As the title states I've gotten to a point with the rest of my build where I can take a break and start some much needed body work. DISCLAIMER: The last time that I did anything that was body/paint oriented was back in high school (12-13 years ago). So I'm scared as hell, but I'm going to go for it anyway. I already have a build thread going on: https://honda-tech.com/forums/appearance-build-threads-122/srdftitans-97-ej8-turbo-build-thread-pics-vids-%2A%2Acustom-gauge-holder%2A%2A-3032646/.

Anyway I'm still a little undecided on the exact color that I'm going to paint my car, and I'm going to leave it up to everyone on various forums to decide for me. I'm going to let you guys decide because I'm tired of thinking about it lol! Now on to the choices!!

The stock color:
Granada Black Metallic Clearcoat NH-503P


OR

Montego Blue Metallic (e90 BMW's)
This color flip flops like a mother, so I posted more that one photo so you can see the many shades of this color.

Direct Sunlight, nice mix of colors (light purple, light blue, dark blue, electric blue)


Purple Tinted (around dusk)


Close up:


Low light:


Night shot (artificial light):


The Montego Blue Metallic happens to be my favorite color, however that would mean more work as in door jambs, trunk, etc. So those are the two choices, let me know what you guys think.

Now I've already started on the car, I've included some photos of some of the supplies that I needed, as well as some sanding, body filler shots to be scrutinized. ATTENTION: calling all those who are experienced with body work!!! I'm going to need your help as I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions and I am open to advice/constructive critisism.

This is not intended to be a diy or anything but I am going to list the things that I've done in order with pics. Quick shout out to Builda'Teg_92, he also has a paint thread going on: https://honda-tech.com/forums/paint-body-84/lets-paint-my-integra-tools-dents-primers-fillers-paint-2956794/ check it out. After reading every page of his paint thread I decided that I needed to stop reading and start doing! Thanks bro! Also want to shout out to harmonator84, the sticky that he posted a while back; https://honda-tech.com/forums/paint-body-84/everything-you-need-know-about-autobody-repair-1962364/ was extremely useful. If I had to give any advise to anyone that is going to take on the challenge of painting there own car, make sure that you read that thread!!!

Ok on to the body work:
The first pics show when I went around my car and identified every single ding, dent, crease, fold and fat person. In all I think I circled over 100 issues!! If I found a ding or dent I would circle it indicating a low spot, if I found a high spot I would still circle it, but I would also put an X over the high spot.






Ok a little rundown on the supplies needed to sand and use body filler. First up is sanding, I needed a variety of different types of sand paper.
40 Grit: for sanding around various dents and dings. This paper needed to be very coarse so that I could get all the way to the metal.
80 Grit: used for after you use the body filler and now need to sand. Its basically so that you can knock down some of the high spots and roughly get the desired shape that your looking for.
220 Grit: this one will be used after you got the rough shape that you were looking for with the 80 grit. I also used this grit to featheredge the edges so that it blends with the un-body filled areas.
320 Grit: I used this to sand the rest of the body where no body filler was used. This is the grit that I'm going to use before applying my 2k filler primer.

From left to right, 40 grit, 80 grit, 220 grit and 320 grit (really cheap, maybe $4 a piece)


Now some sanding, again I used the 40 and 80 grit sand paper to get all the way to the metal. You'll notice that even though I had the dings and dents circled, after sanding to the metal it made the same dings and dents very apparent which helps!


Other supplies:




In this pic if you look towards the center of the circle you will see some very small ding marks. This is from where I had a high spot and I used a body hammer to lightly tap it below the surface of the hood so that I could use body filler to make is smooth.




Now after the sanding I wiped down the entire hood really good with a degreaser, wax remover stuff. After it dried it was time for body filler. I would recommend that you follow the directions on the can of body filler as they will tell you the ratio of body filler to hardner and how long to wait before sanding!!


Time for mixing:


After mixing was complete:


Now time for spreading which should come immediately after mixing is complete. According to my instructions on the can I only had about 3-4 minutes to get the body filler on the car before it started to harden up on me. I waited the suggested cure time of 20 minutes before applying more layers of body filler.






Thats it for now, maybe I'll have some more up later tonight as I need to get back outside and start sanding. Remember to leave your suggestion on what paint color I should choose!!

 

IMO: none of your dents were big enough to where you had to sand to metal. so you created more work for yourself. as well as breaking through the factory E-coat which usually you should avoid doing if you dont have to.... only the dents that needed to be worked out with a hammer and dolly or stud puller, is when you'd want to sand to bare metal.

not to mention 40grit is way too rough for the 20gauge metal that manufactures use now a days.... doesnt mean you're doing any thing wrong... just means you could've been more careful and saved some time/headache. and 40grit will easily thin out the metal.

but im sure a lot of kids that dont know any thing will chime in eventually and tell you otherwise =P

 

I agree with gorilla. I would have laid a good primer (poly or surfacer) and then blocked it flat. My bet is 2 to 3 coats would cover 90% of your spots.

 

yeah, u could've even used a thinnn later of glazing putty that would have eliminated a majority of those surface dents/dings... then 2k primer and block sanding would've probably finished the job.

u would've never had to go below 150grit, or sand to bare metal which ruins your ecoat.

 

Well aint that a bit** lol. I wish I would have known that I didn't have to sand down to the bare metal. The reason why I did is because every website or person that I spoke with said the same thing; "if you have a ding you must sand the area down to the metal, including about 2-3 inches around the ding itself. So what you guys are saying is for the smalling dents I dont have to sand down to the metal and can scuff the area? Also for the really small dents/dings I don't have to worry about it at all, just scuff the area and prime with the 2k to fill in the small dings? If this is true you guys are a life saver, I just spent two hours sanding the hell out of the front of my hood. Now I will say that the dents in the hood were pretty deep. I was advised not to fill a dent with body filler if it is more than 1/4" deep, so I massaged the dents on the hood with the hammer and dolly before applying filler. Like I said it took me quite a while to sand just the front of the hood (near the grill). I think I made it to thick. I was wondering; Is it better to apply thin coats of primer, sand and then add another coat if you need it? Or is it better to do as I just did and apply all your layers in the beginning and sand once? I've got some pics of the front of the hood, let me know what you think. I think it came out pretty good, the area is now very smooth and the transition between the old paint and the body filler is seamless (well as close as I could get it). It was a pretty large area and I had alot of layers to get through.

Tell me what you think and keep the comments coming, I do appreciate it!

 

First of all, i gotta say i cant believe i gave somebody (let alone a cop) enough insperation to tackle a project like this. Your thread already looks like its off to a better start than mine paint/autobody can get pretty confussing but with some help from the guys up top it should make a little more sence, they really know what there doing. never the less i support this 100% and really hope you go from start to finish.

as far as color, i started painting mine red again and was like "this is way to much work for it not to be noticed" so i picked another color, maybe youll feel the same. TONS of work. but i must say that BMW blue would be a beautiful choice lol

I was also reading you build thread...its pretty darn sweet, i gotta stop by and subscribe. keep it up!

 

The hood is looking good but i guess you wont know until you get a guide coat on. Are you doing all of this by hand?!...May i also suggest covering up your exposed turbine housing i think i see under your hood, that dust can travel almost anywhere.

 

Good luck

 

Thanks alot for the comments, I really hope I get all the way through it too lol. Yeah the guys up top seem to know what there talking about, just waiting for them to respond. As far as the color goes I was thinking to myself, if I have to do all this work might as well get the color that I really want (which is the blue). That blue is nasty in my opinion. When I first thought about it I was thinking that it was similar to the 99-00 Civic Si color, but once I saw one in person that all changed!

 

About that guide coat, did you put the guide coat on top of the body filler or did you prime then guide coat like I've read. I've read about the basics of everything, but I'm not sure of any short cuts or "tricks of the trade" that experienced people may know. And yes unfortunately today I had to do everything by hand, but tomorrow I'm heading to a friends who has all the proper tools to include a da sander, which should make thinks alot easier. Thanks for the tip for the turbine housing, I covered it up already but what I think you saw was the waste gate. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to cover that up as well. Anyway man thanks for the comments. You got anything coming up with your build? I'm hoping to have my body/paint done within 2 weeks (keeping the fingers crossed)!!!

 

thanks!!

 

Guide coat goes over the primer. I like the 3m powdered guidecoat over gray or buff primer. Some people use rattle-can black, but I could care less for it. DA sanders are awesome. Make sure you stick with good sandpaper. Sandpaper is cheaper in bulk (I pay ~20 to 30$ for a big ROLL of 3m gold stickit sandpaper, which is much better value than the walmart packs.)

Remember to use good masking tape and masking paper when you spray. Using newspapers and white painters tape can lead to paint bleeding onto your windshield and trim, which isn't fun to remove (mostly the stuff on trim...)

Best of luck! By the way, I like that blue more as well. I have a gallon of something similar sitting around for when I get enough time to do a car.

 

Thanks alot for answering the question, what you stated was what I was thinking. Like mentioned earlier it is really easy to get lost in the madness with body work, trying to remember all the steps!! Well I bought that small can of etching primer just to spray over the body filler spots being that my car is sitting outside mostly, wanted to kind of protect it. I plan on priming the entire car this Saturday though. Thanks for the vote on the blue, like I said painting it blue would mean a little more work, but I think in the end it will be well worth it!!!

 

to go into a little depth about what i mentioned earlier...

as you have read before, u shouldnt fill in a dent that is more then a 1/4" thick. you have to knock it out first. "massage" a dent out as much as you can before you fill it with body filler.

with that said, if you know what you are doing you should be able to get it out enough to where you dont need to sand to metal b4 you put body filler. (but sometimes it happens and is unavoidable) but if your dents are shallow enough to begin with there should be no reason to sand to metal to put body filler... i wouldnt necessarily say "scuff"... but with shallow dents/dings i would sand with 150 (without breaking thru to metal) and put glazing putty... sand that out and finish with 220 or 320grit... then primer it...

but since you have already gone the route you have gone... just make sure you cover it up with good etching primer or epoxy primer be4 you add primer surfacer.... not to mention make sure you really get rid of those deep scratches that you caused with the 40grit sandpaper... those could show up in your paint later if u dont cover then well.

 

Ok cool, I've got it now. Today I'll have access to all the big boy tools so hopefully between all the advice and proper/better tools it should go smoother. Again thanks for the comments. I'm hoping to have it primed by Saturday, then block sanded and wiped before paint.

Quick question; After priming can a da be used, or should I just block sand by hand starting with 320 then 600 before base coat?

 

I would say block it by hand with a semi-long block, that's when your really gonna be shaping the final product on how it's gonna come out. Basically however your primer looks orange peel,nicks,scratches,high spot,low spot ect ect. Is how your paint is going I come out (clear coat will really bring out what you missed)

I know it suck you did it kinda backwards; Sand filler by hand then use air tools for primer lol. filler is a b#%^@ to sand so props to you for that. Also props your gonna try to get this done in two weeks, my project is going on a year! lol

Also as for the guide coat I dident do it on most of the car sence 80% of my car was aftermarket panels do there wasent a real big need, but I did do it on the driver door that Had quite a bit of filler.

Anybody feel free to correct me

 

Also....


BMW blue: 3

Black: 0

 

you can use a DA... but if you dont know what you're doing, you can get a very wavy car... so if i were you, i'd stick with a block.

after primering, i'd block sand it lightly with 220... using a guide coat... to make sure there are no low spots.... and if all is good, i'd move up to 320 then 400 then 500 wet... when its ready for paint, i'd use primer sealer, then base and clear.


and it looks like your bumpers are raw plastic. there is a slightly different way you will have to prep those...

mainly u have to get a static free degreaser. then spray plastic adhesion promoter before you prime and paint

 

Man I appreciate the advise, it sucked major b@lls having to sand by hand but not anymore!! I'm shooting for a couple of weeks but I'm taking my time so if it takes longer then so be it. I was originally planning on priming on Saturday, but I'm going to wait until Sunday just to make sure that everything is as good as I can get it. My panels in the front of my car were aftermarket but someone brushed up against the front bumper in a parking lot, so I have some areas that I need to fill. My hood was also aftermarket but after breaking down on the highway and trying to shut my hood about 10 times I put about 8 dents in it lol. Thanks for the help bro

 

Heck yeah man I'm happy about everyone liking the blue but its going to suck trying to paint the jams and trunk. I'm not going to paint under the hood yet because I want to go with something a little different.

Ok so NO to the da, I'm not trying to mess anything up lol! So guide coat the car with 220, then move up to 320 and 400. And once I'm ready to paint wet sand with 500. Is the primer sealer there to keep everything from the primer down from seeping through to the clear coat? Ok I'm glad you said that about the plastic, I was wondering about that but kept forgetting to ask. So what sand paper will I need to use when prepping the plastic? I'll pick up some static free degreaser. And I guess I can get the plastic adhesion stuff at the paint store correct? Again to everyone thanks for all your help, its making this project alot easier!!

 

So today was much, much better. I was able to use air tools and it made everything much easier. I was able to finish sanding the hood and also I was able to finish about 90% of the passenger side!! I say 90% because I have about 3 spots that I have to add another layer of body filler. I also have to pull off my side moldings, sand them and touch up a couple of spots. After that I'll continue to the rear and passenger side. I'm hoping to have all the body work done on Saturday. If all goes well I will be shooting some primer on Sunday, we'll see. Anyway I have some pics. Everyone keep chiming in and voting on the color choice.

I took that advice and tried not to sand all the way to metal like I did before.


This area on the quarter panel took up most of my time today. There was an area a little bit bigger then a basketball that was dented in. Thanks to the wife she was able to crawl in the car and message it out almost completely. Other then that the previous owner of the car apparently scraped up against something very hard because as you can see in the pic below it dented/scratched the hell out of the quarter!!




The after; I was able to also get the body line almost perfect. I will however have to go back over it tomorrow as there is still a slight amount of a low spot there, other then that everything turned out pretty good on the door.


Quarter Panel; there still is about 3 places that I have to touch up tomorrow but for the most part it came out pretty good for my first time, I'm pretty proud of it. I used the da on the flat surfaces but hand sanded all the areas that were jacked up! Let me know what you think.


Hood once it was finished; oh and I'm priming my entire car.


Open for suggestions!!

 

I personally would look up a few videos of people using DA sanders. I like using a DA prior to primer to key the metal. Can be good for working down bondo/guidecoat until you do the final shaping. Final shaping should occur using a long block (I had a ~7 inch hardblock I use with a nice handle.). Sanding off guidecoat, a long block is recommended too.

The paper used to prep the bumpers/poly parts depends on what your primer/adhesion promoter ask for. I used adhesion promoter made by "Bulldog". Worked well, came in an aerosol can. Looks like this: http://www.amazon.com/Klean-Strip-BU.../dp/B002GUGH04

Should be able to find something similar locally for cheaper as well. Read the p-sheets or the products themselves.

Any water-based degreaser is also static-free. I have some water based from thecoatingstore that works awesome for that.

Some primer surfacers can be based over, some NEED a sealer. I personally have gotten away without a sealer many times. It all depends on what paint line you are using. Definitely read read read the p-sheets.

Edit: make SURE you pick up a GOOD brand of etch primer (stay AWAY from rustoleum etch) when you are at the paint store. Get any bare metal covered up ASAP.

 

Bulldog is a product i hear that everyone uses and always turns out fine... i've used it before with no problem. but usually i tend to use the plastic adhesion promotor that is made by the same maufacture of paint im spraying. u just use an antistatic degreaser... scuff with a grey scotch brite... degrease again, then spray adheshion promoter - primer surfacer or sealer- base and clear

Primer sealer is meant to do just as you said. help prevent any possible defects from staining or showing through in your top coats (base and/or clear). It also helps aide in adhesion. and also helps give the car a uniformed even coat, so the base and clear can be consistent throughout the car. But if u dont want to seal. just make sure your bodywork with the filler and surfacer is finished in the appropriate grit, and then spray base and clear.

and with your doors, notice how the dents are so small and shallow?" there is no reason to go to metal. you just need a good bodyfiller block that, then primer and block again... the body filler itself should almost be transparent in the surrounding areas around the dent. and primer surfacer should help in building a leveled straight surface.

3coats of surfacer, then block sand. if u notice low spots, reprimer then block again. thats probably what you'll have to do with your hood.... because the metal areas, and the painted
areas, and the body filled areas are all different levels.


and if you really wanted to. you can use a DA with finer sanding such as 500 or 600 +... for the areas that just need to be scuffed for paint only... but if you're really going to primer the whole car. u should finish in nothing higher than 400grit...



P.S.... what brand of paint are you using? i hope youre not doing all this work, only to rattle can or roll on your paint with house paint... if so... disregard everything i have said already... and just put on a blindfold and throw paint on your car.

 

Again thanks for all the help man, I do really appreciate it. I'm going to be using PPG's Omni base and clear coat. I was told that it was a good middle of the road product and being that its made by PPG I went ahead and pulled the trigger. So for the plastic on my car I need to sand and spray the adhesion promotor before priming correct. If so what Ill do is take off my front/back bumpers along with my lips and paint them seperately from the car. That will also give me a chance to familiarize myself with the spray gun, then if I mess up it will on be a small part. You have any good tips for HVLP operation, like distant from the panel and also like pattern, flow, pressure etc? Also maybe a couple of tips on how to mix my primer, base coat and clear. Don't mean to bumbard you with so much, but your tips are really helping.

 

I vote for the Montego Blue Metallic. Nice work so far.