diy paint job

[RIVAL]

hey im looking for a thread i dunno if thier is one but i tried looking, for a diy paint job, cos i wanna paint my car myself and need a back up guide just incase i get lost 1 with pics would be awesome but no need.
and i have a question how much harder is doing 2pak paint than acrylic. i have the time so doesnt matter if takes longer? thnx

[phantom_civic]

Lots of time like u mentioned, alot of patience aswell.
Also a large size garage would b nice to start off in.

There isnt much difference in the acrylic n 2pac, 2pac is more durable in the sun where as Acrylic will fade out much quicker.

[Phuong1987]

2pac needs a clear coat, yes 2pac is durable
Acrylic does not need a clear coat, yes Acrylic will fade out much quicker, but it can be polished down and it will look good as new

[Phuong1987]

One of those paint type is legal to paint at home, i think its acrylic
You can't paint 2pac at home.
Can someone confirm?

[phantom_civic]

Its destroyn the ozone layer.

[steve88]

u also cant use conventional masks too shield against the fumes it gives off either

[RMN15N]

firstly, if you were to do it yourself do it in acrylic , one downside to it is ie
a bird shats on ur bonnet and u leave it there for a day or two, it will eat into the paint, =O(,
but if ur willing to hire a booth anywhere for a day it will set you back about 100 dollars but its much more worth it,

as for paint it usually cost you somewhat about 80 bux a litre for good stuff

also it would help for you to know theres a couple types of paints;

acrylic = needs color coat then clear
2pack paints
base = does not need clear, just hardener and abit of thinners
metalic = needs to paint the color then clear on top
candy = needs base coat (usually silver ) then the candy is applyed, then clear

list goes on .. so there many to choose from .. easiest one is the BASE color
just mix it up with thinners and hardener

=)

[EK4R]

yea dont use 2pac its way to hard.

- sand prep it smooth
- spray primer x 1-2
- spray colour x 3 thin coats
- spray clear x 3-5
- sand clear and buff

[aimre]

dont u need to bake 2pac??

[Klayemore]

DIY painting sucks

[traumatized]

if you are intending to DIY, just remember that preparation takes the longest part, the more you concentrate on preparing the surface the better the outcome of the DIY paint job.

as stated

- mask off any areas you do not wish to paint this may be a time consuming process but you don't want to have paint on areas that shouldn't have paint on them because it will make the over all finish look cheap
- prep the surface ready for painting, ensure you are 100% happy with how the surface is before proceeding on
- clean the surface thoroughly with prepsol or something similar to ensure surface is free from contaminates
- prime the surface using 1 or 2 coat, ensure coats are done in light and even layers as you want the surface to be smooth and not have runs
- let primer dry for at least a few hours
- spray the colour on as you did with the primer light even coats, at this stage it may show some imperfections on the surface which may require you to wet sand the surface a little more
- even if you did not need to further wet sand the surface after the first coat of paint ensure you have at least 2 more light and even coats of paint (can't stress light and even enough, very important for a good finish)
- let the paint dry for at least a few hours
- apply clear coat make sure you find out whether the clear coat is in fact clear some clear coat have a tinge of yellow so it will appear the outcome of your paint colour and the over all finish. make sure as with the primer and paint that it is applied lightly and evenly. a few coats of clear will be good minimum of 2 coats though.
- at this stage you are pretty much done, the only thing left is to give the car a good polish but this should only be done after a month this period of time will give the paint the chance to cure.

[steve88]

buy some panels off a car, paint them and see how you go. thats how im learning :) clearcoat is a real bitch. too far away and it wont apply properly and forms blotches , too close and it runs. but youll get it just right soon enough :)

[1996ek1]

What does different colour base coats do?

Like if i wanted to spray my car a shiny black (dont know about different colours of black, lets just say a real glossy one) would it make a difference if i do a gold base coat?

And is goldern pearl in the clear coat? or is that a layer that goes over your paint, with clear coat ontop of it?

[RIVAL]

thanks everyone for helping i have more than enough info to start practicing, definitly will be starting on a spare panel part dont wanna ruin the car hehe.

[hugo]

ask away:
http://autobody101.com/forums/
example:
http://autobody101.com/forums/about5183.html

[RMN15N]

dont u need to bake 2pac??

no you dont, people only bake the cars to dry the top layer of paint so they can move it outside to dry in the sun. so it would be "dust free"


buy some panels off a car, paint them and see how you go. thats how im learning :) clearcoat is a real bitch. too far away and it wont apply properly and forms blotches , too close and it runs. but youll get it just right soon enough :)

from the surface you are going to paint to the nozzle of the gun
should be close to the same size that your thumb and index finger stretch too,
always overlap by 80% when painting so you dont get patches.


What does different colour base coats do?

Like if i wanted to spray my car a shiny black (dont know about different colours of black, lets just say a real glossy one) would it make a difference if i do a gold base coat?

And is goldern pearl in the clear coat? or is that a layer that goes over your paint, with clear coat ontop of it?

if you used a gold base coat and then applyed a base bezel black (real black black) it would make no diffrence because the black you are applying isnt transparent like candy or pearl.

secondly pearl isnt in the clear coat, its a layer itself, eg;

Color 27A - Velocity red

you would paint the red base coat,
then apply the pearl layer, ( by this time it would turn pinkish.)
then apply the clear - after it has dry it will turn out red again =)

when i get home ill post up some DIY pictures of my paint job =D

[steve88]

if you do a nice coat of paint, gloss turns out alright. i know to apply clearcoat you wet sand 600-1200, but what if the paint is metallic? i hear that ****s up the metallic pattern.

any idea to work around this? cause if i dont apply clear coat i know the gloss fades after awhile (this is all on metal)

[steve88]

wouldnt it have adhesion problems? i found the surface of color coat is very glossy and im worried cc wont stick well to it.

[steve88]

suppose your right. i am still a bit of a noob when it comes to painting ,with my rims I just did:
- sand to 80, 120, 180 grit
- apply primer
- sand back with 180 grit
- apply another coat of primer (thin)
- another coat of primer (thin) enough that i cant see steel anymore
- let dry for 1-2 hours
- apply a thin colour coat, let it flash off after about 10min
- applied an even coat (i let about 1min rest between layers)
- applied another thicker coat enough so that basically it gloss's enough to see my own reflection well enough, but no drips or drabs
- let it dry for 2 hours
- applied a few thin but glossy layers of clear coat

finito

i always found lots of thin little layers and i find it impossible to get it to gloss, or perhaps my lots of thin little layers are TOO thin. but even with polishing and buffing, the rim was just dull as hell. so i decided to make my coats a bit thicker. it might flake off, but then again im learning :)
any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[m3ntAL_l2]

dont do it

[steve88]

i already have? lol

[1996ek1]

Lol... too late for that

[steve88]

is everyone freaking out it'll flake off or something?

[steve88]

i know EXACTLY what you mean, i was prac on some cardboard box's actually (well pizza box's :p) and i knew its like you overlap and you can tell when you get just enough paint to cover primer, then it gets thicker, then theres like this point where it shines or it'll drip, and i just stop at that point :).

and the surface was hell clean/well sanded before. like i had cleaned it litrelly every 2 minutes, even blew dust off, etc. im quiet anal about the prep work.

hopefully it'll turn out well, if not i dont realy care they're only rims. i can just acetone it back, sand again and this time try again with my newly purchased air compressor and stop using aerosol cans ;)

[RMN15N]

suppose your right. i am still a bit of a noob when it comes to painting ,with my rims I just did:
- sand to 80, 120, 180 grit
- apply primer
- sand back with 180 grit
- apply another coat of primer (thin)
- another coat of primer (thin) enough that i cant see steel anymore
- let dry for 1-2 hours
- apply a thin colour coat, let it flash off after about 10min
- applied an even coat (i let about 1min rest between layers)
- applied another thicker coat enough so that basically it gloss's enough to see my own reflection well enough, but no drips or drabs
- let it dry for 2 hours
- applied a few thin but glossy layers of clear coat

finito

i always found lots of thin little layers and i find it impossible to get it to gloss, or perhaps my lots of thin little layers are TOO thin. but even with polishing and buffing, the rim was just dull as hell. so i decided to make my coats a bit thicker. it might flake off, but then again im learning :)
any feedback is greatly appreciated!


first of all the way you are applying the paints n the methods your using is wrong!.

you sanded it with 80 - 120 - 180 grit just wasted alot of your time,
80 grit sand paper is more then enuf.. to sand back mosts things ,you can bog after you 80 grit it , then clean it up and slap the high fill / primer straight on after that,
after this method you spray some matt black on it for a guide coat
and rub it back with 320 grit then another layer of guide coat then 800grit
then its 110% ready for paint,

there is no need to 180grit after you primer it, thats just crazy?

[steve88]

sorry i use guide coat as well with matt black, but i generally will sand it to 120-180 before priming it then guide coat to 240

[steve88]

when you guys respray actual car panels, do you find you cant just do a damaged patch and that the only real clean way is to respray the entire panel? if you where to do just the patch what would happen?

[steve88]

but when it comes to sanding the surface i mean what would you do? take it back probably to just base coat or primer i suppose. but then you're proposing apply base coat, clear coat concentrated as you do around the central sanded area, and around the sides where its blending in to move out ? here is the damaged panel btw:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/casmira/IMG_228.jpg
thats my thumb for size comparisons, do you think its more worth repsraying the whole quarter?

mind you, i have a spare bumper bar, im gonna probably respray that as practise before i start attacking my quarter but id like a general idea as to what i should look out for when it comes to body damage

do you also think for doing just a panel like this (and not the entire car). a air compressor such as 2.5HP, 40L and about 5-8/9 CFM is sufficient ? (with a good HVLP spray gun) ? using acryllic mind you