What protocols to follow when applying your paints ?

Among the many fields of activity relating to painting, we can classify without hesitation the application of car paint to the rank of the most complex existing techniques. The implementation of car paints is not limited only to spraying techniques and the handling of paint guns. There are preparatory phases that are as varied as the supports and materials that can be encountered.

A car can be made of many kinds of materials, from different types of plastics to different types of metals. The protocols for preparing substrates, repairs, dent removal and rust treatment are varied and each requires very specific actions and products.

Regarding the application techniques of car paints, they are done by spraying only, with paint guns, that is to say manual use, outside of car production sites, that is- that is to say that it is maintenance or repair operations at bodybuilders and painters (it can sometimes also be, and more and more often, customizations and decorations of vehicles).

Paint spraying can also be done by robots, inside the manufacturing plants of the various car brand manufacturers. Primers and primers are also applied by dipping in baths.

Going back to the trade of body painting, there is a real wealth of knowledge and a certain complexity to the trade, because of or thanks to all the different chemical paints that can constitute the layers of the paint systems.

Furthermore, with innovations in colors and in particular paints and special effects, processes and techniques are constantly multiplying and becoming more complex. This is especially true with motorcycle paints and custom paints.

Our techniques for applying car paint

In the world of custom painting, which is not always, as one might think, reserved for the automotive world, we mainly use spraying methods : the paint gun and the airbrush.

As in the fields of design and decoration of furniture and objects, it is not at all common to see other ways of spraying paint.

Brushes and rollers are probably only suitable for wall and artistic painting. In the industrial field and especially in the automotive field, we want to combine performance and quality, and to achieve this, only spray gun can be retained.

There are many special effect paints, artistic customization paints or pearlescent to metallic automotive paints. Each behaves differently in a spray gun, so a seasoned painter should be familiar with the application peculiarities of each. The techniques for applying car paints must always be well respected, and therefore studied beforehand.

In general, the more beautiful a painting, the more it requires precision, care and a minimum of technical knowledge. This may be the thinness of the coats, the thickness of the final dry coat, the drying times, the need for a particular background color, or even sometimes, exotic paint application techniques...

If we take the example of "Candy" paint, it is possible, with 3 or 4 distinct paint steps, to obtain millions of different colors. In the case of these transparent and reflective paints, it is a question of creating a kind of mille-feuille, which superimposes layers with distinct properties.

For anyone interested in the world of color and who has mastered the technical knowledge of these extraordinary chemical paints, the potential for creativity is incredible.

Theoretical knowledge about paintings

There are several methods to obtain the theoretical knowledge concerning the paintings and it can go through a traditional school training or an accelerated training for adults. The best way to acquire body painting knowledge and techniques is of course practice.

This real knowledge is gained in the field, during work-study training or private training.

To really know the whole profession of car painting, you must reasonably count on several years of experience. To know the different techniques, the different reactions, the resolution of defects, which necessarily come with all these types of solvent-based or Hydro paints, you have to go through a lot of experiments and a lot of work.

Preparatory work for painting

Any seasoned professional will no doubt agree with this : Properly done pre-paint work is the key to a successful body paint job.

Anyone looking to save time on the preparation of the substrate, the care and the quality of the work carried out upstream, most of the time experiences problems in the final coats of paint. And in such a case, unfortunately, it is often a lot of time and a lot of expenditure on products that are necessary to redo the job.
It's safe to say that 80% of the time spent painting a car should be spent preparing the substrate.

Painting implementations

How to apply the paint clearly depends on the type of paint. The different paint applications are explained in the product data sheets. It is generally necessary to go well beyond reading the label present on a jar or an aerosol, by investing 5 minutes of your time for the study and understanding of this technical sheet, or also of the instructions present on the page presentation of the product. 5 minutes is very little to ensure the success of a painting project which can represent 1000 euros and 20 hours of work.
The implementation of a painting must scrupulously respect each point concerning the preparation, application and drying.

Tools and accessories
Car paint users
Methods of applying paint
Safety rules in applying paint