how did you guys paint your car?

[fear_me]

hello, i have been lurking this forum for a long time now. i am starting to do body work on my car and i am planning on painting it myself. i have searched here and read many suggestions on how to paint, i have checked out www.autobody101.com, they have some decent articles. i have looked at books and bought some from barnes and nobles.

and i under stand the basics, 1)bare metal, 1 step or 2 step metal prep, primer, bondo, paint. or only go down to metal if needed.

 

But what i realy did not find is for the guys that painted their own cars, how and what did you use?? did you bring the whole car down to bare metal? did you use por15, picklex, rustbullet... what brand primer and paint?

 

I have seen lots of pictures of great looking cars and i am looking for how you got to that! plus for anyone else looking to paint this will help them at the same time.

 

Thanks in advanced.

~Andrew

[Guest brisk1961]

Hope you don't get blasted for posting this. There is a lot of information in the various searches. I would recommend talking to your local Paint Shop person. I in the process of body work, then primer and paint. I think patience and help from your friends will go along ways. I picked a Sherwin-Williams paint since it supposed to be as good as PPG but a lot less money. I am not going to bare metal partially because I know the car is rust free. If you are worried about rust, then bare metal would be the recommendation. You won't know what you have until you expose the metal. Also, I am paint my car the same stock color which might be another consideration (i.e. you don't want to expose orange paint if you have a white car and you get a paint chip). Hope this helps a little.

[Guest brisk1961]

Oh, my local Paint Shop has a "good" article on painting, at least I think so.

http://www.neilslade.com/Papers/Painting.html

 

It is also pleasing to the eye.

[mikeatrpi]

Well, I'm not quite done yet (the car is primered finally...) so take my advice with caution! I took a very budget approach to painting: I bought my sandpaper at the flea market, and went with PPG Omni (low end) epoxy primer and single stage acrylic enamel. The body prep work is enormous! Especially when you find rust or damage that must be repaired. Anyways, here's what I'd do differently next time:

 

1) use a waterproof filler direct to metal, such as fiberglass bondo.

2) spray epoxy primer over metal repairs and fiberglass bondo, then do regular plastic bondo over it. spray again with epoxy (since its waterproof)

3) only buy a quart of epoxy not a gallon... I used 1/2 gal and i have 3 coats of epoxy on my entire car. I'd rather buy a quart of epoxy for items 1+2, and then a quart or two of high build primer

4) I would have gotten my sears random orbital sander much sooner in the project

5) DO NOT use aerosol primers, particular rustoleum. VERY VERY bad idea, paints are often incompatible and I found that out the hard way.

 

Other things- I painted my rockers, air dam, and lower rear quarters with truck bedliner. Since my car will be black anyway the bedliner will protect me from rock chips while still blending in with the paint. Touchups are quick and easy. Wear a mask when sanding, and at least a respirator when painting. Don't be stupid, safety is key. And, have fun... don't get discouraged when the going gets tough.

[fear_me]

i know i haved searched, but i am looking for facts... what did you guys do. not how to do it but what did YOU do?

 

Thanks,

Andrew

[Villain4Life]

I have been doing custom paint jobs for several years now and the biggest part of a good paint job is PREP, PREP,PREP! Take your time with the prep work and you will not be dissapointed in the end. If you have any specific questions regarding any kind of paint or body work ..please feel free to ask.I just got done painting my Z in a garage.As long as you prep the garage before painting, you will have awesome results.

[mentallylost]

Whatdo you mean by "prep your garage?"

[Villain4Life]

Remove everything you possibly can from your garage(that isn't getting painted).Hose down your ceiling,walls and floor(I usually do this a couple of times)Keep your floors wet while painting(This is huge!)Have a door opened a crack so some of the overspray in the air will have a place to escape.Don't use any heaters or fans where there will be heavy fumes(unless you like explosions)Always hit whatever it is you are going to paint with a blow gun and tac rag at the same time(Don't use cheap tac rags)Do this right before you are going to spray.And the giggest thing is remain calm and if something does go wrong, think about the best solution before you dive in to fix it.

For example..a run in the first coat or two of clear(or surfacer) ..wipe it off with gloves and just feather it out with your fingers.As long as it's getting more coats it will be much easier to cut out than a big run.I know it sounds crazy and it scared me the first time I saw it, but it is so much easier to fix.

Also, make sure your compressor is up to the task and that you have an excellent water filtration setup.The last thing you want to see is countless hours of prep work go down the drain when fish eyes start popping up from moisture in the line.Always run a dessicant dispossible filter at your gun.Don't use the cheap paper filters.You will have no idea when they need to be replaced until it is TOO LATE. The dessicants change color when they are used up.GOOD LUCK and remember, the best way to learn is to just do it.

[MusPuppis]

A couple little ideas when doing a home paint job.

 

Prepping your space is important. Its difficult to get a decent enviroment when working in a garage but with a little prep and fiddling you can really go a long way to helping yourself out in the end.

 

3m masking plastic is your friend. You can get it decently cheap in enormous roles. Hang this over and secure it around everything in the garage. Try to isolate your car from everything else. Buy a small mop, wet it down real well and dampen the floors and walls (plastic if you've used it) as best as you can before you spray. It helps to repeat this process while as it dries up. This holds dust and garbage to the floor and minimizes airborne contaminates.

 

A good time to paint is early in the morning as well. Damper air will keep the crap to a minimum.

 

Also, remember you need to make sure you have a very good filter and drying system in place to ensure the air itself is solid. A decent way to test the air is fix a small peice of gauze and hold it against the airflow for about 30-45 seconds and take a look at it. Take a look at it. If its damp or you see a discoloration (oil/garbage) or you see particles of crap trapped, something has failed in your filtering system.

 

Also, if your using an HVLP gun, make sure your compressor is up to the task and make sure your hoses are large and all your fittings are as well. Alot of 3/8 fittings have TINY little internal diameters that greatly restrict airflow. The V in HVLP stands for volume and bottlenecks in the air delivery do not make for good volume. Insufficient airflow and poor volume make for an inconsistent and sub-par spray.

 

A couple other things, little tidbits anyway. I may be corrected on these but in many cases its a matter of preference.

 

You dont need to go to bare metal. Its just not required in many instances. if your paint is good and sticking well and you arent planning some massive multi-layer paintjob then dont worry about it. Make sure its sanded and scuffed to hell and your good to go.

 

Dont apply normal fillers over paint. BAD. polyester products are designed to go straight over paint and they work well but standard stuff isnt made for it and will not adhere correctly.

 

Mix the filler WELL. Very very well.

 

Guide coats and long-blocks are your friend.

 

Cut filler w. 80 and kill parafin then final sand w. 180/120, blend with several (several!) good coats of primer then final wetsand w. 400 grit to blend. When final priming add extra primer to bodyworked areas and make sure to block well.

[Villain4Life]

I agree with just about everything MusPuppis said.I just got done painting my Z in my garage and it is a show paint job.(I'm not trying to brag )I have painted countless cars, and I only do cool cars.All have been shot in my garage.I don't have the motivation to paint a car that will get lost in a parking lot.The only thing I would argue with is what grit you use for final sanding.(400 grit is what he recommended)That grit is a good guidline and will usually work, but you should always look at what the paint manufacturer recommends.

[Mikelly]

I have a buddy who lives on the corner up the street from me. He paints for a living for a collision center and uses his own garage for some paint work side jobs. He actually rolls everything out of his shop, pressure washes the floors and leaf blows the walls and ceilings BEFORE putting up a plastic tent. All this is done before he starts spraying his base and clear coats... This kid does amazing work and works with lots of house-of-Kolor paints. His projects always end up winning at car shows and I believe if is because of his attention to prep, his anal approach to creating a perfectly clean environment (He sets a day asside for prepping his shop to paint the car, because it takes time to dry the floor after his powerwashing, which removes a TON of dust particles from the environment!) and patience.

 

Mike

[Jankyvictor]

Interesting that the next two guys expressed the importance of wetting the floor...

 

From Brisk1961's article...

 

"5. Make certain it is bone dry where you are going to paint. Helpful old souls will tell you to wet the floor down to keep the dust down ... say "Thank you for that idea," and then, whatever you do, DO NOT WET THE FLOOR IN THE PAINTING AREA. All urethane is moisture-cure material. Any humidity, fog, steam, cloud, water vapor, passing from the floor into the sky as it evaporates will pass through the spray mist from your spray gun. At the end of the spray gun, as you pull the trigger, the temperature of the paint drops many degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius, as you wish ... this cures some of the paint before it ever hits the car!!! "Gee, I got a lot of dirt in my finish ... duh. " No, actually, you PUT A LOT OF "DIRT" IN THE FINISH. DRY! DRY! DRY! Always paint in a dry place. "

 

 

I know that at the body shop I worked in, there was a policy of wetting down the filters and floor to reduce dust, but that was always done with enough time to dry before pushing the car in the booth. A humidity guage is often used because most paints have a temperature range and humidity range that must be adhered to for best results.

[fear_me]

I agree with just about everything MusPuppis said.I just got done painting my Z in my garage and it is a show paint job.(I'm not trying to brag )I have painted countless cars, and I only do cool cars.All have been shot in my garage.I don't have the motivation to paint a car that will get lost in a parking lot.The only thing I would argue with is what grit you use for final sanding.(400 grit is what he recommended)That grit is a good guidline and will usually work, but you should always look at what the paint manufacturer recommends.

 

my question has kind of gone astray here....

 

you just said that you painted your own car:

1) did you go to metal?

2) what metal prep did you use? (por15, rustbullet....)

3) what primer? bran how many layers?

3) paint, brand? layers? base/clear kote?

 

That is what i am looking for, i like the do's and don'ts i will keep those in the back of my head.... but i think this thread is going no wear cause i maybe did not ask the right questions. above is what i am interested in.

thanks for your guy's replies!

 

~Andrew

[mikeatrpi]

1) Only where there was rust.

2) Ospho.

3) PPG Omni MP-170 / 175 Epoxy, 3 coats, wet sand, 1 or 2 more for recoat time

4) PPG Omni Acrylic Enamel, single stage.

[fear_me]

Thanks alot! thats exactly what i was looking for!!! anybody else please???

 

~Andrew