Spray Painting Tips for Rookies
As a rookie painter in a smash repair shop, you will be tasked with spray painting small car parts under the close supervision of an experienced painter. Therefore, you need to produce desirable results to prove to your supervisor that you are up to the task. Although spray painting is quite simple, creating even coats and a quality finish requires proper technique. This article highlights spray painting tips for rookies.
Maintain Consistent Distance
Before you begin spray painting, you need to read your manual and determine the recommended distance between a spray gun and a car's body. Once you confirm the information, you need to find a position that enables you to maintain the ideal distance. Most rookie spray painters struggle with this step, making it challenging to produce a smooth finish. The best way to keep the recommended spray painting distance is to work on small sections. Spray-painting small areas at a time allows minimal movement of the arms, which helps maintain a consistent distance between a spray gun's nozzle and a work surface. As your arm gets comfortable with the spray painting position, you can gradually widen the work areas. Notably, the technique leads to a consistent and smooth paint finish.
Overlap Spray Passes
When spray painting a wide car part, you should focus on coating the entire work area with an even amount of paint. However, you can only accomplish it if you overlap the previous spray pass. Some spray painters avoid the procedure and begin subsequent passes right at the edge of the last coat. Unfortunately, taking the approach requires more time and paint to complete a project since each pass produces a thin coat. Conversely, overlapping spray passes guarantees complete coverage, leaving no space between passes. Furthermore, overlapping passes produces a uniform coating thickness.
Spray Into Corners
Corners are a real headache for rookie spray painters. Therefore, most novices simply pass their spray guns the same way they do to flat surfaces. On the face, you might think that you have covered the corners with enough paint. However, the inadequacy is quickly revealed as the paint in the hard-to-reach areas begins to dry. Thus, treat every car part with a corner differently by spraying into it. However, you need to be careful when spraying into corners because the wrong technique can lead to over-spraying. You can avoid over-spraying corners by moving a spray gun a few centimetres from the target spot.