Trunk Lid Painted

A long time ago my trunk lid got wrecked (long story short) so I bought a junkyard trunk lid for 90 bucks and it was red. I decided that, instead of paying someone to paint it, I would try to learn how to do it myself. Well, 4 months later (finishing up school was a lot of that time) I got it sprayed. I know this is probably going to get moved out of talk but I wanted to whore a couple pics because I am very happy with my results!!





I have a few runs on the front at the bottom but that can be handled easily when it starts to dry more. Tell me what you all think. :SNSign:

Thanks!

d98gt said:

What did you do it with? How much did it end up costing you in the long run?

Looks good man

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The paint is made by PPG (DBC) and OMNI clearcoat. At first, I was going to have it painted by most places wanted anywhere from 600-1200 and I all I wanted was to have the trunk lid painted. Eventually, I am going to have the entire car repainted so I did not need to spend that much.

I got a hellva deal on a compressor from my friends' dad -- 75 bucks

Then I got a Devilbiss Finishline gun which was like 150$ but is wayyyy better than spending $60 or whatever for a harbor freight gun IMO. There's a lot of tiny things that I had to buy: hose, fittings, paint, clear, primer, etc .. But I had to re-do things a few times (which was expected) ... bottom line with all my screwups, I spent about $400 or so. Got a good respirator for my birthday ... and so on. But now I have a compressor, gun, and some experience under my belt. I just did it to see if I could and with enough research and talking with people that do it for a living, it worked out pretty good.

The paint match is just about perfect! The first time I sprayed it, the color was like a shade darker and had mad imperfections so when I re-sprayed it, I just reduced the paint a little more than 1 to 1 (to make it a little lighter) and it worked out!

If anyone gets into the DIY painting stuff, I can give some advise based on my experience that will save you some headaches. Just let me know ...

The most important thing in a paint job is before and after you paint. Actually painting is not that difficult .. The clear can be tricky but still not rocket science. How well you prep before spraying each step (primer, basecoat, clearcoat) is the determining factor of how your paint job will look.

d98gt said:

another question I forgot to ask...How long did it take for you to do it?

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A long ass time! But much of that time was making mistakes that you learn how to correct. For instance, after you spray clearcoat, it takes a good 16 hours (at least) to dry (outside in roughly 70 degree weather). Anything that lands on it for the first 30 minutes will become one with the clear. You have to use different sanding methods and what not to get them out and it's a pain. But I learned that if I sprayed the clear and then immediately wet down the floor around where I painted, it kept the dust down and out of my clear.

Another example is fisheyes. They can be caused by all types of stuff, from air/oil in your line to the issue I was contending with ... SILICONE. When painting, if silicone or airborne grease gets on the surface and then you spray, it will fisheye bad. That may sound obvious but I've read where people live up to 2 miles away from a McDonalds and the grease in the air travels that far and ends up in paint ... tire shine and much more can really mess up your job. So after each mistake I had to wait for it to dry, re-sand, re-spray, etc. I could do the same job now in half the time (if not less!!).

I don't know exactly how long but I'd say if you took all the days that I did bits and pieces ... probably 2-3 weeks. But like I said, I was and still am learning .. Painting is quite tricky when you aren't in a booth because of the elements and BUGS! If you are motivated though, it's very possible and rewarding.

Here's a pic of one time I messed it up. The fisheyes (little craters) that you see, were throughout the entire trunk lid. WOW that was a PITA to get them out ...





FivePointStang, check out this site (they have lots of guns and some decent forums)

www.autobodystore.com