Alright, so due to lack of money my engine rebuild has somewhat stalled. So I'm going to use this down time to paint my car. I just have a couple of questions. First and foremost of them is brand & type (ie rattle can, true automotive paint, or some other type) that wouldn't break the back but give at least a decent result (I realize that the final product will have a lot to do with prep work and knowledge/experience behind the paint gun). Someone please correct me but if I'm not mistaken you don't have to sand down to bare metal right? Also, has anyone had experience with a harbor freight brand paint gun? I have a coupon for it that I pulled from the may issue of Honda tuner and hesitated on it since I didn't know what kind of quality it was. Thanks for any replies aged of time.

 

THe HF paint gun is an OK paint gun, I have used it for primer many times and it does the job. Now for base and clear you wont get good finishes like a SATA or Iwata will give you.

You don't need to sand to bare metal and can actuallt make the old paint act like a light filler of low spots. I would learn how to do bondo sanding, glaze sanding correctly, just a quick note you want to sand in a X figure.

Brands of paint, there are many, I have used everything from Summit to Eastwood, PPG, and Martin Senior. If you are looking for a basic paint cant go wrong with Martin Senior and they have some of the best clear I have used. It lays down very smooth and is very easy to color sand and polish.

Sand paper you may want is 80,180, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1500, 2000

 

Thanks for the fast reply. I was also wondering about duplicolor, I noticed during my last visit to advance auto that they had 32 oz cans of pie mixed auto paint. Any opinions or reasons to/not to go with this brand. I was hoping to paint the whole body white with a blue pearl, for lack of a better way to describe it, sheen to it. I have tried googling this color/effect before but ended up with more questions than when I started. Also, would I need to paint the bumpers and any other non metal parts with any other type of paint or will the same type work with all parts of the body metal and plastic? Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to screw this up cause I'm likely only going to get one shot at this.

 

The duplicolor is pretty much cheap junk, and you will need like 7 qts to equal a gal of normal paint. I wouldn't try pearl unless you have had some training, its hard to get equal and matching. On plastic parts you should use a adhesion promoter, fuser makes a great product. I would plan on just a plain solid color and a quality clear, I use Deltron or Marten Senior. You are looking at at least 500 for good base and clear, atleast another 120-300 for primer/sealer, and another like 200-300 for materials like sandpaper and masking tape/paper, sanding blocks, and what not.

 

That's quite a chunk of money just for paint. Are there any cheaper options? I wouldn't mind leaving it alone but the guy I got it from painted it and it just looks amiture and very ricey.

 

There are chea[ options like Eastwood or something.. Napa Has Finishline Don't know prices off hand but stuff to check.

 

I am not much of a painter, but I'm working on it. With a HF gun, doing your first spray job, I don't think you are going to get your money's worth out of $500+ of paint.
I just did a Del Sol with a single stage (no clear) black Nason paint from O'Rielly's Auto. Spent about $300 on paint including primer, activator, and reducer. The only thing that saved my paint job from being terrible was a HF buffer and lots of wet sanding.

You may find decent cheap paint and good advice at an O'Rielly's or NAPA.

Here's a single stage urethane on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eastwood-Reptile-Red-Single-Stage-Urethane-Auto-Car-Spray-Paint-Kit-/231270989207?hash=item35d8d33d97&item=231270989207&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtrI have no idea if it's any good.

 

Thanks for the help y'all. I'll do some asking around at a couple of our local parts stores and see what I can come up with on the paint and advice.

 

painted my car rattle can. didnt even sand it but i did primer. first paint job came out very nice. next time i would sand before and clear coat after. used Plastikote brand paint from Valspar OEM colors. lots available but more if u buy gallons. check em out online. not as much metallic as Dupli-color

 

Are you saying that's nice??

 

Looks about right for a Plastikote with no sanding.
D@mn man... you could have bought a Cheeseburger with all that money instead!

 

I will admit, I've thought of rattle canning mine. I just was hoping to avoid that. Either way this paint job has to go and if I can't find any extremely cheap but decent paint then I'm going to rattle can it.

 

its better than the original paint. look up the OEM colors for 94-97 Accords. nothing special there plus it was my first paint job ever maybe u could do better and maybe i could've also

 

There is always plasti dip... If you want at least something that is better then spray paint and will last 2-3 years and easily removable that would be the way to go. You can spray it for 2-300 bucks and you would spend like 200 on spray paint and it wouldn't look as good. I have done some Plasti Dip and its very very simple and is easy to mask for.

 

What's wrong with your rear qtr panel?


https://honda-tech.com/forums/showth...t=paint+thread

 

Any PPG brand is great! Also, PPG makes cheaper alternatives that are still made by PPG such as OMNI and OMNI Plus. DuPont is also coming along great!

If you decide to go single stage (enamel) you will get a good look but not a great look! Enamel has sort of shun its way out of the collision industry because there is always something better. The best way to go is two stage ( base and clear). It will look the best, it will last a long time and you won't be disappointed.

As far as paint guns go: Sata Jet and IWATA are the best on the market. I have sprayed with Devilbiss and Binks and all other types of guns and those two are the best out there. A harbor freight gun isn't an ideal gun but will work for your first time as long as it is an HVLP gun.

You won't have to sand your car down to bare metal unless you want to. You will need a 2k build primer if you do that. And of course if you need any body work done you will need to do that as well. But besides body work being done. You don't have to sand it down to bare metal. That's all about preference and how good you want it to look.