I'm preparing to paint 2 brand new fenders and was wondering if someone can give me (or provide a link to) a brief tutorial on the proper procedure for paint application.
I have done painting in the past and while it has always turned out ok and lasted a long time, it's never turned out very shiney. I want the fenders as shiney as possible to match the rest of the truck.
I will be using rattle cans (I know, I know) and self-etching primer.
Thanks!

 

Shiny and rattle cans do not belong in the same sentence. Spend a little more and you will like your results better. I bet you could spend $250 on primer, paint, and tools and get the results you want. If it was me, I would...

1. Sand the fenders down with 220. There should be no filler work because there new.
2. Wipe everything down with reducer.
3. Get some PPG DP-90 primer and DP402 catalyst (an epoxy primer, part A & B) and thin it with reducer. This will act as both a sealer and primer.
4. get a cheap HPLV gun from harber freight. (Make sure you have at least a 20 gal. compressor. Rent one if you need to.
5. Spray 4 light coats of this primer following the directions of a 2:1:1 mix. It only needs about 15 minutes between coats.
6. PPG makes a shop line of single stage paint called OMNI, it not too expensive but good. Get the color code off your truck and have them mix up a quart of it. Also get an 8oz can of hardner.
7. After an hour of letting the primer sit, spray on 6 light coats of paint. Let the paint tack up before each new coat.
8. Let the fender dry for a few days.

This will give you fenders that will never rust because of the epoxy primer. It is the best stuff on the market. I would stay away from self etching primer, that stuff is hard to get a good top coat to look good.

 

^^^ Good tips. Ive painted a few rigs with air compressed gun and came out really nice. I think I used Dupont products. Can almost guarantee you will be disappointed with rattle cans. Prep work is the most important step! Mine had a light "orange peel" wet sanding would have fixed that, good luck.

 

I wouldn't say your always going to be no impressed with rattle can because I have shot entire vehicles that look amazing. It's just about what paint you buy and how you go about painting. Oil based light colors look pretty damn descent in my opninion and are durable as all hell.
spraypaintcar.com
But that's if you wanna do it on a budget. If your looking for better results and want to buy a hvlp gun, then def go the other route. I'm just a rattle can type of guy..