New to Paint/Body work.
New to Paint/Body work. Okay so i wanna prep and possibly paint my own car sometime soon and i have never painted anything this big nor have i prepped anything this big or used any kind of filler/bondo or anything and i need some insight on this, how easy is it to pick up on?
Painting is something that can be messed up easily and takes a large amount of skill and patience. If you want to learn to do it yourself I would suggest getting a junk door or hood or something from a junkyard and practice the entire process from filling and prep to paint to wetsanding/buffing. I plan on someday painting my own car but I don't know any of the tips and tricks yet. It takes practice but I'm sure there's some automotive painting forums that have some tips for newer people. There's a reason paintjobs cost a lot - its a lot of work.
I found this link that seems to be somewhat thorough and helpful, but I'm not knowledgeable about the subject. Maybe someone else can attest to its accuracy. They repainted a third gen camaro
http://www.gmtips.com/3rd-degree/dox...nt/body-01.htm
I found this link that seems to be somewhat thorough and helpful, but I'm not knowledgeable about the subject. Maybe someone else can attest to its accuracy. They repainted a third gen camaro
http://www.gmtips.com/3rd-degree/dox...nt/body-01.htm
Last edited by rbaksi; May 3, 2011 at 02:35 PM.
I have painted things off and on for about 10 years and still make mistakes. The most important thing to know is that prep work is everything and cleanliness is almost everything. There are thousands of things that can go wrong. Do you know anybody with experience? There are so many products and so many tricks of the trade so to speak.
I was planning on doing a tread on this subject,I work in a body shop n have 7 years experience,might b alittle while though as we just got slammed by a major hail storm and won't have alot of extra time,but hopefully I will before to long.you defiantly need some practice if u want to do a decent job on your car.
Well I do know a few people but none of them with enough time. Basically here is the run down. Someone backed into my car so im having the hood/fender painted for free. Now i have 13 year old paint on the rest of the car so it wont ever match plus i have some dents and scratches, the normal stuff. I can get the whole car done to showroom quality for around $1300 which i know is awesome! But i kinda dont have that kind of money right now... Times are tough you know... So i was thinking i could knock down the price a little if i did the prep work myself... I think my dad has done some bondo before so he could help me out there and i LOVE sanding 
But i know there is just more to it...
Thanks for the site BTW, I bookmarked it
But i know there is just more to it...Thanks for the site BTW, I bookmarked it
Prep work is everything when it comes to paint, so unless you really know how to do prep work then I wouldn't dare attempt to do it yourself and just tell some guy to shoot the car. And not to sound rude, but does that 1300 include materials or just labor? When I painted my car last year materials alone ended up costing me almost a thousand dollars and I had close to 70 hours in labor.
The way I learned to paint was by starting out on small parts and moving to bigger parts. Lucky for me I flipped cars as a source of side income so I got to practice on stuff that I wouldn't own for more than a week usually and any mistakes I made would never be noticed 99% of the time by potential buyers because 99% of people cannot see even the most obvious flaws in body work/paint. But by practicing on things that 1: I didn't own or 2: Were small enough that if I had to redo them it wasn't too big of an issue I gained the skill and confidence to really pull off a nice paint job.
Also, you get what you pay for in paint. My gallon of basecoat (DuPont Chromabase) was 350 dollars alone and that is cheap compared to some of the other brands out there. Just the colors, depth, and brilliance is enough to justify stepping up to quality paint, and coming from a painters standpoint it also covers and lays way nicer.
The way I learned to paint was by starting out on small parts and moving to bigger parts. Lucky for me I flipped cars as a source of side income so I got to practice on stuff that I wouldn't own for more than a week usually and any mistakes I made would never be noticed 99% of the time by potential buyers because 99% of people cannot see even the most obvious flaws in body work/paint. But by practicing on things that 1: I didn't own or 2: Were small enough that if I had to redo them it wasn't too big of an issue I gained the skill and confidence to really pull off a nice paint job.
Also, you get what you pay for in paint. My gallon of basecoat (DuPont Chromabase) was 350 dollars alone and that is cheap compared to some of the other brands out there. Just the colors, depth, and brilliance is enough to justify stepping up to quality paint, and coming from a painters standpoint it also covers and lays way nicer.
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Just a tip... for your first spray gun I would get an Astro EVO. You can find them for about 100 bucks and its a copy of a Higher end Iwata gun. I used this gun for YEARS with no problems and it lays base and clear down very very well. It's also an LVLP so you can get away with having a smaller compressor. (Which, btw needs to be very good quality and large enough to supply you with enough air. 5HP+)
I got a compressor
The people painting my car kind of "Sponsor" me, i dont pay full price for anything so thats why its so cheap. I have sat in on some of the other jobs their painter does and he does very very good work, hes such a perfectionist that i would feel totally fine letting him paint it. I am thinking about having a friend of mine come sit in while he can give me some pointers on prep work. I am a perfectionist myself so i know that it wont be half assed if i do it... Not saying it would elsewhere... I have painted a lot of smaller stuff but nothing ever with a cup gun. I think my rattle can stuff comes out nicely though! I did my spoiler with a rattle can and didnt even wet sand it and no one noticed unless i told them... I guess i just gotta see how the cards fall...
The people painting my car kind of "Sponsor" me, i dont pay full price for anything so thats why its so cheap. I have sat in on some of the other jobs their painter does and he does very very good work, hes such a perfectionist that i would feel totally fine letting him paint it. I am thinking about having a friend of mine come sit in while he can give me some pointers on prep work. I am a perfectionist myself so i know that it wont be half assed if i do it... Not saying it would elsewhere... I have painted a lot of smaller stuff but nothing ever with a cup gun. I think my rattle can stuff comes out nicely though! I did my spoiler with a rattle can and didnt even wet sand it and no one noticed unless i told them... I guess i just gotta see how the cards fall...
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
From: Canada
prep is always the most important. give the whole car a scuff first... make it dull. bondo is easy because when you screw up you put more on haha. i like to spray over the bondo and then sand again to higlight the high spots/lowspots. it has too be entirely grease free and you have to paint in a dust free environment with good ventilation if you dont want to pass out!
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 91
Likes: 1
From: maryland
i would let the professionals handle it, especially if you have a hook up on getting it done...an all over paint job at my shop is around $4000 - $5000 depending on bodywork etc...so for $1300 thats a killer deal, as long if its done right and good materials are used....like someone else said, our matieral bill would be higher then $1300 along for an all over paint job, id get some more details and report back to us. also if a professional is fixing your hood and fender for free then it should match, no ifs ands or buts about it.
Restricted User
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Yeah i want it to match as best as possible but eventually i gotta paint the damn thing cuz i have two big dents on my rear quarters i need fixed... I say "big" but you know how it is, They are big to me
Restricted User
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Then I would just save money to pay for the paint job. If you prep it wrong you will end up paying just as much or even more trying to fix it.
Oh no dont get me wrong the WHOLE car will be done before the year is over for sure im just trying to decide how to go about it but i guess me doing the prep and/or paint is not the best idea lol
