Sand and Bondo Prep-work?

[thejimlab]

painting a car is a pretty big task. Most of the hard work comes in the sanding/filler/primer-prep stage. Painting the car isn't that hard, but it takes some skill and a lot of equipment to do it right. it seems the only way to get it done on a budget is to do all of the prep work yourself. That being said, go to the library, or buy a book, or type "google" into your address bar and do some research on how to prep a car for paint. There are a million sources out there. Just because you own an E30, and browse around at an E30 site, it doesn't mean you'll find the answer here. Good luck.

[87-325ic]

READ, Search, and Read some more.
find a local auto-body supply shop, (walmart and/or advance/autozone/pepboys/etc wont cut it) And go in there asking some decently informed questions.



if you want a decent idea of how to do it, i had a thread on e30tech.com in the appearence section i think, (maybe project garage), that detailed sanding to metal and then going back to clearcoat. and everything between.
it is labeled "valence refinishing" or something like that. and my sn there is the same as it is here. search by author.


Good luck

and White325is is a good man with body/ paint work. PM him.

[soviet1942]

Well I have read up on it and done some research. It is better though to get opinions from people who have done this before because they usually have advice that you can't find in tutorials.

[E30SPDFRK]

Use some 80 grit to get down through the clearcoat and then make it smooth with 220. I got recommended Chrome-a-lite brand filler by a professional and it worked great. Definitely use a block to sand the car, never use your fingers. The guy also said that if you use automotive primer you can leave it on as long as you need without water getting through, just don't try to wash the car. My car has been in primer for over a year with nothing wrong (I'm lazy). Once you get the body work done and spray on the primer, spray on a contrasting layer of primer ex. white first then black. Lightly sand down that layer with the 220 until you just start to see the white. The spots that are still left slid black will show you where the low spots are. You will have them, no matter how good you get the filler. And that's where I run out of help because that's as far as I have gotten. Good luck.

[Tavern Gnome]

Just save your pennies dude. I have been doing this for a living for years and it still isn't easy. I'm not saying you can't do it but chances are you are going to spend a ton of time for a final result that you won't be happy with. Then again, maybe you will. Prove me wrong.

[golde30]

yeah, if you cant afford a $1500 professional job, then dont start on the car and mess it up with no exit plan...

[der affe]

like he said^^^^ i also do it for a living, i don't paint , but i do the bodywork and mechanical.

the best thing for you is to try to take a course at your local community collage or votec center if you are still in HS.
i have around 50K + invested in tools and you can always use more.
that being said if you take a class you have access to all the tools, paint booths, paint guns, sanding supplies, chemicals, KNOWLEDGE, etc. with out having to put much out of pocket. doing it right and having it stay right (no cracking filler, flaking paint, rust, longevity of the shine) is something that comes with time and experience, and learning to do it can be very frustrating! especially if you are doing it on your own with out the help of someone knowledgeable to guide you