I'm looking to restore my car and the first step is going to be paint and a glass sunroof (if I can find it). I'm ordering bondo and air compressor, and a bunch of tools. My questions are:

1. Where can I find a glass sun/moon roof
2. How much paint do I need to buy to cover the car nicely?

Thanks!

 

1) the for sale section and ebay
2) about $300 for decent paint, the better quality the paint the more expensive it gets

 

don't use bondo, use a quality body filler, and if you have any big holes to fill, make sure you sue the kind that has fiberglass fibers in it.

since you are a beginner, you are going to be wasting a lot of paint. just buy a gallon. Also, save some money on paint and buy nice equipment. It is much more important to have a good compressor, regulator, filter, and gun than it is to use expensive paint.

Stay away from special paints like pearls, metallics, or flakes, as it is more difficult to get a good finish with these. If you stick with a standard paint you will be much happier with the results.

I have always had good luck with PPG. Just find your nearest PPG store and drop by, they should be able to help you find the right type of paint.

Good primer is equally important. Don't use primer from a spray can, buy at least a quart of it from the paint store and spray it with a real gun. If you are changing color or doing a lot of body work this is even more critical.

dont get in a hurry to start spraying, make sure everything is 100% straight and smooth first, you dont want to get all done and find that you missed a little ding or didnt get a scratch out.

also, dont be a hero and skimp on the safety stuff. Modern paint is nasty ****, make sure you wear a respirator. I also tend to wear latex gloves and to buy one of those white painters suits every time i do painting to keep fingerprints and fibers off the car and the paint off me.
good luck!

 

oops, i thought he asked how much the paint cost. yep, a gallon is good for a full car, it really depends on how many coats you wind up doing and whether you get the engine bay and door jams or not. it's always better to have too much than not enough.

 

yes. I would recommend doing all the prep and primer yourself, then taking it to a shop to be sprayed. i'd rather do a rebuild than a repaint.

mine would have come out a bit better with nicer paint, more prep, clear and better finishing:

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-non-technical-pictures-198/finished-my-%2430-paint-job-728009/

 

prep work is time consuming, the painting part is the most critical and takes a bit of practice to get right. just be sure to wetsand the primer smooth, you don't want to do the last steps with any electric sanders or orbitals or it will show up in the paint. prep is just like polishing, working your way down to a fine smooth finish.

 

dont stay in one spot for too long or it will run.
Beware fisheye!!! I always use solvent cleaner to clean off the entire car of dirt and oil.
Be sure to set the gun right, wrong setting and it wont set right on the car, it sometimes bubble up if not set right.

Also beware of orange peel, if you do get it, its from bad gun setting or you arent reducing the paint enough.

Gallon of paint is enough.
I put down 2 base coats and a gallon covers it.

 

^ Unless you spray your car bright *** white (full jams, etc). Then a gallon isnt enough.

 

So, my list will be:

2 gallons of metallic blue paint
1 gallon black spray primer
1 spray gun
1 touch up gun
1 5 gallon reserve air compressor
1 air orbital sander
sanding pads
cutting pads
polishing pads
400 - 2000 grit sand paper

 

Dude i think a gallon should be plenty. you can do what you want but im jsut sayin a gallon should do the trick. Just take your time man. relax sand a spot, move to another spot, come back to that spot. i always done the hard spots first my father always told me to do the hard spots first so thats what i go by. idk how your car looks or if theres any rust or big dents. if its your daily driver or you really dont have to have it perect you can leave some dings that arent to noticable. Take off like your hood and bumpers, take your tail lights, mirriors off, and do easy things like that that will make the job cleaner and easier.

 

+ 6 pack of Corona

 

hell yea

 

Forgot most imprtant!!!!!!!

Bitch's, beer, friends,

 

I know I am going to catch some heat for this -- but I don't drink beer of any sort

 

....

atleast wine!!

or wine cooler!!

 

liquor?

as long as it makes you feel good afterwards. like an ice cold coke, chocolate milk, or orange juice. ya know whatever works.

 

Depending on manufacturers specs....2 gallons of color reduced will be 3-4 GALLONS..... So hopefully you have a bus you want to paint that same color.


Gallon of color at most
+ appropriate reducer

With primer you will need thinner as well...how much? depending on what manufacturer you go with..
Clear ...reducer..and activator will be needed as well....unless you are going single stage.

Go in to paint supplier and start talking, most places will be cool and by seing you are trying to learn they will help you. They are also a buisiness too, so a super expensive high end paint 1st job is a bit rediculous. I use Nasons **** paint.. cheap and have had no problems.

1 spray gun with different tips for primer, color, and clear. Minimum of 2 different tips should come with gun. Get new "finishline" devilbiss set up off ebay..fairly cheap..and good for color and clear. ...and a **** gun "husky" for primer (although not necessary because of different tips 1.3,1.5 and 1.8 supplied with finishline...if i remember correctly) Actually,I hate my huskey gun, just go with the 1.8 tip but clean the **** immediately after shooting (during depending on temp too).

Air compressor with "a dryer" in the line so you arent painting with water/condensation.

Air comp hose with fittings.

0 orbital sanders .....1 da sander with pads ranging from 220-600..... you can wetsand later.

I have had no problems with bondo as long as you prep, give adequate dry time, and mixed properly.

Fiberglassforums.com is a great site to learn about body work

Coveralls, gloves, respirator, hood..etc no skin showing..clear+skin is a ************ if you are going the 2 stage route.

It is going to be a little expensive starting out....but you will get acceptable, with some practice.

I have more than paid for all my **** shooting fenders, hoods, and doing random bodywork for people.
It is a great way to reup on essentially free materials for yourself.

See it as an investment.

Prep is super important, solvants like fast wash are your friend, as well as brand new rags and wax cloths.

Mad **** i forgot.... but a decent start.

john ny

 

I have painted my car a total of 3 times now, and about 8 other vehicles in my little shop. I painted my car 3 times because the first time, when I was 16, the body of my Rx7 was a disaster, the second time, when I 19, was because I wanted the car to be viper red, and the third time, when I was 22, was because the turbo hood was silver and the car was red.

What you will need is an assortment of sanding discs. I personally prefer sanding bars over a DA because you are going over a larger area and this way you don't leave waves from sanding in one spot for too long with a DA. Just an opinion. The sanding discs should be assorted from 200g-600g for doing the body work prior to priming. Post priming you should start at around 400g and work your way to 800g or even use a green scrotch brite pad. Scotch brite pads work fantastic and leave a really smooth surface. Typically for primer, I have always used a high build primer. I use this because if I have real small dings I can cover that area several times with primer and it will fill them in. For priming I have always used a 1.6mm in one of my syphon fed guns. A 5 gallon compressor probably will not be enough for this application. You will also want a water/air seperator.

As far as paint goes, I have always used Dupont Nason style paint. It is really user friendly, and is available in a single stage. No clear is needed. You will want a gallon of paint, a pint of wet look enamel acrylic hardner, and a reducer. You can get a "kit" for around $150. When you are satisfied with the way the body sits in primer and everything has been scuffed to insure the paint to stick, you will want to thoroughly sweep the floor and get all of the dust out of the building. You can then wipe the car down with tack cloths. It will wipe away all of the dust and foreign objects that might be on the body of the car. Try to not touch the primer at this point with your bare hands because of the oils in your skin can cause the fish eye effect or the paint to act funny in that area. Next wet the floor to further insure no dust will stir up and you can start to paint. I use a 1.3 mm tip in my deVilbiss HVLP gravity feed gun. I run it at around 5psi and stay roughly 16-18 inches away from the car when I am painting. Wait for the flash time then recoat. Create a 50% overlap on each pass. Do some practice runs on junk fenders and what not before you finally paint your car.

P.S. In your case I would not buy all of the equipment, but instead rent it. In your case you most likely wont use it enough to get your money out of it. Pick up a gallon of laquer thinner as well for clean up of the tools. Forgive me if I am missing anything, it has been a really long day. If you have any questions, just ask.

 

jesus christ, this was the wrong forum to ask for paint advice.

2, maybe 3 people actually know what they are talking about, the rest of you have no ******* idea. (refer to posts #17, and #18) they gave you actual good advice.

OP, i would do research elsewhere as well, maybe join an automotive refinishing forum? (if they even exist) this thread is full of misinformation, and will cause you nothing buy problems, and headaches.

 

wow! Maybe its just me, but seems kinda chickenshit to say "the rest of you have no ******* idea" and "this thread is full of misinformation, and will cause you nothing buy problems, and headaches", and not bother to point out what the 'misinformation' is and then maybe even go a step further by sharing your apparently superior knowledge of automotive painting with the rest of us.

 

Im also looking for a HVLP gun, but im having a hard time reviewing specs and discerning which one is better and not to pricey. I am pretty sure gravity feed is where im headed. Ebay and Amazon has a wide range of prices for the same type of guns. And iv been searching for good forums and sites so i can educate myself in guns but i still haven't found a decently organized site that helps me become less ignorant, and its frustrating.

So far Finishline III from deVilbiss seems (in my opinion) a decent gun roughly around $180, im looking at Titan guns for a cheaper less quality build, roughly $100 for a set of 3 guns. I really dont want to put down $150 for a single gun unless I have to.

So OP, in my own experience searching for decent tools I hope you have better luck in finding what you need and not having to spend to much time and money. Probably going to a paint store and renting tools might be the most beneficial for your pocket, as someone stated before.

 

you should have a professional spray the metallic paint for you, you sure don't want to go through all the hassle of prep and find your car tiger striped...

 

im also planning on repainting my fc but i no longer have a garage to my disposal.....would a makeshift booth using tarps and an ez up do? lol