Your painting regimen

[Angel_of_the_Skies]

You really need a fan if you're painting in your garage. you also need a full face respirator with the 2 cartridges on it. Do you wipe down the surfaces with a tack cloth right before you spray? I paint mine out on the 8ft X 8ft patio as that's what I have to work with. You need a standard automotive spray gun that will give you a nice atomized spray pattern. I use a Paasche mini spray gun https://www.freedomstencils.com/products/paasche-airbrush-hg-08-hvlp-gravity-feed-touch-up-spray-gun it puts out a 7" tall pattern which is perfect for rockets which are sprayed horizontally. It's only $46.00 on amazon. Unless you have a gun that you can change the spray pattern from the normal vertical pattern to a horizontal pattern, you will have paint build-up in the vertical position, causing runs.

What are the bigger advantages to a gun?

 

[Angel_of_the_Skies]

Only after the clear coat.

If there's anything stuck on the paint between color coats I'll hit it with the 1000 grit, but I really don't get too carried away with the wet sanding...

Unless it's a fiberglass rocket.. then I go to town.

I’ve been wet sanding the white color coat on my rocket. I cannot see much of what has been sanded at 1000 grit. Do you guys use any sort of guide coat spray/ powder ? Recommendations ?

 

[Angel_of_the_Skies]

Houston weather can’t be counted on so I paint in the garage. View attachment 595325
Cheap drop cloth on the ground and I built a pvc frame that I can easily dismantle. Wrap plastic around it. Box fan with the cheapest 20” air filter I can buy to vent out of the garage.
I have two jack stands with a broom handle to hold up the rocket. Usually hang the nosecone using a bungee.

Aye here in Houston too I see, yep it’s bipolar here in terms of weather. I can’t paint in the garage unless i move the cars out the drive way. It’s not easy living as a family when everyone has their own car. (Imagine having to move 5 cars)

Therefore, the back yard it is (weather permitting)

 

[Pinetree]

Just water.. if you're out in the sun you can hopefully angle it and use the reflection as your guide.

Honestly just rubbing your fingers over the paint will tell you what you need to know.

 

[Hobie1dog]

What are the bigger advantages to a gun?

very fine atomization, instead of big paint dots hitting your surface you have very small dots that blend in with each other, thus less orange peel effect.

 

[Angel_of_the_Skies]

very fine atomization, instead of big paint dots hitting your surface you have very small dots that blend in with each other, thus less orange peel effect.

That’s definitely appealing to me. Recent paint has LOTS and I mean LOTS of OP. Any difference between the cheaper HVLP compared to the higher $200+ priced ones ?

 

[Angel_of_the_Skies]

Just water.. if you're out in the sun you can hopefully angle it and use the reflection as your guide.

Honestly just rubbing your fingers over the paint will tell you what you need to know.

I’ve been using my phones flashlight. Works okay, the white makes it hard to see where more sanding is needed, unless I place the light at an angle.

I’ve been sanding down the color coat by accident tying to get orange peel low spots sanded. Should I have added more color coat during the spraying stage ?

 

[Hobie1dog]

That’s definitely appealing to me. Recent paint has LOTS and I mean LOTS of OP. Any difference between the cheaper HVLP compared to the higher $200+ priced ones ?

the one I listed above is the best for the money with low CFM requirements. Going to a full size gun and getting a top of the line SATA or Iwata will not be noticeable

 

[Angel_of_the_Skies]

the one I listed above is the best for the money with low CFM requirements. Going to a full size gun and getting a top of the line SATA or Iwata will not be noticeable

I May pull the trigger, since I already have an air compressor. Thanks !

 

[cwbullet]

Houston weather can’t be counted on so I paint in the garage. View attachment 595325
Cheap drop cloth on the ground and I built a pvc frame that I can easily dismantle. Wrap plastic around it. Box fan with the cheapest 20” air filter I can buy to vent out of the garage.
I have two jack stands with a broom handle to hold up the rocket. Usually hang the nosecone using a bungee.

That is pretty slick. I might build one for outdoors with a tarp door.

 

[John Kemker]

I May pull the trigger, since I already have an air compressor. Thanks !

Make sure you have enough reserve for your compressor. I started out with a pancake compresor (3 gal?) and would run out of pressure not even halfway through a coat of paint. Had to keep stopping to let the pressure build back up, then shoot again. Just bought a 20 gallon compressor with a big electric motor and a decent compressor unit. I can practically shoot all day long without having to stop.

What I like about the spray gun is that I can use acrylics/urethane-based paints and avoid the high VOC solvent-based paints. Clean up is very easy, just run water through it until it runs clear, wait a minute, then run more. Keep doing that until you don't get any more color out. Usually takes about 10 minutes to clean my gun.