Paint and Body Repainting at home, ambitious or foolish?

AUSTEXLX · Jul 21, 2021

KRUISR said:
Single stage paint is not a problem. I repainted my F150 in an Oxford White a few years ago. Other than some orange peel (a function of my equipment and lack of booth to heat finish after spraying - not single stage paint) it came out very well.

Looks fantastic. Were you able to knock down the orange peel and flatten that area out? Or did you repaint?

90sickfox · Jul 22, 2021

I had Maaco paint my 89 convertible svo blue pearl. It looked great the first 6 months. Then the paint started sheeting off the bumpers. In about 10 months it starting getting hazy. After about a year the paint was litterally dusting off every time I waxed it. On top of this it was supposed to be a over 1k dollar base coat clear coat and they broke my fiberglass wing. It was so bad I didn't even want them to redo it. They blamed it on the painter. Unless I can see the Maaco painters previous work I'd never let them touch my cars. I've only met one good clean Maaco painter and he did way better jobs at his house.

AUSTEXLX · Jul 22, 2021

90sickfox said:
I had Maaco paint my 89 convertible svo blue pearl. It looked great the first 6 months. Then the paint started sheeting off the bumpers. In about 10 months it starting getting hazy. After about a year the paint was litterally dusting off every time I waxed it. On top of this it was supposed to be a over 1k dollar base coat clear coat and they broke my fiberglass wing. It was so bad I didn't even want them to redo it. They blamed it on the painter. Unless I can see the Maaco painters previous work I'd never let them touch my cars. I've only met one good clean Maaco painter and he did way better jobs at his house.

This is my concern too. First, I've never heard anyone rave about a cheap paint job. Second, Maaco doesn't have a reputation for quality, just for cheap and fast. I'm thinking even with my limited painting experience that I can get a good result with a single stage.

People commonly say you can have it cheap, fast, and good, but you can only pick two of those.

90sickfox · Jul 22, 2021

You can paint on your own. Most imperfections can be wet sanded or blocked out. Make sure you use products from the same maker. I've done several cars and have had really good results. The only one I had to repaint was one the was primed with rattle cans of unknown brand paint. Single stage paint is really good now but I'd prefer base clear.

The last time I painted a whole car I did 2 coats of base and wet sanded before 2 coats of clear. After wet sanding and buffing it only had a couple spots where dirt got in the clear. Nothing anyone would notice. Put enough clear that you can cut it back below whatever might land on top of it. With a single stage your kinda stuck with what comes out. The gloss chemically rises to the top so if you have to wet sand an imperfection it'll be a weak spot in the paint. With white you would probably never notice but body color on a buffing rag after waxing doesn't sit well with me.

Mstng93SSP · Jul 22, 2021

I painted several cars myself...and I am no painter....trust me. You can do it. I painted these two in my garage.

AUSTEXLX · Jul 22, 2021

Mstng93SSP said:
I painted several cars myself...and I am no painter....trust me. You can do it. I painted these two in my garage.

They both look great. I'm not expecting either Maaco or I will do show winning work, but I want it to look passable as original looking.

Questions:

So, how far did you disassemble? Glass? Fenders? Doors? Hatch?
Did you paint jambs?
Underhood?
Did you go to bare metal?
What did you use as a primer?
Did you use single stage? BC/CC?
What about equipment?

Lots of questions, but it looks like this is the thread for that!

Thanks!

7991LXnSHO · Jul 22, 2021

Are you changing color? What shape are the jams and undersides of the lids in? Are you going to fret over tape lines if you do not remove taillights and windows? For example, on a repair to my (now my son’s) G. Marquis ,there was a repair to the right rear fender before I got the car. The clear blushed, the color came off of the original paint on week well lip, and I could not get primer snd touch up to stay on long on the edge where the fender became the door jam. Since it was a non insurance deal, one body shop (at a dealership even!) was willing to do a “used car touch up” equality job. They taped off the tail light and rear fascia, painted that part of the door jam and fender inner lip with the fender. Without the disassembly, it saved them time and me a lot of money. There is a little paint line on the rubber of the tail light. No big deal as much of a target the thing is in a parking lot. In the mean time, someone left a license plate holder outline on the rear fascia!
Anyway, I could have kept going and had them touch up under the top corners of the trunk lid. But I can scuff that and rattle can those two spots.
Insurance is requiring lifetime guarantees on the repairs, and that drives up the steps and cost of repairs.
My first car’s resto involved striping it all down. After 60 years, it deserved new paint and some new metal with a minimum of filler.
so your expectations and the car’s condition will answer your question.

Mstng93SSP · Jul 22, 2021

So, how far did you disassemble? Glass? Fenders? Doors? Hatch?

Yes, quarter glass out, fenders off...on the blue car took doors off.

Did you paint jambs?

Yes.

Underhood?

Yes

Did you go to bare metal?

No, I didn't need to.

What did you use as a primer?

Not sure...whatever the paint guy advised from Napa paint store.

Did you use single stage? BC/CC?

Base, Clear,

What about equipment?

Gun from Amazon, craftsman compressor.

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91AOD5.0LX · Jul 24, 2021

AUSTEXLX said:
Has anyone tried the single-stage Maaco with any success? Seeing as the original paint was single-stage, would it be that far off if they were to use an Oxford White match on a full respray?

Yes. I did Maaco single stage and it looks awesome. Everyone comments on the shine and nobody believes it’s a Maaco paint job.
I had 3 separate cars painted at Maaco and are super pleased with them all.
I removed everything myself. Grills, moldings, lights, emblems, wheels (put old ones on), etc. brought it to them for bodywork and paint then put all components back on. Do your research by reading local reviews and pick one that does great work because they are independently owned and are only as good as their owner, manager and of course the talent doing the work. In my opinion Maaco’s “top of their line” paint job is a great deal.

91AOD5.0LX · Jul 24, 2021

Both of these are Maaco paint jobs single stage.
I’m Super pleased. The 3rd car they did is a 1986 Buick Regal which I don’t have a picture of on my phone but it’s dark blue metallic and came out very nice also in my opinion.

AUSTEXLX · Aug 9, 2021

Update. Okay, so I did some light paint correction on the hood and front fenders. The hood and front fenders have original paint, that is thin in some spots. I did a light wet sanding to flatten the paint out a bit. Then got in there with some compound, polished, and waxed. The paint is quite acceptable. The paint rear of the doors is crap and I will paint that on my own. I feel confident that I'll get the car to where I want it to be on my own. I'm more concerned with keeping the car as original as I can while fixing the odds and ends that show age. In the end, I feel that I'll get a good result. I'll update this thread again later.

Appreciate the comments!

91AOD5.0LX · Aug 9, 2021

AUSTEXLX said:
Update. Okay, so I did some light paint correction on the hood and front fenders. The hood and front fenders have original paint, that is thin in some spots. I did a light wet sanding to flatten the paint out a bit. Then got in there with some compound, polished, and waxed. The paint is quite acceptable. The paint rear of the doors is crap and I will paint that on my own. I feel confident that I'll get the car to where I want it to be on my own. I'm more concerned with keeping the car as original as I can while fixing the odds and ends that show age. In the end, I feel that I'll get a good result. I'll update this thread again later.

Appreciate the comments!

Way to go! I’m glad it worked out for you and you now have the confidence to move forward. Congrats on your accomplishment and keep us posted for sure! Post pictures whenever you can.

AUSTEXLX · Aug 9, 2021

I feel that if I get the paint on well, and have enough to work with I can get it flat and smooth. Since the factory paint is in ok shape considering how much time this car spent outside, I think the end result will be good. I think this approach is sympathetic and will preserve some of the originality of the car.

Potomus Pete · Aug 9, 2021

I painted this bumper with spray cans from Autotouchup.Com Rear also

AUSTEXLX · Aug 9, 2021

Potomus Pete said:
I painted this bumper with spray cans from Autotouchup.Com Rear also

That looks great. I actually used AutoTouchup.com for paint for another vehicle of mine last year. I wasn't happy with the paint, or how slow they were. I'm glad it worked out for you.

Paint and Body Repainting at home, ambitious or foolish?

AUSTEXLX

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90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

AUSTEXLX

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90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

Mstng93SSP

You have a nice rear end there Dave.

AUSTEXLX

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7991LXnSHO

wanna catch the space herp

Mstng93SSP

You have a nice rear end there Dave.

1991 LX Hatch

1993 SSP

91AOD5.0LX

I have a slight sag in my rear

91AOD5.0LX

I have a slight sag in my rear

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I have a slight sag in my rear

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Potomus Pete

I'm still waiting for the fully nude shots

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Paint and Body Repainting at home, ambitious or foolish?

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You have a nice rear end there Dave.

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wanna catch the space herp

You have a nice rear end there Dave.

I have a slight sag in my rear

I have a slight sag in my rear

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I have a slight sag in my rear

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