Brian2006

iTrader: (42)

Tried the search but since this forum section is new I came up short.

I have a sunoco cowl hood coming as well as an SS spoiler and my mirrors that I will be painting myself. I'd like to get some hands on experience and just give it a shot. If I F up then oh well, I'll get a painter to do it right.

I have all the necessary tools and equipment and have researched the proper way to setup a booth in a garage but the important question is, how do I go about painting everything?

This is a lot different then painting other stuff so without having any experience, this is why I ask.

My car is red, so from what I understand I'll have to blend the hood and spoiler into the panels/bumper. Do I lay a base coat before blending or paint the hood while on the car? Do I just blend into the factory clear and then just clear over it? The hood and spoiler will already be primed so is there any other prep work that should be needed before the base coat? How many base coats and how much clear? Do I wet sand the clear coat only and how do I go about doing this? What paint should I buy to best match the car?

I would also like for only people experienced in this to reply. Please bite your tongue and don't respond if you have heard or read somewhere that you do this or what not. Experienced car painters only.

On another note, do not discourage me from doing this. I don't care if I'm not experienced and may possibly mess something up or anything. I want to learn how to do this and give it a shot.

383ysi

Well if you blend the fenders i would also do the front cover. I personally, being your car is red, I would just panel paint the parts and put them on to see if there was any mismatch in color. And if there was mismatch, I would do the following,
1 fenders and bumper i would either wetsand with 1000grit or gray scuff pad
w/scuffing agent,
2 the wing I wouldn't bother blending in, thats my oppinion though. I'll tell you though
do the above steps but to the quarters and deck lid.
3 mask off, clean w/wax & grease remover
4 spray color on tops of fenders and bumper. And the rear spray the top rear of
quarters. The deck lid spray the whole thing.
5 clear the panels
any other ? just ask I'll tyr to help

Brian2006

iTrader: (42)

I'd rather just paint the parts without blending, but do you think they will match? I hear red is the hardest color to match.

Where and what products do I buy?

yodas little brother

iTrader: (2)

red is an easy color too match.panel paint it and you should be fine.i use 3m's diamont there color match is real good.unless it white then i always have a problem

383ysi

I have a red camaro as well and have good luck w/ppg dbc basecoat and montana clear coat. I don't think you'll have a problem w/mismatch.
Most solid colors are easier to paint because you don't have metalic to zeebra stripe.

Brian2006

iTrader: (42)

Thanks that's a little reassuring. Could you point me in the right direction of where to purchase these products?

bjamick

iTrader: (31)

Have you got the paint matched yet?? Over time the color of the car actually will fade a lil so if you put on what came from the factory then ya you will probably be able to tell a difference. If you get the paint matched then you should be right on.

Never will a mixed paint come out perfectly the exact same, they will always be a lil different Always! Its not something that you will notice but you will be able to kinda tell.

Best way to do it is sand down the hood, and spray a nice coat of primer over the hood. Oh and if your doing this in a garage a trick that i learned is to spray the entire floor down with water and let set for 20-30 min, this keeps all dust on the floor and help keep the trash from getting in the paint.

After the primer scuff up the hood again and then do a light mist of the basecoat. Let sit for like 10 min or so then do another coat til you get the color your looking for and let sit again and spray the clear on. and let sit for atleast 24 hours with lots of heat...

jdime20

DO NOT PANEL PAINT! IT WILL NOT MATCH! I have worked in a mercedes shop for many years and am dupont certified. it doesn't take that much more to blend it and do it right the first time. if it doesn't match, then you'll be repainting it, more work, more materials, and good paint isn't cheap. especially red. as for what kind of paint, i would go with the better brands,they will cost you more but they are better quality. they will last longer, and besides, you guys spend an assload on motors, so why put some cheap paint on your car that fades and loses gloss in less than a year? I prefer dupont, not just saying that because i'm certified in that, but it really is a good paint and is pretty user friendly. if you do want to cut a little cost, dupont has an economy line called nason. its a pretty good product, although i would still use the dupont basecoat as thta is what they put all their color research into and it will match a lot better. Oreillys sells dupont here, not sure in your area, but they are a pretty good place to get paint supplies, and they can probably help with the technical stuff. if you have any questions i'd be glad to help

383ysi

Open up a phone book and look under automobile body shop equipment. Personally, If this is your 1st time just panel paint it. That way if you mess up you don't have to pay alot to get it fixed. And also theres alot of different brands of paint, inc- ppg, dupont, sikons, montanta, r&m, diamont, omni. Theses are the ones I've used there all descent and easy to use.

Brian2006

iTrader: (42)

Figured this would happen. Mixed opinons.

Back on the question again, what is the proper way to blend the paint? Even if I'm not skilled enough I would still like to know.

Also, bjamick the hood is brand new from vfn and will already be primered. I have to wait a full month for the primer to cure before I even paint it. So sanding that down is out of the question.

sapper_daddy

iTrader: (12)

Man just panel paint that for the experience like the other guys are saying, that way if you need to fix it, it will not be hard to take it back down to paint again. You asked if there was something else you could do to prep it. If you clean the hood real good shoot some filler primer on it then you can wet sand it once over to make it real smooth and make it easier to paint. Get some of that "paint prep" degreaser, to me it is a million times better than using paint thinner or acetone. The reason I say that "paint prep" is better is because I have had pieces that paint would "fish eye". When I used that paint prep stuff it worked like a charm. Some one here will know the name of the product, I hope!

My car was painted with House Of Kolor green primer and PPG base and clear. I don't have any pictures of it on here.

383ysi

I would say you have 3 ways.
1 panel paint
2 blend it
3 take it professional and maybe save yourself the trouble

parbreak

iTrader: (17)

I think you're getting mixed opinions because some people who have done or tried this are trying to save you a lot of time, aggravation and money. I may be wrong, but some of your questions lead me to believe you've not painted anything before and this is a project that should not be your first. Blending is very difficult especially for novices.

Also, unless you're getting the paint perfectly matched to account for fading in the adjacent panels, panel painting will not yield good results. Red is VERY hard to match, contrary to one of the above statements. I really recommend you do some practicing before diving into an advanced project like this.

BUT, if intent on doing it here is an article that might help explain the blending process. I'm not going to type out step by step because there are a lot of variables involved:

http://www.abrn.com/abrn/article/art....jsp?id=181200

Blending or painting for that matter is not a step by step 1,2,3 process. It's an art form and skill that has to be develope over time and with a lot of practice. I'm not discouraging you, I'm encouraging you to start small and work your way up.

Bryan
parbreak

s10blaza

iTrader: (2)

Here's a good rough guide i found online about what's involved in a blend. I highly suggest not to panel matching. Whoever painted my cars bumper didn't blend and at certain angles there is a big difference in color where the bumper and fender meet

http://www.jackspaintplace.com/blending.htm