To Reduce Your Paint Cost, Reduce Your Waste

Automotive paint is expensive, so it only makes sense to use it as efficiently as possible. Before diving into your next paint job, consider ways to get the most out of your paint material budget by eliminating waste. Below are several small steps that, when used together can help ensure more of the materials you purchased end up on the car.

Order only what you need

Before you order your primer, base coat, or clear, figure out how much or each material you’re going to need. Calculate the total square footage you plan to paint, factoring in jambs, underhood, truck bed, or other details. Add another 10-20% for safety in case you’ve miscalculated or make a mistake in the process.

Once you know the area to be painted, multiply that by the number of coats of each material to be sprayed. You might choose to apply two coats of primer, two coats of base, and three coats of clear, for example. Each product will have different coverage once reduced and catalyzed, so figure the coverage per gallon for each coat to get your total material need. Depending on your material, you can often order in pint-, quart-, or gallon-sized quantities.

Plan your project

To improve paint efficiency as well as productivity, plan the sequence of your work in advance

There’s no sense mixing numerous small batches of material if you can shoot full coats of each in one session. Spray all your primer surfaces before moving to color, and so on. Mix once and spray everything together whenever possible. As a bonus, you’ll likely get better color and texture consistency this way as well.

Consider removing body parts like doors and lids from the vehicle before painting. You may be able to save masking time and materials, but you’ll also be able to spray more efficiently. This is particularly true on the hinged edge where it may be difficult to spray accurately with an open panel.

Upgrade to an HVLP Gun

If you’re still spraying with an old-style gravity feed gun, you’re going to waste some paint. Modern HVLP (high-volume, low-pressure) spray guns more effectively atomize paint, ensuring even coverage with minimal overspray. Choose one that’s compatible with your air supply’s capabilities as well as the type of material you’ll be shooting.

Most professional painters will use a different gun for primers than for base or clear. Many entry-level HVLP guns will be available with interchangeable nozzles and tips for different materials. For most primers, a tip between 1.8 and 2.0 mm is required. Base coat tips typically range from 1.2 to 1.4 mm, while clears tend to work best with 1.4 to 1.8 mm tips.

Mix accurately

When mixing in reducers and activators, always use accurate measuring equipment. Professional paint and body shops measure out materials on a scale, but a graduated paint mixing cup is also effective. These can be cleaned and reused many times as well, reducing the cost of keeping them on hand. Again, mix only what you plan to spray. Saving catalyzed paint for a later spray usually results in wasted material that can’t be used.

Use disposable cups or gun liners

Every time you pour paint from one container to another, you potentially leave an ounce or so of paint in the container. Mixing your paint in graduated, disposable gun liners can eliminate waste from transferring between containers. Even disposable cups allow for faster gun cleaning and require much less solvent in the process. Every drop costs something.

Seal containers to reduce evaporative loss

This might seem like an insignificant suggestion but be sure to keep tight lids on all materials. A loose lid can cause paint and other materials to dry out between uses, reducing their overall coverage.

Maintain your spray equipment

Maintain your air supply equipment. Change inline filters and drain moisture separators regularly to prevent wasting material as a result of poor air quality. Don’t forget to clean your spray gun thoroughly after each use and store it properly between sprayings. Dirty needles and nozzles can create poor spray patterns or cause the gun to stick, wasting materials.

Share your experiences

We can all learn from each other. If there’s something you do that saves material and cost, we’d love to hear it. Share your thoughts in the comments below.