How to Paint a Tricoat
- 1). Practice on a piece of scrap metal or plastic before you begin work on your car. This will give you a chance to make sure that you can complete the process properly and that the color will be acceptable before you make changes to your vehicle.
- 2). Cover all areas of the car that will not be painted, including the tires and windows. Use painter's tape to attach the plastic to these areas.
- 3). Apply the base coat first, the darkest of the paint layers. Use smooth, even strokes when spraying the paint, and overlap each stroke with the previous one by at least 50 percent. Apply the paint in thin layers, angling the spray gun carefully into smaller crevices, including wheel wells and around headlights. Keep the gun in constant motion to avoid drips. Consider painting at least an entire panel, if you are painting to cover an imperfection, to eliminate any paint layer lines on the car.
- 4). Allow the base coat to dry. Waiting overnight should be sufficient for the coat to dry completely. Sand the base coat thoroughly with 1,000-grit sandpaper to smooth out the surface. Alternatively, you can use rubbing compound. Apply a second coat, if necessary.
- 5). Apply a thin layer of midcoat paint. If the color of the base coat does not change enough, you can add another midcoat layer after the first one dries. If you add too much midcoat at once, your base coat may become too dark, so it is best to apply one thin layer at a time. Use the same method as for the base coat --- apply the paint in even strokes, keeping the gun in constant motion.
- 6). Wait for the midcoat to dry, at least overnight, and then apply the clearcoat.
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