Painting a car (NOOB!)

[bryce1991]

I don't know if you guys have time to field a bunch of questions for a rookie, but here it goes anyways.

My girlfriend is about to get her license and her car is a little beat up and she expressed an interest in having it painted, OK, no problem. However, i don't have enough to have it done proffesionally so i'm going to do it myself.

I know how body fillers and what not work, But im not too sure about a few paint related things. Can i primer right over the existing paint? should i sand it and then primer it? Or do i need to strip the car first?

What kind of primer would you suggest using? and how many coats?

I'm not too sure about paints either, Do i use acrylic? enamel? And how many coats would you suggest?


As for clear coats, Any specific type or brand i should use?

I dont understand the technical terms, Like the sealers and hardners and what not.

If you could give me a basic run down on how the process works, it would be GREATLY appreciated.

If you can give me a hand, i'll take pictures of everything from start to finish so you can see the result of your advice.


Thanks,

Bryce Green

 

[TAZ]

Hello Bryce,
Welcome to the Custom Paint Forum!
I've replied to your questions below. I'm sure other members will respond as well

Can i primer right over the existing paint? should i sand it and then primer it? Or do i need to strip the car first?
>>>If the car has factory paint, no need to strip the car. You will need to sand the car and all the bad spots. You can just spot prime all the bad spots or any areas you've done bodywork.
You do not want to paint over any 'shiny' spots.
Once the car is in the booth though, you will want to spray a couple coats of 'sealer' over the complete car. Try to get a shade that is close to the basecoat color (i.e if it's a light blue metallic basecoat color, go with a med to lighter gray sealer. If it's a solid red basecoat, go with a white sealer. Black basecoat, go with a black sealer....)

What kind of primer would you suggest using? and how many coats?
>>>Any good brand of primer would be fine.
Be sure it's a 2-part primer (primer/hardener). Normally 2-4 coats depending on what you are priming. A small chip, 2 coats is fine....of course once you 'feather' it (this means to sand out the chip and make it so you cannot feel any edge, yet, making a smooth transition from the chip area out to the actual paint surface)

I'm not too sure about paints either, Do i use acrylic? enamel? And how many coats would you suggest?
>>>You can use anything you would like.
I would recommend a basecoat/clearcoat though


As for clear coats, Any specific type or brand i should use?
>>>Use the same brand clearcoat as you do the basecoat.
i.e. If you get Limco basecoat, also get Limco clearcoat
PPG basecoat, used PPG clear


I dont understand the technical terms, Like the sealers and hardeners and what not.
>>>The sealer goes on when the car is in the booth ready to paint. No need to sand once you seal the car. You put the base directly over this.
Primer on the other hand takes care of your bodyworked areas, along with areas that you sanded through along with other 'bad' areas on the car. You DO want to sand this.

If you could give me a basic run down on how the process works, it would be GREATLY appreciated.

>>
This is a very quick rundown...
Do the bodywork
Sand all your bad areas (peeling paint, chips, scratches...)
Prime the above (make sure wherever the primer goes is sanded so it adheres correctly)
Sand the complete car (DA)
Hand sand the complete car
Mask up complete car after blowing off VERY good
Put car in the booth
Seal the car
Base the car
Clear the car
Let sit overnight--Wetsand and buff if you would like
Remove all mask

If you can give me a hand, i'll take pictures of everything from start to finish so you can see the result of your advice.
>>>
Hey, that would be great. Plenty of help on this forum.
Love to see pics through the process. Be sure and add them to the Members Gallery so we can keep tabs on it. You can link from a post to all your pics.

:bigokay:

 

[Maylar]

Taz, if you're spraying primer then sealer isn't necessary. Wet on wet sealers can be tricky with very narrow recoat windows, I wouldn't recommend them to noobs.

Bryce, are you doing a color change or repainting the same color? There's a big difference in the amount of work involved.

 

[TAZ]

Taz, if you're spraying primer then sealer isn't necessary. Wet on wet sealers can be tricky with very narrow recoat windows, I wouldn't recommend them to noobs.

So you're saying if you have solid red car or light blue metallic car, and you 'spot prime' the car with the beige primer, you wouldn't recommend spraying a couple coats of sealer to make the paint surface a consistent color?
I guess you would eventually get the basecoat color to get good coverage, but it would take quite a bit more basecoat.
What if he is changing color from black to a solid red with beige spot prime? I see no way you would cover the black with the solid red without using quite a bit of red basecoat. Even at that, it would be hard to cover the black.

I was assuming he was repainting the original color.
Of course, if he's changing, then the jams should be done. Bumpers should be pulled, trim, headlights, mirrors... should be removed. Steps of sanding (180, then 320). Time between coats should also be mentioned. All data sheets should be read along with instructions.
A lot more to the steps than I mentioned.
I just listed the "basic" steps.
:bigokay:

 

[Brian Dee]

Hello Bryce, and welcome to The forum. If you could send us a photo of the car it would help us with how to advise you of the best way to complete your project. What type of body work is going to be involved. Any rust or just minor dings and scratches. Also is there a color change involved. There are some great custom painters on this forum and we just want to point you in the right direction. As Jon Kosmoski of House of Kolor say's. Most painters fail at the workbench,and we certainly don't want that.

 

[Maylar]

So you're saying if you have solid red car or light blue metallic car, and you 'spot prime' the car with the beige primer, you wouldn't recommend spraying a couple coats of sealer to make the paint surface a consistent color?

Not at all. I'm saying that it's generally safer to prime the entire car rather than spot prime and use sealer. My one experience with sealer was a disaster because I let it go outside the recoat window and the first pass of base coat caused it to lift and wrinkle. Wet on wet processes can be time critical, and I don't recommend them to noobs. Even if it means another day waiting for more primer to dry when you've sanded through to pink filler (that's where sealer is really handy).

And I'll extend your advice to remove anything that can be removed even if not doing a color change. Headlight and tailight bezels, emblems, door and window moulding and even mirrors and bumpers should come off. The beauty of painting a car yourself is that you don't have to take shortcuts. Painting underneath things gives much nicer results than masking and painting around them.

BTW paint formulas assume the standard "grey" substrate nowadays.

We also need to know if the paint will be solid color or metalic, as that could limit paint choices.

 

[TAZ]

So you want to only tell a person that's new to auto painting not to use sealer only because you had one bad experience?
I'm not saying the way you prep a car is wrong, but man, that's alot of extra work to sand the car, prime the car, then have to resand the complete car again.
There is a window of about 1-2 hours which should be plenty of time to get around the car one time.

We both have our ways of painting, neither is wrong...you know what the old saying is... ask 10 painters how to paint a car and you'll get 10 different answers. :haha:

Feel free to post a step by step for Bryce the way 'you' paint a car.

----

As Jon Kosmoski of House of Kolor say's. Most painters fail at the workbench,and we certainly don't want that

I hadn't heard that before....:haha:

 

[Maylar]

Taz you are, of course, correct. Using a sealer is standard practice nowadays and I shouldn't pass on my paranoia without explanation. The sealer I used had a recoat window of 15-45 minutes and failing to follow that was a $1000 mistake (long story for another thread).

My step by step would depend on what you're starting with and what the reasons are for a repaint. A color change requires extra steps as you've already alluded. A previous paint job that's peeling or otherwise failed could require stripping to bare metal. How much body work will be required? Got rust? Gonna replace a door or fender first?

For a generic repaint ('cuz I feel like it?) my procedure would be similar to yours.

- Remove everything that can be removed. Make sure you have or can get any side moulding or emblems that might be ruined in the process.
- Wash it all down with a strong detergent - Dawn dish liquid is a favorite for that.
- Block sand the existing paint with 180 grit. Use a red Scotch pad where the sandpaper doesn't reach.
- Rinse with clear water. Follow with a solvent wipe down.
- Do your body work (insert 1 hr to 1 month of time here, depending)
- Block sand filler with 180 at the end.
- Another solvent wipe down.
- Mask what won't be painted. Mask the wheels (seems obvious but needs extra attention and is a PITA)
- Bare metal gets a light coat of epoxy primer for adhesion and a moisture barrier. I love epoxy primer.
- Spray Primer/surfacer on the whole car with a high build 2K.
- Let primer dry over night.
- Block sand the primer with whatever grit the color coat needs (400-800 depending on spec sheet).
- Solvent wipe down. Tack rag.
- Just before painting color coat, spray sealer anywhere you've sanded thru to Bondo. Wait appropriate dry time (important)
- Paint color, clear.

Ask 10 painters, get 11 different answers lol

 

[willgluck]

I have a Toyota truck and i had an accident few weeks back and I got it fully repaired from my local mechanic.But there is a problem of paint which is completely of the surface from some place at front so i am in search of a painter which can do this job.So if anyone here have info about a good painter please share with me.

Auto body

 

[Verwokkfrpew]

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