roll paint over a stencil?

[electreffects]

I'm currently restoring an old Taito classic cab to an Elevator Action, and have my stencils ready to go, but I'm thoroughly confused about how to go about painting.
Here's my dilemma. I'm going for the orange/brown color scheme, which means on the side of the cab the background is orange and the detail is brown, but on the front of the cab the colors are reversed. Since I'm using stencils, I was assuming I have to spray both colors on, but I haven't found any color matches in spraypaint. For me to match the colors I need to get the paint mixed for me, which means using a latex paint from a bucket. But how do I spray that over the stencil?
Everything I read on these forums says not to use the airless sprayers, and I can't afford the big house paint sprayers from the Depot (Which would be overkill for such a small job anyway). I had even bought an automotive spray gun that can hook up to my compressor, but I was told latex paint was much too thick for it and wouldn't work.
So it seems to me that my only option is to roll the paint on with a foam roller, sanding in between coats. But can you roll paint over a stencil, and has anyone ever done so?

[bkenobi]

If you thin the paint, you can use a sprayer to apply it.  Some sprayers don't need it thinned, but it might go on too thick and drip.  I saw a sprayer just yesterday at the hardware store that had a glass jar at the bottom and a CO2 canister/sprayer part that went on the top.  I've never tried it, but you just add paint to the jar and spray away (perhaps thinning it).  Only ~$20 for the kit and no compressor required!  Alternately, you could head over to Harbor Freight and see what they have.  My local HF is having a tent sale this weekend but I don't know if that's chain wide.

[electreffects]

The sprayer I got is from Harbor Freight, but the paint guy at the Depot told me that normal paints are WAY too thick for that kind of sprayer. It's made for automotive paint. You couldn't thin normal paint enough for it to work. The kind of sprayer I would need is the kind made for painting large jobs with an agitator and feed hoses that cost a few hundred on the low end, not just an attachment you can hook up to a compressor. (Going on what I've been able to piece together from this and other forums, and the people at my local hardware stores.) Does this sound right to anyone?

Which is why I was wondering if anyone has tried rolling paint over a stencil. I think it would work, but I'm hoping somebody might know.

[electreffects]

And I saw that same canned air sprayer at the store. It was next to the quarts of Rustoleum paint, which is an oil paint. I'll have to go back and see if it would work with latex, but if it does, it could work for me. I could roll on the background color and just use it to spray over the stencil.

[mj147]

I found it best to just rent the equipment on small and or one time use projects that requires specialized tools 



mj147

[Ed_McCarron]

Floetrol?  I've used that to spray latex with mixed results.  Test different mix strengths first.  I've also thinned latex with plain old rubbing alcohol.  Seemed to work OK, dried pretty fast, and only -slightly- increased the risk of blowing myself up...

[electreffects]

Never heard of floetrol. I'll look into it. I think the problem with the automotive sprayer I have is that the paint comes out these little pinholes, which will always goop up with anything but automotive paint. I haven't tried it yet, because I'm expecting to return the sprayer to Harbor Freight.

I'm thinking about going the rental route, at least for painting the stencils. If rolling the paint over the stencils doesn't work out, I don't get another shot at it without spending another $60.

[Spyridon]

I've thinned latex paint with water and it worked fine in my HVLP sprayer.

[electreffects]

HVLP? I don't think that's what I have. If the LP stands for Low Pressure, I think I have the High Pressure version. My gun works from 60 - 115 PSI. Do you have any details as to what I would need to look for in a sprayer to use it with latex paints? The boxes at the local stores don't tell me what I need to know, and each salesman tells me something a little different.

[MortalManiak]

Pretty sure it is still considered HVLP bro

HVHP systems are at about 800PSI and up 

i'm not sure what orange and brown you are trying to match that cant be found in spray paint. 

If you just can't find it, try going to a paint store and ask if they sell automotive paint  or know someone who does.  I'm sure HOK carries the right color or extremely close.  Also, autozone sells some paint from duplicolor for your sprayer(I also bought one from Harbor Freight and it is HVLP ).  They only have a few colors, but it is decent primer that you can use to practice spraying and then use the expensive stuff.

[gatordad]

Use this

http://www.prevalspraygun.com/

The best thing since sliced bread for this kind of job

You can mix and thin any color of paint you want, and doing a whole cab will cost you about 50 bucks.
I picked one up at Sherman Williams close to home, it's like 7 bucks for the kit and the power cells cost 5 bucks each.
I have used 5 power cells for a total of 2 coats on a multicab I'm building now, ( I post a project when I get a little more done) paint finish is the best looking job I ever did, just don't use it outside with any breeze as you will have over spray everywhere.

[bkenobi]

If you haven't priced automotive paint, be forewarned that it's EXPENSIVE!  I painted my door a few years back with a custom mixed paint and the 1 quart of paint (plus a few other supplies) were $300!  I could have used less, but they don't sell in smaller quantities.  Anyway, I would avoid it if possible just because of the cost.  You should be able to order spray paint for less if you truly can't find the right color locally.

[electreffects]

gatordad, The preval spray gun seems to be the same one I saw in HD that I mentioned earlier in the post. Good to hear it can work. I may be my only option if I can't figure this gun stuff out.

I've been looking through Harbor Freight's website and they have a number of different sprayers, and better descriptions than the boxes in the store have.

This is what I bought, no mention of paint type that can be used: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?itemnumber=97855

They also have a HVLP Detail Spray Gun, which the website lists as "Sprays light, medium, and heavy stains; varnishes, oil-based paint and latex": http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45001

And they have a Household Low Volume, Low Pressure Spray Gun (LVLP) which is listed as being "Great for spraying latex, stains and varnish": http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=92841

Anyone have any experience/suggestions about which gun would be best for me? The salesmen at Harbor Freight don't seem to know anything about them, the paint gut at HD tells me none of them will work, and this is my first shot at painting anything, so it's all new to me.

[jan25th]

I remember hearing great things about the "Wagner HVLP Conversion Gun " available from http://www.gleempaint.com/hvcongunnew.html, I think it may have been in this very group. My understanding of spraying is that regular high pressure guns make a mess by generating huge amounts of overspray. An HVLP gun being low pressure is much better to control. The Wagner will attach attach to a high pressure compressor that many diyers have at home. There is lots of discussion about the Wagner (google is your friend).

[electreffects]

Thanks, 25th. It looks like that one works at around 15-18 psi, much lower than mine. The Wagner's a little pricey for me, but maybe I can find a similar cheaper alternative. At least I know now there are guns out there that can be used with a compressor and standard latex paints. Has anyone else tried it? What did you uses and how were the results?

[YoGaBaR]

Hey glad to see someone else likes the old taito design. I am redoing an old orange and brown one but I think I am going to update the colors to Black and .
I have been spraying some cabs lately with sherwin williams latex with an automotive spray gun. I thinned the latex 15% water and the results were awesome. I am really happy with it. If you have a compressor and can get an automotive paint gun do it that way. I got mine from an auction and a couple from magazines but I am sure orieleys or autozone would have one.