Wankel7

I have a '91 TII and from what I have been told and experienced the primer on my car is worthless. I got a slight crack in the paint. Didn't think much of it and when I washed the car water hit it just right and blam...a 8" long by 4" wide area of paint on the tail disapears!

I really want to get the car repainted. I figure this is going to happen more and more. And I don't want the money fixing it to equal a paint job.

I had one car repainted and the shop was supposed to be great. They did a great job on the paint. But they did NOTHING to protect the engine bay and NOTHING to protect the interior. They sanded with windows open and hood open. Nothing protected. To me this shows a lack of pride in the work. My engine bay was so clean and the interior was to. It has not been the same since. So that is my first concern. My TII is amazing clean inside. And the new engine has had everything cleaned before I installed it. I would cry if it got half of the cars sanding dust on it.

I was thinking about doing the prep work my self. I know the primmer sucks and it would have to come off.

How could I prep the car my self?
-Remove moldings?
-Sand car to bare metal?
-Remove emblems?
-Remove signals and lights?

How do you take the paint off of the plastic parts? Bumpers and side sills?

I want to save money and I believe if I can install one of these engines I can do some sanding.

Any thoughts?

James

TRURX7

Yeah, I want to do the same on my new T2 also. You know damn well they deserve a nice paint job

It would be helpfull to learn how to take off all these things to ensure we get a good paint job.

Thanks in advance
TRU

Rx-7Addict

iTrader: (2)

the moldings are really hard to get off.

They use a glue type stuff that is messy and hard to reaaply. That has been my experience at least.

here are some pics of what a bodyshop did to my T2 to prep it.

http://wake.itgo.com/myrx-7/Bodyshop/


hope this helps

I will try to answer any questions

Reason I repainted my T2:

someone bumped my Left fender. 2 days later, someone broke into the right side door.

While both were minor, it required a good part of the car repainted. I decided to pay the difference between insurance coverage and a full paint job. This ended up being about $500. Well worth it in my opinion.

Wankel7

My biggest concern is the paint shop not taking pride in the work. IE letting the engine bay get filthy and not caring. Did you have the problem?

James

Ryde _Or_Die

Why not check around and find a reputable shop? I always do this before just picking one. Or talk to the shop you have in mind and tell them your concerns.

vosko

iTrader: (4)

offtopic. did you goto mads ? you were 10mins away

TRURX7

Rx-7Addict

woah man. that looks like they took pride in it. how much did that set you back? $$$

SilverT2

Had mine repainted some tips to do it right

1. Remove everything, Including the bumpers
2. Sand with 600 working up to 1200
3. allways sand with a block sander
4. Sand in a crosshatch pattern.
5. After the guide coat is spayed use 600 wet and work to 1200 wet
6. Most importantly wear a resporator

Wankel7

No I didn't go to MADS. I suck. Yeah I know. I was starting the engine fore the first time on Sat. after noon and had to work Sunday. It did give me a warm fuzzy feeling to know there were so many rotors around

James

RETed

Who told you that?&nbsp From my experience (on my 1987 Turbo II), the primer is actually pretty good.&nbsp Even if it was bad, there are "sealers" which allow you to repaint over your stock paint without running into any major problems...



-Ted

vosko

iTrader: (4)

should have stopped by rotaree did

Rx-7Addict

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I was impressed. Lately, Ive been aggravated since it is taking forever.

This may of not been their fault, but,

they ordered the wrong decals (front mazda, and 2 turbo II ones). They were supposed to get silver, but they got red. Duh, its a red car.

the total for the work was 2400. About 1500 was paint. the rest was the bodywork things like getting out dings. Also, the fender bender straightening and the break-in fix is part of that.

Heres what happenend. Someone broke into my car, messed up the door pretty bad. Then someone backed into my car. That messed up left fender, mirror and door (very minor)

Although it didnt need a repaint, I wanted it. It was damaged in 2 locations and I feared of having a good part of the car repainted, and the other part stock paint. After all, the paint is 14 years old (my car is an 88)

hope this helps.

The shop is Law Brothers, in Huron, OH.

They do very good work, and I have heard good things about them from people in the area.

banzaitoyota

Most shops (GOOD ONES, at least) will not touch a car, that has been prepped by the customer, and offer a guarentee on the quality/longivity of the refinish job. Are they just trying to rip you off? NOPE!!!
Heres a short list of why they won't touch it.

1. Was the surface properly cleaned/degreased?
2. Was a polymer removal product applied?
3. Was the surface prepped in a silicone/polymer free environmemt?
4. Was the surface evaluated as to what is needed?
ie complete stripand build-up, sealed?
5.Was the proper primer(S) used in conjunction with the paint system the shop is using

6. Product liablity, who do you expect to pay for the repaint when you have solvent popping, dirt nips, sandscratches that sow up 1 year from now? Fisheyes from silicone contamination from the open RTV bottle in your moms carport where you did this work?

fcturbo2

Im planning to strip my car to bare metal using a spray on paint remover-stripper. You guys think its a good idea?

RETed

That's a LOT of work, and you're talking about a LOT of nasty chemicals!

All you really need to do is take care of the dents, shoot down the entire car with a sealer and repaint...



-Ted

asherwood

There are a number of shops near me that specialize in plastic shot. Appearantly it removes the paint without damaging the glass or base metal, it's even certified for use on commercial aircraft which are aluminum.

BTW, if I'm going to ante up for a new paint job, I'm not going trust the paint already there for all of the same reasons mentioned previously:

quote:
1. Was the surface properly cleaned/degreased?
2. Was a polymer removal product applied?
3. Was the surface prepped in a silicone/polymer free environmemt?
4. Was the surface evaluated as to what is needed?
ie complete stripand build-up, sealed?
5.Was the proper primer(S) used in conjunction with the paint system the shop is using
quote:

I've seen factory paint on Mazda's that doesn't seem to stand up over time. I saw a '91 where the base color is cracked below the clearcoat and that's why I question if just sealing the original paint is good enough. The new paint will only last as long as the paint below stays in place (OK if you are not planning to keep it long, but if it's a keeper it may not last.).

Just my 2 cents...

banzaitoyota

Most shops wont touch a car that is not prepped by them, Quality of paint and product compatability are the two biggest reasons.

RETed

Gee you guys sound like broken records...

If the car ws shot down with a good, quality sealer, you wouldn't have any of the problems you mention.

Most high-end shops don't like doing just the paint spraying job.&nbsp These guys make a lot more money off the body work portion.

Take the car to Maaco or Earl Schieb and pay for their "premium" paint job, a couple steps up over the base paint job.&nbsp You should do all the masking.&nbsp I find these paint jobs are not that bad and only cost several hundred for everything.&nbsp Before you go ranting about the crappy work these guys do, I believe the original poster is trying to save money - this is the most economical option I know of.

No proper auto body shop is going to repaint your car for anything less than $2,000....



-Ted