collision repair and auto painting

[oliver.r]

when you are taking cars down to the metal like the 2002 you are working on for example. for the most part I see that you've done a great job judging by the pictures. But i'm curious in areas where the picture doesnt show such as the edge of the doors, fenders, area of the A-Pillar that's covered by the fenders, etc... where paint can reach around. How do you go about prepping/sanding those areas for paint when you don't remove them off the frame in the first place?

In my experience, those tend to be the weak points cause they don't have a big enough surface or even surface for the paint to bond better

on the 2002 we will be taking off the doors and trunk, they actually got primered on the inside.

the fenders are welded on the front so we undercoated them on the inside edge for protection.
they have to be sanded just like any other part of the car, it is easier when you take off the panels that way it allll gets painted

[bmwstephen]

on the 2002 we will be taking off the doors and trunk, they actually got primered on the inside.

the fenders are welded on the front so we undercoated them on the inside edge for protection.
they have to be sanded just like any other part of the car, it is easier when you take off the panels that way it allll gets painted

do you have any special tools for the small space or hard to reach areas such as the inside edge? what do you mean by undercoat (im an idiot)

[oliver.r]

do you have any special tools for the small space or hard to reach areas such as the inside edge? what do you mean by undercoat (im an idiot)

your fingers work pretty well to get into those nooks:)

rubberized undercoating is a good thing to have, it is very useful as a corrosion protectent, you can spray it in wheel wells or areas that dont really have to be painted but need to be protected, check out the area on the front clip of the 2002 that will be covered by the air dam, that black stuff is undercoating, just sprayed it to prevent corrosion since we will be molding the air dam over it

[bmwstephen]

your fingers work pretty well to get into those nooks:)

rubberized undercoating is a good thing to have, it is very useful as a corrosion protectent, you can spray it in wheel wells or areas that dont really have to be painted but need to be protected, check out the area on the front clip of the 2002 that will be covered by the air dam, that black stuff is undercoating, just sprayed it to prevent corrosion since we will be molding the air dam over it

OH THAT undercoating duh. yeah the e30 side rockers and front and rear valence uses that stuff. how effective is painting that area? moreover, are there special techniques since we're not painting on plastic or metal

[oliver.r]

not sure exactly what you mean

[bmwstephen]

have you seen the "textured" paint on an e30's rocker panels and valences? It's certainly not metal. It appears to be painted rubber but it sticks on pretty damn good. I'm wondering if you have any input anything on a car that isn't metal or plastic can have paint stick so good on it.

[oliver.r]

have you seen the "textured" paint on an e30's rocker panels and valences? It's certainly not metal. It appears to be painted rubber but it sticks on pretty damn good. I'm wondering if you have any input anything on a car that isn't metal or plastic can have paint stick so good on it.

undercoating is paintable, just scuff it with a red scotch brite pad and thats that or you can get actual spray on texture that is not colored and paint over that, for that e30 specific application i would just use rubberized undercoating from a can, you can paint it body color if you want, theres nothing wrong with that

[oliver.r]

one of the co-founders of hotmail just dropped of his 650 vert :)

[Cabriolet]

what happened to it?

[oliver.r]

right quarter panel is all smashed in

[long tall eta]

what would be a fair price to get my hood done? several stone chips, a very small ding, like it was tapped w/ a tac hammer. mostly the chips. 27 years worth. would a shop be able to match the paint to the rest of the car? it is a schwarz. pic below.

[oliver.r]

what would be a fair price to get my hood done? several stone chips, a very small ding, like it was tapped w/ a tac hammer. mostly the chips. 27 years worth. would a shop be able to match the paint to the rest of the car? it is a schwarz. pic below.

Price is dependent on the rate in the area were you live.
Get multiple estimate but don't go with te cheapest, go with the one you feel most comfertable with.
Make sure you get a warranty.
Fenders will need to be blended to get a exact color match

[evandael]

this thread is excellent.

oliver, i may consider doing a glass-out full color change on my car. pretty sure it's on it's original paint, which admittedly is still quite nice (which is why i'm only considering a color change instead of a same-color respray).

stephen touched on some of the questions regarding door jambs and various interior surfaces but what i was wondering this:

how much prep work would i need to do to 'hidden' interior surfaces (under carpet, in the trunk, door panels, dash, etc) to guarantee proper adhesion? should i just sand down to the basecoat or to the OEM primer (not going bare-metal, that's a bit much)

also, as a cheaper alternative, is it acceptable to tape off the interior (say, an inch or so on the inside the jambs) and spray up until that point with the new color? or would feathering the edge of the paint be better?

and one last one. i'm definitely going to do all the prep work myself, and your tips were helpful. i also work at a dealer with a body shop and may go in there to be a slave every now and then just to get experience.. but lets say the car and all parts are prepped, i bought the sealer, basecoat, clear, all the hardeners and solvents and whatnot and i would wetsand and buff as well.. how much could i expect to pay a painter to just spray the car? would an under-the-table, after hours cash offer be reasonable?

thanks!

[oliver.r]

this thread is excellent.

oliver, i may consider doing a glass-out full color change on my car. pretty sure it's on it's original paint, which admittedly is still quite nice (which is why i'm only considering a color change instead of a same-color respray).

stephen touched on some of the questions regarding door jambs and various interior surfaces but what i was wondering this:

how much prep work would i need to do to 'hidden' interior surfaces (under carpet, in the trunk, door panels, dash, etc) to guarantee proper adhesion? should i just sand down to the basecoat or to the OEM primer (not going bare-metal, that's a bit much)

also, as a cheaper alternative, is it acceptable to tape off the interior (say, an inch or so on the inside the jambs) and spray up until that point with the new color? or would feathering the edge of the paint be better?

and one last one. i'm definitely going to do all the prep work myself, and your tips were helpful. i also work at a dealer with a body shop and may go in there to be a slave every now and then just to get experience.. but lets say the car and all parts are prepped, i bought the sealer, basecoat, clear, all the hardeners and solvents and whatnot and i would wetsand and buff as well.. how much could i expect to pay a painter to just spray the car? would an under-the-table, after hours cash offer be reasonable?

thanks!

you dont always have to sand down to the primer, really almost never if the paint you are sanding is in good shape, if you are sanding jambs just use a red scotch brite pad scuff it until all the gloss is gone and thats it, sand down chips with 400 grit sand paper.
i would not recommend removing the carpet, just pull up the edge so you get a bit of overspray on the inner edge.
price on just a spray i have no idea, you would have to shop around.
personaly i would charge maybe $400 to shoot a car with full jambs

[bmwstephen]

you dont always have to sand down to the primer, really almost never if the paint you are sanding is in good shape, if you are sanding jambs just use a red scotch brite pad scuff it until all the gloss is gone and thats it, sand down chips with 400 grit sand paper.
i would not recommend removing the carpet, just pull up the edge so you get a bit of overspray on the inner edge.
price on just a spray i have no idea, you would have to shop around.
personaly i would charge maybe $400 to shoot a car with full jambs

Oliver,

if a car has been resprayed multiple times, would it be more ideal to sand it down (with a heavier grit of course) to a solid layer of paint/primer or bare metal?