Ok maybe its not really killin me but it is giving me a hard time. I have a 1998 camaro, I had it painted orange but I did not like the way that the painter finished the black for the top of my car. So I am interested in understanding how to paint so I figure I would repaint the top myself since I've had minor success painting my motorcycle. I am having problems because I am trying to stay like a robot while I am spraying but once I go from painting the window panel of the car towards the top, roof area, the turn out is not that great, does anyone have anytips. Once I get to the roof area, the paint becomes streaky and at times it seems like my gun is losing pressure, but I have a 30 gallon 5hp compressor. Any help would be great thanks. (also, if the color is streaky, is it a bad idea to color sand the black untill it is even, and then just clear it, what are the effects?)

If you're using a BC/CC, then it is not ok to sand the base before clearing. If you have to sand it, you have to shoot another coat of it before you clear.

I've found large flat surfaces VERY hard to paint without stripes. The next time I paint a hood it will be standing vertical in the garage, not flat on sawhorses! Glad my car is a drop top, couldn't imagine doing the roof! Hopefully some good painters will chime in with some tips.

It sounds like your not giving enough overlap, 50% overlap is normal other wise you get the dreded streking or tiger stripes.
Make sure your gun is giving a good spray pattern, Its not light on one side and heavy on the other.

Hello, don't take offense if you already know some of the info. I use to sandblast and paint offshore oil rigs, so I know a few things about painting. Haven't done much lately joined the army and in Iraq right now. OOPS! back to you,w hat type of gun do you have? Gravity? Siphon cup? It makes a big difference when painting horizontal items. Hand position is key, don't spray in an arc ). Keepthe gun parallel to the surface you want to paint, push and pull the gun across the surface. Also there is an initial detent on the trigger of the gun that allows air to flow before you squeeze for th paint to flow. Make long controlled passes, as long as your arms can reach, not your body (don't lean). I recommend give the edges of the roof a thin coat before the top. Paint from the center of the roof toward you and repeat on the other side. This stops you from trying to reach over a surface you just painted. Hope this helps.

If its a solid color and there is no metallic in it at all, just go ahead and clear it.

Thanks for all of the feed back. Here are a few answers to some of your questions, one problem that I was having was with my gun, at times I couldn't tell if it was the gun or the pressure but at first the gun would start out painting evenly and then it seems like it would start pushing air instead of paint, there were a few times when I would releave the pressure in the gun by openning the pot, and then placing the pot back on the gun, the paint would then spray evenly with no problem. I have a 30 gallon 6 hp compressor. At times it seemed like either the pressure or the gun was forcing me to leave streaks, with a heavier spray pattern on one side and not the other. I have the oldersyle gun (binks) with the pot on the bottom, not on top. The paint is just the regular DUPONT99k, black base coat. On the 1998 and 1999 camaros, the body is one solid color. Once I got my 98 painted, I wanted it to have that 2000-2002 look with the roof black and the body a different color. thanks again for the input.

I was a little too embarrassed to mention before but I forgot to check your post before I sprayed my car again, so I ended up spraying, ended up with tiger stripes. Since I ran out of paint I did end up sanding and smoothing the black. I cleared it with two coats and it looks extremely shiney, almost like a mirror finish, Im just no sure if any problems will arise in the future.

It sounds like the problem you are having is the air vent on your gun is stopping up.
If the gun can't vent it won't pick up paint.