DirtDawg57

iTrader: (3)

I'm looking into painting my car myself because it seems to be my only hope of getting a decent looking car in the near future. I love my current paint job but the clear coat is chipping badly.

Anyway I thought I would just make one thread because I will be probably asking alot of questions. First, I want to make sure its possible, I may have to wait till next year if its going to be more than my budget. I have 1,336 bucks to spend. I already have a good air compressor and I decent shop to work in.

I'm going to be doing a ton of reading and studying how to do it right. I realize how hard its going to be but I think if I take my time and study enough I can do it.

First question is what type of paint to go with. I really don't want to use a lacquer because if its long time durability. Here is the page I have been looking at. http://www.carpaintonline.com/paints...OEMCode=wa8748
I was wondering if the Premium fast drying acrylic enamel or the Two component acrylic urethane would be good for painting the whole car with. Also how many coats would it take, and would it be flexible enough for the bumpers? I may also visit the local jobber to see what the prices would be like there and also get more advice.
I'm mainly trying to find out a general price I'm going to have to spend so I can see if its going to be possible. Thanks!

HF_monster

you can do it yourself for a little money and a lot of time mostly prep and color sanding. I dont know too much about all of it as Im getting help from some friends that do body work but you need to use a flex agent in the paint and primer for all the plastic and fiberglass parts ie: front and rear bumper, spoiler, ground effects, gas cap and mirrors. Most places will sell you a kit that will include everything you need if its not listed you can always call and ask. From what Im told acrylic's tend to need 3-5 light to med wet coats depending on the color. If you are using a metal flake be sure to give it cure time between coats to allow the flake to settle before clear coating. hope this helps you out a little.

DirtDawg57

iTrader: (3)

Thanks, everything helps right now. I hadn't read about flex agents yet so that's good to know. I plan on spending a lot of time getting all the prep right before I move on.

Also, does anyone know if this is the spray gun set from harbor freight that people talk about that works pretty well? http://www.harborfreight.com/profess...kit-94572.html

jeinteriordesig

I have been painting for about 12 years. 1300 will definently buy a good quality paint I personally like dupont chromabase I currently use standox which is an expensive paint I would not recommend using a fast drying urethane on an overall paint job because you will work harder for a nice finish If you have any questions feel free to askme any questions

1piece@atime

iTrader: (1)

My personal experience and 35 years in the autobody business tells me if you can get urethane paint on your car without screwing it up too badly then you will be much happier in the long run than with an acrylic enamel paint. If the car is short term and you plan on moving on soon, then use a cheaper paint, since your first paint job probably won't be all that great. Don't get me wrong ... I wish you all the best, but it isn't as easy as it sounds, to get a nice job.

DirtDawg57

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the comments!

Yeah I just got done reading about how acrylic enamel is kind of obsolete. It sounds like the urethane paint would be the better buy. I do want to keep this car for a long time so I want something that will hold up.

From the way it sounds, the prep coats(epoxy primer, auto primer and paint sealer) play a big part in how the paint job comes out. So I want to spend some good time on them. But I'm having a hard time finding a place to get all this stuff.

Any thoughts on the HF spray gun? Any better bang for the buck ideas? I can get something better but the more I invest in the gun the less money I will have to invest in quality paint. I also found this one http://www.tcpglobal.com/spraygundepot/tcpgate.aspx. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this one?

I'm kind of tight but with my living situations about to change, its kind of now or never for this paint job so I'm trying to make due.

1piece@atime

iTrader: (1)

If a good gun means a better job it may be money well spent. Tools are valuable when you know how to use them ... like knowledge. It's an investment.

What area do you live in?

DirtDawg57

iTrader: (3)

North east ohio area

92z28camarokid

iTrader: (4)

Nason paint at oreillys is really good quality and pretty cheap. It cost me 385 for paint and that was for paint, activator, reducer, and clear. Prime over 180 grit sanding and paint over 320 grit. Unless you plan on hitting stuff you won't need a flex agent a lot of old school guys on here will say to use it but it's not neccary. Prep is the key to a good paint job. If you plan on doing any body work then I recommend block sanding it to make sure it's straight. If you see ANY sand scratches sand them with 320, because they will show up in ur paint. Make sure u use prep solve to remove all the wax and oil. Don't forget a tack rag either. Take your time and do it right, it will show in the end. And when u sand make sure to keep it 180grit and higher. Keep us updated and if you have any questions feel free to pm me my build on my car is under member camaros but I didn't go into much detail on there

HF_monster

dosent it depend on where you live if you need flex agent? I thought it was also to prevent cracks or spider webbing from thermal expansion on plastic and fiberglass parts. I only ask because here in colorado the summers are 100+ and winter can be up to -20.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

couple things to think about... how much money are you willing to spend on safety? these modern paints can and will KILL YOU if you don't use the right equipment

second, are you using a metallic paint? if you are, don't think about a single stage paint. I can spray matalic lacquer because I have a lot of practice and experience, but even I wouldn't try to spray SS enamel in a metallic.

I'm going to paint my car in lacquer for a few different reasons... first, because of my impala project, I have the equipment and experience so I know I can do a great job. Second, it's safer to spray. Third, it's hundreds less than BC/CC, and being a V6 RS, it would be dumb of me to pay that much to spray a car that's never going to be worth the kind of money to justify that kind of money.

Also, My car spends almost every day in the garage, so being abused by the elements isn't such an issue for me.

DirtDawg57

iTrader: (3)

My dad has some really good respirators because he worked at a chemical plant and goggles. I should have good ventilation too.
Right not I'm still not sure what I'm going to use. I'm trying to read up on all of them but lately I have been busy working on my Trailblazer to. I'm going to call around to the O'reillys in the area to see if they carry what I need.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

don't forget to check tcpglobal. you can save a ton of money on paint

DirtDawg57

iTrader: (3)

I made a visit to car quest today and they weren't big on help. They have alot of stuff but didn't want to offer much advice. They had PPG and Omni paint. I have heard alot of bad comments about Omni on other sites. Also they only had acrylic enamel which sounds like it is harder to use and single stage which maybe even harder. They didn't carry kits either. I might search for an o'reillys before I commit to anything.

juanillox8

iTrader: (7)

ppg and chromabase are great options, omni i dnt have any problems with it i hear a lot of whining about it too but if u know how to work with it it works good. ppg clear is also a great choise, it lays down smoothly and is easy to buff.... remember a good paint jobs is a combination of good prep, and a controlled environment.

91phoenix

iTrader: (5)

I may be way, way off base but as to the cheap paint guns you will often get what you pay for. That being said the possible problems as I see it is an even consistent spray pattern. The spray nozzle size and quality could be an issue. Adjustability could be limited. It may spray with some globs of paint etc. One spray gun here drips paint from the nozzle, not good spraying over anything. I have several HF paint guns here but haven't used any of them. I do have the set you listed here but it isn't mine nor has it been used or tried for spray quality. They may only for projects that do not matter much.
As for supplies do not forget to plan on cleaning the spray gun and where and how to have it very clean and relatively quickly.
Also there is no substitute for practice. It would be a good idea to get some practice using the spray gun before hand. Get used to the adjustments and what each does. Spraying flat areas like a hood and vertical like the fenders and doors.
Good Luck.

houstonvett

iTrader: (2)

This is a very good Forum, with people that have done most kinds of paint work. Lots to read on here about prep work, which is the most important part of the job, IMO, and then on the primers/paints also. Some great free hand air brush folks on this Forum who do unbelieveably good work on cars/bikes and whatever else can be painted.

http://www.kustomkulturelounge.com/f...isplay.php?f=1


Also the Paint u cation cds available from Summit is a good resource too, for folks new to doing body work and painting their cars.

DirtDawg57

iTrader: (3)

Well after visiting a couple stores I have decided to go with TCP Global for paint and supplies. I'm going to bring it down to the bare metal and spray it with Epoxy primer then 2k Primer. Then I found that there is a way to reduce the Epoxy primer to make it a sealer so I'll put that over the 2k after its been sanded. Then I'm going with a urethane basecoat/clear coat, idea being hopefully it will be more forgiving because if I make a mistake I can sand it out with fine grit and then put another coat. I'm going to try to do my original colors which is Dark red metallic(I know metallic is harder) with a black strip on the bottom.

If you didn't want to read all that, my main questions are if I'm ordering the right amount.

1. The Epoxy primer is 1 and 1/2 quarts with additives. Would that be enough for a camaro. I could find a straight answer on how many coats of epoxy primer it takes.

2. The 2k primer makes about 1 and 3/8 Gallons. Sound like enough?

3. 1 gallon of Dark red metallic, keeping in mind that the bottom will have a black strip that comes a little pass the bottom of the door. I was thinking a Quart would be enough of the black. Those are without the additives so I think would make more than that as far as sprayable paint. I will have a HVLP gun so there will be less waste.

4. Last is the 1 gallon of urethane clear + additives. Does these amounts sound about right? Thanks!

91phoenix

iTrader: (5)

When I had my 89 Suburban repainted I know that a gallon of paint was plenty. I can not comment on the clear as they should have had a couple more coats of it. It sounds like plenty of materials for a third gen car. Do not forget about extra to clean the paint gun.

1piece@atime

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you may have too much primer depending on how much body work you need to do, and not enough epoxy primer. And I think a quart of black is quite a bit.

DirtDawg57

iTrader: (3)

I called and talk to one of there experts and am bumping the epoxy primer up to at least 2 quarts which would make about 3 quarts to spray since I am using it as a sealer.
The black only comes in quarts but that might be good if I have extra to have some to practice with.

My total bill from TCP looks like it will be about 850.00 which is paint primer, safety equipment, spray guns, cleaners standing stuff and a whole lot else. I don't think its too bad. I have the garage cleared now I'm going to make a plastic tent and set up a ventilation system. So things are coming along.