Mixing Automotive Paint?
 

hi, i am new to automotive paint. i am aware of the safety percautions involved. need some help on mixing when it states mix 1 part of this and 2 parts of that what is a part equal to? are the parts pre measured? thank you

Mixing Automotive Paint?
 

A part is whatever quantity that you desire. If you will need a pint of paint for your project, you can call a "part" 5 oz. Two parts "A" (10 oz) +one part "B"(5 oz)= 15 oz of mixed product.

Mixing Automotive Paint?
 

Another way to think about it is a part equals a certain measurement of the product. It could be a teaspoon, a cup, a quart, anything. So if you need to measure one part of "X" to two parts of "Y", You would mix twice as much "Y" as "X".

Make sense? :)

Mixing Automotive Paint?
 

Just be careful of the units that the 'parts' are made up of. Sometimes they specify weight, sometimes volume. It CAN make a difference.
Dennis-

Mixing Automotive Paint?
 

What kind of paint are you using? What brand?
I've used many paints from the automotive industry, like acrylic and synthetic enamels, urethanes and all these are not a problem to use and are not critical in the way they should be mixed with the reducer and/or the catalyst or hardener. I have a feeling that you are talking about epoxy paints, which do require close attention to the amounts mixed, but epoxies are not all that common in the automotive use.
It would help us to be specific when asking these type of questions, there are a lot of us that use these paints in our models.

Mixing Automotive Paint?
 

When I last bought automotive paint, I also picked up a "mixing cup". I has lines that indicate, "Fill to here with part 1, then to here with part 2, then here with catalast." It is divided into different "ratio groups". When I bought the paint, I was told which ratios to use, and simply use the appropriate group.