im about to paint my car and i was wondering if anyone had any tips for me? i have done small projects before, but this will be my first full car. these are the steps i plan on taking:
-sand the original paint.
-primer coat
-600 wet sand
-primer coat
-600 wet sand
-primer coat
-600 wet sand
-color coat
-color coat
-color coat
-clear coat
-1500 wet
-clear coat
-1500 wet
-clear coat
-2000 wet
-polish

anyone know if this will be sufficient, or if any of the steps are not necessary? i will be doing this in my garage, should i staple a tarp to the ceiling/walls to keep out dust?

 

AFTER 600 YOU MIGHT WANT TO USE SOME 800,YES TO THE TARP

 

make sure to get tack rags to hit before hitting with coats they remove all that stupid dust and shit flying in the air off the car

 

-make sure the area you paint in is entirely dry, you dont want any sort of moisture around the car when you're painting.

- Ground the car. just run a wire from the frame to any sort of ground. This will remove any sort of static electricity that could possibly attract dust.

 

Don't half-ass your prepping. The better the prep work, the better the results.

 

exactly.

 

Are you doing body work to the car? If you're NOT doing any body work to the car, it's not neccessary to Primer it. What Primer is used for is for when there has been body work done (I.E. - Bondo layed down, pulled out dent), Primer is used to even out any low or high spots and to keep the body panel from looking wavy. If you're just painting it, there's no need for it. I worked at a body shop for 1.5 years and my dad owns one, he's done this for over 30 years...here's how we did it and what we used.

-320 grit sand paper on a orbital sander to sand down the car initially
-Red Scotch Brite Scuffing pad (by 3M) to get edges, corners, beside moldings, any hard to reach spots.
-3M Green 3/4" & 2" masking tape
-3M Masking Paper
-3 Coats of PPG Paint
-3 Coats of PPG Clear
It's not neccessary to sand between coats, unless you're trying to get show car quality...which I'm sure you're not, otherwise you wouldn't be painting it in a garage. The only reason you sand between coats is to get little dirt nibs and stuff out of the basecoat. You can do that by sanding and buffing after the car is COMPLETELY finished...paint & clear finished. That's all you need. Whenever you get to an edge, or beside a moling, near a window or anything like that, make sure you sand those places the best, b/c those are the places that start to chip first if not properly prepped. Make sure you give about a good 15-20 minutes for the paint to properly flash between each coat. If you don't, you'll get runs and then you'll really be in a heap of trouble.

 

thats alot of layers...

i painted my car myself, as well as my kit and the valve covering. I also do sidework for the local rsx club.
suggestions
- dont half ass ANYTHING! your gonna get tired of sanding and prepping and sanding some more and prepping somemore and waiting for it to dry, but DONT HALF ASS IT whatever you do. If you get tired just take a break.
- please realize that this job will take about 2-3 weeks in total until you wont have ANYTHING else to do. this includes wet sanding and buffing if you need to after the painting is done (of course i did mine without any help, in my free time)
- side jobs and all overs are toally different, patience is the virtue on all overs
- dont half ass.... did i mention that yet?

oh yea.. tack rag tack rag tack rag... the more time and detail you put into the job the cleaner it will come out.... trust me, i made the mistake of being in a rush

 

Pics When Its Done Please

 

heres what u'll need besides the paint Consumables-
3M scotchbrite pads for scuffing jambs etc.
180 Grit paper for scuffing between primer coats.
Wax and grease remover.
Tack cloths.
400 grit paper for block wet sanding after final primer coat.
1/2" & 1" masking tape (Good kind) Pricey but worth the extra $$
Masking paper (home depot) Newspapers bleed thru
1000-1500-2000 grit paper for final clear coat block wet sanding.
Rubbing compound (3M Imperial microfinishing compound part number-06011) Glaze (3M Imperial microfinishing glaze part number-05928) polisher and buffing wheels.