Hi guys,

Wondering if anyone here has any advice on painting my car? I have to (and very much want to) do the paint job myself. Whilst I am looking forward to the job, I do have a bit of apprehension.

The paint is a metallic turquoise, currently 2 pack. I would like to keep it 2 pack, the same paint code (so I do not have to do the inside, door jambs etc). I have a 3hp compressor (about the biggest you can get in the UK), but would be willing to use a HVLP turbine setup, price provided. Also, I am well aware of the health issues surrounding 2 pack paint, so an air fed mask will be used (I can borrow a second compressor).

If anyone has any advice on doing the job, I'd love to hear from you!

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1960 Plymouth Belvedere 4 door sedan
Stock 60 225
Push button 3 speed Torqueflite
Right Hooker

I am not a prof. painter but I have learned some things.
A few pointers that should help:

-Make a spray booth out of some small dimensional lumber and at least 4 mil. plastic sheeting. Airborne particulates can mess up fresh paint pretty good.
-If you use any primer you have to wait for the solvent that is in it to evaporate before you put a coat on top.
-Practice your spray technique.
-It is good practice to put on a flash coat, that is, a light (but not a dusty light) quick spray for the first coat to give the succesive paint some "purchase"
-Read up on buffing and polishing.


There is a lot more to it than that though i.e. spray technique, climate, and lots of other variables.
It all depends on what you want the finish to look like-and how much it might cost to fix if you mess up.
I don't want to discourage you, I am all for doing things yourself.
Some things are better left to the professionals.
Maybe take off what trim pieces you can & take it to an "Earle schibe" or "maaco" type place. and get the $199.99 special.

Hope this helps

"If it was easy you wouldn't have to pay people to do it"

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<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2992308402_5481afb26e_t.jpg">

metallic paint is the most difficult for a novice to get right. all runs and sags will be highlighted by the metal particles. i would advise against doing this yourself until you have more experience. you will more than likely be dissatisfied with your work.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

Step is right — this what you're hoping to do is hideously difficult to get right (for any definition of "right") without a whole lot of experience and equipment.

You may want to opt for this method instead (jump off from there to the linked thread offsite)

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

The guys are right about metallic. I painted my son's 68 Catalina a metallic light blue. You CANNOT wet sand metallic. Exposing the metalflakes causes dark spots that do not go away. That said I believe that if you use the directions on the can and reduce the paint until you think you have it right- Then reduce it some more (30% more) I think you will do oK.

It seems counter-intuitive that you would get more runs with thicker paint, but runs are caused by the WEIGHT of the built up paint. Thinner paint = thinner coats = less weight. Also the paint can "flash" properly without having such a thick layer of paint to "gas" through. Gassing through a "flash" skin causes bubbles.

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1960 Seneca 225 turbo soon to be EFI

From when I've done my own painting.

Take a lot more time than you think you'll need.

spend even more time preparing then you think is even ridiculously necessary.

Don't do it metallic for reasons above.

When wet sanding the undercoat, use a hard block and only that. Noticed a few variances with how paint has turned out when Cork has been used or when no block has been used.

In some cases less is more lots of thin coats can help ensure a better finish.

Things like wax and grease remover are essential and very useful, if sanding back to bare metal use an epoxy etch on them straight away if yo won't paint for a day or two.

In terms of runs and drips etc, it drips based on weight/density over a given area. the less weight or density the less chance of running etc.

Become very patient if you aren't already.

Just my two cents.

Grab some old body parts (a door, a trunk lid) from somewhere and work on your technique before spray your vehicle.

For something that seems so simple, painting can be ridiculously complex.

There is also a certain knack to it that some people just don't possess... I number among the "don't possess" crowd.

Though I have painted before with fair results, I will wait for Maaco to have a sale the next time my vehicle needs painting. You'll find various opinions on Maaco's work, but their worst is better than my best.



- Mac

I also have done a lot of painting of small parts, but feel that a whole-car paint job is best done by a shop set up to do the job. I do all the body and prep work up through the primer myself. Then send it out for final primer/sealer and the finish process. I got informed of a good Maaco painter on my last car, so that is where I took it, and was satisfied with a "presentable" job. I agree with the other post that says to watch the sales. I took my last car in for paint, (scheduled ahead,) for the really SLOW time of the week after Thanksgiving. I think the guys were standing around looking for work, and they seem to have given me extra time and a good job.

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"Louise", a 1976 Dart Custom project, (now sadly reverted to being just an "organ donor" to our other project Darts.)

Wow, I spent almost my whole evening reading sections of that thread. The thread starts in early 2006 and has posts from 2011 on it! I don't know that I'll "roll" my own paint on anything, but I sure learned a lot about the one thing I know almost nothing.

I bookmarked it and intend to read it a lot more in the future.

Thank you ever so much for the link! I have no idea how I ever missed that on Moparts, but I sure did for all these years. I don't know how to repay you.

Two stage paint is less likely to run since the color coat is thin. The shine is provided by the clear, which does not have to be thick either. Runs are most likely to happen in single stage enamel where you are trying to control the sheen by building a wet coat, which is more likely to get too heavy. And with this single stage paint, it can look fine for 10 or 15 minutes and then have runs develop in it later, after you have walked away.

If insist on metalic, the two stage is the easier way to go.

Sam

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