MidnightOwl

My original plan was to get my car running and then get it painted after I had gotten it to work reliably. Well, I've since decided to give it a go myself. I've seen some other folks do some paint work on their FC's, so I'm setting up this post to get some info on some good resources on how to do the job right. I know most of the work involved is preparation, but I'd like to know how to get things done correctly. I know in the Hayne's manual there is a section on body work, but I'd like to get a little more info on the process, like what type of paint to use, etc.

So, aside from working in a paint and body shop, where are some good places to find information on prepping and spraying a car? (I did search a little bit, but I had no idea what to really look for.) Any recommendations on books or websites?

I already have an air compressor, but no decent air drier or spray gun. I have just about everything needed for body work, except for a proper tool to pull dents.

Hypertek

iTrader: (3)

http://zilvia.net/f/off-topic-chat/2...-solution.html

MidnightOwl

Wow, that's super helpful. Thanks man! I'm totally gonna do this, haha.

RxFuel

iTrader: (1)

haha create your own paint booth, I'm thinkin about doin this next time I have to paint parts and it isn't a bad write up.

http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Pain...in-Your-Garage

RX_Spec

iTrader: (2)

I know this is going to sound cheap but Duplicolor's website has some info, check out "How To" on the site.
I'm actually going to use the Duplicolor Paint Shop...it's everything in the can, just stir and spray

MidnightOwl

Yeah I was going to make my own bootleg paint booth in my garage and going to town. I just never really knew the specific steps to painting a car, like how many layers of paint, different types of guns, clear coats, etc. I did some internet sleuthing and found some interesting youtube clips on the different stages and started to get a little more familiar with the process.

RxFuel

iTrader: (1)

yeah it took me a while to learn as well, I just went to the local salvage yard, picked up some fenders and a hood I knew no one would want and just practiced on those for the first few times before i did anything on parts I purchased. I would suggest the same if you have access to shitty parts no one needs.

AcidAngel7477

iTrader: (16)

hit up dkwasherexed (forum name.) he's painting my 1st gen..and he know about everything paint. how too's and what to use in your venture.

:AA:

eriksseven

iTrader: (6)

Rent a large air-compressor, buy a cheap gun, find a gallon of good quality single-stage paint, buy some sandpaper and borrow an electric sander... Wash and dry your car, mask your car, sand your car down with 320-400, wipe with wax/grease remover, mask everything, repair any dents, mix your paint, spray your paint--a light coat first, you should be able to "tune" your gun depending on the spray pattern, air-mixture and how everything's flowing. Shoot another coat 15 minutes later and repeat until you've got maybe 4 solid coats on there. In 72 hours, wetsand the whole car with 1000 grit, then 1500 and 2000. Buy some cutting and polishing compound and pads. Borrow/rent a a high-speed rotary buffer and spend some quality time making that new surface shine!

Haha, seriously though, aside from a fairly steep learning curve, several other "in-between" steps and a decent amount of quality man-hours--learning to paint your own car isn't *too* hard. Definitely not something I would run from if you're motivated.

I started out trying something similar and I've sprayed a few cars now. This was the last complete I did, which was last spring:

MidnightOwl

I have all the necessary tool for the job except for a spray gun. My dad built a shop at my parents house complete with a lift, since we do quite a bit of work on our cars and we both (my dad and I) have project cars. I really want to learn how to do it, since I've done practically everything else on my car myself, save for rebuild the engine. I like being able to do everything, so I can act as quality control and not have to point the blame on someone for something getting screwed up. If it's messed up, it's my own fault. I plan on starting the body work pretty soon on my car, so I'm sure there are gonna be a ton of questions.