Before & After Paint

[Whiplash Willy]

I bought this shell from Garage 112 last winter for $600. It was pretty much all stripped in and out. The engine bay was completely stripped. It had no headlights or bumper, and the interior only consisted of the dash, carpet and door panels. A few months ago, I swapped in my tired old SOHC.

http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/albums/userpics/bengine1.JPG

I have been wanting to learn to paint for awhile and figured this was a perfect candidate, since its my beater, and I don't care about it much.

BEFORE:

http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/albums/userpics/before3.JPG
http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/albums/userpics/before4.JPG
http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/albums/userpics/before6.JPG
http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/albums/userpics/before7.JPG

From the doors back, the original paint isn't that bad. I should be able to restore it, for the most part, pretty easily. I decided to just paint the front end because of time, space, and money. After alot of research, and a few trips to Quality Paints, here is the result.

AFTER:

http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/albums/userpics/paint1.JPG
http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/albums/userpics/paint5.JPG
http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/albums/userpics/paint6.JPG
http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/albums/userpics/paint7.JPG
http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/albums/userpics/paint8.JPG

All in all, I think it turned out pretty good. I made a few mistakes, and learned alot from this whole experience.

Check out more pictures at http://www.beefstorm.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=3

[Champz]

woow, nicely done for a first timer

[Pank]

a little orange peely, but way way way better than the orig. good job man.

also Beefstorm is a great domain

[KodSil80]

clean for a first timer.

[Farzam]

Champagne is a nice color...good job keeping.

Keep it up!

[Addicted2Kouki]

wetsand and buff it. it'll look 10x better.

[J-Style]

Damn, that looks great! Way to go!

[Whiplash Willy]

Thanks guys! It has been more of a practice/learning experience more then anything. I just finished wetsanding and it is real smooth now. I ordered a Porter Cable DA polisher and am going to compound and polish soon!

[adrians_s13]

a little orange peely


haha... you know, I never understood what the term "orange peel" meant until now. LOL... I would always here people speak of paint jobs with orange peel, and I'm like, "wtf? i dont see any orange on the paint job, that shits all black"

anyways, to the OP... that job looks 10x better than original... :)

[A Spec Products]

Yeah not bad compared to original condition

Should've fixed those dings though

[d_lake]

lets get some pics of before and after you wetsanded and buffed it. I work at a Class A collision center we sand our stuff wit 1500 then 3000 then buff it if there is any orange peel or w/e.

[GSXRJJordan]

yeah I saw not enough prep work and no after-sanding. Sounds like you'll be able to fix the orange peel with your DA sander (just dont go nuts in one spot, they sand through shit FAST), but you'll still have dings.

Great for a first time though :)

[Whiplash Willy]

Yea, it would look nicer without the dents, but oh well, it is my beater, I transformed it from a Piece of S* to just a Piece...hehe. I already wetsanded, I will try to get some pics as it is with a decent camera, and some pics after its polished. I wetsanded lightly by hand. I only put 2 wet coats of clear on so I didn't want to burn through. It will still have some orange peel, but not nearly as bad as what it was in the pics. I started with 1500 grit, and finished with 2000 grit. The compound and pad I am using will cover the 2000 grit scratches, and the polish will cover the compound scratches. I had ALOT of fun with this project and I really want to do some more painting. I am helping a friend repaint his hood, I am sure that will turn out alot better with what I have learned. If I had more space and money, I would like to redo the whole car, but it will be awhile for that.

[projekt_s13]

Give a little more info on the tools you used, how much paint was used, the name & brand of paint, and how much it cost.

I have the same color car and i might have to do some painting later on, thanks for any info.

[JesusFreakDrifter]

looks like a maaco job, good job for your first time

[opponheimer]

Ncie job, should have coated the whole car though

[lflkajfj12123]

looks really good, but why not fix body and fill holes in the process?

[xblack240x]

Looks a lot better than original... And for a first time its even better... Good luck and keep practicing... You wanna practice with my car next? I am looking for a paint job soon...

[azndoc]

Like everyone else said.

Looks good.

Damn I gotta paint my shit too.

[Whiplash Willy]

For the compressor, I used a Sears 7 Gal 1hp. It flows about 3.4 cfm at 40psi. It was way underpowered, and I had to constantly check the pressure at the gun and stop. I Scraped by with this, it would have been nicer to have a bigger more powerful one, but thoes aren't cheap!

The Gun, I used a Harbor Freight 43430. I had heard alot of good things, and I was pretty impressed with it. I actually ordered another one because they were on sale for $29, but they had completely changed the design, and the new one is horrible...I returned it. Next paint job I want to try the Astro EVO4014. It is a LVLP, so it would work better with my small compressor. I have heard it is really good for the money.

I can't remember the model paint I used, but for the Color and Clear, I used the best that PPG offers. The Primer I used a cheaper Omni.

Primer:
1qt Omni + hardener ~ $30

Color:
1qt PPG ~$75
Reducer ~$20

Clear
1qt Clear PPG ~$50
Reducer (used the same as the color)
hardener ~$30

I painted 2 coats primer, and have about enough for 1 more
Painted 2 coats of color, and have about 1/4 left
Painted 2 coats clear, but don't have enough hardener for another

So I spent about $200 on paint, and alot on little things/tools I needed for this Job.

I am going to help my friend paint his hood soon, with all I have learned from my mistakes, I think its going to turn out close to professional quality. We will see!

[Whiplash Willy]

Looks a lot better than original... And for a first time its even better... Good luck and keep practicing... You wanna practice with my car next? I am looking for a paint job soon...

If you were close, had the space and paid for the products, I would totally spray it for you. I think just about anyone can do it as long as they have enough information and patience. Mistakes can be fixed at every step.

[DRavenS13]

Where are the specific places to buy this paint? I've been searching for the past hour and I can't find my answer.