Fiberglass Painting

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:04 am

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with painting fiberglass and what is involved in getting a decent to good finish. Types of paint, methods for painting, etc, whatever you guys know about it.

sinister audio · Post by **sinister audio** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:16 am

i have had tons of experience. what things are you going to paint?

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:44 am

It'll probably be a sub enclosure and an amp rack. I'm waiting to get some stuff paid of before I delve into building all the necessary stuff for fiberglassing/painting, but I have no problem with taking my time and doing a good job. I catch on quick and have pretty good patience. Will probably build/paint the stuff twice for the learning curve.
My dad has a 15g compressor, so if I need a paint gun, I can probably get one of those.
In general, I don't know much about paint, what types of paint to use, how to paint, how many coats of primer/paint, etc, etc. If there's anything I missed let me know.

OnYrMrk · Post by **OnYrMrk** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:55 am

All I can say is, Get some latex gloves, and sand, sand, Sand, SAND!!!! Get that smooth as a baby's ass then sand one more time. Then primer, and wetsand, then paint.

I could be wrong though. :)

CaptainPioneer · Post by **CaptainPioneer** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:58 am

Ive got 3 paint guns... got em for free! The only thing is, paint guns do you no good if u don't have a well controlled environment, I had to paint out in a barn and when i put a coat of clear on a damn fly dived on it and settled in to it, that wasn't fun to have fixed but after about 3 more coats of clear you couldnt tell it was ever there...

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 12:46 pm

I could build a little plywood box or something to paint the stuff in and do it on a non-windy day. I just to know how to actually go about doing it.
So would you primer, paint, and then clear coat? How many coats of each? And are there specific types of paint for this application?

Team AI · Post by **Team AI** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 3:15 pm

Well if you want a good deep finish I would recomend doing several light coats and wet sanding in between coats. It's a little more work than just laying a couple of heavier coats but if done correctly it will lay out a deeper finish. I can't really tell you too much I just know what little I picked up from my dad and he is known to be the best body man in town and has been doing it for about 40 years.

joeyc · Post by **joeyc** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 4:59 pm

bondo the imperfections! go get some "dyna-tron puttycote" that will work on fiberglass. Then prime it and sand it. If there are still imperfections, bondo some more. Then prime it and sand it. If there are still imperfections, bondo some more. You getting the picture?

After that paint it! then sand it and paint it some more!! Once you get into the finish color, you should be using a much finer sand paper. After all you should have had it smooth as hell after all that bondo and primer!! :)

Post by **GlassWolf** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 5:30 pm

coat with body filler
block sand
spray with automotive paint and clear.

CaptainPioneer · Post by **CaptainPioneer** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 8:32 pm

i coated with 2 coats of heavy primer then sanded... then primer again for one coat then the coat of color i wantted. Sanded between the first coat and second and then did 3 coats of clear... it came out nice at least i think so