Looking for paint/first time painting truck

[SuburbanK2500]

So I've been planning to paint my 97 Suburban Green and White. I finally got my $1800 so now I've got the funds to do it. I've painted a lot of smaller stuff using various methods, just never a car, or with a full size spray gun.
This is how I'll be painting it, but in green with white down the side. How much paint should I need total?
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/5190394904_2b7148cf32.jpg

I've already found 3/4 gallon of Wimbledon White for the side. (That should be enough, right?)
Now for the green I'm having a little bit of trouble. I really like Porsche's Irish Green, though I wouldn't mind something a tad darker and with a bit of metallic. First of all, I've been unable to find anywhere that sells Irish Green base coat online.

Second, I was considering getting 2 quarts or so of GM's Dark Green Metallic (popular on NBS Z71 Tahoes) to mix in with the Irish green to get the color to exactly what I want. Has anyone had any experience mixing metallic and solid paint? I've done it when restoring 1/64 scale cars and it turned out nice, but does that translate well to a large scale? Also having trouble finding anywhere that sells GM Dark Green Metallic. :/

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[whiplash473]

the general rule of thumb is 1qt per panel.....looks like you're in luck with a suburban too :tongue: below should be more than enough but it really depends on how many coats are going on.....numbers below would be like 2-3 color base coats
4 doors
1 hood
2fenders
2 quarter panels
1 tailgate
2 for roof

persoanlly i dont mix paints that are different from one another......if i need metallic i mix all metallic.....but if you're gonna do it i'll just say to make sure your mixtures are all the same or it'll come out looking different on certain panels and could end up looking like a single panel was sprayed

also for the best results (spraying a whole vehicle) spray all the insides like door jambs and whatnot first.....then spray continuously down the side of the vehicle so you dont get streaks/high spots/etc

i'd strongly recommend spraying some things first with the gun to get used to it and not using the burb as a practice

[SuburbanK2500]

I was going to guess around 3 gallons, so it looks like my idea wasn't far off.

As far as mixing the paints, I was going to do all of the mixing in a separate container first.

And I've already got several small cans of base/clear I've used for restoring old toy cars and such with an air brush. So I'll definitely use those on a few pieces of scrap metal for some practice before I move on to the burb.

Thanks for the tips!

[whiplash473]

good thinking.....another basic rule of thumb is spray with a 50% overlap and also make sure your spray pattern is even without being too thick/thin in the middle

http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/images/hvlp-patterns.jpg

when doing a test spray like that youll basically just shoot for a 1 second (1 1000) count at 8-10" away

keep the thread updated i'd love to see how it comes along

[Stealth HD]

A job that size should take betwen 150oz.-180 oz. of rts color (reduced and ready to spray). I'd say a gallon of green, and 3 quarts of white, once reduced should give you more than enough paint.

[SuburbanK2500]

Thanks for the help guys! I'll keep this updated when I get enough free time to get it done.

[Static 90]

A gallon for a 'Burb? How much paint to spray my truck, one color? Back of cab and front of bed too.

[whiplash473]

the general rule of thumb is 1qt per panel.....looks like you're in luck with a suburban too below should be more than enough but it really depends on how many coats are going on.....numbers below would be like 2-3 color base coats
EDIT:
2 doors
1 hood
2 fenders
3 for bed (including front)
1 tailgate
1 for roof
1 for back of cab

[Stealth HD]

A quart per panel is quite a bit. Especially for before reducer. I mix 5 ounces for small medium sized panels like fenders and doors(exterior only double for inside) 10-12 ounces for larger panels like hoods, bedsides, bumpers, and roofs (doubling accordingly for inside). Then add the required reducer.