OK. So some people on this forum have heard about it and others haven't. I used to be a professional car painter and since I needed to paint my hood (I didn't, I laid carbon fiber vinyls instead because I'm cheap) for trade-in I thought I'd be helpful for once and make a DIY guide.

Let's start off with this: Painting is ******* expensive. 8 oz. of LZ5T (Europa Blue) is $50. That doesn't include primer, clear coat, a gun, all the solvents, sand paper, a buffer, buffing compound, car wash soap. The reason I'm posting this DIY is because paint labor at a body shop is around $70-$80/hr. so you might save some bones doing it yourself if all you have to paint is a fender or a trunk lid. For me it was about $150 for materials not including the gun. The gun I bought was $100. So $250 total.

Alright, so you're still in the process of choosing the materials you'll need. You haven't even thought about a gun yet. Sand paper and blocks: So you're standing looking at the sand paper and it all seems overwhelming. So many different grits, wet, dry, round, square? I'll keep it simple: If you're doing a panel repaint get a grey Scotchbrite pad and a product called Scuff 'N Clean or a similar product. Don't be afraid to ask an employee for guidance. It's OK. If you bought the panel new from Rockauto.com or somewhere like that, 99% of the time it's ready to paint. If you have peeling clear then buy 500 grit wet paper for feather edging. You'll also need to buy a wet block. The way you can tell is usually a wet block is foam and it may or may not have holes in it to hold water. When using a wet block with holes, make sure the holes are facing up so they act like little reservoirs to help keep your sand paper wet. You'll also want to buy 1200 grit for sanding clear coat. 2 sheets of each grit should be plenty for 1 panel.

Carwash soap: Buy a good carwash soap that doesn't have silicone in it. If you go to a dedicated autobody supply store then none of the soap they carry should have silicone in it. Silicone is a non-stick additive so obviously it'll affect the adhesion of the paint.

Tack cloth: look for it. It comes in a cellaphane package. Buy it, 1 package should be enough.

Mixing cups: Buy two or three 32 oz. mixing cups. The nice part about mixing cups is they have the mix ratios printed on the side of the cup. They may not have the precise ratio you need. Example: You need a 1:1 mix ratio and the closest ratio you find is 1:1:1:1. Cut off the last two ones and that's the mix column you need. Mixing cup columns read from left to right with the paint, clear, or primer going in first. I'll post a picture later when I get into paint mixing.

Solvents: talk to a knowledgeable employee about what paint solvents to buy because every brand requires different solvents. Try to buy a paint that only requires a reducer. For PPG paints that system is DBC. PPG's DBU requires a reducer and a hardener. Also make sure to explain the conditions your painting in. Some solvents are also temperature sensitive.

Clear coat: Also refer to an employee about your conditions. U-POL brand clear coat is pretty popular and only requires a hardener to be sprayed.

Primer: If needed. Since I'm only covering repaints and not painting over bodywork then PM me for more information.

Wax and grease remover: invaluable tool. Buy it in an aerosol can. This will help to make sure all the gunk and bullshit is off the panel before you spray.

Alright, so it's been awhile and I see my pretty little post has been kicked to the turd page.

Now that you've bought your materials you're ready to look at paint spraying apparatii (paint guns). The most common, legal, and efficient gun on the market is pretty much any HVLP spray gun. What does HVLP stand for you may ask? Well grab an umbrella cause it's about to rain down knowledge. HVLP stands for High Volume Low Pressure meaning that it puts out a high volume of paint (max coverage) at a very low pressure (min. overspray). HVLP guns will start at around $100 and can go all the way up to around $500. If you're spraying in your garage with a couple of box fans under the door and dad's borrowed air compressor, go for the $100 gun. Along with your new, fancy gun you'll also want to ensure you have an air regulator for the end of the gun and an in-line air filter. Before I forget make sure the air cap is 1.3mm-1.5mm. That's best for base and clear coat while a 1.7-1.9mm cap is best for primer.

So now you've bought everything, and your panel is either on a parts stand or two saw horses. If you're feather edging peeling clear coat for a respray and re-clear then take that 500 or 1000 grit paper and a bucket full of water with a tiny little squirt of soap in it. The soap will make sanding a little more effortless. Sand around the peeling area, targeting that hard edge you feel with your WHOLE hand. Any time you feel for uneven spots or dings it's important to rub your whole hand across the panel for the most accurate feel.

More later.

 

bump.

 

This is some good info man! What's the smallest compressor you'd need to do, say, a hood? I imagine one of those little ones wouldn't be enough?

 

Don't bump it Pat, add to it. Looking forward to another installment.

 

I just hit "edit" and add to that one post but that's a good idea that way it bumps itself. Chris, you could probably deal with a 6 gallon compressor. Keep the gun at 20 psi and the tank set to about 40-50 psi.

 

keeping my eye on this thread

thanks for putting it up

 

No problem. Jeremy said he liked the idea so he knew what that troll in the booth in the back of the bodyshop was ACTUALLY doing and not just charging $85/hr for labor.

 

Woah I forgot I even had this thread! Anyways. So now you're sanding your trouble areas, for this example it's peeling clear. After you've sanded the area, rinsed it and your sand paper often, and you now feel no more hard edge where the clear peeled away it's almost time to paint! Since it's a whole panel take the sand paper or, if you bought it, the gray scuff pad and rough up the whole rest of the panel. Make sure to dry small areas with a small squeegee to see how shiny the rest of the panel is. Once the rest of the panel is dull and there are no more shiny spots on the area to be painted it'll be time to wash, rinse, and let dry. Again.

Use this dry time to prepare a makeshift paintbooth for yourself. Hang sheet plastic around the panel making sure to give yourself several feet of room to maneuver in. You'll also want to make sure the floor is wet before you paint because it'll help keep the dust down. You can also use this time to unpack all of your shiny, new painting **** and prepare it a little bit. While you're assembling the gun, make sure to put teflon tape on the threads of the air hose connectors. Also make sure to put it on the threads of the regulator and in-line filter too. Air leaks are bad so you'll want a tight system. Air leaks lower air pressure, kick up dust, and make your compressor kick on more. After you're certain everything is nicely sealed and the gun is together in the manner proscribed by the instruction booklet, turn on your compressor and let it fill up. Make sure to set the regulator between the tank and the gun to 40-50psi and the regulator on the gun to 20-25 psi.

 

I'd also recommend and in-line air filter, as well. The filter will keep any moisture and contaminates out of the air as it flows into the gun. The filters are about 5 bucks and can be found at any autobody supply store or even at home improvement boxes, Lowe's or Home Despot.

I forgot to include this but let me add this in: When you're buying the paint, make sure you find the EXACT paint code on the car or on a car that's the same model, year, and color. For those of you that have Europa Blue be advised that it was dropped in '99.5 and the Santorin Blue that followed is a few shades lighter. When you see them side-by-side it's a noticeable.

Masking masking masking masking masking. Masking everything off sucks complete donkey dick. It's somewhat tedious and time consuming. There's several ways you can mask-off panel gaps. For the hood/fender gap and door jams you can buy foam tape (expensive but very, very convenient and easy). Take the foam tape and run it along the rubber in the door jamb, it'll fill the gap and the overspray won't be able to ride into the door jamb. Another, cheaper, way to mask off a door jamb is to back mask it.



See the leading edge of the back door? I circled it for you. Stop looking at the model. Anyways, take 2" masking tape (automotive grade, cheap ***) and run a piece down the underside of the leading edge being careful to pull the tape taught and only sticking about an inch to the underside of the door skin. That'll leave an inch to come in contact with the trailing edge of the front door when you close it. No paint in the jambs win. If you're masking a whole door off, then make absolutely sure the window is down before you mask it.

 

Ok, so today I decided I'm going to go over paint variations a little bit. One manufacturer can have several variations for one color. Now, variations can be caused either intentionally or unintentionally. Intentionally is when a little more, or less, of a certain color is mixed into specific paint mixture.

Just so everyone is clear, black is no longer black. There are multiple colors mixed in to give it a certain "tint" that most people probably wouldn't catch until the paint was shown right next to straight black toner, which is what used to be black. If I add in a little bit more silver to Santorin or Europa blue, it'll be lighter and have a little more flake to it. Same as if I add a little more white to a B5's Silver.

Other things that'll affect the tone of a color would be manufacturer and also environmental conditions. If you look closely at early Chevy Cobalts you can see a variation between the bumpers and the body. This is because they're painted at two different plants and because the paint for the bumpers is pipelined to the plant.