How much paint should I order

[ilustr8tor]

I am ready to paint my 65 restoration. Plan to shoot a coat of epoxy primer, 2 coats of color and 2 coats of clear. I also plan to shoot inside fenders with raptor liner. My question is how much paint will I need for each stage. Paint supplier said a gallon of color will make a gallon and a half of sprayable paint. Here is the car. Going with "Reed Green".

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[jspbtown]

Well this is a tough one...And I have only painted a dozen cars or so and none have been Beetles so I am not your best expert on this.

1. I think 2 coats of color is 1 coat shy. I always shoot a pretty light first coat followed by two heavier coats. The first light coat helps the paint from running.
2. If you plan on fixing the inevitable mistakes that you will have I suggest at least 3 coats of clear if not 4.
3. Is your single coat of epoxy being used as a sealer? It already looks primed.

Amounts:
1. I would get two gallons of color. This allows you to make the mistakes you are going to make and fix them correctly. You have a lot of surface with the inside of panels & the interior as well as outside of the panels
2. For clear that depends on how it is thinned with activator. I would say two gallons...much for the same reasons as outlined above.
3. If your epoxy is being thinned for use as a sealer I think 1 gallon might be enough. You will need activator and the reducer.

Again...all guesses made on the high end. Its better to have a wee bit too much then not enough.

[OvalinAz]

I used a gallon maybe 1 1/2 gallons of primer on my oval. I was Also told by the shop i got my paint from a gallon should do it, nope. i got 2 good layers on everything except the hood and front fenders. i painted literally every area inside and out of my oval. under sides of panels and such. gallon and a half or 2 would be great. clear would be up to you depending on how you want it to be. a gallon would probably work but more would be better to wet sand and buff.
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[RVAmike97]

What kind of gun are you using ? I'm not a pro, but I've played with some bodywork and paint. The style of gun will also impact how much product you go through. A gravity feed gun is more efficient than a siphon feed.

[ilustr8tor]

I have been waiting a long time for this day, 65 is off to the spray booth. I will have two weekends to do final primer then color and clear. Thanks to Marty's Paint Supply in Baltimore I was able to get the L313 Reed Green color I wanted.

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[57BLITZ]

Nice!
Be sure to take lots of photos . . . and share them with us!
Oh, and let us know how much paint it takes, okay?
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[ilustr8tor]

definitely post pics as I go, need to figure out adapter for my rotisserie to match up to the bug, can't find anything pre made may have to weld it up myself.
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[ilustr8tor]

Color on now Wet sanding and buffing with 3M ultrafine machine polish (3 parts)

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[jspbtown]

You aren't using that gas heater while you paint are you?

[ilustr8tor]

Ha Ha no only turned it on before I started painting then after clear set up.
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[ilustr8tor]

BTW the reason for the post; It took one and a quarter gallon of color (gallon and three quarters sprayable) to shoot entire car inside and out. It took about a gallon and a half of clear. I did 3 coats of color and 3 coats of clear. I had enough color left over to mix up 3 qts. of tinted Raptor Liner for inside fenders, firewall and behind back seat (ribbed area)

jspbtown I did one coat of 2k epoxy primer before I began filler after all metal work was done. Then I shot another thinned coat as a sealer and sanded @320 before shooting color.
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[westina]

hi nice work. I am planning on painting my van in the garage. I need to heat up the garage with a kerosene or propane heater. What is the right/safe way to do so?
Also i have a gallon of epoxy primer left from a boat proect.
If i spray this epoxy as a primer, sealer:
-do i need to go down to the bare metal(current paint is primer, color and clear coat. Although some areas are just seems to be primed no base paint, which starts to develop tiny spots of surface rust hence my intention to use epoxy to seal it. Thanks.

[joey1320]

That paint came out great. Do you have a build thread?
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