DIY paint job. Done right. Hopefully

[e304me]

Yeah, the lowest I used was 220, and that was only right on top of the filler right at the beginning to get the rough shape. Don't touch the rest of the car with anything less than 400 IMO. And definitely prime the whole car, block it, look for any dings you may have missed, prime again, block again, if all is perfect, clean the living shit out of EVERYTHING and go for the paint.

Oh, and you are wet sanding, right? Only use "wet or dry" paper, and sand with water. It lets you see everything better and makes life easier.

The pros use 36, then 80, then 180 on repairs. And block sand starting with 180. The key is to let the sand paper, not elbow grease do the work

[sonnyqm3]

Why not primer the whole car - that gives you a chance to block sand it, right?

you can primer the whole car but its not necessary... vlad will even agree with me on this.. if the paint on the car is not too bad then just use 400 grid sand paper or maybe 320 if you want to go a lil deeper and prep the hell out of it real nice.. shoot enough paint to get coverage and then clear it... ofcourse there is a lil more involved but u get the point...

good prep is the key to a good paint job. IMHO..

[george graves]

For a noob - wouldn't it be best to primer the whole car? Scuff it up and primer it so you have a fresh slate to start with?

[e304me]

good prep is the key to a good paint job. IMHO..

Exactly why I am going to prime and block the whole car. It will also make it so I dont have to dump loads of paint on the car to get even color with red

[sonnyqm3]

For a noob - wouldn't it be best to primer the whole car? Scuff it up and primer it so you have a fresh slate to start with?

Ok if you really want that show car paint then this is what you do..

1. strip the paint from the car with paint stripper, kind of like acid..
2. get it to the metal
3. straighten the whole cars surface on the medal,
4. have bondo ready to cover up spots that need attention
5. use EPOXY primer for the first coat then check/block
6. epoxy primer and check/block
7. if ready then i coat paint sealant
8. now time for base coat. between 2-3 coats.. some painter use 4 5 6 7 8 9 even 10 coats for show cars.. dont know why but they do.. I say 2- coats at the max 4 coats is good.
9.. time for clear coat.. 2- 3 coats good but for more shine and ppl who buff their car alot go 4 coats.
10.. wait til the paint is baked real nice and solid.
11. wet sand buff and wax... repeat after 2 weeks for more shine if you like..


Now to be honest this will cost you a fortune..

[george graves]

^That sounds like the opposite of what a first timer should be getting into. I was asking what was best for a noob.

[e304me]

oh BTW I havent updated because I am in monterey for the car weekend. On Friday though I did get some time to work on the bad dent on the rocker panel. I thought I was going to have to use the stud welder but I was able to get to all of it using the hammers and also a punch for the very end. I will post pictures tomorrow. I am going to sand to to metal to give the bondo a good tooth to hold on to but it is just going to need a thin coat. I have a a few other little dents to hammer out and bondo as well. My respirator should be here by the end of the week so I will have time to sand the car and also set up a booth.

[e304me]

^That sounds like the opposite of what a first timer should be getting into. I was asking what was best for a noob.

If the existing paint is in good shape (not peeling or flaking) then priming and blocking it will be good for just about any situation.

[sonnyqm3]

^That sounds like the opposite of what a first timer should be getting into. I was asking what was best for a noob.

sorry. lol

ok her we go..

take out all panels from the car.. if you can out the windows that a plus..

1. sand with 400 or 320
2. scuff the entire car
3. make sure you get all the edges
4. have good masking tape.. I recommend 3m
5. masking paper.
6. prep the help out the car real nice with ur masking paper and masking tape...
7. use 2k primer then wait til its dry and block
8. might need a second coat of 2k primer and block and sand.
9. get its ready/mask for the paint job
10. use good paint.ex... ppg, dupont etc.
11. shoot the car with 1 coat of paint, wait then check for coverage
12. shoot it again, wait ang check for coverage.. i think 3 coats will do..
13. wait til paint is ready for clear..
14 shoot 2-3 coats of clear... dont be cheap and use good clear.. good clear will cost about $200- $300
15. wait til paint dries then wet sand buff....


hope this is a lil better..

[e304me]

oh BTW again, I saw some M3's at and I think I decided on Henna for the color. The trick is going to be getting that good color. I am hoping it is possible with gray primer. Also, it looks damn good for a single stage!!!

[sonnyqm3]

are you gonna get ready mixed paint or your gonna mix ur own paint?

make sure you get good paint and good reducer... shit reducer will make ur job llok like hell.
also make sure to use good clear..
1. Matrix makes good clear called AUTO Glass
2. Debeers clears is very good.
3. Transtar has one good clear

clears are usually 2-1 ratio or 4-1 ratio mix.

paints are 1-1 ratio. meaning get the a 24 cup of paint and mix it with 24ounce of reducer..
there is more afforrdable clears as well just ask ur local paint supplier..

[sonnyqm3]

oh BTW again, I saw some M3's at and I think I decided on Henna for the color. The trick is going to be getting that good color. I am hoping it is possible with gray primer. Also, it looks damn good for a single stage!!!

Henna is a hard color and big Negative on the single stage.. if you are not a pro painter then single stage paint on Henna is going to be hard...

The Henna I just paint is because the PO had it painted with single stage and it looked orange.. becareful when painting single stage paint..

paint code for Henna is 052 incase you didnt know.. the mix on that paint is so long.. I think it was like 8 or 9 different toners that had to used to get Henna paint correct.

[e304me]

I am going to get paint from the auto paint store, PPG!!!!

They said I should probably just get a gallon of paint and clear ($700) does that seem about right? It was DTC paint I think and 2021 clear they quoted me for. I will make sure to get good reducers.

Is gray a good primer to use for henna?

[sonnyqm3]

ya gray is fine..

get deltron DBC paint from PPG. Henna paint code is 052, if your going with ppg clear then use either 3000 or for a lil bit more go with 4000.

I will give you the mixing/toner code tomorrow. i will also give you the exact number for the ppg clear and hardner..

[hotghias]

If you're building a plastic booth, I recommend setting the fans to blow into the booth and out the filters, rather than suck air out of the booth. Learned that on the 2nd or 3rd car after cursing the plastic walls closing in on me, lol. I tended to spend way too much time in the bodywork stage and then cheap out on paintbooth setup and paint quality. Sealers always F'ed me up - never use them - just use a good primer. When I learned all my lessons and laid my best paintjob ever on the latest project with a harbor freight HVLP, spots of light green self-etching primer bled thru the white paint. Suckballs. So, I have yet to get the primer/sealer stuff right, haha. Best of luck to you, though.