capn

Hey guys,

I am looking to repaint my entire DA exterior this summer, in just one weekend, a long weekend. But I wanted to know whether it is recommended for me to primer->basecoat->clearcoat, or can I get away with Basecoat-> clearcoat?

Here is a pics of my cars condition. (sorry if they are a bit big)






But as you can tell the clear is gone on the hood and roof, but it looks like the sides have been resprayed at one time, and was poorly done. I don't really care about dents and dings, I just want good looking paint. So is it worth the extra however many hours and however many dollars to do the primer?

Right now I am budgeting ~$500 on this paint job, I have a friend with painting experience as well as the equipment and clean areas to paint.

this is my current shopping list:
$347 1 gal base coat
$145 1 gal clear coat
$50 for misc sandpaper and tape
$25 for cups stirrers and misc

and paintscratch.com's price for 1 gal of primer is $110, so can I get away with it no primer?

fav6052

do not buy your paint from paintscratch lol... wayyyy over priced.

pull out the phonebook and look for a local ppg dealer or dupont dealer or call some bodyshops and have them reccomend somewhere to go.

paintscratch wanted $300ish for a gallon of my paint(championship white) i laughed and bought it at the local ppg dealer for $26 a quart.

KuEy

you wont need primer if you aren't doing any body work.

civicsmoke

you only need primer when you are sanding to metal or after you apply filler. Since you arent concerned with dents, just sand and spray base then clear. post pics when its done.

AWJDMDA9

you dont need primer but you will need to sealer it first its kinda like primer but its so the paint will stick properly i've been through it you diffinatly need to seal it wait 1 hour tack the sealer then base and clear and leave seating at least 13-14 hours then you should be good to go

capn

Alright so I can get away with no primer on the better spots, but if I needed to do some rust spot clean up I would have to do filler and primer. But I would only have to primer the trouble spots and not the whole panel?

Also what about my mirrors you can see they are in pretty poor condition, do I need adhesion promoter or something for the plastic parts, bumper, mirrors etc?

civicsmoke

Correct

for the mirrors i would sand, and primer, then paint. forthe bumpers, do the same just make sure you add some flex agent, so your paint doesnt crack.

capn

flex agent? I've never heard of that, is it similar to adhesion promoter?

Hawkze_2.3

Flex agent is added to paint so that the part can be bent and/or twisted before the paint is fully cured without issues. It completely evaporates out of the paint after a while, so it is mainly just for re-stalling parts shortly after painting.

It is an old product that no one really uses any more because it is not needed as most any modern paint flexes more than you will need it to. I have painted many bumpers off of cars without flex agent and have never had any issues whatsoever. I wouldn't worry about it

capn

So far this sounds pretty doable in a weekend, but I am still confused on the final stages of finishing. After I clear the car with 1-3 coats of clear and let it dry, oh say 24 hours, do I wet sand the surface with high grit (1000-2000), then using rubbing compound to bring it to full gloss? Or do I just use a rubbing compound without wet sanding?

precisionsc54

Ok just a few things I wanted to clear up. You dont need to use a sealer if your not doing any body work. Second thing is if your going to spray the bumpers and urethane parts on the car there is no need to use flex additive. If you have any questions hit me up. I hate ppl giving advice when they have no clue themselves