Question for the painters.

[PeanutHead]

My question for y'all is exactly how much paint should I get for an airbrush to paint two 6in logos and two 4in logos? I've never used an airbrush before but I have used rattle cans, bottom fed and gravity fed paint guns. Or should i just stick to rattle cans?

[Nobodyknowsimashithead]

My question for y'all is exactly how much paint should I get for an airbrush to paint two 6in logos and two 4in logos? I've never used an airbrush before but I have used rattle cans, bottom fed and gravity fed paint guns. Or should i just stick to rattle cans?

Airbrushes use very little paint but some colors can only be mixed in certain quantities ex: you can't go have just 1oz of paint mixed your best bet is pick a color and ask for the smallest amount they can mix for you and if they say it only comes in pints pick another color or it's gonna get real expensive real quick
I'm a big fan of the pre mixed sale rack there's always some stuff that somebody didn't pick up or was mixed wrong it's a good way to get cool colors for cheap prices and there's usually small quantities too

[PeanutHead]

I'll have to find a local paint supplier and see what they have. Thanks.

[DoomBuggy]

My last big project was lacquer which is rare now. After looking at what was out there in modern paints I found that I like using House of Kolor paints and I have found two places that sell smaller bottles ( 4 oz pre mix or 1 oz bottles of candy concentrate).

First is Coast Airbrush the other is TCP Global. All of the paint on Brown Sugar came from them. I recently purchased a sampler pack of Kolor Koncentrates, it includes one, 1 oz bottle of all the Kandy colors and allows me to mix up small quantities just for the airbrush.

But to your question, on this site alone I have seen some amazing jobs done with rattle cans, it really depends on how you work. If you are big on stencils and tape then you should be able to get a killer job with rattle bombs, on the other hand is you do the freehand thing then an airbrush is the only way to go.

I am somewhere between the two and plan to use my retirement time developing more freehand skills.

YMMV ;-)
-DB

[PeanutHead]

Thanks DB. I'll look into them too. And yes I'll be using tape and a stencil, again I've never used an airbrush before. Maybe I'll practice on some scrap metal before my bike.

[Nobodyknowsimashithead]

Keep in mind that automotive paints will not work over the top of regular spray paints so I hope your matte black was dupli color or something like that

I would do a test panel to make sure all your products agree with each other

[Dougtheinternetannoyance123]

Some good advice already, Ill pile on.

A) Having a good relationship with several local commercial paint & body jobbers is a objective I would strongly encourage you to do. In this day of Amazon & online ordering, you will never get the benefits from developing a working relationship with vendors and paint reps. I could go on & on, But I used to when I ran a shop bring in treats for the folks who take care of me. (I had a farm so would offer steaks, burgers, sausage, my buddy did the same with favorite beverages) This paid off when I needed a rush job. While other customers were told days or a week for their color matches,, at closing time they would tell me "Come on in back and Ill mix yours right now" Dont abuse it but it helps to be someone they LIKE seeing coming in the door as opposed to hating it when your shadow darkens their door.
I learned who the regional product reps were and developed relationships with them. Often it was good buddy deals for example I supplied nursery stock and trees to one for his landscaping project at his house. His wife was bonkers when she saw what I showed up with. When they offered to pay,,,,,,,,nope, pay it fwd. This paid me back 10x over the years. I got invited to paint demos, classes and learned a LOT, they knew I was the nutty small specialty shop and was never going to be a big paint consumer,, but I got to sit in with the big boys all the time and some fun and interesting events. (Notice that PPG and DuPont sponsor car racing right? I got to attend in the VIP area for Indy car racing as a guest of the sponsor. See how the other half lives)

B) I LOVE House of Kolor! Great products and they tailor it to both small and big shops, You CAN spray and use their products without breaking the bank. Plus they are big on educating you to be successful. There is LOADS of free videos online on how to use their stuff as well as ideas and tricks you would never learn any other way. Jon Kosmoski is a God! I got to attend one of his classes held regionally. I dont know if he still does them but I learned a LOT. (He is semi retired)

C) Im a cheap bastard, and when I do have money I usually piss it away on bikes cars or tools.. But I am always shopping for deals and ways to repurpose stuff or alternatives to paying retail. I cant stress enough what a great way to stretch your budget by shopping rejects, samples and left overs and make sure the vendors know and grease the skids once in a while.
IE: My wife makes a lot of really good food and her cookies are legendary. Show up one day and say,,,,Hey! I appreciate that deal you gave me, it really helped in the shop. I know it was just samples and rejects but I want you to know it really helped me out. Heres a tray of Mrs Dougs famous cookies. Leave them... trust me,,, whether they eat themselves or share with customers your are now everybodys new best friend.
I try to stock up samples and rejects and some are fairly universal. ALWAYS Snag Whites, blacks or shades close to,, Silver and reds. When you look at color charts these are your basics. You can use them to tint your primers which stretches your top coat dollars, You can use to tint and make your own colors, and you can use for test panels and samples. But I have gotten some really cool other colors that were super useful. One vendor had a Chrysler Black cherry and 2 gallons. It was an awesome color and I painted a LOT of bikes using that as a base or tinted it and a variation. I made a LOT of money off those 2 gallons!

D) Mixing and matching products. Eeeek! Thats risky shit! Any responsible vendor and paint rep will advise you officially dont do it and they are NOT responsible if it blows up on you, fails to harden or peels like a sunburn after a weekend at the Nude beach. However,, Some products CAN be mixed and matched. I use House of Kolor over and under other products (Primers, sealers and clears) I also am big on tinting primer,, thats a big one. I also occasionally on my own stuff try crazy stuff, but never on a customers stuff. This is where a good paint rep who likes and trusts you not to create problems will start to give you advice that ........."Well corporate will never agree,, But This product works really well with this other companies and heres how you do it,, but I never told you that....."

E) No offense guys, but rattle cans are shit for poor people and amateurs. I wont say I dont use them and have a shelf full of them,, But no self respecting painter puts his name on anything with a rattle can. They dont hold up to oils, fuels, chemicals or even sunlight. Put some out in the summer sun and see what it looks like in a month. Now... you CAN get pro paint mixed and put in re-useable spray cans and several local vendors offer that service and in a pinch, a handy resource.
But other than the occasional hobbyist, If you are serious about long term you want to build cool cars, bikes or even industrial equipment,, Buy some gear and use real paint. In this day of Harbor freight you can get respectable spray guns, even a 1/2 ass compressor, some filters and have at it. Your neighbors might think you are cooking meth, especially wearing gloves, a bunny suit and respirator, But the resources are out there to learn basic paint tech and skills.

How do you get to Carnegie hall, The Hammersmith or Madison Square garden? Practice Practice Practice! Same goes with paint. Get some samples and go crazy on some old sheet metal.

( I had a friend I did some paint jobs for, He had 2 crews on construction company building houses. He supplied me with stacks of old used saw blades, they made awesome test panels and I did samples I used in my shop as well as events. People would see saw blades with flames, scallops, pearls & candies and would instantly come over to my booth to check them out.)

[Nobodyknowsimashithead]

This ^^^^ is all very good advice I quite literally could not have said it better but it's all stuff I wanted to say
In person working relationships have gotten me a lot further in life than ordering online
Thanks again Doug for another impressive post

[Dougtheinternetannoyance123]

This ^^^^ is all very good advice I quite literally could not have said it better but it's all stuff I wanted to say
In person working relationships have gotten me a lot further in life than ordering online
Thanks again Doug for another impressive post

Thanks! I just try to pay it fwd, I am kind of humbled at all the people who have schooled me and taught me stuff despite being an obnoxious ass, And I truly am grateful. When I ran my shop, I was never a big shot by any means so I was grateful I got in the door or the time of day when these people knew I was just a nut job with a little shop.

I will say,, I DID order some paint huffer flake based on a promotion here on CC. Over July 4th weekend they had a big sale. The stuff showed up and I am impressed, and super stoked to use some on some upcoming projects. I have some extra tins and bodywork and probably going to do some sets to sell this winter. I told paint huffer I will do a tech article featuring their products at some point, But in the interim,, I do want to say, there ARE some good vendors online so dont overlook that, But nothing beats working with good folks locally.

See: https://painthuffer.bigcartel.com/

* I got some reds in different sizes, several golds, some Purple (Chicks DIG purple) and Silver. One that I am taking a liking to is the NonPC named "Chokehold Gold" and its several types of gold in different sizes so should sparkle like Beyonce's tits at the Grammys. Really pick up the light and great for a chop.

https://painthuffer.bigcartel.com/pr...hoke-hold-gold
Our Second Edition Artist Series with XECUTIONSTYLE is HERE!!!
Introducing our CHOKEHOLD GOLD - This is 3 sizes of our Famous Gold .004, .008 and .010 Mixed Together in one jar for the ULTIMATE BLING!!! - USA MADE - SOLVENT PROOF - UV RESISTANT


https://painthuffer.bigcartel.com/pr...rismatic-flake


I got some Purple Drank as well.. funky stuff!
https://painthuffer.bigcartel.com/product/purple-drank

[Nobodyknowsimashithead]

PainterHuffer is one of few places I order online and the only flake I use and yes I've done quite a few purple sportys haha I'm a big fan of the gold and silver in micro sizes it's really versatile for what I usually do their pearls have been good to me also I used the mint green pearl on the panhead I did in issue 2 of Choppers mag the base color was the same white I used for the zztop looking Shovelhead pictured in the boogie east feature on here then covered it with that minty pearl and they seem to have a sale every holiday so it's easy to get a variety of flakes I've been prepping a few tanks to paint and sell this month so I'll have some stuff available soon too that tech article will be great I'm sure!

[shank1kole]

I REALLY liked the HOK kandy concentrates $20 for the little 4 oz and you mix it in your clear. you can get a shit ton of color out of them.I got a $50 half pint of brandywine and only used half of it on my trike build. if you got 250 in clear and 200 in some color concentrates you got the rainbow of color.Just pick a base coat first. I have only used PPG and HOK(they are proven). I am re learning top coating vehicles and I am happy with my results with cheap spray equipment, but as I'm a wood finisher I have a great moisture filtration and get NO contaminants from my Compressor/lines/etc CLEAN AIR= CLEAN SPRAY even if its orange peely, sand and re apply. I prefer to order through a local shop as others have said,loyalty is the name of the game for good service and discounts.

[PeanutHead]

Wow!!! First off, thanks Doug for all that advice. I'm more than likely gonna print this thread out and save it to read over and over again.

I went to school to learn how to do body repair and painting of cars in 2000 to 2001 (thanks USAF) but when I got to my base, I never got to do a full paint job, just spot repairs and paint. Then my job went away a year later, so I became a special purpose mechanic. I still try and keep my skills up but i don't have a paint booth at home and there isn't one on base anymore. So I'm really limited to rattle cans in my garage or outside. If ya head over to my build thread in the Jap section, you'll see the lil 440. Now its nowhere near perfect but it will eventually.

Now that I've gotten so much great advice from everyone, I feel like a trip or 2 to the scrap yard are in my future to practice. Thank you again, very much!

[Davestune]

air brush

You get what you pay for
Im sure you could get by with a lower end passhe

I use Iwata both for painting bikes, (have 2 Lph 400 with pps )
And for air brushes i use high end Iwata
Including there top of the line brush

But im sure you don't want to spend 450 clams on a airbrush
But atleast get an iwata, cause once you figure it out, you will want to do more shit.

Im a master lure builder and need this for my lures i sell...
I rather shoot paint than fight with a air brush