I know the reasons why this is a bad idea. I have a smallish garage, I've never painted a car before, etc etc etc... But I think I've decided to paint my own car anyways.
My s13 always was supposed to be a project car: the car I'd use to learn as much as I possibly can: why stop at paintwork?
A friend of mine used to work at a local paint shop, so I'll have him around, and I've got a really nice air compressor with a huge reserve... I think I can make this happen.
I know it's going to be a ton of work, and I know it's not as easy as some people make it out to be, but I think I really would like to do this.
Some questions though.
1. I'm going to use a HVLP gun without a doubt. After talking and reading as much as I can, I think this will be my best option considering my task. Anyone have any experience with the SataJet line of spray guns? I can get my hands on a NR95 model really easially through another friend.
2. What brand of paint do you guys reccomend? I'm going to do a base coat + clear coat combo in a nice black... any reccomendations?
3. Since I already have a good layer of (factory) paint on my car, I dont think I'll have to take it down to bare metal. If I sand the clearcoat off, and etch up the base underneath, do you think that will serve as a good layer to put my base coats on, or do you think I need a sealer/primer layer on top of that? I've heard it both ways, so I'm still thinking about this part.
4. Got any other advice about painting your own car (for the first time) in your own garage? I understand the importance of keeping everything clean, and I am very well aware about the saftey precautions I'm gonna have to take with the paint fumes, etc. Anything else that could point me in the right direction?
Wish me luck guys... I'm planning on starting the sanding within a couple weeks.
I am going to paint my own car
You will need primer. Don't do the first coat of paint to thick(even if it means you still see a bit a primer). You 2-3 coats of the base before your do the clear(this will also reduce runs). I was tought(sp?) to paint by 2 painters one at my dads workplace, one at school (we have a 2 body shops and 2 Mechanic shops). I would go to PPG for your paint (The price would very depending on the type of paint). Just find out the paint code for the paint you want. I would get like a peice of sheet metal some cheaper paint and pratice on that first before taking on a big job like a car. Sofar I painted a couple of bumpers, rockers and doors and i'm not to good no runs though, that's why I would say practice first.
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krazy skwerel
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2005 Honda Accord
1974 Ford Mustang II - Location: Middle Tennessee
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Yah there are. There will be like a nissan black, BMW black ect. They all are different but i don't think you would really have to worry about that because black isn't really to different if it was like a blue it would make a big different cause the shade, perl(sp?) etc. If you can get a hold of painters book it has all the makes colours in one book so u could look at them and compair the colours and pick the one you like best and you could also get the paint code out of that book. My friend was going to paint his car him-self, BMW M3 Blue till he went to PPG and found out that it's was like $65 candian a qurt so he's gonna find another make that has almost that shape of blue because should be cheaper.
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krazy skwerel
- Posts: 4488
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2003 7:48 pm
- Car: 1989 240SX Coupe down for the count
2005 Honda Accord
1974 Ford Mustang II - Location: Middle Tennessee
- Contact:
my brother got his painted black like 2 weeks ago, they did a a hell of a job for $500. I mean, it looks factory painted. They did the following.
Sanded with a 350 i think.bonded all the pebble dings.2 coats of paint4 coats of clear coatpolished up to 1500 gridused rubbing compoundused polishing compoundwax.
Sanded with a 350 i think.bonded all the pebble dings.2 coats of paint4 coats of clear coatpolished up to 1500 gridused rubbing compoundused polishing compoundwax.
Hmm I was thinking why would it be necessary to use primer... If you just wetsand the entire car with 400 it should be a very good surface to paint. The way I learned it was primer sticks to metal, paint sticks to primer or paint. If you got any bondo work underneath, then I would reccomend spraying sealer first then painting... Oh and I would definitely buy a respirator not a dust mask, you'll regret it if you don't. And finally I would be wary of doing this in your garage... I hope your not too anal cuz I am positive you will get little particles landing on your car while you paint... The best thing to do is take a body shop class or paint class at your local community college, and use their paint booth. That is what I did. I learned a lot and got a bunch of parts painted for really cheap.
-Bluefire
-Bluefire
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LittleBrotherSilvia
- Posts: 139
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- Car: wakeskating/wakeboarding, motocross
seeing as how i just painted my S14 i figured i'd add my 2 cents, first u dont need to sand all the way through the original clear coat, unless it is chipping/scratched all the way through/etc., just scuff the surface really well and get all of the "shine" off, next do a coat of primer on the entire car, whoever said u dont need primer is full of ****, then sand the primer smooth with 400 once it is dry and has set well, spray some more primer if u sand through anywhere, then sand those spots smooth, then u'll want to do what someone said and spray light coats of base color, then the clear, do a coat or two of clear, wait for it to set well, then sand any bumps runs or bubbles with 400, BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO GO THROUGH THE CLEAR, then spray another light coat of the clear and u should be pretty good to go.
i hope this helps
i hope this helps