How to paint furniture with auto paint?

Question

I have some ugly wood furniture that i'd like to paint with auto paint for a really colorful, metallic finish. What's the best way to paint wood with auto paint? Anybody done this before?

Answer 1

I don't know if auto paint is really the way to go.  You can get spray paint that has a metallic finish that would probably work better.  Be sure to prime the wood first, one coat if brushing, 2 if spraying.  Then apply several light coats of the spray paint.  Be careful to avoid drips, and you should be good to go.  Good luck.

Answer 2

It would be doubtful that you could get a metallic finish look on wood, when it is meant for primed metal.  However, if you think you have to try, it would be best to do it by using a paint sprayer.  Not a Wagner powerpainter, which is meant for latex and enamel and doesn't have the misting capabilities, that compressed air driven sprayers have.  Use very light coats, or you will get run.  Car paint is a bit thinner than house paint.  It runs easily.  If you have someone near you who has a compressor you can rent a spray gun head for it, that has a can for the paint and a nozzle plus the trigger for application.

You have to use a thinner to get the old paint out of the can and the sprayer itself, or the rental place will be really upset.

Answer 3

Visit a auto body supply store and ask them for advice. A reputable one will tell you many things including the fact that automotive paint is fairly dangerous to use. It also takes a very specialized gun to shoot it. It is even more specialized than the "latex vs enamel" choice.

Even just the filter system is more sophisticated than a homeowner would have. It is easy to wrap up $100 in a really cheap gun, another $100 in filters, and $50 on up for a resperator mask. Actually, a resperator is not legal, you should have a compressor pumping air into your mask.

It also takes a fairly high powered air compressor. The new guns use a lot of air. They ususally recommend a 5HP compressor with a 30+ gallon tank.

You cannot use anything other than a gun made for the specific type of automotive paint. Most modern auto paint is urethane based. It is even more dangerous that the older styles of enamel and laquer. Those are still available, but are harder to find.

The high gloss, wet look, in cars is done by using urethane paint in three stages. The first is a primer that is specific to the paint. The second is the color; it is thinner than you might think. The third is a clear coat. This is called base coat, clear coat painting.

That clear coat provides the gloss and most of the protection to the underlying layers. The base, i.e. color coat is really not very shiny by itself.

If you mean metallic like is often seen on a boat, that is another matter. Some of those use a very course metalic; it looks like little flakes of confetti, rather than glitter size. The courser the metalic, the harder it is to shoot properly.

There is also auto paint in spray cans. The variety is very limited as are the options. You will not find a course metallic in a can. However, this is really the only practical option for a homeowner.