prep car for paint question

[pidass]

Looking to get a fresh coat of paint for the s13 I picked up. I can't afford for the body shop to do everything so I'm gonna do the prep work and have them do the actual painting.

Looking for a little advice from someone who has experience doing this...

Right now my car is burgundy color (AH3), I'm looking to do a 2-tone job (top half black and bottom half either stock color or a little more red, AJ4).

So my question is once I get all the body work done (bondoing dings, dents, rust, etc) do I need to sand all the paint off to bare metal and prime/fine sand that or can I just do a wet 600 sand to remove the clear coat and scuff the base coat up enough for new paint to stick??

[twichel04]

first off, please please please dont bondo your rust, fix it! im not trying to be mean, but if you slap some bondo on it, yes it will look good, for now. but after you paint it and rust continues to spread, the bondo will crack and mess up your new paint job

then you'll be pissed!

you dont HAVE to go down to bare metal (i dont when i paint) but if I was going to do an expensive, high quality paint job, I would.

make sure that the surface of the car is smooth and free of any chipping paint.... after you do that, sand it again... you will probably want to wet sand for the final sand.

im sure these guys will give you different opinions and steps, which is fine, everyone who does bodywork develops their own technique

have fun and let us know how it goes

[breadbox]

wear a respirator.

[twichel04]

wear a respirator.

yeah that too haha

[1992nissan240]

wel bro like the one guy said fix all the rust problems dont put bondo . sand ur color donw with a 400 wet and finish with 600 wet also primer the part were u are changing color (cause ull safe some money on paint ) then smoorh out all ur cars so u could get ready to paint.

[pidass]

that was a poorly worded sentence, my intent isn't to slap bondo on rust. I meant bondo the dents and dings and fix the rust.

So let me know if this would work after the body is completely fixed:400 grit wetprimer600 grit wet

Do I have to use a block for that sanding or can I use a dual action sander?

Thanks for all the information guys!

[twichel04]

yes that would work, you can use either. I, personally, prefer block sanding. You get a better feel of the body (makes it easier to notice spots you may have missed)

so really, it's your call. Just remember;

When wet sanding, use a ''north, south'' then ''east west'' (or up, down, side, side, lol) motion rather than the circles that you will want to do. It does make a difference

also if you add a drop or two of dish soap to your water, it will help too

[pidass]

cool, thanks for info.

[newdude1]

Ok so once you finish all the bondo work etc do this. 320 the whole car400 wet sand (if you want 600 after wards) Be sure to use your palm and not your fingersUse a red scotch brite pad and soapThen wash the car extremely good. Get all cracks,inside fenders, engine compartment, trunk and wheel wells.

I use to work at a paint shop for 4 years and this is what we did.

[LeMoine]

Any areas that you are going to fill like dents for example, you should feather the paint back about an inch around the entire spot. If feathered properly it should show all the layers from the metal, the sealer, primer and finally paint. Fill the spot sand it down to 220 ( a hand block will give best results). Then use a coat of glaze to fill pinholes and such and sand that down with 220 and 320. Any chips or deep scratches should be feathered out with some 320 or 400 and if the rest of the car is smooth you can get away with scuffing it. You can get away with just priming the spots where you filled if your trying to save time and money. My suggestions for that is lay on 2-3 coats of primer. Dry sand with 400, wet sand with 400 and finish with 800 wet. Guide coat makes this process much easier, but you can get away with dusting the primed spots with a black spray paint, this shows what is low and when everything is even no more black paint will show. I hope this helps this is what ive learned from working in a body shop for roughly a year.

[P.Web]

do the body work make sure you do it to your liking cause prep work is where it mostly counts. i do alot of body work. i say rough up all of it to down to atleast paint you dont have to go to bare metal. just sand then do your body work sand and keep sandin till you wet sand to where its real smooth to the touch. and where your pleased with it let them take over. if this isnt the right process ohwell i use it and my body work comes out very nice and i always get compliments on me just paintin out of a rattle can. plus emblem i shave and mirrors i shave on my truck. but its w.e.