the dangers of painting your self

[vwkid6886]

hello. I was woundering what was in the paint. like is is water base or something ellse. basicly I want to know if it is safe to paint my bug in my garage. my consern is the water heater.(pilot light.) I know this might be A stupid question but I figure it's better to look stupid for A question then A mistake.

any other conserns I should be aware of.

thanks guys

[4ghias]

First you need to do a search using words like "painting car" and you can read a lot of good past info. Then ask what you can't find from there.

4ghias

[metropoj]

Well depending on the paint, it is usually an explosive type reducer or contains some type of flammable components.

I hear that water based paints are on the market and will probably replace traditional paints in a few years, especially in CA because of the pollution laws ......

I'd turn off that pilot for sure and make sure the garage is very well ventilated out before trying to start it up again !! You may relive Dorothy in Wizard of Oz but with a cool VW instead !! I think the paint will also release agents into the air that could be flammable for some time after the spraying is done .....

I've never seen one paint that doesn't have a flammable symbol on it ..... I wouldn't risk it !!

[JayInMI]

the dangers of painting your self

Well the chemicals could go right through your skin, if you don't want funny marks, you'd be better off not to wear a mask or it'll show around your mouth. Paint tends to have known carinogens in it...

BTW, what color are you now, and what color do you want to paint yourself?

Oh, what's that you say -- his car!?! Oh, my mistake...

J/K

I was lucky enough to have worked at a body shop for about a year, and learned to wet sand and polish cars, and I am on pretty good terms with the painters and body men. I will most likely do the prep work in my garage, and have the painter shoot it at his home-shop.

The main drawbacks I see to painting in a garage (especially with a pilot light) would be the danger of fire, dirt, etc...Alot of people use plastic sheeting to section off an area of the garage and spray water on the ground before painting to help keep dust to a minimum...another reason I am leaning toward having someone else shoot the actual paint.

Jay

[vwkid6886]

I allready did searches before postng and couldn't find anything about the contents in paint.

JayInMI- I think I will do what your doing. just try to prep the car my self then have A local body shop do the spraying.


thanks guys. your help is much appreciated.


thanks
vwkid

[doc]

prepping the car is 90% of the work. You'll have plenty to do! It's a good way to start out in painting.

Auto painting is doable at home, but there are a lot of issues. You'll need several hundred dollars worth of equipment to start. Current paints are very dangerous - full of toxic chemicals you don't want to breathe or expose to flame. Get the MSDS sheet when you buy your paint and read it. Painting at home has a lot of little problems. Dust is a big prblem and bugs are a nightmare. You really have to find a super clean place.

All this said, painting is very rewarding. You can do it. A quality, fancy paint job costs thousands of dollars. Check around. If you do the grunt work - body work, priming, sanding - you can save a bunch of money.

I say give it a try.