I had never spray painted other than with cans. I bought a 2HP 50 litre air compressor and a couple of gravity spray guns. The guns were not expensive and have done the job well. 90% of painting is in the preparation. I used cellulose paint, it is safe to use at home with the correct mask and common sense precautions. I got my paint from John Crichlow who can supply everything you need. You need to spray at about 20 degrees C and with relative humidity below about 50%. I bought a cheap electronic guage from Amazon that measures both. I practised on an old washing machine until I got the feel of things.
Dust, small flies and overspray are the main problem with spraying so
I erected a 3 metre square garden gazebo under the carport. This kept
the dust and flies out, allowed me to heat the area up if needed and
kept the overspray off everything else. An old kitchen fan was fitted
with a suction pipe venting outside the carport, This was effective in
drawing out the overspray.
Metallic paint has thousands of aluminium particles suspended in the paint. You need to keep the paint properly mixed to get an even finish an even finish and your last coat has to be done so that the particles are laid out evenly.
As it dries the aluminium particles and coloured paint particles sink down into the paint slightly so you end up with a top layer of transparent paint. If you flat back through this layer the aluminium particles are uncovered and they oxidise and go a dark colour. So you cannot flat it back if you get a drip or orange peel without having to put on another colour coat.
To get round this I applied three coats of clear lacquer over the paint and thenflatted, compounded and polish it. The result is a smooth shiny surface which really brings out the Polychromatic finish.