Okay, so im gonna be painting my car tommorow. I need as many tips i can get about painting, as this will be my first time. This is how i plan to do stuff.

Paint Front and rear urethane bumpers off the car.

Scuff the whole car down using 3m scuff pads (red)
Clean car off using degreaser/prep cleaner
Paint Top of car.
Paint hood of car
Paint hatch of car.
Paint sides

Now what i want to know is how i can get the best possible paint job. I have a decent spray gun, and a compressor to use, now i just need tips.

Is there anything else i should do for prep besides mask off stuff, etc..
Which way should i spray stuff, left to right, in straight patterns?

My spray gun can change from a circle shape to a straight shape, i should use the straight for what, and i should use the circle for what, if anything.

How long should i wait before applying the clear coat? How Many base coats should i do, one? Can i go over base coats with more paint, or is that just bad?

If i do get orange peel/fish eye in the base coat, what should i use to fix it, wetsand, or what?

Thank you!

 

I would actually use a few different grits of paper. Also spray it left to right then right to left as you progress up. Be sure to wet the ground around the area you are painting to keep the dust and trash down.

 

Im also going to be paiting this outside using a tarp tent im going to make.

So i should scuff it, then sand it using what grit paper? Or were you saying i should sand it after the base coat? Also, anyone have any tips about filters in compressors, and where i can get a filter?

Also, what do you mean, left to right then right to left when i progress up? Shouldnt i start at the top of the car and go down? Haha im confused.

 

if you dont know what your doing dont do it. not to be a jackass

 

Use like a 180 grit to get some ruff areas to smooth them out. I usually start spraying from the bottom up and left to right,right to left as I go up. But if you don't feel comfortable don't do it.

 

I feel perfectly fine doing it. Any other tips? What about prep stuff, what else should i do for prep..

 

It is not a good idea to paint your car in a tent, just by walking around you can kick up dust, and it will get in your paint. Not to be rude but if you are asking how to paint the car you shouldn't be doing it, thats why they have paint shops.
Prep work is the most important part, make sure you get every dent, a good tip is to..
At night, get a flash light and shine it down the side of the car, then when you see a dip or dent, get a marker and circle it, then in the daylight fix the dent, That way you know you have every dent.

 

If everyone just didnt attempt something because they didnt know how, no one would ever get anywhere. Im not going to pay a ****** shop to do something i can do myself. As for the ground kicking up, i dont think that will happen, the ground will be wet, **** isnt gonna just fly up. Regardless of what people say, im still going to do it myself because i already bought all the stuff, and because i want to.

Thanks for the tip on how to find dents and what not, i dont have any on my car though, except for one on the fender which is tiny..

What is the best way to pull a dent out, dent puller?

 

some of my friends painted this dudes car for $200 without any previous experience, it came out pretty nice. just use good equipment, prep it well (when they did it every panel was completely stripped and sanded smooth), and take the time to do it right. as far as the dents go, the puller will get the big stuff out but will normally leave a few dings, just bondo them and sand the area smooth.

good luck post pics when it's done.

 

if your car is real straight, don't bother sanding anything; just use the 3M pads like you said. Get the data sheets for the paint products your using they'll say how many coats of base to use and how long to wait to apply the clear. I just finished painting my car and it was hard only because I ran into problems with the basecoat lifting around the edges where I did bodywork because I didn't backsand enough; but you shouldn't have a problem. Don't worry about dust the basecoat dries so fast that any dust that might get into it, you won't notice. You may want to put one or two more than what they say to put on of basecoat, then go back over the entire car with some 800 grit dry sand paper or 1500-2000 grit wet sand paper to make sure its completely smooth then apply one final coat of color over that. I also found the clear very hard to spray. I either got orange peel or sags and runs. On horizontal surfaces like the hood it was easy because you could get a lot on so you didn't get orange peel and you didn't have gravity trying to make runs. So put as much clear on as possible without getting runs(very hard). But you can sand and buff any runs or orange peel later on, so don't worry too much.

You want to adjust your spray pattern to be an oval, not a circle and not a line; inbetween like this () not O or | .
Also immediatly before you paint go over the surface with a tack rag. Just lightly run it over the car, you don't have to rub because the tack rag is statically charged; this will pick up any lint or dust.
You'll also need a filter either at the gun or near the compressor. These filter water and oil and you'd be surprised how much water can be in the compressor tank.
Also make sure you using the proper air pressure; probably around 50psi.

That's all I can think of right now. There may be more info on my site in the rex rebuild section of projects.

 

WOW thanks for all the awsome info! Hopefully everything will go well. I have a very small ding in the front right fender, its about the size of 3 quarters, what should i do to get rid of it? Also, the paint i got is PPG, anyone know how many base coats im supposed to do? After i do a first basecoat, should i sand it with like 2000 grit wet dry then add another base coat, or not?

Where can i get a filter for the compressor/gun? Thanks!

Also, on a compressor, how do i set the pressure?

When i am done the base coat, and do the first coat of clear, and i get drips or something, what should i sand the clear with, what grit paper? Then i can put another coat on correct?

When im ALL done the clear and everything, what do i need to do, wetsand, then buff? What do i buff with? What are claybars used for? Thanks so much!

Written on the paint it says I part DBC- 1 part DT (PT not sure if its dt or pt)..whats this mean? I have no clue how much to mix, i have the hardener, the basecoat, and the reducer.


Modified by GroundZer0 at 7:23 PM 9/2/2003

 

anyone?

 

best to remove parts rather than mask, i.e. mirrors

good luck

 

Does anyone know how to remove mirrors? How about rear hatch? Doors?

 

http://autobody101.com/articles/

http://www.scottgrundfor.com/ideas/paint3.html

Pay attention to spraying techniques section. Also the author uses a conventional
siphon gun which requires more PSI to spray. If you have an HVLP gun, disregard
what the author says about siphon guns.

-Make sure you dial in your regulator and spray pattern
-I cannot stress enough about protection from paint; mask, googles, latex gloves
-Bring a cooler of soda and food, it gets really tiring after the 2nd hour.

Post some pics when your done.

 

So you must have PPG deltron 2000 basecoat? That's what I used.
Here's a link to the data sheet
http://www.pwpaints.com/images...5.pdf
To remove the ding try and bang as much of it out as possible. A hammer and dolly is optimal but you might get by with a block of wood and a regular hammer; but be sure to tap very lightly. Then once you have it as best you can, use a filler to smooth it out. Then your gonna have to spray that area with a high build two part primer.
After maybe 5 coats of color I'd sand with 800 grit dry sand paper; then spray one more coat of base then start the clear. Be really careful not to sand through the base color; its really thin, this is why I suggest using 800 grit dry paper.
On your compressor there may or may not be a psi gauge with a dial connected to it or near it. If you don't have one you'll have to buy one. You can also get ones that connect to the gun.
You can get a filter at an autobody supply shop.
You will get runs and orange peel in every coat of clear you spray. So spray about 3 or 4 coats of clear and sand and buff the clear a few days later.
I don't recommend sanding the clear with wet sand paper either. Its hard to tell how much your taking off and wet sand paper removes a lot because your always cleaning the paper.
Go talk to the guy at your local paint supplies shop and he'll probably recommend the dry paper aswell. You should actually ask him for it because its special sand paper meant for finish sanding. The guys at the autobody paint supply places are always really helpful.

Where it says 1 part DBC - 1 part DT that means 1 part color to 1 part reducer.

Make sure when your poring the paint into your gun your poring it through a filter.


Modified by model x at 4:37 PM 9/3/2003

 

ok here are a few tips to help you out that i have heard. also i assume you are keeping it the same color.
1. take off as many interior parts as you can this includes door sills, door panels, trunk panels etc. make for an easier and cleaner look when painting the door/trunk jams.
2. take off any rubber sealing trim i.e. doors trunk etc. same as above
3. remove all of the outside trim to expose the under side and very edge of window the reason i say do this is that now matter how much time you take to try and get the tape as close to the body with out touching it you will still wind up either touching the body with the tape or you will end up painting the trim pieces here and there. if you think you can't take it off yourself take it to any auto glass place and have them do it. yess it will cost some money but a. you will be happier with the end result when you put it back together. and b. you will not damage any parts if you take it the auto glass shop and have them do it as they have the proper tools for taking this stuff off.
4. when you are ready to sand car make sure you go progressive on the sand paper start with something heavy and then something very light as this will affect the outcome of the paint job afterwards in that if you just scuff the paint with like 100 grit for example the paint will fall in to the sratches and you will see them ALL when the paint dries. also after sanding wash the car with dish soap and water and take the air compressor and bow it off to driy it especially in all of the little nooks and crannies. after wich you have to tac cloth the entire thing to get all of the oil dirt and anything else in the air that has possibly landed on the car off of it as this will affect the paint aapplication to the car later.
5. use the proper tools mixing cups sticks filters etc. and if i were really you i would go to the junk yard and buy a cheap straight hood take it home and practice on that first to see if you will be happy with the results. and for gods sake follow the instuctions for the quantities and mixing process.
6. this is the most important point when you are done and the paint has cured for a while you will have to wet sand the car to get the fish eyes, orangepeel, drips, and what ever other imperfections that have happened to the paint. and when i say wetsand i mean with like the finest sandpaper out there and do the whole care except for the door jams of course. after which you will need to high speed buff the car as this is what will give you that high shine deep look to the paint and will remove all of the tiny scratches from the wet sand. if you dont know how to do this properly you can take it to a body shop or detail shop and they will do it for you for a couple of hundred dollars. but belive me if you want a nice deep shine this is the way to go you just have to make sure you do pleanty of layers on the car as this process will be removing at least two layers of paint one with the wetsand and 1 with the high speed buff.

good luck and pics when you are done would be great.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IntEGNYC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">best to remove parts rather than mask, i.e. mirrors

good luck</TD></TR></TABLE>
Ditto. It will make for a better looking job. Overspray can find a way under the tape. It would be even nicer if you could remove the weather striping too, but thats always a PITA to take off without breaking.

 

good luck and pics when you are done would be great.

 

Dont let these guys scare you, painting isnt all that hard. Just pay attention and take your time. The second you start to rush is the second you will begin to make mistakes. And make sure you are completely satisfied with the body work. If you think you should do something, do it.

A dent puller will get the big dents, but the small dents have to be either hammered out or filled. If they are in hard to reach places (hard to reach to hammer out I mean), go ahead and fill them with bondo and sand them down.

Good luck with it, and be sure to post pics when you are done.

 

Okay, so if i do like 6 coats of base first, what should i use to sand the orange peel and what not out, 800 grit dry, or like 1500 wet/dry? The i do like 3 more coats, and do i sand those? Also, Do i buff after im done the base coat but before the clear and then do the clear, or do i spray the clear and then buff everything?

When i bought the paint, i bought the base, hardener, reducer, i know its 1-1 for the base and reducer, but how much hardener do i add? Also, i have flex addative, how much should i add?

Also, what kind of filter should i use when putting the paint into the gun? And where can i get one?


Modified by GroundZer0 at 7:36 AM 9/4/2003

 

My buddy did my car last week.

First he sprayed the sealer:
1) Spray all the cracks and crevises (sp?)
2) spray 2 good coats, his gun sprays thick (allowing proper flashtime)


Directly into the base
1) Spray all the cracks and crevises (sp?)
2) spray 2 good coats, his gun sprays thick (allowing proper flashtime)

Directly into the clear (could have used a 3rd coat for buffing process).
1) Spray all the cracks and crevises (sp?)
2) spray 2 good coats, his gun sprays thick (allowing proper flashtime)
3) could have use another coat for more buffing

Just need to watch for runs in the primer/sealer and the base. You can buff the runs outa the clear so that is not as critical. We let it cure in the sun for 2 days and then sanded it with 1500, 2000 and 4000. Then he used a 3 stage 3M buffing process (different grit compounds). All in all, it came out pretty nice.



<FONT SIZE=".5">Just remember, if you screw up, it can be fixed so dont sweet it.</FONT>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jeff C &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> </TD></TR></TABLE>

Are you going bald? Car came out nice

 

Thats my buddy that did the job. I am behind the camera.

I will post some money shots when I get them.

 

possible one of the best threads i've read. Thanks Guys