I'll admit I don't know nearly enough about painting a car, so someone can enlighten me on this. Instead of painting my car, could I just wet sand a layer of paint off, then clearcoat it (maybe not), or will the paint slightly under the surface be just as bad as the stuff on top?

 

paint will still be discolored

 

You could try buffing it out. That works sometimes, if it's just dull or faded. Beware though that every time you buff it out it reduces the paint thickness and makes it more susceptible to scratches and rust.

Houston... my '80 spent most of its life there.

 

Sure, you could try wet sanding it. It may work, depending on how bad your paint is. I know someone who has done this and it turned out well and saved him a couple bucks. However, if you want a 'like new' shine, maybe you should just get it repainted. I've also heard that Zymol Car Wax works well for rejuvenating worn paint.

 

I use Zymol and it works great. It deepens the color and lasts a long time too. Well worth the $15 per bottle.

 

for anyone who got there car painted, how much did it cost?

 

Depends on what you want and what you expect it to look like. Maaco (or any other chain) will spray it for 200-300. This is a decent option if you do your own prep and buy your own paint, the stuff they use is ****, but their equipment is cutting edge.
If you really want it to look good, go to a custom shop and pay 10,000 to get them to do everything. It'd look damn good but you'll be paying for it for the rest of your life.
I recommend the middle option. Buy your own paint (this is always a good idea) through a good automotive body shop supplier, they're usually happy to help. Then read about prepping the car yourself and do it. This is the part where it pays to take a lot of time and put a lot into it as care=quality. Then haul your car to a local paint shop where you've already talked to the guy and you trust him with your car (very important). Give them a couple days to do it right (no "I need it tonight"). That's how you get an affordable good paint job, and at the end of the day, you can say "I played a significant role in making my car look damn damn good."
Good luck.

 

Seems easier to just pay someone to paint the car. Earl schieb will do it for $149 but might only last a year. You do get what you pay for with that guy

 

earl shieb isn't worth the dog **** on the bottom of my shoe. the god damned homey G panty waste painted the entire car mono red. door handles, window trim the whole flippin' car. Then I had to wet sand all the Fuc#ing dirt thst was on my paint from them shooting the car and taking it directly outside. the paint lasted for a year. ghetto *** Mother#uckers listening to some remix Queen rap ****.

Unhappy earl **** Customer.

Dont get me started with voicestream!

 

I'll try out the wet sanding one of these days, or maybe I'll just buy some paint and spray it myself. Didnt earl shieb used to charge only $50 for a paint job?

 

Before you go the wet sand route, try zymol. When I got my 83 it looked like it was out of a junkyard! The paint had NO reflection none at all!!! And if you ran your hand over it your fingertips turned reddish!! Look at my site to see pics of my car now. A couple hours with Zymol did wonders. granted it's a 5 ft finish but a 5 ft it looks brand new (well almost ) L8R

 

umm i checked ur webpage and i think u have 2 redo the transam page i cant c n/ething

 

Zymol, eh?!

 

I tried it, it didn't work.

 

How bad was the paint on your car nimrodTT?

 

If you want your car painted, you don't have to sand the original paint off. You can prime over it (primer is a base for paint to adhere to) then just paint. Cost depends on things like: Keeping car the same color, changing to lighter color, darker color, using gloss color(especially black or a pearl white), and whether or not you use a hardener in the paint. Hardeners keep paint from chipping when semi-trucks kick up huge boulders that come crashing down on your hood and fenders. It also helps to do like someone else mentioned and buy your own paint and prep your own car. That way door handles and window seals don't get painted over. I got the low down from a friend of mine who I work with. He paints military jets, and has a business license to paint cars. He is said he could paint my stock yellow RX-7 pearl white for under $700. I'm going to have him paint it canary yellow since I think the ROH Snypers will look dead sexy on a yellow car. It also helps to know people who can paint.