hey hey, my buddy is planning on repainting his car.... i'm planning on helping him and possibly repaint a few pieces of my car.

we're not going spray can style. we're getting a compressor and gun.

has anyone done this or worked at an autobody shop and has any tips? insider tips / tricks. things that are good to know?

or any instructions / websites we could look up?

thanks a bunch

i'll post pics once we're done

 

yikes! as a do-it-yourselfer, I don't think I'd be willing to tackle a job like that. Good luck tho.

BTW, i do my cosmetic work with krylon spray primer... very classy.

 

long even strokes. Thin coats, and lots of time in between coats. My rule of thumb: if you're affraid to touch it cause it's not dry, don't put another coat on yet.... Primer is a must. Clear coat is your friend. So is a case of beer, and lots of time.

 

^^ agreed.

Dont forget, painting is 95% prep and 5% painting. Dont cut corners, especially if you are painting it a dark color. Masking, sanding, grinding, scuffing, filling small dents/ dings/ scratches all should be done carefully. Inspect all of the prep work very carefully b4 you paint, cause minor imperfections will be multiplied 10x when painted over.

 

i would say 50% prep 50% paint..
make sure you have a high pressure paint... and dusty free enviroment is a big plus

 

depends on the condition of the car. i guess i'm biased cause i always seem to have a beat up car btw, i was referring to time spent. 50 50 is always true for the appearance of the finished product

 

:werd:


I did my own wing and bumper. Make sure your prep work is done properly and correctly. You do not want to paint and find out later that the bondo, or primer is cracking beneath it. Take your time and have a lot of patience. And remember 3 light coats is better than one heavy coat when painting Have fun, b/c it is very rewarding when you are done.

 

Light coats and plenty of time between...that's about it. Have patience

 

ok everyones talking about lots of time in between. what exactly is that?
30 mins?
1 hour? 2 hour? 5 hour? 24 hour?
the time it takes to do the other side of the car?

do we paint the whole car at a time?
or pieces of it?

thanks
this is great

 

This past Saturday I paint matched my door handles, side moldings, side skirts, mirrors and rear wing. And I'll give you some tips. Take your time, have a whole day set aside to do this. I let an hour between coats and did about 8 coats of paint with 3 or 4 coats of clear. I did not use primer but I sanded down every thing with 400 grit and then 2000 grit sand paper and then cleaned the pieces. I masked everything off that wasn't being painted, I used about a weeks worth of newpaper and 6 rolls of masking tape, I wasn't skimping on the masking. Spary light coats, not heavy cause it WILL end up looking like sh!t. Lastly, have enought paint. I ran out and my driver's side side moldings and side skirts are lacking paint, the paint is there just not enough, so you can still see the black a bit but I'll fix that when I get some more cash.