how to paint car yourself

Spencer321 · Dec 9, 2003

What is involved/needed to paint car urself? i really dont want to fork out 2000 for a paint job cuz i cant afford it, but dont want to pay 500 to Maaco for a **** job either.... anyone whos done it please tell me...nothing fancy just like midnite or metalic black.. straight color

cap42 · Dec 9, 2003

Spencer321 said:
What is involved/needed to paint car urself? i really dont want to fork out 2000 for a paint job cuz i cant afford it, but dont want to pay 500 to Maaco for a **** job either.... anyone whos done it please tell me...nothing fancy just like midnite or metalic black.. straight color

Well I used to help a ex g/f of mine's dad paint hot rods and bikes so I hope I can still remember some good info...

First you need a quality spray gun it has to have a pretty decent nozzle so you get a nice even spray with no spots where it's thicker than others (sorry wish I remember the nozzle size but it's been a few years since I've this). Next you'll need a decent powered air compressor that can keep the gun at least very minimum of 60psi you also need to make sure your in a covered area with NO dust/dirt. Your also gonna need alot of fine grit sandpaper so you can get on with the wetsanding. Do at least 2-3 base coats and 1-2 clear coats. You can do more base coats and another clear if you want but if you go over 10 total coats you may have a hard time closing the hood or doors.

If your doing this for just yourself only and have to buy everything from scratch your better off spending the 2k for a professional shop to do it. For a good gun, compressor, paint, sandpaper, tape and tarps and then figure in your time you won't be saving that much money.

electricgreen · Dec 10, 2003

There's a good book I just picked up from John k????, the guy that started house of kolor (paint)-i think it's called kustom painting secrets. You might want to pick it (or another book) up and check out what is involved/needed. They wrote an entire book dedicated to it, so that will be the most comprehensive answer you can get.

There's a lot of prep work involved in painting a car, plus equipment, so if you are starting with nothing equipment wise, I'm gonna agree with the last poster-pay someone else to do it. There will be things you need for the spraying part, for the prep, and to protect yourself from the fumes (the newer paints aren't something to mess with. Alot of the "new" types of paint require you to use an outside air system rather than a simple mask because of the volitlity of the paints) Also, darker colors (especially black) will show every little imperfection in the paint, so you have to be extra careful when spraying and doing the prep.

p0opstlnksal0t · Dec 10, 2003

go to autozone and pick up about 20 cans of desired color paint. wash car thoroughly, then with even strokes, paint the entire car!. this should come out fairly decent.

H8Eternal · Dec 11, 2003

((go to autozone and pick up about 20 cans of desired color paint. wash car thoroughly, then with even strokes, paint the entire car!. this should come out fairly decent)).............

Don't forget to drive around the block a couple of times, so It dries quicker.
and If you have any can's left over you could always paint your rims to match, for a nice custom appearance....

Spencer321 · Dec 11, 2003

Already have air compressor, Gun and sandpaper dad has and will let me borrow for the job, all i need then is a place to do it and the paint... and the knowledge

p0opstlnksal0t · Dec 12, 2003

!dont do it! take it too shop! you will regret it!

electricgreen · Dec 12, 2003

Are you keeping it the same color? If so, it shouldn't be too hard, just time consuming. It also depends on if you have a decent finish & no body work needed to start with. There's so much involoved, really, the book & video (I ordered it, now I just have to wait for it-it's also done by the guy that started house of kolor. It is supposed to show an entire repaint, start to finish-including all the steps in between) is the best way to go.

IndyBlk5.0 · Dec 12, 2003

H8Eternal said:
((go to autozone and pick up about 20 cans of desired color paint. wash car thoroughly, then with even strokes, paint the entire car!. this should come out fairly decent)).............

Don't forget to drive around the block a couple of times, so It dries quicker.
and If you have any can's left over you could always paint your rims to match, for a nice custom appearance....

rofl you dorks!!! he might have done it!!! hahahaahaaaaaaaaahahaha

jadesville · Dec 13, 2003

H8Eternal said:
((go to autozone and pick up about 20 cans of desired color paint. wash car thoroughly, then with even strokes, paint the entire car!. this should come out fairly decent)).............

Don't forget to drive around the block a couple of times, so It dries quicker.
and If you have any can's left over you could always paint your rims to match, for a nice custom appearance....

doggy6969 · Dec 14, 2003

spenser where you located?
anyways i work for a body shop and i paint all the time now. its not that hard to paint, the only hard part is laying down the clear. email me at doggy6969@aol.com and i give you some info and try to help you out.

Ghost001 · Dec 20, 2003

If you use a spray gun, then you'd better use a mask attached to oxygen tanks, because otherwise the chemicals in modern paints will destroy you're lungs so that you can never use them again.

Even a filter mask is not adequate protection from modern spray paints.

MainstreamStang · Dec 21, 2003

Spencer321 said:
Already have air compressor, Gun and sandpaper dad has and will let me borrow for the job, all i need then is a place to do it and the paint... and the knowledge

If your Dad has all this stuff he has probably painted a car before and would be great help. It is not an easy process. About 7 years ago me and my Dad painted my 87 Olds Cutlass. It took about 3 months (Sundays only) from start to finish. Most of that time was prep work. Wet sanding the entire car by hand, removing any parts that were not being painted and taping off thoose that could not be removed. We painted her in the driveway so there was a bunch of dust and bugs that were in the paint. Would sand them out and re-spray. It was a pain in the ass. But when it was done, a friend uncle (who owned a body shop) told me that it looked like a $3500 paint job. When I told him we painted it in the driveway he offered me a job. I'll post pics if I can find them.

Down · Dec 22, 2003

Have you thought about doing the prep work yourself, and then having a shop do the painting?

From what I've heard, most of the problems that arise from cheap paintjobs (ala Maaco) are due to improper prep, not the actual painting.

J

yellowstanger · Dec 22, 2003

I have heard that you can prep your car easily but it takes some time. You want to do the best job you can because once it is painted all of the defects comeout. Once you have it prepped take it to a MAACO or a local paint shop.

MAACO is known for ****ty jobs BECAUSE they dont do a great prep job. They make their money by volume. If they have a good prep job they will give you a great paint job.

I have heard stories where people go and do their own prep and take to these places and their paint looks AWESOME.

REMEMBER, a paint job is 95% prep and 5% paint.

Buy some books do some research and give it your best shot.
Good luck....keep us informed...

olbob · Dec 29, 2003

If you have to ask how to do it, DON'T DO IT....Maaco would look like a "masterful" job compared to
Bob

99RedGTman · Jan 1, 2004

First off, you need more than just a gun, compresser and prep work. You need a Clean room that does not let any dust or dirt in. You can do like what MainstreamStang said, but that just thins out your coats of paint, and can cause uneven spots. Second, to make the paint look really good, it needs to be baked. My cousin does custom jobs, and bakes the car between coats. Once you have the clear coat on, the clear coat needs buffed completely out to make the car look shiney. Like others said, Do the prep work, and take it to Maaco. When you prep, you don't have to strip the car down to metal, unless you have scratches down to bare metal. Just sand the car down to a very light layer of paint. Make sure it is as smooth as a baby's ass. ANY imperfections will show up in the paint. Then you have to prime the car etc.
Goodluck

ras50gt · Jun 27, 2006

I have been thinking about doing my own paint job as well. I'm a full time student and have hopefully one more year left before graduating. So considering my car is my daily driver, I think I will be waiting until school is over because the parking lots are torture. I wouldnt want to park a car with a brand new paint job in those lots. When I do, I will probably do my own prep work and then take it to maaco or earl scheib. I know two people who did the same, one took it to maaco, the other to earl scheib, both came out nice and both under a grand to do. The one from maaco, only did a light sand, no primer. The other sanded it down further, and did his own primer. What is the best thing to do. Cause many people have told me just light sand it, does that mean wet sanding at all? And what do you do about sanding the plastic bumbers and side skirts, is it the same as for the rest of the car? I just wanted to get some more info, thanks.

4bang93stang · Jul 24, 2006

p0opstlnksal0t said:
go to autozone and pick up about 20 cans of desired color paint. wash car thoroughly, then with even strokes, paint the entire car!. this should come out fairly decent.

u gotta be kidding me,i been doing this a while like 6 cars now and u cant ever make rattle can look even close to even mayco.
but to the guy who posted this spend the extra cash unless u wanna learn to paint cars, it a skill u dont just fake or learn in 2 days, i started out doing grafitti for years and im still only ok at painting cars, d.i.y. isnt a paint thing

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