hey I was thinkin about repainting my whole car myself i know about body work and stuff like that but i was wonderin if it was too much to get myself into... would it be better goin to get it done.. i dono how much paint would run but i hear that metalic paint runs higher.. just wanted to opinions im sure there are alot of do it ur selfers out there id be glad if u could drop me a line! thanks alot.
Dave--

 

It's not hard painting a car yourself, mask everything off well and remove things (obviously) lights emblems.... anything you can get off... this process takes about 4 hours or so... have a friend help you, it's what i did.... once you get to spraying it goes fast, let it dry for a good day.... wet sand it and go on with another coat, i'm sure you know the process, i highly recommend going to rural king and picking up industrial paint/tractor paint. a friend of mine's dad did an entire car with it and it looked like real car paint without even sanding or putting clear coat on... just some food for thought.

 

A second gen owner just painted his car yellow in his garage, he could probably fill you in on alot of details.

 

yah the thing is i dont have a garage but i could access one for some time. the problem is the time it will take to prep the car up.. and the work its hard on ur hands unless u use that spray stuff that takes the old **** off..

 

All you need to do is get the clear coat "roughed" up.

 

I've painted my street car and two racecars in my garage. Theres really no trick to it, especially if you have a little experience painting other things even if its with rattle-cans. Make sure you put plastic up in your garage, because paint goes everywhere. Don't bother buying an expensive gun; you'll probably ruin it anyway if its your first time using it. Go to Harbor Freight (or Northern Freight) and pick up the cheap $20 gun. It'll do an excellent job. I've had a guy that paints custom cars tell me my gun does the same quality job his $500 Devilbiss(sp?) gun does. If you want the paint to look good and last go to a PPG store and buy real auto paint. If you talk to the guys behind the counter they can hook you up with some good, cheap paint. Then, do a good job on prep. If you don't have an electric or air sander, go to a pawn shop and buy one. You'll need it to smooth out the high and low spots. Then get as long a block sander as you can to help get the waves out. You don't have to do this, I haven't, but it makes the paint look a lot better when you're done.

While you're at the paint store, pick up some stuff called Acryli-Clean. It cleans the dirt/grease/etc off the car really well, which keeps the paint from orange peeling and fish-eyeing. Its pretty cheap if memory serves, and will last you a long time. I've had the same bottle for all three paintjobs and still have a decent amount left.

I'll also second disassembling as much as you can. If you're going to be doing a color change I suggest taking the doors off you can paint the jambs as well as the insides of the doors. If you're really commited you'll want to take the hood off and paint part of the engine compartment. Unless you're hell bent on a color change, though, try not to. Its a lot more work in the long run.

 

I want to paint my car, but I want to do it right, and it costs more than I want it to, lol.

~T.J.

 

$10 in Krylon