Ok here are the tools I have so far..

Primer Paint (Gray)
Clear Coat
Black universal paint
600 grit sandpaper

I was also told that I needed a 2500 sandpaper but the stores I looked through only has it for 2000 grit (dry/wet).

This is my first time so it'd be great if I can get detailed steps, how many minutes to wait in between for drying, etc.

I am also looking to paint the chrome trim on my car (I guess the weather strip or window trim?).. so can I sand it down with a 600 grit and use the black universal paint so the cans dont get wasted?

The wiper blade arms as well.. they're fading.

 

I just (and I mean like 15-20 minutes ago) finished putting on the front and rear bumpers and a new trunk lid that I painted myself.I rattlecanned the whole project but I wasn't really looking for stellar results.It's my first time also and I just really wanted to get my feet wet.Anyway here's what I used and did.

1)I cleaned with water and just a little bit of soap on my pieces.
2)made sure that everything was smooth.Lightly sanded any scratches on bumpers.Used 400(I think).
3)Got the trunk lid off of another car that was a different color,so I wetsanded it with 400.
4)used VHT brand primer filler on parts.Did about two coats.
5)Sanded the **** out of everything.Started with 1500 and finished it off with 2000.

(had to wait til the following weekend to start painting)
6)Made sure that all of the dust and crap was off of my pieces then started with one thin coat of paint(Dark gray black sapphire effect),waited 5 minutes and sprayed about 2 heavier coats.
7)waited 5-10 minutes for that to dry a bit then I went over that with a couple of coats of Duplicolor Twilight Blue as a top coat to "try" to match the color of my car.(The guy I bought the car from got a really cool custom color,but it's almost impossible to match because of the red flakes of pearl in the blue,that gives it a purple-ish effect in certain lights and a black effect in others,but I tried to match the color as close as I could.)
8)After painting everything,I waited until the next day to do the clear coat.Sprayed One thin layer,waited 10 minutes,then used the entire can on each bumper and the trunk lid.

9)Waited til next day(today) and put everything on car.

Now all I have to do is wait til this weekend to polish the clear coat then it's 100% finished.The can of clear coat said to wait at least 48 hours before polishing,but I don't have the time or money to finish it until the weekend.

I did the whole job on my balcony here at home, and I laid out a couple of 4'X8' pieces of cardboard to make a bootleg paint booth.It worked out pretty well because I live on the top floor of my building so I didn't have to worry that much about junk getting in the paint while I'm on the third floor.

Anyway,that's my experience and how I did it.Not sure if this info is gonna help with your project but good luck with it.

 

ok how about this way?

1 - clean the lips
2 - sand it down with 800 grit (the whole lip)
3 - apply the primer
4 - sand it down with 800 grit again

so im stuck here.. am i suppose to apply the primer again or should i just go ahead and apply the paint i want (uni black), sand it down with 2000 grit, then apply the uni black coat again, then wait until the next day to apply the clear coat?

and where does the wetsanding go in those steps? are they necessary for lips?

 

You don't have to wetsand if the lips don't have clear coat on them before you start painting it.

I would say to do a couple coats of primer in case you sand too aggressively,and wathc out when sanding primer with 1500 or 2000 grit,it tends to build up on the sandpaper and doesn't sand as evenly and leaves small chunks behind.

 

so:

1) clean lips
2) sand with 800
3) apply primer and wait 5-10 minutes
4) sand with 800
5) apply primer again
6) sand with 2000 grit
7) apply desired color and wait a day to dry
8) apply clear coat and wait a day to dry

sounds right so far?

 

anyone?

 

Lightly wet sand the clear with 1000 grit and buff out with some sort of buffing compound and a buffer.

I'm not so sure about sanding the primer with 2000,I think all you need is 1500,but I could be wrong.That stuff does cake up on the sand paper so watch out for that.

For the record,I'm by no means and expert on painting.I did my car this weekend for the first time ever and had decent results.Some would strongly suggest that you use a sealer on the primer before painting.I chose not to do that and only time will tell if it was the right choice or not.

 

So for the last steps then..

apply clear coat, wet sand then apply the clear coat again?

 

Apply clear coat,wait 48 hours for curing time,wetsand 1000 grit,buff to a shine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Zerophase &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Apply clear coat,wait 48 hours for curing time,wetsand 1000 grit,buff to a shine.</TD></TR></TABLE>

but this step isnt necessary right? i dont have a buffer.. i just want a black sprayed lip lol

 

so for the first step all i have to do is sand down any rough parts to make it even with the smooth areas correct? not sand the whole lip down?

 

lips are easy dont even over think it just go for it. i would sand the whole lip lightly at least and just make sure its pretty even then make sure you clean it good and primer it. you can sand that first coat down after its dry with some 1500 or so but i didnt even bother then spray again with primer and let dry. 2 coats is good then spray with paint and let dry. I would do a quick wet sand on first coat with 1500 and spray again. then wet sand with 2000 and spray again. then wet sand with 2000. Use your judgement and if it looks like enough coats to use clean good after last wet sand and apply clear. I would apply 2 coats and then wet sand on clear. Then clear again and wet sand lightly. Apply the clear as much as you want you can be pretty generous with it but wet sand with like 2000 or 2500 at the end and clean it good and you should be good to go. Im not an expert either but i did mine and they came out pretty good. Just use your judgement if it looks kinda rough after a coat wet sand lightly. and apply paint and clear generously if you want.... and take your time dont rush it.