Im planning on giving my 83 a new paint job this summer. my friends brother who works in a body shop told me that a fairly inexpensive paint job that looks good is primer/sealer, base coat, clear coat (im stripping it to the bare metal). those of u who have painting experience - how many layers of each should i use for the best results and how many quarts of each do u think it would take? also if you have any tips let me know. thanks.

 

id go with 1 mebbe 2 (if neede) coats of primer. single base coat. and you can do 1 clear but a and extra 1 or 2 cant hurt :]

 

Why are you taking it all the way down to metal? That seems to be more trouble than its worth IMO. Because, you need to perfectly prepare the metal before you can even primer it. Im just respraying my car (eventually), but Im doing it on top of the old paint. Just sand it up, fix the door dings and what not, sand some more, primer/sealer (not neccessary), color coat (probably two or so), clear coat (probably two also).

Dont forget you wanna use reducers and stuff in the paint for the flexable pieces, like air dams, bumper covers, etc. Otherwise, the paint will be too hard and just crack as soon as the panel flexes rather than bending with the plastic.

If you really have a buddy at a shop, he should be able to tell you as much as you need to know, including how much paint and everything else you will need.

~T.J.