Okay so I have to cars that I'm goin to be painting. 1st car is goin to be complete color change. Its a 97 civic HB. It has a few dinks and about 2 fist size dents on body. So my question for this one is, what grit sand paper will I need for this? I will be using body filler and glaze. I'm also goin to be primering the vehicle and I'm not sure if I'm goin to be using sealer yet. Is it highly recommended? For painting materials I was looking at maybe House Of Kolors. But I'm looking at maybe $800 for primer, sealer, base, clear, & all of the reducers and activators needed. I was looking to go a bit cheaper in paint supplys then that. I asked around about PPG paint but for some reason people say that PPG will be even more pricier than HOK! What are my options for cheaper paint? For primer the guy at paint store recomended me using U-POL 2K primer. He said its inexpensive and real good primer! Its like $60 for primer in activator. I'm not sure how HOK products will react with other products.

So main questions for this one is:

1)what grit sand paper will be needed for this vehicle from beguining to the end including color/wet sanding the clear at the end!

2)Would using a different brand primer like U-POL 2K be fine to use with House Of Kolor?

3)Is sealer really needed?

4)If I were to go with different paint instead of House of kolor, what are my options? I would say between $300-600 for primer,Base, Clear etc.

5)Is the U-POL 2K Primer any good?

6)How much primer will I need? For this one? How much sealer, how much base and how much clear? I do want to color/wet sand this vehicle as well and want this vehicle to have that "WET" look.

7)from the Evercoat glazes what's recomended for me for this project? I will be using Rage Gold for filler.

FOR MY NEXT VEHICLE NOW .....

Its a 2000 civic coupe. This vehicle has shaved door handles, shaved moldings, shaved plate holder, etc. Oh yeah body kit. LoL... Anyways I need to get paint on it! LoL.. So for this one I was thinking of goin HOK Tangelo Pearl. So I was looking at completly goin with HOK but price is kinda up there so I'm kinda trying to weigh out my options. Is there any type of PPG paint line that is cheaper in price but still be quality that I can go with? Car is currently primered and its been sitting in Cali weather for a couple years. So I need to find out what grit is recomended on this one. I will be doin some body work as well. Like Body filler and fiberglass on cracks and chips off kit.

I do know that u can sometimes skip grits in sand paper and I want to keep the amount of sand paper limited on both these vehicles. I'm goin to be sharing prepping materials so I'm purchasing rolls of sand paper so it can get costly.

What grit can I get a way using on this vehicle? This vehicle will be the biggest project of the 2!

How much primer will I need? For this one? How much sealer, how much base and how much clear? I do want to color/wet sand this vehicle as well and want this vehicle to have that "WET" look.

Sorry for all questions and thanks in advance for the help!

 

1. 36-1000 grit paper

2.most likly not

3.yes i highly reccomend useing a sealer. it prevents bleed through of color bellow it. its pretty cheap dont cheap out on it.

4.look into PPG shop line or omni, or dupont

5.YES

6.hard to say. the paint supplier should be able to tell you how much you would need

7.light filler and blaze glaze (finishing filler)

 

For the sand paper u said 36-1000 but do you really have to use like: 36, 40, 80, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000?

Couldn't you skip a few grits? Like go 40, then go like 80 then 150, then 220 and so on? What would be the popular grits to go with for my application? Reason I ask its because I was goin to buy complete rolls of the sandpaper and it can add up. Its like $25-30 per roll. I know I'll end up with hella sandpaper left for any future projects but I'm trying to sorta limit my expenses. Or am I better off purchasing by the amount I actually need? I'll be doin the 2 cars!


About how much do you think the sealer would cost per vehicle cost?

 

with the sand paper i myself DONT like to skip in sand paper 80,120,220,320 this way i dont get any chance of sand scratches in my filler work.

i paid 54 bucks for sealer (qt) but i get a discount and i used 1 qt on a car just so i knew i had even coverage

 

okay so im guessing 1 qt of sealer would be enough for my application as well then huh? what brand of sealers would you recommend?

Ive been reading around here and the autobody101.com web site and ive read that the U-Pol Primers and clears are pretty good and fairly inexpensive so im thinkin of goin that route. ive also read that the SPI Universal Clear is good. Or even the Transtar Euro clear has been previously recommended.

Im Also thinking im goin to stay within the Dupont and PPG family for the base due to my local paint store stocking those brands. I hope that the mixing of those base's and other brands (such as U-Pol) be fine. what do ya think have you guys had any problems with similar combo's?

I Guess now im more looking at my budget being like $450-500. that of course doesn't include my materials such as filler and glaze and sand paper.

Now i think im might be doin "JUST" the car that has all the body work done to it (Shaved this and that+body kit). so in this case is it really benificial for me to buy complete rolls of sanding paper? I dont really plan on doin many cars "YET" LoL... Just this one for now. How Much Do Single sheets go for? im actually goin to be using the Dura-Block Blocking kit so the rolls that i was looking at were the 2 3/4" X 40yds. which go for like $25 each. For sanding paper i was looking at the Dura-gold. have you guys had any experience with that stuff?

Im gettin ready to order my supplys to get this project started and the purchasing of the sand paper is the one thats kinda holding me back! I just dont know how benificial its goin to be to purchase all those rolls Vs. buying single sheets and maybe saving a dollar or 2. what you guys think? i would probably be spending like around $350 on rolls and bulk sheets. thats insane!

anywayz let me know what ya think.

thanks.

 

anyone...?

 

From personal experience, you can do your bodywork with 80 grit, then 180 (or 220), then 320 at least (or 400) and i like to finish everything at least on 600 grit. Cause if you're going to buy every grit that is available out there... come on, it's not necesssary!
Paint it and when it's time to wetsand, i prefer starting on 1500, and whenever possible, 2000 grit before buffing, but you can buff 1500. If there are runs or too much texture, use 1000 grit to get these out quicker than with 1500 alone.

It's always better to use every product from the same brand, because chemists from each company will "design" products that can't react on their other products, also... they can warrant the work if you use all of their products, yes... they will warrant!

Sealer will assure that you don't have "bleed through" your finish, helps adhesion and gives you an idea of any imperfection (if you have any) before spraying the base color (or single stage). I'd use less than 20 ounces of sealer for a whole car (exterior only), but i think the least amount that you can buy would be 32oz plus the activator, so that should be enough for both cars.

I really like Dupont, and i find the quality of paint over price ratio to be very good. Have used other less expensive products and must say that i was disapointed with the coverage of material and result of the clear coat after application had cured.

I normally use between 64 to 80 ounces of base on a car.
Normally 64oz of primer for a car that needs primer on almost everywhere.
32oz of sealer plus catalyzer should be enough for both cars.
70 to 96oz of clear per car considering you will cut material off while wet sending.