Preping my car for paint w/Pictures. Could use some painters advice =)

[fwuffy squirrel]

So this sounds stupid but I have a $300 budget. That's it. I need to paint my front bumper and sideskirts (Fiberglass), fenders and headlight covers (Metal).
Here is what I'm working with:







Long story short: My friend was going to do the whole thing himself and teach me but he bailed and I have no idea what he did besides some filler. All I know is that I sanded some of the paint off the fenders, and fit everything together haha.


So now I have this and I haven't the first clue about painting. But after many many hours of videos and reading this thread through a few times
http://zilvia.net/f/tech-talk/199733...asy-steps.html
I think I have a general idea.



All of my sanding will be by hand with a sanding block.
So far my plan consists of:

1. Take some 180 grit and sand down the rest of the headlight covers, all of the sideskirts, and the front bumper. Then again with 320, then finally with 600.

2. Buy this stuff:


Because I can't afford this stuff:



nor do I have the money for a gun =/

and just spray 3-4 coats of it on all the white stuff to turn it whatever color the primer is. Then use a different color primer lightly as a guide to know when to stop wet sanding.

3. Get some warm soapy water and use 400 grit sandpaper on the primer until it looks smooth. Then after that hit it again with some 800.


4. Drive it down to
Car Painting | Earl Scheib - Paint Services
and get a probably silver, but hopefully platinum crap paint job.



Extra stuff:

What is a sealer and why do I need it?

Can anybody chime in on the steps I might be missing or have better advice than what I put up there?

Do I really the platinum service or can I paint can clear coat it when I get home?

Do you think I will need any filler for this work? and if so, is it as easy as putting some on, scrapping it off, then after drying, sand it smooth?


I greatly appreciate any help or comments

[airhead]

if your trying to do everything low low budget?

buy your tools from Harbor frieght

your going to need three paint guns
primer
basecoat
clear

try to get atleast a 30 gallon compressor

the list goes on on the materials your going to need
quick run down:
DA and sand paper for DA
soft pad and wet sand paper
wax and grease remover
thinner
primmer
base
clear(optional) you will get better result


could be cant think right now

[fwuffy squirrel]

Originally Posted by airhead

if your trying to do everything low low budget?

buy your tools from Harbor frieght

your going to need three paint guns
primer
basecoat
clear

try to get atleast a 30 gallon compressor

the list goes on on the materials your going to need
quick run down:
DA and sand paper for DA
soft pad and wet sand paper
wax and grease remover
thinner
primmer
base
clear(optional) you will get better result


could be cant think right now

I'm planning on prepping everything low budget then getting a $200-350 paint job from Earl Scheib.

Even if I could get a great compressor, wouldn't it be way more expensive and come out worse if I tried to buy 3 guns + materials and do it all myself?

[xdumbxguyx]

u can get away with hf spray gun hvlp
head to el monte auto paint
buy a quart of paint, clear, primer
u will probably spend less that 300

i bought a gallon of paint and clear for about
230? from there

[fwuffy squirrel]

Originally Posted by xdumbxguyx

u can get away with hf spray gun hvlp
head to el monte auto paint
buy a quart of paint, clear, primer
u will probably spend less that 300

i bought a gallon of paint and clear for about
230? from there

I was thinking about that, but even if I could get a cheap HVLP gun for around $50, I would still need the breather mask, a place to paint, and all of those things the guy above mentioned. I would love to do it though...I just wish I had more money =/

[airhead]

you will prob spend the same amount of cash getting it paint at earls


i found a 60 gallon compressor on craigslist for 200$

yup you can get away with those HF guns if it orange peels thats what wet sanding for.

i bought a devilbiss gun for 200$ it came with three tips one for prime,bs,cc

autobody101.com has good info

[Iron_Zenki]

Take it to TJ :]
Naa lol ask someone in your area to let you rent or barrow the supplies and just buy the paint

[davirene]

If you decide to go with a production paint shop...such as Earl Scheib or MAACO...make sure you look at the product parked in the front. No two shops are alike....sure the price is the same but the finished product is not.

It all depends on the quality of the painter and manager of the shop. I was the Manager of Earl Scheib in Upland on Foothill. I went through 3 painters before I turned out a good product. Needless to say I ended up with repair work due to the first two crappy painters.

Sanding your own car is not bad but make sure you let the manager know you have already prepped it and ask to speak with the painter or his helper so they dont go over you car again with 220.

Go to either of there websites and look for coupons or specials. Pro 1 starts at 229 (single stage paint) prices fluctuate all year.

[upsdude]

have you tried talking to johnny (crimsonrockett)? he does paint maybe he could work something with you.

[CrimsonRockett]

Originally Posted by filiperuvian

have you tried talking to johnny (crimsonrockett)? he does paint maybe he could work something with you.

No, I can't.

Haha.

Not offering paint services anymore.

[upsdude]

oh dang my bad! saw something in your sig about a while back...oh well i stand corrected

[koukimonster139]

why the hell would you need three paint guns


even with one gun you can change out the fluid tip and air cap to change between primer, base and clear.

[dato]

I can spray it for u for a small fee... U provide the Product, paint. Since I don't want any issues with say not matching and what not

[d-force]

take everything off your car that youre painting so you can paint it at your house. pepboys or autozone offers paint. if you're doing just gloss black then it will cost you $22 per quart then the clear which is the same price. i get my clear from TCPglobal down in SD. 89 bucks for the clear and hardner and they sell less for cheaper. hlvp gun from harbor freight, borrow a air compressor and youre set.

its easy to paint just make sure your painting surface is smooth and the paint will lay down smooth.

painted this s13 in my back yard for a friend. but if someone is willing to paint your car and knows how then i would have them do it for you!

[repda916]

Originally Posted by d-force

take everything off your car that youre painting so you can paint it at your house. pepboys or autozone offers paint. if you're doing just gloss black then it will cost you $22 per quart then the clear which is the same price. i get my clear from TCPglobal down in SD. 89 bucks for the clear and hardner and they sell less for cheaper. hlvp gun from harbor freight, borrow a air compressor and youre set.

its easy to paint just make sure your painting surface is smooth and the paint will lay down smooth.

painted this s13 in my back yard for a friend. but if someone is willing to paint your car and knows how then i would have them do it for you!

Marks car?
I ended up with that kit and i must say the paint job was pretty tight.
how much to do mine

[Sako]

You could definitely do it yourself for under $300 if you can somehow borrow a compressor. Don't worry too much about a sealer as it is mostly used when changing a car's color. You basically use a sealer primer to apply a coat over the old paint so that you won't need to use too much base in order to get good coverage.

You only need one gun with one tip. I painted an entire car with my Sata gun with a 1.5mm tip. Just make sure to clean the gun well in between coats. Two quarts of paint will be enough because most base coats need to be reduced by 50% so you will have a gallon of sprayable paint. Also, make sure you get the correct temp. hardener for the clear in order to help with dry times and to avoid runs. If you do get runs, make sure to wet sand them before topcoating.

The most difficult part is applying the clear. If it's your first time painting, you are bound to either get runs, or really nasty orange peel. Try to lay down even coats of clear in order to avoid orange peel. If it looks like you are getting orange peel, make sure you lay down a few coats so that you can wet sand. If you get runs in the clear, wetsand with 1000 grit sandpaper. Wet sand all the finished panels with 1500, then 2000 and buff with a good rubbing compound.

The best advice I can give you to avoid runs is to paint on a hot day, and remove all the panels and put them on a table. it is much more difficult to make paint run when you're painting on a horizontal surface.
Here are some pics of the first car I painted. I did it in our muffler shop in somewhat dusty conditions. I just sprayed the floor with water to make sure I don't kick up any dust with the paint gun:

[az_240]

I painted my car myself. It was a huge bitch, took forever and cost way more than I expected but I learned a lot.

If you want it to look decent and last more than a year it will cost much more than $300.

[d-force]

Pretty muck what sako said is the best advice anyone can give you for your first time painting. Good luck and let us know how it turns out

[acesh007]

Some advice as I install body kits as well as do other stuff, make sure your prep work is good. If you want a good paint job you need good body work. If you are going to use 180 make sure you prime and then go over again with 220 and prime and again with 320. Black paint shows a lot of imperfections. FYI Good clear is going to take up half your budget.

[enkei2k]

300 bucks? you shouldn't even bother to paint your car.

try like 3000. or atleast save up more than 300 to get better quality equipment.

[EDacIouSX]

Originally Posted by enkei2k

300 bucks? you shouldn't even bother to paint your car.

try like 3000. or atleast save up more than 300 to get better quality equipment.

3Gs? Come on dude.... 3grand is a lot of money to paint something yourself.

[ericcastro]

there is always the epic $50 paint job thread on the mopar forum.

google it.

Just plan to spend about 40 plus hours over 2 weeks if you want it done right.
I was doing it, and it was turning out nice, but after a week, i hated the man hours of wet sanding and puting super thin coats on.

so I went and got a cheapo paint job

EDIT:
just noticed "epic" was accidentally spelled wrong, lol
sorry, hope my pure accident didnt offend anyone.
on the lap top today, my desktopis rendering videos and crap

[KoukiMonsta]

Originally Posted by EDacIouSX

3Gs? Come on dude.... 3grand is a lot of money to paint something yourself.

most cars on here were bought for less than 3g's

[airhead]

im almost done wit setting up my small paint shop in my garage i just need my air drier filter $180

so far i spend about 1000$ that includes devilbiss 60gal 6 hp compressor,devilbiss spray gun with three tips one for each coat prime,base,cc. durablock set,differnt type of sand paper. tools need couple more tools to go also. like da,uni spotter,spot welder. just small stuff

so yeah your looking at the same price you will pay someone to do you can do it your self and get to keep the tools and do paint whenever you want

[dato]

alot of paint jobs cost 3000 full car paint! removing windows,good paint, wetsanding , buffing , it alot of work. 3000 only if u take it to highly rep shops

[lazysk8er2]

im on the same boat here still debating on prepping then going to maacco or doing it myself my only problem is i have nowhere to set up a paint booth.

[repda916]

Originally Posted by lazysk8er2

im on the same boat here still debating on prepping then going to maacco or doing it myself my only problem is i have nowhere to set up a paint booth.

sand your car and mask off your car. DO EVERYTHING so that all maacco has to do is roll it into the booth and spray.
will save you money and you will know the prep is good.

[fwuffy squirrel]

Originally Posted by repda916

sand your car and mask off your car. DO EVERYTHING so that all maacco has to do is roll it into the booth and spray.
will save you money and you will know the prep is good.

This is exactly what I ended up doing. I had little time and I prepped everything myself. it was like $60 for all the sand paper and primer cans but it was nice doing it myself. Regardless of how the paint comes out, I'm going to appreciate it because I know it's my work =)

[lazysk8er2]

Originally Posted by fwuffy squirrel

This is exactly what I ended up doing. I had little time and I prepped everything myself. it was like $60 for all the sand paper and primer cans but it was nice doing it myself. Regardless of how the paint comes out, I'm going to appreciate it because I know it's my work =)

how much did it come out to at the place and what kind of job are they doing single stage etc...

im gonna start prepping once the weather is nice again snow every 5 days.

[HyperTek]

i prepped my car
this 2 tone job the prior owner did was really stupid. It needed primer to be sealed up, i dont know what the hell that prior paint was. was such a bitch to prep and sand, and there was a line transition difference between them that i obviously did not sand down enough.


I shot the primer

I sprayed the all teh jams, but I wasted like half a gallon of paint trying to get my paint gun situated and couldnt figure it out, so called my friend over to shoot it for me.

Its got orange peel, needs a color sand, but im thinking to spray it again in a year with a better compressor and hopefully a garage by than.. But its a daily driver that never sees cover over its head. the nature of a lowered car with aero typically gets fucked up anyways so perfection is a waste.