Is there a diff paint you have to use on a fiero or can you use just car paint ?

You can paint it with anything. But Id suggest paint from an auto body supply store How much paint depends on how much you want to spend, how much experience, what color/colors, what type of equipment you have. Prob be a lot easier to do a search. There are a ton of threads on painting. I could write you a book on it.

OH and its no different painting a plastic car than a metal one. Once its sanded/primered its all the same. If anyone tells you different, run to the next store.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 08-04-2002).]

Whoops i mean how much is needed to paint it (A Gallon) or more (Or Less) ?

walmart rattle-can $.88 ea/ 20 cans should do it

but seriously, yrs ago b-4 the ricer phaze was even thought of, i had a silver 86 accord and we went to walmart and got 10 cans of yellow, and did the trim and bumpers we prepped it good and the sh!t lasted perfect for more than a year!! including a ruff SD winter that convinced
me, i but walmart rattle-can now (when ever cheep spray paint is needed !!

when painting urathane or plastic such as a fiero, be sure to add enough flexing agent so the first time some one sits on your bumper it dosent get full of the spiderweb cracks!!

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Rich
Sioux Falls SD

92' BMW 325i-cold air intake, borla exhaust,strut tower brace,
97 Eclipse GS-T -

RICE as defined by me: A poor Bastard Car(of any type), who has been modified and or "decorated" by a person who knows little about his car. Rice is caused by a person not a car....a person is rice and thus "infects" his car. (It just seems to happen to Honda's alot).
Rice is not there car but it is the driver....anyone who knows little and does alot of "mods" he hears about or sees in ads then infects the car with rice(kinda like a gossip queen for cars).

[This message has been edited by Dumba$$ (edited 08-04-2002).]

Flex agents-ROFLMAO I love the flex agent reply lol

If you paint with 15 year old type paint systems, Yes use a flex agent.

The newer urethane paint systems are so much better than old systems from years past and no flex agents are ever needed.

Amounts to paint:
Well.... I painted the Yellow GT I have for sale in the mall with 3 quarts of Base coat clear coat of the yellow (not reduced) but I painted the ground effects like a 88 would be. the yellow didn't cover as good as dark colors or blacks would cover.
With out the ground effects being painted I think 2 quarts could have done the car, But, I like to have extra paint on hand in case I have to re-do a panel, or if there is damage in the future so there is extra left to do a panel repairs.

I would get three quarts of paint (BC/CC) and you would be safe for the body color.
and 1/2 Gallon of clear
A Pint of paint (not reduced) should do all the silver ground effects, it would be real close and you would have only one chance with a pint. I always get a quart, I am always going to use it lol

If you go with a single stage paint get a gallon to do the job with the activator and reducer

The above is based on the use of a Gravity feed gun!
I don't use the hvlp guns! I don't like them. I like to spray fast and get around the car, The HVLP guns do not like fast painters. It's a personal choice I guess. Some guys swear by the hvlp's and they do save money on paint material costs.
They advertise 60% less paint material
used, but in real life it's more like a 25-30% reduction in material costs.
So if you go with the hvlp type gun you can get away with less paints and other chems.

You will aslo need to buy the tape, paper, sandpapers,tac rags, masks, gun filters, paint filters, primer, primer catalysts, primer reducer, paint reducers, paint activaters, Clear coat, clear activator, Gun cleaner thinner etc.

Notice~~ no mention of Flex agents!
If someone was going to paint a car for me and mentioned adding a flex agent to the paint, I would run from "Fred Flintstones Body Shop" as fast as I could, because.......I wouldn't want Dino painting my car! :~)

My 2¢ worth
FD

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Email:Fierodave@webtv.net
Items located in Mosinee,
Wi. Please Visit my website http://wtv-zone.com/fierodave/

I took a long time to switch to HVLP siphon. I loved DeVelbiss old style guns. With my new one I can spray most cars with 1 quart of color and one quart of clear. That doesnt include a Cadillac DeVille however There are a few exception because of color, usually a few yellows/reds/oranges. Thats pretty important now when some colors are almost $100 a quart. Ive painted the Ferraro twice, the Corvette, and Lisas for example, with only 1 quart of basecoat and those were color changes too. I can get an acceptable finish gloss just spraying it without buffing. I cant get a gravity gun to do that.

Flex agents========joke, for those that just want to spend money for no apparent reason It really didnt work in the 70s, so why now.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 08-05-2002).]

Roger
How long did it take to get used to the HVLP?
I watched a guy spraying with one and I couldn't stand in one spot that long lol.
Dave

Roger, why the difference in coverage from syphon feed to gravity feed? I used 2 quarts color (1gal mixed) and 2 quarts clear which rendered 3 full coats of each on my Fiero using my syphon feed SHARPE gun. Your saying that if I use a good gravity feed gun that I should be able to cut that in half and still have good coverage and finish? This is important to me beacuase I eventually want to do my 88 GT in pearl white. That's kind of expensive paint and it would be great to cut the cost in half.
What is HVLP?

Im saying the gravity feed HVLP gun does not seem to put out as much fluid with same tip as the siphon HVLP gun. I can walk around a Fiero for one coat in 5-10 minutes, about same as the old style gun. It used at most half as much paint as the old style. I used to always buy a gallon for overall jobs and had some left over. Only get a quart now, or at most a quart and a pint. Ask Lisa, she bought a quart and watched me paint it. I did however put a lite cover coat of a mixed scrap blue on it first since we were doing such a drastic color change (gold to purple). That included enough for all the jams too. If you use OEM pearls like on Caddy 1 qt of basecoat white base, 1 pint of the pearl stage, and a quart of the clear would be plenty with an HVLP siphon feed. That would be at least 2 full coats of base and 2 misted coats of pearl and 2-3 coats of clear. The second stage pearl should not be shot on like a coat of paint, it will streak. Its sprayed in a more random pattern, and I thin it about 20% more than spec calls for. I thin the clear the same as the pearlcoat, just because thinner flows out smoother. Less if any color sanding is needed.

It took me about a year of using HVLP gun to get it down. My first jobs had curtains of runs in sides, but they all blocked out and polished OK, just extra work. Its hard to find the sweet spot where orange peel is minimal and lots of runs. Also urathane clear has a lot bigger film buildup for sanding. Id say 3 coats of clear is prob equal to 10 laquer. Ive even wet power sanded urathane with DA and buffed it out without going thru (stay far away from sharp edges though !!!)

Oh! I get it (Hi Volume Low Pressure). I must be getting old and slow.
Hey, thanks for the tips Roger. I won't be doing the 88 until fall or next spring but I'm saving this thread for reference.

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White '85 4cyl coupe (daily driver)
Black '86 SE V-6 auto (Project #1)
White '88 GT 5-spd (Project #2)
'81 CB900F Super Sport (Completed Project)

Why do you say flex agents are a joke and out of date?

As for being out of date I think you are way off base with this comment. Most body shops that paint will use a flex agent on any flexible panel even when painting a two-step process of bc/cc.

I used flex agent with the PPG paint I used on my repaint job and haven't had a single crack or stressing problem. The paint is now 8 years old. It is faded but definately no cracking or cob-webbing.

Recommendation for lighter colors use a white sealer primer after everything else has been primed, sanded, and properly prepped for painting.

quote Originally posted by Dumba$$: when painting urathane or plastic such as a fiero, be sure to add enough flexing agent so the first time some one sits on your bumper it dosent get full of the spiderweb cracks!!

Ok, I dont want you to hammer on me like that. Glad you knocked Rich, he deserves it for something I am sure. (its $0.94 a can)

But knowing specifically the car that started this whole flex agent thing in our group of friends... I will tell the story...

Little Brad has an Orange GT that was painted about a year ago by a guy that FieroGod knows. The guy probably didnt spend a lot of time or money on the car, but is a "Professional" painter. I saw this car about a week ago, and all four corners have spiderweb cracks in the paint.

quote Originally posted by fierodave: The newer urethane paint systems are so much better than old systems from years past and no flex agents are ever needed.

I cant say for 100% sure that he did this particular car in any way or another, but the guy regularly uses dupont paints. I would figure they would be as advanced as any other...

I know you probably cant tell me specifically why this car did this, I am not going to ask. But as a generalization, how do you avoid the cracks?

JesterFox

Id say the cracks were still there in the original paint. Sometimes there almost impossible to see and as the paint dries and shrinks they show back up. Lisa missed one stress crack in sanding out her accident a couple weeks ago that you can see now that its dried. Ive painted them since the 70s and never used flex in anything since maybe 75. Ive never had anything show back up later unless they crashed it into something or I missed seeing them in prep. Like I said, its a joke to use it these days, just gets you to pay more. Im friends with lots of shop owners/painters and not one of them I know uses it either or has in many years. Its all about proper prep. Ive know ppl who tried to bury old cracks with primer and that dont work either, soon as its cured a couple of days or weeks-there they are again.

Forgot to add - very important fact - IF you do use flex in the paint, it evaporates out within a week or 2 anyway so its a placibo, use it if it makes you feel good.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 08-06-2002).]

Like Roger said the flex agent evaporates out of the paint in a short time. Its real purpose in life was to be used in Laquer paints and only when the parts were sprayed off the car. Installing the parts on the vehicles required some bending and flexing and this is where the flex agent did it's job. After installation it just burns away as the paint cures. Todays urethanes and enamels don't require the flex additive because they stay fairly flexible even when fully cured. They don't get as brittle as the laquers do when cured.