Anyone here paint their own car?

[High PSI]

Any tips? How-to's? Examples?

Just looking for some general info. My car has a few small rust spots I'd like to take care of. In the mean time, I feel like respraying a few different parts of the car. The paint on the car is horrible in general, however, so if I mess around with it and it comes out like ass it won't really look any worse.

[Rasta SLO]

I found this site when i typed ˝how to paint a car˝ in google. MAybe it will help you...

How to paint a car

[All_talk]

I found this site when i typed ˝how to paint a car˝ in google. MAybe it will help you...

How to paint a car

Wow, what a sales pitch on that site.

First bit of advice, if you're only going to do one car is not really gonna be worth the investment in tools and equipment.

Second, look for a good forum on the subject (first rule of the internet... or is "never pay for porn" the first rule, I can never remember). I've had great luck here:

http://autobodystore.com/forum/index.php

Gary

[n2x4]

I painted my subaru over the summer for kicks and giggles. What I learned:

There's more work involved than you realize. I have so many hours invested in sanding and prep. Shoot, even taping the car for paint can take a while. When it came to actually paint it seemed like it was over before it began.

If you don't have the tools, it's not even worth doing by hand. If you're gonna sand it down, you have to have air. Electric sanders won't cut it. Besides, you need air when you paint. It really is a lot of work, and you don't really appreciate it until you've done it at least once.

Would I do it again? Probably not. It did the job, but wasn't worth all the work. I even did the cheap job, I shot a flat color, so that was even easier than a gloss. Painting is not for the inexperienced or someone who wants a color change done over the course of an afternoon.

[stipro]

I painted my car 2 1/2 months ago, it went pretty good for the first go at it.
Here is the link to some pics, and a bit of info.
http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=24780

You mentioned a little rust removal, well the best way to take out bad rust, is well, to cut it out, but if it isnt that bad you could just get away with spot-blasting it, just blast it until the metal is shinny.

As for panel you just want to touch up, scuff them, prime them, if you go down to bare metal always coat it with epoxy primer. After primeing, wet sand with 600 grit and then top coat. You can then wet sand the topcoat with 1000-1500 grit and polish.

Thats a quick how-to.

Any other questions, just ask.

[ericem]

hey stipro, nice work with ur legacy, i gota get my legacy painted next year at my shop, but i wana follow the concept of the way u painted it, like the handles, the mirrors, and all the trim, thanks for the ideas

[realfinn]

Its important to identify what your looking for first. If you want a professional job then I would say you are probably not going to be able to pick up a spray gun and make it happen (maybe...but I doubt it). If you are going to paint just for fun and to learn then buy a nice cheap HVLP gun from a online dealer. Find a local paint shop and go talk to them...most of the guys are pretty helpful and will tell you how to spray.

[High PSI]

I'm not looking for a professional job. This car is my winter beater. The body is kind of beat, and I promised myself I wouldn't dump a TON of money into it like I did all my other cars (which then, afterwards, I can't bring myself to drive in the winter).

However, I'd like to take care of all of the rust issues on the car before they get any worse, and while I'm at it, take a stab at painting, seeing as I've never done it before, always wanted to try, and this car would be the perfect no-risk canvas. However, I'm a "do it right or don't do it at all" kind of guy, so if I DO take a stab at it, there will be some effort and knowlege behind it.

[realfinn]

Alright then. Since you say its rust there are a few things you can do to "do it right". First (and most obviously) remove all the rust. You can buy a cheap sandblast gun from auto parts stores (or some tractor suply stores) and sandblast media (just get something cheap) that will be about $30 out of the budget. You can recycle most of the sand you use with a screen and a bucket.

Make sure you clean up really well after you derust and sandblast. Spraying a dusty floor down with a light mist of water helps to keep dust out of paint while you spray.

After you get rid of the rust you can use rust neutralizers like navel jelly (cheap - walmart-auto department?) or you can go with something a little more pricy like the materials eastwood sells. I personally like a material called por-15 (www.por-15.com). That will keep the rust down.

Get a cheap HVLP multi use gun (I assume you have a air compressor with a water seperator and good regulator). You can probably find a ok gun for $50-70 or so.

Once you have bare steel (or treated with the rust preventative) you can use self-etching primer (some people don't like to use this - I use it). Once that dries spray over it with you primer. Followed by base coat. Finally the clear.

One thing I have begun to do is do all of my bondo work after I prime. This way I am able to see dents better. Each time you bondo shoot a little primer over it and see how it looks.

Like I said before talk to the guy you buy your paints from they can give you good insight on dry time and paint technique. Most guys love to help.

There are a lot of things you need to know to paint a car. Many of them you just learn from doing it wrong a few times. Important thing is that paint can always be taken back off. If your a patient person it can be a fun experience.

-One word of caution - Buy the best resperator you can afford. I like the 3M full face masks myself. There is one good rule that I follow with the masks. If you have the mask on and you can strongly smell what your spraying its not doing its job.

[n2x4]

So what do you have for tools anyway?

I know a guy that wanted to paint his van, so he bought all the right stuff, sand blaster, 60 gal. compressor, gun, sander, regulator, water seperator, grinder to cut out rust, and welder to patch the holes.

He ended up doing a nice job, but with all he invested in it, it would have been cheaper to take it somewhere to get it painted.

Just something to consider.

[High PSI]

I don't have any of that stuff. But regardless, I'd rather spend $800 and have a painted car, a set of new tools, and a newfound knowledge of how to paint, then just spend $400 on a painted car. Actually, when it comes down to it, the only reason I WOULD spend money to paint the car is if it got something out of it BESIDES a painted car.

The sand blaster, 60 gal. compressor, sander, grinder, and welder I could use on other non-paint related projects....I've already got a few coming up that those would definitely come in handy on.

[All_talk]

-One word of caution - Buy the best resperator you can afford. I like the 3M full face masks myself. There is one good rule that I follow with the masks. If you have the mask on and you can strongly smell what your spraying its not doing its job.

I'll add to this.... If you are using any paints that require hardener/activator/catalyst a mask will not completely protect you. These types of paint produce isocyanates that no mask or filter system can remove, the only 100% option is a fresh air breathing system that pumps in clean air from outside the painting area. With that said, as long as you aren’t terribly allergic to isocyanates (some people have violent reactions), a one time exposure or even occasional exposure (I’ve done it) is not likely to have catastrophic heath consequences. But I figured you should be warned.

I enjoy body & paint work (I must, I built my own paint booth), tho I haven’t had much time for it lately. It can be very satisfying when all the hard work pays off. Good luck with your project.

Gary

[n2x4]

I don't have any of that stuff. But regardless, I'd rather spend $800 and have a painted car, a set of new tools, and a newfound knowledge of how to paint, then just spend $400 on a painted car. Actually, when it comes down to it, the only reason I WOULD spend money to paint the car is if it got something out of it BESIDES a painted car.

The sand blaster, 60 gal. compressor, sander, grinder, and welder I could use on other non-paint related projects....I've already got a few coming up that those would definitely come in handy on.

Mmm, tool shopping. One of my most favorite things to do. Have fun, and good luck!

[IronMonkeyL255]

I painted my own fender, but I didn't have a water separator, so the clear coat ended up all fishey. I put on enough so I could sand a majority of it out, though.

[realfinn]

I'll add to this.... If you are using any paints that require hardener/activator/catalyst a mask will not completely protect you. These types of paint produce isocyanates that no mask or filter system can remove, the only 100% option is a fresh air breathing system that pumps in clean air from outside the painting area. With that said, as long as you aren’t terribly allergic to isocyanates (some people have violent reactions), a one time exposure or even occasional exposure (I’ve done it) is not likely to have catastrophic heath consequences. But I figured you should be warned.

I enjoy body & paint work (I must, I built my own paint booth), tho I haven’t had much time for it lately. It can be very satisfying when all the hard work pays off. Good luck with your project.

Gary

Definitley! Exhaust fans can help too. But if you want a fresh air breathing system check Ebay. You will probably freak out when you see the price on a new system. I found a used system for $100 on ebay. It needed a hose replacement, but was a good deal in the long run.