NOW he tells me. I carefully sanded some mild rust spots on my SA down to bare metal, treated them with a prep and an anti-rust spray, then primered them to seal it until I could find the proper color match. I noticed rust bubbles the other day.

Oh well, at least I haven't F'ed-up my FC yet. It's badly eggshelled on the pass-front fender, and faded on the B-pillars. (Typical late 80's EPA-regulation crappy blue paint) Maybe I should give up and have it professonally done? There is no rust to speak of on it, it just needs new paint to keep it that way.

 

Sorry dude

 

 

LMAO !! I have to say this is funny **** !!!


seriously, I would say $1500 for a good job, but it can vary in many ways..

 

Black is good from a paint cost standpoint, but the prep work has to be about perfect. ANY little flaw in the prep will show with black. I spent 125 hours prepping a 65 Vette for black paint. It was gorgeous, but a lot of work! It's not that hard. It just requires patience and a determination to do it right.

 

Painting a vehicle is one of the most rewarding things you can do, ranking right up there with doing your own engine overhaul. It is the first impression people get of your rex and they will invariably judge the entire car by its outward appearance.

I am almost a half century of age and have painted dozens and dozens of cars, motorcycles, tractors, airplanes and even kitchen appliances over the last thirty years.

A few things I have learned; There ain't no such thing as a shortcut to a good paint job. It requires patience, perserverance and a lot of time to do it right. A critical matter is also the quality of the primer and paint.

Over the last twenty years paint has improved in every way. Years ago a custom job always meant lacquer. This stuff is easy to apply, but must be polished for a showroom look. Unfortunately, the paint is brittle and is very prone to fading. It also is forever soluble with lacquer thinner. The plus side was it was fast drying and easy to repair. Durable paint jobs always meant enamel. It took forever to dry unless you had an oven, and it could not easily be repaired and was a bitch to polish.

The greatest thing since sliced bread is base coat/ clear coat. This paint blends together the best of both worlds, and is easy to apply compared to urethane enamels.

A good base is absolutely essential. The best body man in the world can't make paint look good or stay put on a crappy surface. This means getting all the bad paint off, and for the best results one shouild never attempt to paint over anything except primer. Make very sure your primer is compatible with the finish paint.

I start out my paint jobs with a solvent wash. This gets the oils, waxes and other surface contaminants off before sanding. If you don't, you will just be rubbing this crap into the paint over and over again. A wet sanding with 220 grit follows, then the primer is applied. I usually apply three coats of primer, and use progresively finer paper between coats. I never apply finish paint over anything less than 400 grit, and will normally go with 600 grit before the color is put on. I also never dry sand anything except body filler. Wet sanding is the only way to go. You will also find paper lasts much longer this way. Without wet sanding you will get a buildup of paint boogers on the paper and these will cut a deeper scratch than the paper's grit

Base coat paint is not sanded before the clear is applied and the clear is normally shot within an hour of the base. This makes it all the more important to have a dust free booth. You can't have too much light either. Take a look at a professional paint booth. It will put your eyes out with all the lights it has in it. Shadows are paint job killers.

I completely strip the car. Take off the doors, hood, hatch, and front and rear bumpers. Also take off all the rubber seals. Nothing will ruin the appearance of an otherwise beautiful paint job like paint on a piece of trim or rubber. Use very high quality masking tape. It is expensive, but you will get fine lines and no bleeding underneath it. I use Scotch brand called Fine Line. It feels like electrical tape, more rubbery than paper like.

I painted my '86 NA. DuPont Chromacolor Base/Clear was used, and a Binks MG-1 HVLP gun was used. The results are outstanding. It is expensive paint though, but since the greatest effort is expended in prep work, the cost of the paint is not that big a deal to me. I want paint to last, and this stuff is forever. It can also be repaired easily.

I used a tad over a gallon of epoxy primer and about three quarts of color, and a gallon and a half of clear. The total cost for materials and paint was $600.00.

One other thing; Absolutely clean, filtered dry air is imperative. Nothing will get you madder than a blob of moisture on wet paint. I do not use my painting air hoses for any other purpose. They are flushed out with lacquer thinner before each paint job. This assures there are no contaminants in them. I have also found that most new air compressors come with a silicone based lube oil in them. Drain this **** and put in a good synthetic oil like Mobil One before you try to paint anything. A microscopic amount of silicone will ruin an entire car's paint job.