BlackedOut LS1

iTrader: (4)

I'm thinking about asking a friend of my family if I can use his shop and spray booth to paint my car. The car has been sitting idle for about three years, and I have been using the last couple of months of being unemployed to overhaul the car. I am almost finished with complete interior renovation, and wanted to know how exactly to prep the car for paint. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

BLK95-Z

iTrader: (2)

Thats a pretty broad question and hard to say without seeing the car. It really depends on what kind of shape the paint/body is in before you start. If you have to fix a bunch of stuff it takes a few more steps before its ready for paint.

KissMyTushZ28

iTrader: (4)

Dude, more specifics would help to get you a better answer. I have a degree in Auto Body and paint, I painted my previous Camaro Z28 myself while I was in college. Anyway, what kind of car is it? What condition is the body in? Are any pieces missing? What kind of paint to you intend to use and how many stages? Etc.

NnOoSsSs

iTrader: (1)

The steps are pretty simple, do the needed bodywork, tape, primer, sand/wetsand, taq with a taq rag to remove oils/ dust that you may have put on from fingers, and spray. Starting at the roof work your way down, im right handed so personally i hold the hose in my left spray with my right panel by panel nice even coats go off of the panel and come back on with the paint to prevent to much buildup where you start and stop shooting i like to shoot wet, some people like to shoot dryer, personal preference spray some test pieces.

BlackedOut LS1

iTrader: (4)

Thanks guys, sorry to be so general. I have to either replace or realign the front passenger side fender, wont know until I take it off and check all of the clips, and I need a new passenger side rocker. I need to try and tighten the gap on the rear bumper, and shave the antenna off, that is it as far as body work. The car was painted 3 times in the last 11 year, the last guy must have used some cheap clear or poor technique bc ALL of the clear has peeled or is peeling from the car. I pretty much understand the painting method, but I also understand that the prep is the most important aspect of the project. How far down should it down in the initial sand or strip, and do it need to buy a power tool for that.

BODYSHOPGOAT

iTrader: (10)

This could take a while, when cheap clear is used and it peals.... its hard to feather it out right and still have a straight car. It all may need to come off and the bad thing is most people use a da and turn it on edge for faster results, which makes wavy body. This is something that takes a lot of patients.. good luck

BlackedOut LS1

iTrader: (4)

Man all I have is time right now, I can patiently take it panel by panel. Can you tell me if I need to just block sand it down, and how far? I don't have any dents in the body, and I want to remove the antenna, so I know I'll need to bondo that.

1320Chicken

iTrader: (4)

Being painted 3 times already and having a peeling issue I'd strip it. It's hard to tell how much material is on there and how it was prepped. I'd da it with 180. Go easy on the plastic panels 180 will be too rough to finish with. On those you'll want to finish in 320 to keep it from looking like a tennis ball.

Just my thoughts since time isn't an issue. No sense in blocking it, work smarter not harder.

As for the antenna don't just mud it shut. You should weld a piece in there. At the bare minimum glue a patch behind it with a good panel bonding agent.

BlackedOut LS1

iTrader: (4)

Ok fellas let me know what you think, I purchased a 6'' Palm DA sander from harbor freight and I went over the car with 240 smooting and sanding down all of the peeling clear and some deep scratches. today I used an intermittant pad on the DA and went back over the car with 320, and then 600.

I used 800 wet to get in some small areas around the fender grills, body gaps, and TransAm lettering. Is this a correct/or functional method for the tight areas?

I removed the front bumper, and passenger side fender, tomorrow I will remove the wing, rear bumper, and side mirrors. My driver side door handle is loose, I see the bolts for it inside the door, how do I tighten it, and do I need to remove the door handles for painting? My car is Navy Blue Metallic, depending on how the light hits it or lighting in general there is alot of purple in it. Is that normal bc I'm not seeing that purple pop in the NBM cars on the site. I personally love the color kinda want not so dark of a blue but im sticking to it.