Today's The Day!

[REBECCA.CRENSHAW]

HEY EVERYBODY. I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BODY WORK, PAINTING, OR AIRBRUSHING. I'M INTERESTED IN BEING A PART OF MY HUSBANDS CUSTOMIZING PROJECTS, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY SKILLZ TO OFFER. WE BORROWED AN AIRBRUSH, NOTHING REAL FANCY, BUT I ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH. NEVER FAILS THO...I'VE HAD IT SINCE THANKSGIVING BUT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR A REPLACEMENT VALVE STEM (OR SOMETHING) SINCE DECEMBER. SO WHILE WAITING FOR PARTS (THAT WERE ONLY SUPPOSED TO TAKE A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO ARRIVE), I DECIDED THAT I NEEDED TO LEARN IT ALL. I NEED TO KNOW HOW TO DO SOME MINOR BODY WORK AS WELL AS PR/BC/CC.

I'VE TRIED TO GET SOME ADVICE FROM OTHER LOCAL PAINTERS IN THIS TOWN...AND I GUESS THEY'RE TOO SCARED TO SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE. MAYBE I'M STILL NEW TO ALL OF THIS, MAYBE THAT'S HOW CUSTOM PAINTERS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE. :crap: IT'S JUST VERY DISCOURAGING WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A MENTOR. IT MAKES ME WANT TO TRY HARDER, LEARN FASTER, AND SHOW 'EM I'VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO PAINT...AND AT THE SAME TIME, I'M HAVING TROUBLE STAYING MOTIVATED BECAUSE :think1: ...WHERE DO I START? WHAT DO I NEED? CAN I ACTUALLY DO THIS OWN MY OWN?

WELL, "TODAY" IS THE DAY! LET IT RAIN KNOWLEDGE :yesnod01: , LOL.

 

[Lit383]

Hi Rebecca, it's nice to see a wife that wants to get involved w/ this type of hobby. I guess to start off, you need a good airbrush and compressor. You will find that most of the experianced AB artists use Iwata brand airbrushes. They are top-of-the-line in this business. I use the Iwata revolution T2, which has a gun trigger, but most people use a top trigger.( I can't do to a bum finger.) But, the point is, start with the best. You can also get the compressor from Iwata. For body working and painting you will need a 60 to 80 gal. compressor for your tools and paint guns. As far as paint guns, well, take your pick. There are alot or great guns out there. For the budget minded painter you can use SHARP, DeVilbiss,ect. Or if you want the best, go with SATA paint guns. But they are going to cost you some $$$. I hope this helps you some, good luck.

 

[REBECCA.CRENSHAW]

Shopping List:

THANKS FOR THE INPUT LIT383.

I'VE BEEN SITTING HERE AT MY COMPUTER (WITH PEN AND PAPER IN HAND) ALL DAY TRYING TO DECIDE ON GUNS. I'M STARTING FRESH, SO I'VE GOT TO BUY A LOT OF EQUIPMENT. AND LET'S NOT EVEN GET STARTED ON PAINT EXPENSES, LOL.

WHEW, IT'S A COSTLY HOBBY, LOL. BUT I'M TRYING TO BUDGET MYSELF TO ABOUT $700 ($300 ADDITIONAL IF NEEDED). AS FOR PAINT GUNS, I'M LEANING TOWARDS THE 2-FINISHLINE 3 HVLP KIT...ALSO COMES WITH REG./GAUGE/CASE FOR $269. THAT WAY I'LL HAVE TWO PAINT GUNS. THEN I THOUGHT MAYBE AN IWATA ECLIPSE HP-CS FOR AIRBRUSHING. THAT'LL COST ABOUT $109. AND THAT LEAVES ME $322 ROUGHLY FOR AN AIR COMPRESSOR AND HOSES. DOES THAT SOUND REALISTIC? AND ARE THERE ANY HIDDEN EXPENSES THAT I'M NOT FACTORING INTO MY BUDGET?

I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR ADVICE AND WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT. :bigokay: YOU'RE A LIFESAVER.

 

[Lit383]

Your welcome. About those finishline guns check out my post http://www.custompaintforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3667 in Tools of the trade section. The airbrush you chose is a great one. For paints you might check out Auto Air Colors on the web. They put together some good kits for a good price.

For your comp., you might try to use a 30 gal. for spraying bikes. For cars you'll need a bigger one. Make sure you get one that puts out 7.5 cfm or better. Anything less will not keep up w/ your gun. And they run $200 or less.

 

[REBECCA.CRENSHAW]

Sweet!

I HAVEN'T HEARD MUCH OF SHARPE SO I'M GONNA DO SOME RESEARCH. I EXPECT TO MAKE A PURCHASE WITHIN THE WEEK. THE SOONER THE BETTER, RIGHT?!? ANYHOW, I'M SURE I'LL BE BACK REALLY SOON WITH MORE QUESTIONS AND PROBABLY SOME "DONT'S", LOL. AND WHEN I FINALLY COMPLETE A PROJECT, I'LL BE SURE TO POST MILLIONS OF PICS. AND I'LL BLOG ALL OF MY WORK SO THAT I CAN START POSTING HELPFUL INFO FOR NEWBIES TO FOLLOW. :cheers:

CHECK OUT MY HUSBAND'S MYSPACE - BEFORE AND AFTER PICS ARE POSTED OF HIS BUSA. BUT KEEP IN MIND, THEY'RE VINYL GRAPHICS NOT PAINT. THAT'S TO COME...

http://WWW.MYSPACE.COM/CRENDADDY