Stripped, major metal straightening, SPI epoxy, Rage Ultra, Turbo primer, Pro Spray base, 3+3 universal. This is the straightest I've ever gotten a bedside on one of these trucks. The concave part has always given me problems. I painted this in a makeshift booth made of pvc and plastic, and was the first time using a LPH 400 with the universal. Came out with more texture than I wanted, but after flow coating and a couple adjustments, it came out pretty slick.
SPI Square body
- Thread starter texasking
- Start date
I had used the LPH400 a lot with other clears, but this was the first time trying it with universal. I had the material open too far, and the pressure too low. On the flow coat, I closed the material to 2 1/2 turns out from closed, turned the pressure up to 26-28 psi, and actually sped up a little with 75% overlap to keep away from the dreaded urethane wave. Too much material at once just doesn't work for me with this clear. I find myself adjusting my technique while i'm spraying, more than the gun. Too dry, slower and closer with more overlap. Too wet with wave or texture, faster and farther away with slightly less overlap. Being able to see how the material is going on is critical.
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
Looks really good TK. Lot of work getting one of those straight. Why the makeshift booth? Trying to keep your paint booth open for smaller jobs?
Long story, but when I moved to this building I had a fairly nice semi-downdraft booth. When I got to this building it was not wired for the electrical I would need in the area for the booth, nor did it have 3 phase for my compressor. Well, I needed the compressor immediately, so after that, and roof repairs, and a bigger office, etc. was handled$$$$, I told myself I would wait on the booth, and just painted in the open stall with a fan for a while. Two years later
, my compressor died (10 hp hydrovane), so I bought a 7.5 hp screw compressor while a friend of mine rebuilt the big compressor, and within 2 weeks the drier died. Meanwhile, an ex-employee came by asking what I was going to do with the booth and I told him probably nothing since it had been sitting in a pile for over 2 years, and I still didn't have the electrical done. He made me a decent offer and I took it. I told myself I would build my own with 110 lights, longer and wider than my old one for the restoration work. I have the plans and 90% of the material to do it, but embarrassingly it is still not done 5 years later. I made a temporary booth out of pvc and 3m masking plastic that I sprayed many completes in, and it actually worked pretty well. I have since replaced the pvc with 1" black pipe, and use it to hang parts from. One advantage to the plastic is the walls and roof can be replaced in about an hour and you have a brand new booth I will eventually build my "dream" booth, but being the one doing 90% of the work at the shop, I will have to be left alone for a week or so to get it done. It is really not a big deal, because I don't paint every day, or even every week, sometimes.
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