Ford Fiesta (2011 year). Manual — part 170

Tools and Equipment for Paint Repairs

General work equipment

In the repair paint shop there is a range of painting
tools which make the work of the painter easier
and improve the quality of the repair paintwork.

Among these are small tools which are used for
the following work:

• Measuring beakers to measure and mix

various paint materials.

• Measuring rods with which the required

combination amounts of paint and primer filler
are gauged and mixed.

• Viscosity measuring beaker with a calibrated

opening of 4mm, used to set the correct paint
viscosity.

• Paint filter/paint sieve for filtering foreign

bodies out of mixed paint or primer. Care must
be taken that the correct filter is used for each
paint.

• Color sample plates onto which the mixed

paint is applied, and the shade is then compared
to that of the vehicle. Other aids which should
help the painter to find the correct shade are
color sample cards and color panels, which
are offered by many paint manufacturers.

• Dust bonding cloths which are impregnated

with a tacky resin and which pick up dust
particles particularly well. A surface to be
painted must be cleaned with a dust binding
cloth immediately before paint is applied.

• Compressed air guns are used to remove

sanding residues and to dry sanded surfaces.

Filler and spray guns

NOTE: Regular maintenance, cleaning after use
and careful handling of all individual parts of the
spray gun are essential for a high-quality paint
finish.

The spray gun is the most important implement in
the paint shop. Application of paint using the spray
gun can produce a layer with absolutely constant
thickness and a smooth paint surface.

Principle of operation

Description

Item

Air supply

1

Paint supply

2

Nozzle needle

3

Because of the construction design and with the
aid of compressed air, a spray-ready paint mixture
is dragged out of the container to the nozzle by the
venturi effect, and is applied to the surface being
worked.

When the trigger of the spray gun is pressed to the
first pressure point, only the compressed air
passage opens. If the trigger is pressed further,
the nozzle needle displaces and the air stream
drags paint with it at high speed. This produces a
spray mist consisting of micro-droplets of paint.

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Types of spray gun

Description

Item

Suction-beaker spray gun

1

Flow-beaker spray gun

2

In the flow-beaker spray gun, the paint container
is mounted above the spray gun. On the
suction-beaker spray gun, it is below.

Furthermore, spray guns are categorized by their
air pressure requirement into high and low pressure
guns.

High pressure guns have the disadvantage that
they exhibit high consumption of energy and
materials. The spray pressure they require is
between 1 - 6 bar.

Because of the high air pressure and the large
amount of air needed, the result is a powerful paint
mist formation (paint transfer rate approx. 35%).

Current practice is mainly to work with reduced
mist spray systems (RP and HVLP systems).

Reduced pressure (RP) guns are optimized high
pressure guns which have an input pressure at the
gun of approx. 2.5 bar and an atomization pressure
at the air cap of 1 - 2 bar. In practice this spray
technology is preferred for spraying clear lacquer
because of the finer atomization.

Low pressure guns have the advantage that they
exhibit minimal paint mist formation and because
of this the paint transfer rate rises to approx. 65%.
The spray pressure required in this case is between
1 - 5 bar. Nozzle sizes from 1 - 2.2 mm can be
used.

HVLP spray guns

Description

Item

Quantity control

1

Working pressure control

2

Spray pattern control

3

The high volume low pressure (HVLP) spray gun
is a high performance spray gun which forms a
soft, fine and homogenous spray pattern. The
atomization pressure at the air cap is 0.7 bar when
the input pressure at the gun is 2.0 bar.

The low atomization pressure of 0.7 bar together
with greatly reduced spray mist provide high
material ejection. The low nozzle internal pressure
minimizes rebound of the paint droplets from the
object and thus the proportion of overspray.

This spray technology has a very high application
efficiency. By matching the size of the nozzle, the
HVLP spray gun can be used for all repair painting
materials.

HVLP spray guns are often used in practice for the
application of water based paints.

Mini spray guns are often used for small, localized
touching-up work. Use of HVLP spray technology
and nozzle sizes of 0.3 - 1.2 mm permits very fine

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work, so that the area of the repair can be kept as
small as possible.

In order to ensure that a spray gun operates
efficiently for a long time, careful cleaning is
absolutely vital after use.

NOTE: During cleaning you must distinguish
between water based and solvent based materials.

Cleaning by hand:

• Empty the paint beaker immediately after use.

• Flush the gun with cleaner.

• Clean it inside and outside with a brush.

• Dismantle the gun to clean it thoroughly.

• Clean the air cap using a suitable brush.

• Use nozzle cleaning needles to clean bores and

nozzles.

A spray gun washing machine is recommended if
the painting work is highly intensive.

New types of paint processing systems are
replacing the conventional mixing beaker, filter and
spray gun flow beaker. This reduces the amount
of solvent required for cleaning and the amount of
routine waste which remains.

Paint preparation system (PPS)

Description

Item

Beaker

1

Color bag

2

With this system, which is suitable for both suction
and flow beaker spray guns, only one beaker is
required for mixing and painting.

A bag is inserted in the beaker, in which paint can
be mixed, processed and stored after use or
completely disposed of.

The small quantity of paint remaining in the gun is
removed using a minimum quantity of solvent from
the pipette bottle.

The amount of cleaner used is reduced because
only the spray gun needs to be cleaned.

Hand and machine sanding tools

Sanding is used to prepare a surface for application
of a paint layer, enabling it to adhere well. Sanding
materials have a great influence on the quality of
a repair paint finish. The correct sanding medium
must therefore be chosen for every material.

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During sanding, material is mechanically removed
from a surface.

In the paint shop, carborundum or silicon carbide
abrasive on a substrate of paper or cloth are the
most common sanding materials used.

Carborundum is a very hard mineral consisting
mostly of aluminum oxide. During use carborundum
becomes blunt and wears away.

Silicon carbide has a very high degree of hardness,
but is more brittle than carborundum. When silicon
carbide is used, the mineral grains break. New long
and pointed profiles are formed.

Use of the correct sanding paper depends on the
application, the substrates and the tools used. The
following table can be used as a guideline, but the
recommendations of the supplier of the auxiliary
materials and additive materials must be followed.

Sanding system

Grade

Working area

Application

Orbital sander, dry

to P150

Equalizing paint system
transition

Body work, corrosion
damage

Hand sanding, dry

Orbital sander, dry

P80 - P150

Rough sand

Stopper

Orbital sander, dry

P240 - P320

Fine sand

Hand sanding, dry

Orbital sander, dry

P120 - P180

Rough sand

Spray stopper

Orbital sander, dry

P240 - P320

Fine sand

Hand sanding, dry

Orbital sander, dry

P400 - P500

Filler fine sand

Filler sanding work

Hand sand, wet

P800 - P1200

Orbital sand, dry

P400 - P500

Old paint

Top coat

Hand sand, wet

P800 - P1200

Hand sand, wet

P1000 - P2000

Touch-up paint surfaces

Hand sand, wet

P2000 - P3000

Sanding out faults

Paint damage

Soft Pads are recommended for manual refinishing
of contours, curves and difficult to reach areas. On
a Soft Pad the abrasive is found on a coarse
structured fleece. Because of this, it is very flexible,
does not kink and does not slip in the hand. This
enables a fine and even finish to be achieved.

Description

Item

Extraction bores

1

Connection for extraction equipment

2

Notes on working with sanding tools:

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