How To Paint a Car??? Body Guys Help Me Out!!!

Adam95GT · Feb 25, 2009

I need some help... Im going to be spraying my engine bay very soon and need some tips... if it goes well i guess ill be doing the whole car possibly

Im going to be doing it in a garage in a make shift sheets from my bed paint booth... im assuming i should wet the ground to keep dust down???? im not sure if the extra moisture around will effect the paint.

i guess it should go like this... let me know what you think and if im wrong...

Im going to take home some plastic beakers from chem supply to mix the paint, reducer, and hardener in figured it would be more accurate then paint measuring sticks and cups and they are free....

1. Wash it!
2. Mask it!
3. Sand down the paint with 500-600 grit sand paper.
4. Wash it Again!
5. After it drys lay down the primer thick nozzle on the gun.
6. Sand primer down with a 600grit
7. Wash again!
8. Spray down a light base coat of the paint allow it to dry spraying as fast as possible and keeping a wet edge.
9. Allow to dry then spray the second coat a little heavier.
10. Allow to dry for 90minutes or so and spray more coats if desired.

Unsure about here:
11. Wet sand the paint to get out any dirt or particles with 1000grit. Then buff the paint.

Might just skip to here:
12. Apply Clear coat wait 15-20 minutes between each coat applying enough till the surface is smooth (no metal flakes sticking out if a metallic)
13. Allow to dry.

Thanks for help in advance.

1slow95 · Feb 25, 2009

When I did it we did all the prep work first, then taped it.
Primer.
Lightly sand the primer.
Apply 2 or 3 light base coats.
Apply 2 or 3 clear coats.
Let it sit for a day to completely dry.
Wet sand and buff.
Enjoy your shiny new paint.

Since you're painting the engine bay I wouldn't worry about wet sanding and buffing. I started to buff mine and it's just about impossible so I gave up.

Also, when you get the paint see if you can get the mixing instructions with it. It should list the drying time between coats.

reddy351 · Feb 25, 2009

You can actually use 240grit paper or 3M Scotchbrite pads. All you want to do is take the shine away from the old paint. Basecoat/clearcoat systems usually only need 20 minutes or so between coats. This applies even to the clear coat. (I've always used DuPont base/clears and have never "color sanded" between the base and the clear.) Usually, if the clear is shot within 20 hours of the base being applied, it doesn't require re-sanding.

You shouldn't do anything "as fast as possible" when painting a car. The pace you should keep is about 10-12 minutes to go all the way around the car. That means that you will be less than 5 minutes under the hood, in the engine compartment. Keep in mind that the engine compartment has lots of nooks and carnnies. Don't try to get them all in the first shot. Get a few details on one LIGHT coat and the rest is subsequent coats. You really should have good coverage in 3 coats or so. Clear is the same way. Too much and it will run. Take your time and clear your gun, have a smoke and take a leak between coats, you have plenty of time.

Good luck with it! Under the hood is a GREAT place to learn how to apply paint. Most of it will be obstructed by the "lump" and what does show will be hidden by the closed hood, most of the time.

fastgtfairlane · Feb 26, 2009

looks like you have the steps down. the clear coat is the most critical part of the entire process. also make sure you have an air compressor that is very strong and can maintain a constant pressure. a cup gun will use tons of air. a multi stage compressor is best. especially with the hvlp gun you have. how big is ur compressor. not having enough pressure can cause your clear to lay down like poopy

94GTCoupe · Feb 26, 2009

if it comes out good,can you come and spray my 1/4 panel

i'm not a painter,so i dont have any good tips.
but from everything i've heard,you should take your time and dont try to rush through it.

good luck.

Adam95GT · Feb 27, 2009

its a 6 star rated crafts man on it it says hplv requires a minimum of 4 star rating.... i forget the actual power on it.... its a 33gal i wanna say 6.5 hp

Someone said i cant paint over rattle can primer... Which i have used in many layers along with auto paint to find the low and high spots . They said i have to resand everything down bare.... i dont want to do that.... is this true???? this was comming from some pro painter guys... and i figure as long as its sanded down thin with some mare metal i should be fine... something about moisture in the primer... i figured id heat gun the primer... then spray a primer sealer on top to lift water.... just an idea.

1slow95 · Feb 27, 2009

I used rattle can primer on my engine bay and sprayed right over top of it. I did use primer sealer before spraying the base coat.

Pokageek · Feb 27, 2009

Paint is only as good as the PREP-work..so I hear. I am sure you will do great man!

reddy351 · Feb 27, 2009

Under the hood, you can get away with spraying over rattle can primer. (Especially if you used Duplicolor rattles. Their etching primer is killer....in a can.) A good primer/sealer would be better, though. No need to go all the way back to metal.

On the body, I wouldn't want to spray over any cheap paint/primer though.

I can't wait to see you get it done!

Adam95GT · Feb 28, 2009

my thoughts exactly thanks guys... I did the self etching as a base... then the filler then sprayed over that with the duplicolor sealer primer. Its still not perfect... but as of right now i think i need to just be satisfied with my job and move on to paint... the only area thats a problem is behind the head lights... i got it alot better now but its still not perfect... i dont think anyone will ever see it anyway

thanks guys:SNSign::SNSign:

chaos254 · Feb 28, 2009

good luck with painting your car man, I've thought about it in the past but decided against it. I don't have the patience or time to do bodywork lol.

Adam95GT · Feb 28, 2009

chaos254 said:
good luck with painting your car man, I've thought about it in the past but decided against it. I don't have the patience or time to do bodywork lol.

Neither do i... LOL

fastgtfairlane · Mar 1, 2009

a friend and i painted the front end of my car in his garage. he bought a craftsman 33gal compressor he said it was running out of air when the hood was being painted. also, i know its not necessary but wetsanding before the base goes on with some 1500 grit or so will make the base and clear go on like glass. without looking at the compressor its hard to tell. just take your time and give time for the compressor to catch up. i would do 1 panel at a time then the compressor catch up and proceed. its not that bad man. most important thing is getting the mixture of the paint and getting the thickness right. the clear coat can be a lil more tricky. i would practice a lil first to get the gun adjusted right.

How To Paint a Car??? Body Guys Help Me Out!!!

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