Stupid question on spraying cars

[red vtec]

Why can you not use normal paint for painting a car? For instance B&Q can make any colour up for you and its suitable for wood, metal etc. so why cant you paint a car with it? what is the issue? I have read you cant use water based paint as it allows corrosion but a lot of automotive paint is waterbased these days for enviromental reasons. I have used waterbased paint for stands etc and once dry it can be washed down etc.

NO I'm not paint the Esprit but just asking. Ive looked on google but there is so much rubbish out there.

[softlips]

You could if you really wanted. Wouldn't get the gloss you can from automotive paint and it does t lend itself well the spraying. 

Its made for the job, like wood paint and steel paint etc are. 

[Barrykearley]

We had a hand painted cortina when I was a lad - done in hammer right green - with a roller.

it looked without question sh@t

[andydclements]

Going back a few decades (OK, most if not all of us on here were not even alive) cars were hand painted, but the paint was for that purpose, it was designed to not set too quickly and to settle out to a relatively smooth surface. That was before spraying was a possibility for local bodyshops/ coachbuilders. The brushes used would have been very high quality, the painters were true tradesmen and people weren't used to everything being sprayed and therefore not demanding mirror-smooth finishes.

 

Water-based can mean different things. It used to mean emulsion paint which when dry is still porous, Currently, in household terms you'll see "water-based" gloss, which still has other chemicals (oil based products) in it as thinners but much less than they used to. Car water-based do have water as the solvent but they then use a clear lacquer coat which is non-porous when dry.

[march]

I had a friend who hand painted a bike fuel tank with JapLac many years ago and managed to get an almost flawless finish - took him a long time though.

[johnpwalsh]

My late father was a coach painter and did many cars, buses and trucks with household paint then clear varnish to seal it with, usually yachting varnish. He always used proper horse hair brushes and managed a stunning finish.

[Barrykearley]

Do they still hand paint buses ?? Or is it all vinyl wrap these days....

[johnpwalsh]

I think they are still hand painted then the graphics applied on top. If you have a close look you can still see some evidence on some of them with brush marks.

[andydclements]

Around here you can see lots were hand painted years ago, they've been cleaned so many times over the years (decades) that it's worn the paint away in places and the base layer shows through revealing the brush strokes of the top layer.

[CHANGES]

When I started cellulose was the paint to spray, but you could still get a Techeloid if you wanted to hand paint..  I saw some really good hand painted cars that had been colour flatted after.. This was the way they did it before spraying..  domestic paint does not contain the correct properties needed to be suitable for refinishing automobiles.. it would not last...

The water based paints we all use now require a specific process to apply, or it will go south quick ( micro blister or rust)  In short we were forced to move over by bureaucrats that said it was needed to slow global warming...  After the manufacturers spent tens of £millions for the conversion and we in the industry went for retraining, it was discovered by independent studies that the new WB process caused a 25% increase in the carbon footprint.  This was not from the product, that directly was lower , but to apply the process needed all the extra heat and blower systems led to the increase in use of fossil fuels to provide this, so indirectly increased the footprint,  also made it more expensive to apply...   Not sure but Ied to believe the Idea came from a Brussels think tank...     Even though we were told 2k would be outlawed it is still available (for commercial use only.!!!!)   Classic car refinishes were told they could get a lenience to use it professionally..   Uhmm..  as very few people take much notice of all this , that seems totally irrelevant...    Rant over..

[pete]

2K is still used extensively in the furniture trade,cellulose not so much,water based lacquers and paints have vastly improved but not by the well known manufacturers who seem to be lagging behind some continental firms