SuperTrans Man

well i know its probably been asked before but when i searched i found a ton of threads so i think i will post this and read threw a couple of the ones i found to make sure i didnt miss anything but anywho i wanna paint my car and basicly i just want to know where to start i know prep work is the most important and i found a great website that told me prity much what i needed to know but what i wanna know is stuff like where do i find flex agent (for the plastic parts) and what kinda paint would look great on a budget oh and one thing that was bugging me whats orange peel? i assume it has to do with the way the paint looks but im not complitly sure on this.... well thats prity much it for now but if theres anything u guys think i should know that would make the job simple for me let me know also i wanna do a clear coat good idea for a beginer or bad i assume it would be just like normal painting but i want to make sure...

CALIROCZ28

iTrader: (3)

So you want to paint your car yourself? Thats fine, I did it and did it again and again and one more time. That is how I learned how to do it. The most important thing is the prep for the paint. Wet sand and wet sand and clean. It can never be to clean. I redid my car four times. It cost me much more than it would have cost if I had it done. First of all you need a good air compressor with a water trap in it because you do not want water mixing with your paint when shooting the paint. Condensation builds up in the air tank and can cause all kinds of problems when trying to apply paint. A good spray gun is required. Sand paper Wet & Dry from 100 grit to 2000 very fine grit and lots of it. Tac rags, masking material, hours and hours of masking and removing parts before you actually paint. Days and more days of sanding and cleaning the surface and starting over again because it just is not even enough or feathered just right. I could go on and on but I won't bore you will everthing. If you really, really are serious and can afford the costs of all the stuff your going to have to buy then my advise is to go for it! A good quality gallon of paint is going to costs you between $100-$200. per gallon. Your solvents are going to be close to the same and the additives that you will need so you don't get orangepeel or fisheyes or 30 other flaws with costs $30. to $100. per item. Your best bet would be to buy yourself a professional book on "How to paint your own car" and read it several times before doing anything at all to your car. Also go visit a body shop and ask if you can hang out and watch them do a car or two. Offer to help out for free if they let you watch.
Anyway if you decide to do it I love to see a before and after picture of the car. Below is a picture of how my car came out after doing it over 4 times.

Lots of luck to you! I had a blast doing mine but I don't think I would do it again myself.

GMTech

You can get a decent paint for cheap. I use PPG's Omni line available from any paint supplier.
You do need an air compressor and a decent gun, but if you do more than one paint job (or even small jobs later) it will be worth it. You do need a water trap, but I bought the inexpensive water seperator from Wal-Mart which I mounted at the compressor and then bought a line filter/dessicant from the paint supplier which I mounted to my gun and I have ZERO water in the paint. Works great.

You do need to buy masking and sanding supplies, as well as paint prep, etc... If you were meticulous about cleaning and have a good filter mounted at the gun, you don't need "fisheye eliminator". A fisheye is a small spot of oil or grease that causes the paint to not lay down in a small spot which looks like a fisheye. Orange peel is a wavy topcoat, which resembles the skin of an orange. This can usually be corrected by gun adjustment and application process.