Cypher0117

i tried this post int he appearence/cosmetics forums but no one is anwering so i'll post it here too.

I got my air brush setup and compressor all ready. I got a quart of paint and everything to mix in with it and such. I was origionally going to just fix rust but idk how that will look with brand new shinny paint on top of old faded 11 year old paint. I was thinking of just sanding my entire car and priming and painting it. My car is a 94 civic dx 4dr sedan. Don't flame me and tell me I'm and idiot because of all the work im putting in front of me. I'm well aware of all the work that has to be done and this will probably take a week or two because I'm not a profesional.

1) would you recommend only sanding parts of the car and painting them or all at once?
2) about how many gallons will i need to cover my car?
3) the front lip and back fender are plastic, how can i get the old paint off or should i just paint over the top of it?

these are all the questions i have right now and any help answering would be appreciated. Also tips and tricks of painting are welcomed.

thanks in advance

nocturnaldragon

You should of read my paint thread,

Anyhow, to answer your questions what I did with mine was just sanded out the rust spots and repaired them as necessary. Then I used bondo where it needed it and then just put a primer coat over everything I didn't sand anything down to the metal it was kind of a waste of time.

I'd get about a gallon of paint or at least 3 qts. to cover the whole car, If your gonna do it all one shot 3qts should do ya but I'd go with the full gallon being your first time so you have enough if you have to repaint something again or use more then you have to.

As for the bumpers once again I didn't sand **** off of them just sanded the scratches out and what not put down white primer and painted over it all.

Now as for your week or two estimate I would give yourself more time then that, you have no idea how long that little stuff takes until you actually do it, my project is on week 8 I think with anther week in sight before I finish. Just take your time and make sure its all right before you paint it you'll be happier in the end.

That's about all I can think of now if you have some more questions post em up and I'll answer the best I can.

rabius

...hey. now youre speaking my language...
<- bodyman part time.

now, unless you have access to a paint booth, an overall is not a good idea. painting a whole car without one is done piece work. i paint cars all day long outdoors, but the top surfaces are all you have to worry about, those will catch EVERY bug and EVERY piece of dirt.
do it like this. doghouse (fenders hood front bumper) first, then move down the car, roof, then doors, then the other side of the car (the other doors), then the backhalf. cover the parts of the car you arent painting so they dont get overspray on them. (make sure you dont cover fresh paint with plastic until it has out gassed.. ugh. what a headache that is.. but its fun to laugh at somebody else that does it . outgassing takes about a week)
as for coverage, if you are doing base/clear, then 1 gallon of paint, reduced, equals two gallons of paint. which is more than enough unless you are doing a color change, which depending on paint skill MIGHT require more to cover. (especially if you are doing all the jambs and such, but again, not recommended w/o a booth.

as for prep, you can hit the old paint with 600 to cut it open, but it will take probably 10 pieces if the car is CLEAN, up to about 20 pieces otherwise..
an easy way to degrease the car, and clean it, which makes prep so much easier, is 2 parts windex to 1 part acetone. but dont put acetone in a windex bottle if you plan on keeping it, it will make the bottle very soft, and very hazey.

now, if the paint is just faded, you dont need to strip it, but if its in horrible shape, then stripping is necessary. if the clear is chipping, then you should be ok with just sanding it off using like, 320. if you get to the metal, prime it several thin coats, cut with 320, prime again, sand with 400.

if im going overboard, i apologize.

nocturnal, where is your paint thread?

.jeff.

GDR888

You need to sand the whole vehicle. Not sanding the whole car will cause cracks and the paint will not last on a smooth surface.Make sure you use anti corrosion if you sand it down all the way to the metal.

nocturnaldragon

haha dont scare the poor kid, I'm not using a paint booth and its turning out fine, just a lot of extra wet sanding thats all. I'm doing mine in a garage thats dusty as all hell, not to mention enviromental factors that are a bitch, but like I said a little wet sanding is all thats needed.

Heres my thread I'll have the updated pics up soon I promise!
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1262071

Cypher0117

after my car is primed, how long do i need to wait to give it a second coat of primer? do i need to sand the 1st coat too? should i wet sand or dry sand? what grit sand paper should i use?

thanks for the help so far

Lee_Delso

Really if this is your first time then be ready to run into alot of head-aches, first of all you don't need to sand the whole car, just the parts that you did body work on. The other part just give a good scuff job. You do not need to primer the whole car either, just the parts that you did body work on. Once those two steps are done then you should start on your sealer coat. I did two coats of sealer, then it's your base coat, I did three coats of base then you put on your clear, another three coats then comes the wet sand, buff job and kobamm you're done.


j/k it's not that simple but that's the easiest why to explain it and I did all this out of my garage and everything turned out pretty good. But take my advice, it's not as easy as you may think, you may run into alot of problems and sometimes you have to do certain steps all over again to get it to look perfect. If you would like you can check on my link to see what I've done to my car....
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1248588