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To know how to paint a car, you should know what to paint it with. There are two ways to paint and two opinions on that. The first way is an electric paint sprayer with a 2.0 nozzle, e.g., Earlex 2900. This spray gun is cost-saving and very simple to use. Having Dempinox and an A/C line socket, you will be able to paint the car at home. The other way is a professional HVLP pressure feed spray gun with upper tank and 1.8 nozzle, e.g., DeVilbiss. To operate correctly, it needs an air compressor with the volume of no less than 100l, a hose of 10-12 mm ID, and a good air extractor. A manometer is recommended to be used with the spray gun as it compensates for air pressure drops in air compressor and allows accurate setting of the necessary pressure that should not exceed 1.5 atmosphere.

Operating temperature for painting is from +18°С to +28°C. If the temperature is higher, 10 to 20 percent of thinner should be added in order for the material not to overdry in the air at the moment of spraying. When the temperature is lower, and there is no possibility to heat the booth, you should reduce material supply, apply thinner coats and give them more time to dry in order to avoid paint runs.

If this is the first time you paint a car, before you start, we strongly recommend to practice at any spare body element you can find. For example, take a hood and start spraying the material smoothly pressing the trigger, get accustomed to the weight and geometry of the spray gun, set up material delivery in it. The spray gun should not produce too much overspray. Hold the spray gun at 90 degree angle to the painted surface, following all the curves and protruding shapes of the body with your strokes. Observe the distance of 20 cm from the spray gun to the painted surface. The material should settle on the body as tiny wet drops almost touching each other. When drying, the coating applied should form an even smooth surface without runs or roughness.

Having practiced enough, let’s start painting the car. The first thing we have to do is to strengthen the edges of body elements, as well as those hard-to-reach areas we will not be able to cover with a spray gun. For this purpose we need Heavy Layer and a small artist paint brush with natural bristles. Heavy Layer is a clear thick material with an increased adhesion, supplied in 0.5 l cans. Let’s review the process of edge strengthening as in the case of a boot lid. Open the trunk and thoroughly paint the flat sides of the boot lid with a brush, as well as 1 cm of the edge of the inner side. Thus we obtain strengthened edges turned to the inaccessible to damage area. All edges, flanges, inner parts of door handles should be coated.

Next stage is applying the first adhesion coat, and to do so we need Dempinox Start which is applied on the entire body with a spray gun. One liter is required per one car. It is a clear material supplied in 1 liter cans. Dempinox Start is applied in thin coats, the drops should set on the body on a minimum distance from one another. Being applied, the primer coating should be given 30-40 minutes to dry, and you can start the main stage of painting.

How to calculate the amount of Dempinox Composite to apply onto the car? The more material we use, the thicker the protective film coating is. Recommended amount of Dempinox Composite to apply onto the car body in order to obtain a quality coating is 1 liter per 1 square meter.

Important! Hold the spray gun at 90 degree angle to body surface and at 20 cm distance following with your stroke all the curves and shapes of the car. The car should be painted in a circle, coat by coat, starting from the same spot. Paint the roof first, standing on the bench for even paint application. If you paint the car and do not stand on the bench, you will not be able to observe a 90 degree angle, and that will result in streaks on the finished surface. The coats are applied with strokes from left to right, lapping each stroke 50% over the preceding one. With a right-hand painting, it is recommended to paint from the left shoulder towards right side, making a stroke no longer than 1 meter, and don’t make steps at the moment of spraying. When you start applying the stroke, press the spray gun trigger smoothly, and smoothly release pressure at the end of the stroke, in order to prevent runs and spots. At the operating temperature of +18°C to +28°C a coat dries within 10-15 minutes.

To paint two tones on a car, first the whole car should be painted with one color and left to dry for 4 hours. In 4 hours it’s safe to put masking tape on the coat. Mask as much of the body as possible around the area you intend to paint, so that the new tone drops do not get on the preceding color coat and do not ruin your paint job.

Buying a bucket of paint, check if it is properly sealed. The material should be thoroughly mixed with a mixer or with a drill mixer attachment before use. Pour the material into spray gun through a 90-120 micron cone strainer. Each time when pouring the material into spray gun during painting, it is recommended to stir Dempinox for 20-30 seconds.

Many Dempinox Company specialists apply one liter of clear composite as a final coat, as mud and water better slide off it, and it collects less dust.