How much paint is “enough”?
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Sup Everyone
I’m new to the community so I’d like to say “Hi” to everyone before hand for welcoming me. I’ve been painting for almost 2 years now and I hate to admit and also embarrassed that I have to ask about a novice question when it comes to paint ratio. (not confused with mix ratio)
First off, I’d like to note that my employer who’s also a long time friend likes to “conserve” spending.. in other words, he’s too cheap to buy enough paint that’s required. Because of this, I’ve learned to conserve paint by any means necessary.. like mixing in a bit more reducer.. etc. However, most of the time.. I’m always left with too little paint and I end up running out before I finish.. this especially holds true when It comes to metallic or 3-stage colors. For example, I would end up with 1/2 pint of base coat & pearl coat for a 3 panel paint job (2 doors and quarter) which means I would have to blend the fender. That literally translate to a whole side refinish with just 1/2 pint of base! I’ve been painting like this for years now and I’m starting to get fed up with it. My boss/friend is also a painter and he just tells me that I’m inexperienced and waste too much paint.
At this point I’m so frustrated that I’m just down right confused now. I don’t know if I’m just inexperienced and what my friend tells me is true or something else is really messed up and it’s not on my part. Correct me if I’m wrong, but If I have to paint an entire side of the car with a 3-stage coat, I think I would need at least a pint of base and pearl for coverage. I say this because tomorrow, I will start prepping a ’04 Acura TL which is going to be a 3-stage pearl. Both doors need to be refinished so I will have to blend the quarter and fender. There is no damage to the areas that needs to be painted, all I need to do is sand and prep it for paint.
So guys, let me know whats going on so my head is less cluttered up. And If my friend is the person at fault here.. then at least I can show this post to his face which will earn me a point if anything. =/
[b]Kudos,[/b]
JayIts not like the paint is gonna go bad if you mix or order to much. You can save what you don’t use.
I would ask him to get off your back and let you do your job, and not worry about running out of paint. You are talking about quality issues here. You don’t save money when you have to re-do the job because you can see through the paint.Sounds like it might be time to start looking at other shops. He is going to have a hard time keeping a painter if he runs his shop like that.
Nothing would piss me off more than running out of paint when I’m in the middle of a job! It kills your production time………………Welcome to the forum,
Tell your cheap a$$ boss to jump on this forum so we can paint some sense into him.
And if he’s cheaping out here, then he must be cheaping out everywhere and cutting
too many corners.Just have him show you how to paint an entire side with what he’s telling you to do.
Seeing is believing. And post some pics.What brand of materials are you using?
How big is the shop?
How long has he been in business?
Is the shop busy?I’ve never understood why any jobber would sell partial mixes. Should be pretty standard to sell full pints, quarts, gallons. These are also the guys complaining they’re not making any money.
You might be able to get away with half pint of the pearl, but the basecoat probably would need a full one. If he’s still to stubborn, is there any similar color laying around from a prior job to get a few coats down first. Other than that, Valueshade undercoats help.
I agree, don’t be cheap. Having a 1/2 pint left after painting the side of a car with 3 stage is not a huge problem. And as mentioned most don’t go bad quickly.
I know some systems like the SW Ultra 7000 uses an Reactive Reducer which limits the reduced pot life to something like 12 hours though, so that would be understandable, but otherwise, label it and store it for the next job that is the same colour.
Besides, what costs more, 6 ozs of wasted paint, or your time spent mixing the same colour 3 times to prevent waste?
hate to run out paint in the middle of job :S
whats wrong with being cheap :wak shoot somtimes i mix 1/8s an 1/4 pints besides it makes me feel like im doing my share ta reduce my carbon footprint :silly: besides i gotta do something ta make up for all those broken taillights an headlights i use ta start my fire with course a lil leftover paint does get em going faster :stoned :evil2
Bondo :rofl your a sick man…
Well.. I finally finished the Acura TL tonight. I actually had to paint two cars today, the ’04 TL and a ’06 RSX. You guys might not believe it, but I’ve had to paint the TL 5 times.. yes, its not a typo.. its 5 times! I don’t even want to get into it.. I’m just unbelievably glad that its finally finished and the customer can take the car on Monday. As for the RSX, good thing I was the one who called to have the paint ordered today because I ordered 1 and 1/2 pint and I felt relieved knowing I had more than enough and enough left over “just in case”. Of course my friend thought otherwise but I talked some sense into him after I mentioned the TL.
The RSX was involved in a front accident which required both fenders, the hood, upper and lower radiator support, and front bumper cover to be replaced and painted. The customer also requested to have the left door refinished because the previous finish came out too dark when compared to the 1/4 panel. So, after the body guys finished what they do best. I prepped the car, taped everything up and started what I do best. 😉
With 1 and 1/2 pint, I was able to spray the bumper with a good even 3 medium-wet coats. The hood required 4 coats on top of 1 coat of 2k sealer primer. The fenders required 3 coats each and I gave the door and 1/4 panel a nice 2 coat blend. All in all, it came out fantastic.. I have just about more than enough paint left over for tomorrow when I start on the upper and lower radiator support. Talk about perfection! Nothing wasted!
As for Han, I paint in a room in the back of the shop with 3 concrete walls and a large ass tarp that separates it from the “main” shop. Its not a paint booth but it gets the job done, as for dust issues, I always hose the walls and floors down before each paint job. The room is pretty well sealed and has 2 large exhaust fans.. so yea.. it gets the job done. We’re set on a PPG/Deltron system. I’d like to explore more options with paint manufactures as well as reducers and clear coat systems (currently using Nason Select Clear). But like I said, I’ve only done this for two years.. I don’t really have any experience outside the paint room other than knowing how to spray stuff. The shops been in business for as long as my employment which is almost 2 years. We sometimes get jammed up with like 3-4 cars a week which required refinishing.. which means It’s all up to me to get it done which is a pain in the ass… which answers your last question. I’m always busy.. as for the shop.. I can’t say. haha.
[b]Kudos,[/b]
Jay:welc
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