get my point? I haven't even tried shooting a tee yet!! I couldn't do what you just did! I wouldn't even know where to begin! Giving up is up to you and you alone. I come here because I know that people will help through anything that I ask them to! Good people here!

[Whit]

Henry,,,,,
IF,,, Big Word !!!
IF You Quit,,, You'll never know !!!
IF You Want,,, with your artistic
abilities,, dreams,,, desires,, for the life
of an artist,,, Learn Now,,, while your
young enough to benifit !!!
You can,,, at your age,,, go far IF,,,
you learn control of your tools and control
of the emotions that control your tools !!!
No one here has anything but the highest
respect for young, up and coming, artist !!
Consider yourself as in good company here
with the guidence and advice you'll get for
your future in the world of art !!!
It is not intended to ridicule,, put down,,
but put you on the road others have traveled
and for you to avoid the mistakes others have
made and learned from !!! Experience !!!
Don't take as a personal attack,, but as
constructive on your behalf and your future
benifit,,, one step at a time !!!
You are among Friends,,, Benifit from it !!!

[Skids]

you guys are gonna have to buy him that paint kit now.....

[jason prouty]

just do it man!, that's how I started, I didn't know everything at the time but I learned quick.

yes, you sould find out as much as you can of what can go wrong, but when someone asks you if you can paint something for them, you say yes! Then figure it out.

[jason prouty]

Before you guys take me as being "Mr. Ultra possitive", maybe I should tell you how "I" got started on car and bikes....

It started in high school with mural painting in the gym and then to a few businesses, and finally at a detail shop where I had been painting large murals of cars on the walls, All with a brush (at this point never heard of an airbrush).

Someone came in and saw what I was doing and said "You've got to paint my dragster on the side of my car hauler." At that point I had never used automotive paints or even familiar with the process, but I was Optomistic and said "sure!"

The next few days I submerged myself in automotive paints, tools, etc... Asking everyone I could find with info. Went and bought a compressor Airbrush and paint when I coudn't afford it. Did the work, it turned out great, it was a HUGE turning point in my life and career!

What would I be doing if I would have said "sorry, I can't do that because I don't have enough experience."

Arteest3 has more experience with an airbrush now than I did when I was thinking about doing automotive.

good luck buddy

[Skids]

i'm with Jason here. Just be up front with the guy, tell him you're learning and that you'll give him your best shot if he'll buy you the proper paint and supplies.

[Clem]

Atreest, take some time and talk to the person the made the offer. If you feel you can do it tell him yes I can. Then take the discussion further. Explain that you both have to satisfy a third person, the customer. If the customer is not happy then what is the share on repair.

If this person is trying to help you get going he will understand that he has responsibility her also.

I know that many people here want to be paid top dollar for their work. I don't believe someone starting out gets paid top dollar unless it is a family business or politics. As you progress so can the price.

Seriously think about if you know your limits.

Don't stop now just consider and learn. Don't put yourself on the spot. See what the options are and then decide.

Wishing you the best.

Clem

[gphood]

Imagine painting the hood of a friend's car. You scuff the clear, lay down a nice graphic, some Kandy colors to make it pop. Looks good, everyone's happy, then your friend has it clear coated. All the colors sink into each other, and the job is ruined, bleeding colors everywhere. What went wrong? I could tell you here, but I would rather encourage you to read and study, and find out for yourself. (This recently happened to me because, although I have done this type of work several times, I forgot one vital step.)

Hi Blinddog

Just looking through some of the posts on various forums and saw you mention about bleeding colours etc. That happened to me when I was working on a helmet last year. I've not had that much experience of using candies and it took a fair bit of work to get this one sorted out but can you tell me what steps you take to avoid bleeding and also how to stop candy build-ups on masked edges?

The photo below is the completed helmet. The deep blue behind the stars and the red stripes are both candies. First time I clearcoated I ended up with a blue wash over the white stars and had to remask and repaint them. I couldn't get a couple of bits of build-up on the red stripes repaired but managed to disguise them with artwork and the job looked pretty good when it was finished, but I'd really like to be able to avoid the situations in the first place if you can help.

Thanks a lot

Grant - UK

http://granthood.co.uk/graphics/photos/helmets/davida_elmo/elmo_rear.jpg

[blinddog 99]

Hi Grant, yes sir, your stars "sunk" into the predominant blue paint when you cleared it. What I didn't explain well is that I used intercoat clear (lockdown clear) and not a full finishing catylized clear before airbrushing the image I was referring to. What you need to do is clear it with catalyzed clear, let it cure, then scuff, then paint the graphics. The basecoats, especially Kandys and Pearls, will bleed into the top airbrush coats if the're not separated with a full clear job. With some colors, like HOK's Pagan Candy Gold, which is a favorite of mine, you really should intercoat clear (not catalyzed, kind like clear paint) between airbrush colors as well to avoid any issues. I just shortcutted and it cost me a very nice effort.

This also hurt my Shi Tzu helmet although less so. I was painting over black, but it still sunk enough to bury a lot of detail I had painted. Fortunately it was a bit of a "loose" image, so I got away with it, since the customer was my wife, and they were our dogs, LOL. (see attached) A lot of whisker and hair detail disappeared because I didn't clearcoat the helmet, prior to doing the airbrushing. Never again, LOL!

By the way, I LOVE that Elmo helmet!

[gphood]

Thanks for that Blinddog.

I use HoK's SG100 for applying their Kandy Koncentrates and I think you're right (although my memory's a bit vague exactly how I did the job) and I laid the stars directly over the blue without a catalysed clear in between. Lesson learnt, as they say...

I've used some Pagan Gold on a flame job a couple of months back and it is a really nice colour. I do like using them, I just don't like it when they misbehave :)

Looking at your Shi Tzu helmet, which is a really nice piece of work by the way, I see how you've airbrushed the whispy hairs around the edges. What do you use for the white? Is it a basecoat or have you used acrylics, or something else? I've yet to find a white that I'm entirely happy with, that doesn't either spit all over the place or I just can't get to the right consistency so it takes a lot more time than it should to get it right.

[blinddog 99]

Thanks Grant. Its all HOK, the main color is BC-26 white basecoat, with a small drop of rootbeer Kandy basecoat to take it to off white. Then I mixed it 50-50 with SG100, then diluted it 2-1 with RU-311 reducer. Very watery, there is a zillion dagger strokes in that dog! It was more detailed, and the darker brown muzzle parts were more subtle and knocked back, but I didn't intercoat before putting the white hairs over the brown muzzle hair, and it sunk when I clearcoated. A lesson learned.

The BC-26 will dilute down to very thin, I also add a couple drops of retarder, which really helps tip drying. That and a LOT of needle picking, LOL. I am waiting to receive some X-Otic paint this week, one of the sites sponsors. Steven, the owner of the site loves them and says they flow much better, so I will let you know how they work. Cheers!

[gphood]

Thanks for that - I'll give it a go. I've not used retarder before - is it a HOK retarder or just something from the local paint supplier?

Yep, I'd be really interested to hear how the X-Otic paint works for you although I don't think anyone's bringing it into the UK at the moment.

I'm interested in E'Tac as well. Beej Curtis (http://www.organicimage.co.uk) in he UK has started supplying it and raves about it on his site. I rate his opinion but I'd like feedback from other people as well.

I'm currently using standard solvent basecoats but they're getting phased out over the next couple of years to be replaced by water-bourne, which isn't so airbrush friendly so I'm going to have to change to something else. Up to now the main option has been Auto Air but it's had quite a few detractors for one reason and another.

Cheers - Grant

[blinddog 99]

Yep, Grant, its HOK retarder. I bought a gallon, use it by the drop, I figure I will have used it up by by 80th birthday, LOL....

[PinWerk]

just like lacquer paints alot of places wont sell it but where im at, i can walk in buy the stuff to my liking. However im stickin with HOK urethanes, it seems to work for me and with me, so find a paint that you like to work with, then get you a good respirator, not a el cheapo either, i found a place that sells high dollar 2stage respirators for under 15 bucks got a box of the doubled cans, little for nothing but i happen to get lucky on that deal..
autos are different from tshirts, you'll run into problems like dirt, humidity, drying times, lifting, orange peel, mixing ratios, and so forth.. but since ur just doing details in airbrushing, you shouldn't have a problem since ur not dealing with clears n so forth.
i was a newbie, i done a couple tshirts and did alot of pinstriping but i also did alotttttttttt of inhaling as much as paint info as i can get my hands on.. had so much knowledge stuck in my head that by the time i went and did a mailbox or a car for first time, i didn't need experience, although i've had helped from others,
its good thing to get ur hands all you can and do a couple mailboxes to get the feel of the paint and etc...
one thing i had advice is.. READ ur paint labels or the information on the type of paint y ou'll be dealing with, that right there will help you more than anything. half the people that paints dont even know what kind of ingredients is in the paint itself, they just think they know. anyways good luck n practice on some stuff... thats where u'll gain confidence in urself. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF CAUSE NOBODY WILL .. or maybe not..hehee some will believe in ya.. its a matter of who.. so yeah believe in urself do a mailbox n go for it

[blinddog 99]

Pin, welcome back, haven't seen you here lately. Good to have you posting again, hope all is well in your world. And yep, like Sam says "(I love the smell of Uro's in the morning)"

[PinWerk]

hey there dog, yeah i'd been bad sick with sinusitis n inner ear infection, been in bed alot and im still not over it but im way better up n around, can't really paint in 15 degrees in a metal shop w/o a heater, but im doing some pinstriping stuff on the kitchen table, sure parents woud love that, but they have no choice but smell 1 shot these days.. other than that no big projects unless it warms up n it doens't look like that anytime soon, so prob stick with pinstriping at the moment. i'll be postin more now that im better than i was. glad to be back.. thank u blinddog!!!

[josie]

Im so glad youre back girl........ missed ya:hug:

[PinWerk]

awe girl i miss you too. snifffffff

[Primo Customs]

You Must ask the guy to clear the car and scuff it first... Then anything you do can be removed... Let the guy know that this is your first car and that you will do the best to your ability, That sentence will save you... Remember that you are also doing your interpitaion of art... give it a shot, You have us here to help any questions....

[sharonsstudio]

I agree with Primo.. But do read up on saftey like a good resperator for painting with uros ask around ask ? the guy that asked you to do the Job ask him some ?'s he'll most likley answer you ,, ask if you can watch them paint the base coat you'll get an idea of how the paint system works just remember
there are no stupid questions,,,

[PinWerk]

yeah alot of respirators wont filter out the iso's in urethanes. i know tons of painters thats painted urethanes for years n years and they use the typical charcoal filters n think its filterin out and it doesn't. you have to do your research out.. really the best overall type is constant air supply, but for those that can't afford it, i got the double can types its for iso's. one other concern is
as jon kosmoski says iso's likes to go and enter in your eye glands in corner of your eyes, goes directly in your system, so wear a tight goggles around your eyes where it can't get in if you use the mouth n nose mask.
as again alot of painters will use the nose n mask respirator but wont wear the goggles, lolol yeah they leave the most important area in the open to get iso's entered in their body.
it goes in pores of your skin, i could get technical on this certain painter suits dont block out iso's either, so dont think one painter suit does the job,
some blocks it out and others wont.
another thing, had a painter go in my booth right after i sprayed iso's urethane clear like alot of coats ok well, he claimed oh after you spray it its out of the air.. WRONG... thats when its the most senstive other than when you are pooring it in the paint, the catalyst.. its in the air unless you have vents n etc. i warned the guy, he laughed, but u no its all about your health,
had an awesome uncle who spent years spraying imron, well he used the typical charcoal respirator.. later on he had bad nervous disease and had to be put on breathing bottle and crap.. well
i researched, the filter he used didn't block out iso's. so READ. STUDY
what your spraying.
it maynot affect you in a couple years but when it does it hits strong and hard,
ok enough tech stuff .. keep on smellin iso's..lolol