Body Building Tools You Need For Painting & Repair

ANGLE GRINDER Metal prep, polishing, rust removal, and even buffing can beaccomplished with this one tool. A Roloc, or twist-lock attachment,makes quick work of changing tips or blades. Buffing pads twist onto thesame mounting pad as grinding wheels. Price range: $19 to $39	AIR COMPRESSOR If you're using pneumatic tools, or especially if you're painting orpriming, your air compressor is the heart of your workshop. Choosing theright compressor can make your world a lot easier, and pennies fromheaven will rain down upon you! Just kidding--no miracles, but yourtools will work properly and efficiently, and your project will go a loteasier. Too little output (CFM) will starve your tools and paint guns,and will overwork the compressor. Results of this can includecontamination of your primers and paints, and premature failure of yourair tools. Think of it like this: Air volume is measured in cubic feetper minute; air pressure is measured in pounds per square inch--two verydifferent measurements. You need to carefully match the output of yourcompressor to what your tools will be demanding. If you plan onpainting, pay attention to the ratings and requirements of your guns.Modern paint guns can be air hogs, demanding as much as 15 cfm toatomize paint properly. Some guns, such as Sharpe's Platinum LV, needonly 7.5 cfm to do a beautiful job, making it a great choice for alower-output compressor. Modern paint and equipment must producesubstantially less waste, due to tighter environmental regulations. Theresult of this is thicker paint that uses less thinner and reducer sothat overspray and evaporation is kept to a minimum. HVLP (high-volume,low-pressure) means that more paint is transferred from the gun to thepanel with less pressure, thereby making less overspray. Doing thiseffectively requires more air volume, not pressure. That's why acompressor that was great for painting cars 10 years ago wouldn't cut itwith today's equipment. People who try to use modern paint guns with anoutdated air supply are on track to shooting themselves in the foot, andthis is one area where you can't compromise. Yes, bigger is better! Price range: $200 to $2,000	AIR CONDITIONING A dryer setup or moisture separator is critical to the proper outcome ofyour paint projects and long tool life. Having your dryer too close tothe compressor can allow moisture to bypass the unit, and stillcontaminate your air. Place this unit at least 25 feet from yourcompressor to allow moisture to separate properly so it can be removedfrom your usable air. Price range: $50 to $300
SPRAY EQUIPMENT Even if you're only going to get your ride into primer, you'll stillneed a quality gun to shoot primers and surfacers. Thinking that "it'sonly primer" doesn't apply anymore with today's 2K products. Materialsare vastly improved, but much more expensive as well; and they need thecorrect air volume and pressure to do what they're designed to do. Ifyou're on a budget, get a good-quality, moderately priced HVLP gun witha 1.4 fluid-tip setup and use it for primers and topcoats. Just makesure to clean it thoroughly between uses. If budget is not an issue, geta dedicated gun for each procedure, but stay with HVLP and complianttechnology--they're much more efficient and will actually save you moneywhen applying your materials to the project. Price range: $29 to $500	COMPUTER A computer in your workshop? Not necessarily, but close by so you canuse it to reference everything from parts sources to MSDS sheets andpainting procedures. Gearheads are turning into computer geeks, and, intoday's information age, a computer is one of the best assets you canimagine. Online shopping for tools can be an eye-opening experience, andyou'll soon learn the ropes of Internet bargain hunting. Even if youdon't have your own online computer, most public libraries offer freeWeb access. The recent advancements in high-speed access open up thepossibilities for online product demos, technical seminars, andinformation on a much wider level. The opportunity to compare notes withpeople all over the world and of all different skill levels has neverbefore been as accessible as it is now. Price range: $500 to $2,000	INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO TAPES Shameless plug? Yes siree! The Paintucation video set is a must-have foryour reference library, showing you excellent techniques, as well asimportant safety tips. The new "Bodyshop Basics" video covers thefundamentals of the trade, giving you the necessary foundation on whichto build your skills. An added value of the tapes is the free (yes,free!) Internet tech support and Web site at www.paintucation.com. Current updates, a Q&A board, a readers' rides page, chat rooms, and agreat community of fellow enthusiasts are just some of the features ofPaintucation.com. Price range: $39.95 to $140.00

CONCLUSION

The learning curve for doing your own bodywork can be frustrating andpainful, but it doesn't have to be. Having the right tool for the rightjob is more than half the battle, and making a game plan before youstart melting down your credit card is very important. You don't have tobuy the best of everything to get effective results, but spend yourmoney wisely; and remember that good value sometimes comes with a biggerprice tag.

If you enter into this field with an open mind, a reasonable budget, anda willingness to study some basic techniques and principles, you can getexcellent results right out of the gate!