U-Pol P88 High Build Grey Cellulose Primer Grey 5L

U-Pol P88 Cellulose Primer Grey 5L is a single pack nitro cellulose high build primer, very high solids formulation offering excellent coverage, this can be thinned with NC thinners. Fast drying and easy sanding.

This item can be bought from

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/u-pol-p88-cellulose-primer-grey-5l-high-build-888-p.asp

Custom Matched Car Paint from Autopaints Brighton

Car Paints Custom Mixed & Touch Up Kits

Car paints custom mixed for all cars with a car paint specific colour code. Car Paint repair and Car Paint Touch Up Kits including car paint aerosols made from all colour codes. Autopaints specialise in supplying automotive paint and refinishing products to the professional and DIY enthusiast. Car Paint colours made up in Cellulose , Metallic, Synthetic and 2K. Ford Diamond White, Radiant Red and Gentian Blue together with Mercedes Arctic White and Rover Tahiti Blue being popular colours ready made for use.

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/car-paints-custom-mixed--touch-up-kits-18-c.asp

U-POL Reface 2K Sprayable Metal Primer 1L + Hardener

U-Pol Reface 2K sprayable metal primer is a highly efficient spray filler for large and irregular surfaces, and is ideal for bare metal and glass fibre substrates. It is high build and easy to sand providing the perfect surface for painting. The product is supplied with its own 60ml bottle of white hardener.
U-POL REFACE can be applied to bare metal polyester putties and bodyfillers and fully cured paint surfaces. 
Only £16.95 + VAT

Shop on line at

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/u-pol-reface-2k-sprayable-metal-primer-1l--hardener-94-p.asp

2011 and 2012 make or break years for electric vehicles, experts say

Green Investing reports that 2011 and 2012 are set to be the make or break years for electric cars, experts claim.
The managing editor of nextgreencar.com, Dr Ben Lane, claims that "from a sales point of view" 2010 has not been the greatest for electric cars. He believes that the popularity of these vehicles is set to rise over the next two years, taking a "sizable chunk of the market," and that the introduction of advanced lithium battery technologies will tempt people to sell a car for cash and invest in a more efficient model.
"it's still early days for electrical vehicles, but a number of key elements are all coming into place - partly because manufacturers have been working very hard to produce high quality models. 2011 and 2012 will be make or break years, and the signs at the moment are that it will be make," said Lane.
He claims that potential car buyers are also spurred on by the improvements Britain's air quality will see from the lower emission rates. He believes electric car manufacturers will gear themselves up for a successful 2011, after the Government said they were working with the motor industry to provide environmentally-friendly transport to Brits across the UK, reports Envirotech Online.
The news comes shortly after the Government revealed plans to provide a grant of up to £5000 to car buyers investing in an electric vehicle. It is thought nine cars will be part of this scheme, including the Peugeot iOn and the Mitsubishi's i-MiEV.

SONAX Car Cleaning and Valeting Products

Sonax - Official supplier to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes -  Car Cleaning and Valeting products are now in stock at Autopaints Brighton Ltd.

 

When it comes to performance car care, SONAX  is a major force. With over 50 years of production experience to the highest quality standards, and a unique relationship with motor racing and leading car manufacturers, the European market leader is a new and powerful brand in the UK market.

We stock the whole range of products including Cockpit Cleaner, Deep Gloss Shampoo, Glass Cleaner, Polishing Wax, Paint Renovator, Interior cleaner and Wheel Cleaner.

Call us on 01273 326981 to place your order.

Customer Comments - Received December 2010

Hi Paul,
Paint arrived in time, thanks for a superb service. I will be looking at placing another order in the next couple of days.
Regards,
Mike McClelland

Autopaints Brighton - Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We have today broken up for a short spell over the Christmas period and wish all our customers old and new a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
We are open on 29th and 30th of December and will continue to provide a local delivery service on these two days to our current customers. Any internet orders received over the holiday period will be dealt with too on those days.
We resume our normal opening hours on 4 Jan 2010.

Shop online at

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/

AND BEAT THE VAT PRICE INCREASE BEFORE 1 JANUARY 2011

Car Paint Matching at Autopaints Brighton

We have many satisfied customers not just in Sussex but all over the country too since increasing our sales nationwide through our website and ebay shop.
Take a look at our car paint matching service at

 http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/

We are also being  talked about in many car forums for this excellent matching service provided by our very own 'genius of colour'.

This paint matching service from a sample does not just refer to cars it can be all commercial vehicles, helicopters and planes.

Any advice can be sort from our trained technicians too on 01273 326981

Latest comment received.......

I just bought some primer, paint and thinner for my cherry red gti from these guys:
http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/
Can thoroughly recommend them, worked out cheaper than a couple of other places i tried even after postage.
I ordered from them using paint code and colour name at 10pm on friday night and paint arrived at 8.01am this morning.
Paint is also a spot on match for my 89' Gti, although they can match paint up from samples you post them
Steve

3M Imperial Hand Glaze - Recommended by Customers Worldwide

A recommendation by one of our customers who has to say this about the product:-

"This is my personal favorite. I have tried just about every product on the market, and keep coming back to 3M Hand Glaze. It is gentle on the paint, produces, in my humble opinion, the deepest gloss, yet is aggressive enough to remove fine swirl marks and scratches. It also "feeds" the paint with emollient oils. Buff out and repeat if necessary. The 3M hand Glaze works very well on swirl marks and scratches that can be seen but not detected with your fingernail. Once the blemish has been removed, follow with an application of straight Hand Glaze to restore the deep shine and then wax. The recess behind the door handles is a classic area that responds well to this combination."

This product can be bought on line from

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/3m-imperial-hand-glaze-1l-05990-188-p.asp

Lesonal Solvent Based Tinters - Complete range available from Autopaints Brighton

Lesonal Solvent Based Car Paint Tinters. Autopaints Brighton Ltd supply the full range of Lesonal Solvent Based Paint Tinters for professional use within car body repair shops. We supply Tinters in 1L, 250ml and 100ml Tins.
Once dry Lesonal SB can be over coated with most 2K and 1K good quality clearcoats.

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/lesonal-solvent-based-sb-car-paint-tinters-1l-plus-670-p.asp

DuPont announces World’s most popular car colours

According to the results of the 2010 Du Pont Global Automotive Colour Popularity report SILVER and BLACK are still in tight competition as the leading global vehicle colour.
The report, which is the original and most authoritative source for colour popularity information and trends, shows that only two percentage points separate silver (26 percent) from black (24 percent), as the leading vehicle colour globally. White, white pearl and grey tie for third place, and red, in fifth place and increasing in popularity, is the only non-neutral colour in the top five global colours.

New Farecla website offering free video tutorials

Farécla has totally re-designed and updated its website to bring together all of the international companies

vast range of products – automotive, marine and consumer car care – under one roof. The newly launched website is clearly signposted and includes a search option so that details of products and information can be quickly sourced. There are five different sectors featured on the home page, including consumer, automotive trade and OEM, and users simply click on the industry sector relevant to themselves.
In the automotive trade section repairers can access information on products, view safety data sheets, get online help, and download the latest brochures.

You can buy most of the automotive products from us at autopaints brighton and then view further details and video tutorials on how to apply  them on the farecla website direct.
To purchase your items visit our website at

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/farecla-58-c.asp

Petrol Prices hit a record high of £1.22 per litre

The price of petrol has hit a new average high of 121.76p a litre, with the AA accusing oil companies and retailers of profiteering. It means every gallon now costs £5.53. Prices are set to increase further in the New Year too with the increase of VAT to 20%.
Let us know your thoughts......

How to Paint your Car - Part 2 - Sanding

Before you start to sand the car you'll want to be sure that it's been guide coated, this will make it easier for you to get an ultra smooth finish. If you are trying to do a show finish on the car that your painting, you will want to sand it by hand with water running on it all the time.
This is the hard part, some people will want to use a machine to do this, this is just a word to the wise, you have a lot better control over a hand block. The best way to produce this type of high quality work is to have the best control over it that you can, often a machine will go through your primer. If your trying to produce show quality work this would mean priming that area again  (i.e. more time spent, this is time that could be spent better doing other things).

The guide coat is the step right after the car has been primed, you should do this before you pull the masking, what this entails is misting a light coat of black paint over the primer so that you can see the low spots in your work, and no matter how good you are, you will have low spots. The idea behind this is to sand all the guide coat off with out going through to the metal on your car.

Now it's time to start the actual sanding of the car, you need to pay close attention to detail on this part of the paint job, the better you sand it, the better it will look. You usually start with 320 grit wet paper on a medium hard block, this grit is good for getting the guide coat smoothed out, there will most likely be some small low spots that will require either spot filler or more primer. This is one of those areas where you need to pay a little attention to detail, here you will need to look at the depth of the low spot and think about it, how low is it will primer alone fill it, or will it take spot filler and then primer.

Now that you've finished that part it's time to move on to the next grit of paper, you can move to 400 grit on a medium- hard sanding block from here, you don't want to move up to far because it can leave scratches form the previous grit of paper, so a word to the wise, don't get in a hurry and move up to far a once this will leave seeable scratches in your work. After you've sanded the whole car with the 400 grit wet paper then inspect it for bare metal and guide coat still there. The whole idea with sanding is to make the primer look the way that you want the paint to look, you should sand the primer until it has a smooth shiny finish on it, as if it were the paint on the car.

You need to have a vision of how you want it to look, the one thing that you need to know is, the better you want it to look, the more you will pay for materials. Just a word of caution cheap paint materials are just exactly that cheap and don't use them if you want a nice paint job.
You might save some money but you will not save the agony of a bad looking paint job. Think about this before you go and buy cheap primers and paints, do I love my car or is it just a vehicle to get me to work and back, if you love your car then don't use cheap materials.

From 400 grit move up to 600 grit wet paper, this is really as far as you need to go with the sanding. After you finish with the 600 grit do one final inspection of the work before cleaning it.

Well now it's time to clean the car, for this just use soap and water, just like washing a car normally. You should blow it dry though, this being the main difference between this and a regular wash job, be sure to blow all the water out of the little cracks in the car, like the cowl area, under the hood, between the doors and in the boot lid. Believe me this will blow water on your paint during the actual painting of the car, so be very through about this step.
If you miss some and it happens to get in your paint during the spraying process it will bubble the paint, the paint will look horrible so be sure to get all of the water out of the car first.
Now it's back to masking the car for the paint.

How to Paint Your Car - Part 1 - Masking and Preparation

Firstly you will need to clean the metal on the car. After you clean the metal, make sure it's dry before you begin to mask the car, also do a last minute check to be sure it's free of all dirt grease and other contaminants.

Now it's time to mask the car, and be sure to mask all that you don't want painted leaving no masking hanging of the car, that would get in the way of a nice paint job. The main idea of the whole thing is to produce the best quality paint possible with the given surroundings, it is preferred that you have a paint booth, but if not, make sure that the area that you use to perform the work is ultra clean and dust free.

After the car has been masked it's time to get ready to spray the primer, once again make sure that you have cleaned your surroundings, it's best to have some water on the floor to keep the dust down, once you are confident that the area is clean then you can begin checking the spray guns to be sure that they are clean. This is a very important step especially if they're not your guns, dirty guns will make an ugly paint job there for wasting all of your time.

Now that you have determined that the paint guns are clean, make sure that your respirator is in good working order. Now be sure that you have all the products that you need to perform the primer job on the car. You will need primer and thinner, you will also need strainers, a stirrer and a measuring device.
It's best not to have to leave the paint booth during the time that your priming the car.

Now get your can of primer and read the instructions on the side, mix with the appropraite thinners usually 1:1. After you spray the first coat of primer, you will need to wait 15 to 20 minute before you can spray the next and so on. The whole reason you use primer is is to give the paint a smooth surface to stick to and give the metal some protection from the elements, it's usually a good idea to get 4 or 5 good coats on the car.
If you are really serious about the way that you want it to look the you might want to take the primer one step farther and use an etching primer which will give the top coat just a little more to stick to. Etching primer has no building qualities there for it's not used for smoothing out waves in your work, but it will make the primer stick a lot better.

Now that your car is primed, it's time to remove the masking, and its best to do this while it's still a little wet for the sake of ease, just be very careful about how you do it, you don't want to screw up all that nice work, so just take it slow and easy while pulling the masking off your car.

Spray Painting - Paint Problems

This is a guide provided by one of our trained technicians here at Autopaints Brighton.....

Q:The item I have spray painted has a white and cloudy finish.
A: This is called paint Blooming normally caused by cold or damp conditions, the gases used as propellants in aerosol paints will make this problem worse, also cheap grade thinners, blooming is normally associated with Cellulose paints.

Q: The paint finish has a crackling effect almost like it has paint stripper on it.
A: This is caused by the original paint finish not being compatible with the paint you have just applied, a very common problem when over coating Synthetic paints with Cellulose or some 2 pack products.

Q: The paint finish has tiny air blisters just under the surface.
A: This is called Micro-Blistering, causes are cheap thinners or paint contaminated with water or oil, if using an air compressor it can be water/oil in the tank and airline. Another cause can be solvent entrapment, to much paint applied without leaving the correct drying time between coats. Micro blistering can occur several months later, normally when the weather gets damp.

Q: The paint finish has cracks at random almost like an earthquake.
A: This is called Crazing, the most probable cause is to many paint applications, normally found on bonnets and roofs of cars. Crazing can also be caused by incompatible paint products or incorrect re coating times. Constant use of car washes can also cause crazing.

Q: The paint finish has small craters in it, like fish eyes.
A: This is called silicone, caused by many products the most common is silicone sealer or spray near your work,WD 40, furiture polish, silicone spray, parrafin heater etc. Siliconing is worst in cold conditions, always de-grease your work and apply a very light first coat to help avoid this problem.

Q: The paint finish is lumpy almost like an orange peel.
A: The orange peel finish is caused by under thinned paint of spray pressure is to low.

Gerson Disposable Paint Spray Respirator Face Mask Maintenance Free

Gerson Disposable Paint Spray Respirator Face Mask is a disposable respirator which is approved for the protection against organic gases and vapours and inorganic gases and vapours with a boiling point above 65 degrees C. Gerson Signature One-Step maintenance-free respirator comes completely assembled & ready to use. It features a soft lightweight face piece, dual R95 organic vapor cartridges, 2-GR95 particulate filters & retainers, cradle head suspension & easy-adjust strap for a quick and reliable fit.

Applications: Paint spraying including ( acrylic lacquers & enamels ), priming, rust proofing, undercoating. Includes molded hygienic cover & resalable storage bag. Meets 42 CFR 84 standards and is NIOSH Approved. This face mask has been field tested with isocyanates (B1 classification) for a maximum of 36 hours, although a full Airfed mask should be used in order to protect the eyes and skin. Great for spraying where using a full booth is not an option.

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/gerson-disposable-paint-spray-respirator-face-mask-maintenance-free-794-p.asp

Car Accident with Paint in your car!

This is what a car accident look like when you drive around with paint in your car!

The message from all of us at Autopaints Brighton is to secure the lids tightly or let us deliver the paint for you with our local vans covering the sussex area or using the UK's leading courier service to deliver across the country.

Dont take a chance unless you want your vehicle to look like this!

Bonda Anti Rust Primer or Zinc 182 Anti Rust Primer ?

Let Autopaints Brighton know your thoughts on which Anti Rust Primer you believe is bet to use for metal surfaces when preparing your vehicle for painting.

Bonda Rust Primer Fast Drying Zinc Primer is a resin based zinc anti-rust coating. It forms a tough skin with a bonded in anti-rust system for a long term action. Bonda Rust Primer has excellent adhesion to most metals and leaves a primed surface ready to paint with all types of paint.

U-Pol Zinc 182 Anti Rust Pimer. A highly effective rust inhibiting single pack primer which is ideal for all ferrous metal surfaces. It is supplied ready for use and when dry hardens to form a tough durable coating that can be overcoated. Zinc 182 is a highly effective rust inhibiting primer. It can be applied to all ferrous metal surfaces provided the loose rust is removed. Complete removal of all rust will improve its effectiveness. The hardened Zinc 182 forms a tough durable surface onto which paint can be applied.





Please take a look at more of our products on our website at

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/

Farecla Wax Top Liquid Polish - Highly regarded in the bodyshop industry

Farecla Wax Top is a revolutionary new liquid wax polish specially developed for trade use. Tried and tested around the world, Farecla Wax Top is quick and easy to use and provides a high gloss durable finish for use on all fully cured paintwork. The specialist manufacturing process adopted ensures uniform wax particles are created to produce a very smooth even finish.

Let us know your thoughts on this product or if you think there is a better product on the market for the price.

You can buy this item from our website

www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk

U-POL Latest Technology - Scratch resistant fast clear coat lacquer (3:1) Now in stock

U-POL's latest product their scratch resistant fast clear coat lacquer is now in stock at Autopaints Brighton.

Faster drying clear coat ideal for spot repairs. Will form a long term super tough scratch resistant surface.
Easy to flat and polish. Use with U-POL hardener.

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/u-pol-2k-scratch-resistant-fast-clearcoat-lacquer-31-s2090-5l-with-25l-fast-hardener-save-15-2573-p.asp

Snow Joke! - Drivers are facing fines of £60 for driving with snow on the roof.

Driving with snow on your car roof could land you with a £60 fine and three points on your licence.

Just check rule 229 of the Highway Code.

Police say motorists could be prosecuted for careless or inconsiderate driving if they are involved in an accident and it is deemed that snow on the roof was a factor.

Let Autopaints Brighton know your thoughts and whether you have been stopped or even been given a fine and penalty points.

Customer Comments - Received December 2010

Dear Sir/ Madam,
First of all a big thank you for the excellent paint match you provided me for my helicopter. The problem is that it is so good that itshows up the poor paint match done by a sprayer a few years ago on the doors.
Neil Freeman
Oxon

K2 Tempo Scratch Polishing Paste with Wax Silicone Free Only £3.95

K2 Tempo Scratch Polishing Paste with Wax 120g Tube. Cleans and shines all types of paint finishes. Silicone Free. Light abrasive paste with wax Tempo simultaneously cleans, renews and finishes the lacquer and the chromium plated parts, providing long-lasting shine and protection. It is safe for all kinds of lacquers, including metal plated and transparent ones. Removes weathered lacquer, oil stains, asphalt and insect remains. Easily applicable and requires little effort during polishing. Supplied in 120g tube.

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/k2-tempo-scratch-polishing-paste-with-wax-120g-tube-2418-p.asp

Nexa ICI Autocolor Solvent Based Tinters and Metallic Basecoat Car Paint

Nexa Autocolor is an industry leader in quality and performance of automotive refinishing products.

Autopaints Brighton can supply metallic basecoat and solvent based tinters from this leading car paint market leader.
We can supply in small quantities such as 100ml or larger quantities up to 5L. The quality of this Nexa Autocolor paint is second to none.

3M Wet & Dry Abrasive Sandpaper Sheets

3M Wet & Dry Abrasive Sandpaper sheets from the leading abrasives manufacturer, 3M. For the preparation of cars undergoing repair, you can use 3M wet or dry sanding paper for sanding old finishes, fine featheredging plus surface work. 3M Wet & Dry Sandpaper is a silicon carbide, closed coat product bonded with a waterproof resin. This enables the product to work when wet, with no loss of abrasiveness. 
Made by 3M one of the leading abrasive manufacturers in the world.
These Wet & Dry Abrasive Sandpapers can be supplied in packets of 50 in Grit sizes P2000, P1500 and in a packet of 25 for P1200.
Take a look at all of our products at http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/

Latest Weather News and Delivery Information

After all the Heavy Snow Fall on the South Coast last week, we at Autopaints are very much looking forward to business as usual on Monday with local deliveries back on track and hopefully all deliveries across the country starting to reach their destinations after a backlog. Remember anything ordered direct from our website at http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/ are sent by City Link the UK's leading Premium Express Delivery Company and orders over £100 qualify for free delivery.

Thinner, Degreaser & Panel Wipe for your car

Here at Autopaints in Brighton we supply Thinner, Degreaser and Panel Wipe in 5L, 1L and aerosol format.

Range of paint thinner includes cellulose thinner, fast thinner, slow thinner, universal thinner, high gloss thinner, anti bloom thinner and fade out thinner. We also have panel wipe and degreaser from leading brands such as U-POL, Lesonal, HMG, MIPA, Max Meyer, and Pro Spray.

Take a look at our website at:-

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/thinner-degreaser-panel-wipe-11-c.asp

Custom Mixed Car Paint Aerosol Spray from Vehicle Colour Code

400ml Aerosol made from vehicle colour code

Autopaints Brighton can reproduce the original paint for your vehicle using the paint colour code as originally supplied by the manufacturer.

Our paint is custom mixed using professional paint mixing systems from ICI (Nexa Autocolor), Lesonal and Mipa.  We will provide a 400ml aerosol. Larger quantities of paint are also available. All you need to do is supply us with the colour code of your car.

http://www.autopaintsbrighton.co.uk/custom-mixed-aerosol-car-paint-400ml-using-vehicle-colour-code-563-p.asp

A basic guide to repairing paintwork on your car

Providing the repair is superficial you should be able to key in the area with a scotch pad and clean with panel wipe to ensure the panels are clean.

Apply a high build primer if needed to fill slightly, and then sand using 400-600 wet and dry paper just to make sure you have a smooth surface before painting.

Allow primer to dry for 4 hours. (Depending on make)

Then apply 2 coats of paint, not too thick just to cover the area.

Allow to dry for 10mins between coats.

Leave for 30mins before applying lacquer.

Leave 20mins for 2nd coat.

A third can be applied.

This is based on 1K Clear Lacquer

Ensure when you come to do the work you are completely ready to finish it as it shouldn’t be left too long in primer or without lacquer.

Also wet and damp conditions will cause a problem so wait for a nice dry day.

This article was written by Autopaints Brighton.