Ok, I went out and bought my self an orbital sander, and I wanna start stripping my engine bay. Anyone know the proper procedure I need to go through to get the engine bay stripped and then prepped for paint?

I'm guessing start off with something like a 200 grit, then work up to a really fine grit to smooth out the metal. Then prime it and wedsand the primer to keep that smooth. Anything I'm missing?

 

well for one you didn't mention if it was greasy or had
a bunch of gunk like that ..
one of the old time tricks was to use oven cleaner spray under the hood to remove grease..etc
if you are wanting to just scuff it up for painting
a lot of paint shops use scotch-brite pads(medium)
for sanding areas that have a lot of different
contours

 

www.paintucation.com

1.scrub good with hot water and TIDE detergent (TSP)
2.wipe with PPG DX330
3.sand with 400 grit
4.wipe with PPG DX330
5. Spray wit a good catlylized primer surfacer
6.sand with 600
7. Paint

 

Ok, thanks banzai.

And jarrod, my bay is clean as a whistle. I been degreasing and scrubbing it forever now

 

BTW, what is PPG DX330?

And do I wanna sand all the way down to the metal when I sand the first time?

 

PPG DX330 Wax and grease remover. You need to use this especially if you have ever used Armour-All or any other silicone type protectant. If you neglect this step you will end up with "fish-eyes". You just want to "scuff" the old paint and "feather" the edges of any chips or repairs.

AS A NOVICE: DO NOT SAND ALL THE WAY DOWN TO BARE METAL, unless you are repairing rust damge.

 

Just make sure you clean the surface thoroughly with a wax and grease remover. And if your going to paint it yourself, build yourself a nice booth to keep the dust and dirt off.

 

www.paintucation.com has all the info you should need. There is no way to teach you to paint on this forum, go to the above site. LOTS OF HELP.

Above all BUY THE BEST RESPIRATOR YOU CAN AFFORD!!!!

 

I want to paint my engine bay black, like stock. Can I use spray paint? I dont think I have the time, patience or money to roll the car to a paint shop to have it painted.

 

it can be done..take your time
don't buy cheapo spray get good stuff
and it should be ok use semi-gloss
and remember prep is 80% of paint job

 

All they have there is videos for sale. I don't wanna pay for anything.


And why shouldn't I sand down to the base metal? Its kinda hard to keep the sander from going that far. SHould I do this by hand instead?

 

They have a forum. If you sand to base metal you have to reprep the surface. Go back to the website:
On the left hand side select the fourth bullet down.
Its called Paintucation Q&A open it and READ.

 

So should I ditch the sander and go by hand?

 

Hand would be better

 

I went to actually start doing this today, and I had a question. With the initial sanding, am I doing it to remove the paint, or just to add texture to the paint so primer will stick? Cause it seems tough to remove the paint with 400 grit.

 

I am going to paint me car sometime soon, but just to see how well I will be at it I am going to paint the hood to start off. It's the main part that you can see the clear coat flaking off and the paint under it fading. Any body know of any free site other then the one linked to above, just so I can compare methods?

kleach

 

ok...

Orbital sander? those are for detailers. You would need a DA sander which is much stronger. Do not sand all the way to the metal because then u have to prime it again before doitn anything else.

400 grit to sand down the paint? That will take u FOREVER.

Here's the deal:

Sand everything that gets paint. If u have alot of messed up areas like cracks and ****, then use the DA with a 180 grit to sand it all uniform. Then grab like a 320 grit to sand it a lil smoother. Once everything is pretty much uniform, blow off all dust from the surface, then wipe down with a tack cloth. Spray a lite coat first. 5 mins later, spray again. Let dry, then another coat. Do as many coats as u think u need. Then do a final WET coat. This will give u the shine and evenness to all of it. Just becareful of runs.

Now, if u have bare metal to start with, then wipe it down clean with laquer thinner. Then spray on primer.
Sand down the primer with 320. wipe clean with tack cloth. and the rest is jsut laying the color.

OF COURSE!. if you;ve never painted b4, then none of this really matters, becuase good painting takes EXPERIENCE. Also, the GUN matters ALOT! I use BINKS, the DeVilbliss is good also. These are $500 guns, just to get the idea. Paint are also not made the same. Cant go wrong with PPG and DuPont though, but u pay for it

Anyways. this kinda long, but u should really get someone with painting and body work experience to help u out. this will save TONS of headache in the future, for instance, u fuked up, and want another paint job...taht means more money wasted.
GOOD LUCK

ut

 

Hey thanks alot man, thats the kind of answer I was looking for

By the way, what is a DA sander? Is that the square ones?

 

da stands for dual action if i am not mistaken. this gun plugs into and air compresor and it sopins in two directions at onece kinda. if i am wrong then i am sure i will be corrected

 

and where would I find one of those?

 

Harbor frieght, lowes , walmart, Home Depot, Snap-on
Northern tool, sears

 

Ah, so they're common
I guess I've just never heard of them...

 

Yep, DA stands for Dual Action. It does not spin both ways at the same time (how can u do tat????).. It spins and vibrates at the same time, so more "sanding" is actually done. An orbital also does the same thing, but a DA is much stronger even though its smaller.

Oh, and i did check out that paintucation site, very good info on that site i might add, but alot of it seems TOOOOO redundant. Like, all that info is for like the most perfect, shiniest(sp?), smoothest, best paint job ever. I mean, paint is a chemical and so is all the additives like harderner and reducer, so being exact is quite critical. But nuthing can be perfect. If you are going to paint ur car, just do ur best, and if something goes wrong, dont sweat it, jsut fix it. To me, if i was an amateur and read all that stuff on tat site, i would be scared *** hell. Just take it one step at a time

ut

 

Thats what seperates the boyz from the men. You can't be afraid to try, but at least make the attempt to do it right and learn from other's mistakes first.
Rule #1 for painting: Don't RUSH, the prep work is 90% of the results.
Rule #2. Don't mix brands of products.ie dont use 5 star with ppg paint with sherwin williams reducer. (There are exceptions to this though)
Rule #3 don't get too ambitious, analyze the existing paint condition, there are times when a"scuff and squirt" is called for.
Rule #4 If you can avoid going to bare metal, do it! The factory E-coat is one of the best primer layers going. Dont sand your car to bare metal !!!
( I still have a friend with a 914-6 PORSCHE sitting on a rotessorie from a chemical strip job we started as a restoration 10 YEARS AGO..There is still crap leaching from the seam welds of that car!!!) I digress
Rule #5 when you think its ready to paint, LEave the garage and come back another day and look at it. Chances are you will spot a F-U that u missed.

HAVE FUN!!!!

 

I have an air compresor...so I need a paint gun for around $500? And how much is paint and what brand do i want?