mehsilvia

I DO NOT OFFER THIS AS A SERVICE! PLEASE DO NOT PM ME ASKING TO SPRAY YOUR CAR!

INTRODUCTION:

This will not cover any body work or rust repair – you are on your own with that.
This process is based on using your original paint job as a base/prime coat to apply the new paint to.
This would mean that you do not have severe rust, chips, scratches, or dents. These items must be thoroughly prepped and primered before painting.
DO NOT FOOL YOURSELF - automotive paint will not cover any blemishes or imperfections in the surface. Some colors may show more than others, but dont think you can get away with leaving a dent or chip in the original paint.

WHATS NEEDED: (besides the materials list)

• Garage or workspace that’s large enough to fit your car. You need the ability to walk around your vehicle safely without your clothing or compressor hoses touching the car.
• A large enough area to also paint your bumpers and spoilers seperately, if not, then paint these pieces first.
• Air compressor (duh) - mine is 60gallon but most 20+ gallons would do fine.
• Air pressure regulator for the gun (if not included)
• A in-line dry filter or a brand new hose to make sure you don’t have any moisture in the air-feed.
• Long enough hose to get all the way around the car
• Ample lighting - you have to make sure you can see what your doing
• Jack and jack-stands
• Small table for paint & mixing equipment
• Tweezers (to remove particles and shit that lands on the painted surface, it is still a garage)
• Twine, wire, rope, or saw horses. Something to hang or hold your spoilers and bumpers. (Hanging the spoiler is recommended)

COUPLE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

• Automotive painting will definitely have toxic and noticeable fumes. Be careful to always use your respirator, and make sure you are clear of neighbors or other irritants
• The over-spray will get everywhere, so if you don’t want it painted - COVER IT.
• Wet the garage floor - a trade secret to make sure overspray does not stick
• To avoid foreign substances, keep the room closed off throughout the process.
• Avoid windy days.
• Ideal temperature would be 70 degrees with little to no humidity.
• Familiarize yourself with the new equipment, and with the materials.
• RTFM! That’s right folks, read those product labels for very valuable information on proper use.
• Read the solvents and paint mixes so you are prepared ahead of time.
• Set aside the entire day.

MATERIALS LIST:

Preparation Supplies: $63.00

• $ 6.56 = 600 GRIT WET/DRY 9x11 SANDING SHEETS (5-PACK) - Used to sand off that clear-coat
• $ 6.99 = LATEX GLOVES – so you DON’T touch the car with your bare hands
• $14.65 = 48” x 180’ 3M MASKING FILE (ROLL) - To wrap EVERYTHING you don’t want painted. CF hoods, windows, taping off the inside door-jams, wrapping your suspension components, etc.
  or Home Depot has the same thing, same price
• $ 4.97 = SIMPLE GREEN DEGREASER to wash after wet-sand
  Home Depot
• $ 2.96 = FLANNEL CLOTHS (or find Micro-fiber cloths) to wash and dry the car
  Home Depot
• $ 6.97 = 2” BLUE PAINTERS TAPE ROLL - Great for taping off lights, windows, mirrors, and taping down the masking film
  Home Depot
• $ 3.50 = EXACTO KNIFE or razor blade - Cutting the masking tape around lights, windows, etc.
  Home Depot
• $ 9.67 = 6-PACK 1-MIL 9x12’ DROP CLOTHS- to cover the garage walls and door.
  Home Depot
• $ 6.57 = DUCT TAPE - used to tape up the drop cloths (painters tape does not work for shit for this)

Automotive Paint and Painting Kit: $80-120:

SINGLE STAGE URETHANE FAST PAINT KIT – Click on 144 Factory Packed colors to see selection
Complete Ready-To-Spray 1-Gallon Kits include:
1-Gallon Urethane Color
1-Quart Urethane Hardener
1-Quart Reducer of Your Choice
5-EA Quality 190 Micron Nylon Automotive Strainers
5-EA Wooden Paint Mixing Sticks

Additional Painting Materials: $77.00

• $18.50 = 3M PAINT RESPIRATOR
• $14.99 = HVLP SPRAY GUN
• $ 4.99 = HVLP GUN HOLDER (highly recommended)
• $ 4.99 = 1-QT GRADUATED MIXING PAINT CUPS (12PACK)
• $10.63 = 2000 GRIT WET/DRY 9x11 SANDING SHEETS (5-PACK)
  For color sanding when done
• $11.45 = PAINT SUIT (optional, and only a pussy would need one. Or if you just wanted look like a Hard-Core Ballin’ Professional)
• $ 3.16 = GOGGLES (for the sensitive man)
• $ 7.80 = RUN RAZOR (for those that just SUCK at life, or maybe just painting, and need to file off those runs and buildup in the paint)

Grand total: under $300


THE PROCESS:

1. Clean out the garage and remove anything that’s not bolted down (just easier this way)
   
   NOTE: Good time to run the compressor and get it filled
2. Prep, assemble, and connect your HVLP spray gun.
3. Tape off the garage walls, cabinets, etc using the drop cloths and duct tape. You don’t need to do the ceiling or floor, just cover every exposed wall.
4. Set up your table and get everything you need for the process layed out in front of you, yet out of the way of your painting process.
5. “Mount” the HVLP gun holder to the table. Great suggestion, and not a lesson you want to learn the hard way - when you accidentally knock a full paint gun of the stand or table
   NOTE: Use your latex gloves from now on
6. Wash your car as you usually do (or maybe better than usual)
7. Remove your bumpers and spoilers (definitely easier, and a must if you are doing a color change)
8. Remove headlights, taillights, mirrors, door panels, etc (or just tape them off later in process)
9. Wet-sand the car, bumpers, and spoilers. Sand every surface you intend to paint, and remember that your just removing the clear coat and providing yourself with a “rough” surface to apply the paint to.
   
10. Wash the car & parts once again using the degreaser and flannel cloths (these are tacky and great for removing everything from the surface)
11. Dry the car and parts with the additional flannel cloths
12. Using the blue painters tape and 3M masking film, tape off any items you didn’t remove, all windows, and all other surfaces that you don’t wish to paint.
    
13. Now pull your car into the garage
14. Jack up the car and remove the wheels
15. Use the 3M masking film and wrap your suspension components, taping off anything else exposed.
16. Clean and wet down the garage floor (wetting is optional)
17. Close off the garage
18. Lay out or hang your bumpers and/or spoilers.
    NOTE: For hanging your spoiler, best thing to do is to place a bolt into one of the threaded holes and tie it off. Just make sure they are hung out of the way.
    NOTE: If you do not have any room for the bumpers and spoilers, then just paint these items separately, but paint them first. This will only you to practice your technique, and you wont have to wait until the car is dry enough to get it out of the way.
19. Wipe down the car one final time, with a clean flannel cloth.
20. Make sure all drop cloths are secure
21. Get yourself prepared for painting – Paint suit, gloves, respirator, goggles.

Mixing the paint:

Mix your first batch of paint, and only mix a single quart at a time.
Reading the solvent and paint labels to see how long each mixed batch of paint will last.
Use the graduated mixing cups to follow the exact mixing ratios.
Be sure to stir each item together as you are mixing.

Using the cone paper-filter, poor the paint into the gun cup. (this is where the paint gun stand comes in very handy)

Test pattern:

Spray a test pattern at one of your drop cloths, and adjust the gun nozzle as necessary (refer to the gun’s instructions). This is to make sure there is a consistent flow.
The pattern should resemble a vertical cigar shape and NOT look like the Imperial Deathstar.

Painting Technique:

There are many references on the Internet, but here is one that I found helpful. Explaining it myself would take 6 more pages.

http://www.autobody101.com/articles/...e=Gun%20Travel

Basic steps to follow:

• Top down. Like the writeup say, do the roof, hood, trunk first, then to to each side of the vehicle starting from the top down.
• Start to spray well before you reach the vehicles surface, and end the spray well after the vehicles surface. Starting or finishing while directly pointing at the vehicle will cause paint build-up and runs.
• Overlap each spray pattern. I basicaly overlaped each row about 30%.
• Do one side of the vehicle at a time. Don’t go round, and round, and round the car thinking you have to do each layer exactly the same.
• Do not apply heavy coats. Just apply even and consistent applications with each coat.
• Pull that gun trigger! All the way in, all the way out. No half-ass pulls or releases.
• Compressor out of air? Dont forget to wait for that compressor to fill up. The car isnt gonna dry before you can continue to apply the paint, but do stop between panels to allow it to fill back up.

Flash time and applying additional coats

This should be listed on the paint/solvent labels, and will also vary by paint kit.
The Urethane FAST kit has like a 15-min flash time. This means that by the time your done with the coat, and then have that second batch mixed up, your ready to go again!
Run razors and tweezers will come in handy when you have pesky runs or foreign objects that float onto the vehicle. Careful to follow directions with the razors, and you should know what to do with those tweezers.

Final curing time,

For color wet/sanding, buffing, and care, read the instructions listed on the paint product.

Final step:

Take some pics and share with your fellow Zilvian’s.
(However, you should prepare yourself for the fact that no one will like your color choice )

bardabe

already did mine mate. (people loved it, [I still need to colorsand / buff lol] but yeah)

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street240

I love it. And to think I was going to take some of my parts in to get them painted..

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ladiesman8527

both look really nice. yall did a good job. especially for a garage job. im going to be doing this pretty soon. "Caribbean Blue" is what im going with .

ALEXTHESUS*PECT

damn i can't even paint my girls nails with out fuken up........ you guys got skills!

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WILDACEX187

nice write up. me and sum friends will be painting my coupe soon but instead of 1 stage we going with 3 stage

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Howard92884

Awesome write up man, was planning on getting my car painted on my R&R but now I think I'm going to do it myself. Thanks for the write up and inpspiration.

mehsilvia

Thanks guys.

As lengthly as this write-up may seem, there really isnt much to it. If you've ever used a rattle-can to paint anything then you already have most of the "process" down.

Preparation is the only true mistery and challenge. Automotive paint will not hide defects, scratches, chips, etc. like most other paints, so that's usualy where most fail at a decent garage-job.

For what shops charge to do small or cheap jobs, its definately worth doing it yourself.

exitspeed

Nice write up!

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mehsilvia

Sooooo.... any more feedback or suggestions on the writeup?

Perhaps an approval of sorts. For no other reason than there are more and more posts in Gen Pop asking for this very material. Or something like it anyways.

Ive decided not to post this info in those threads out of respect for the results we are trying to achieve with this sub-forum, and to get more feedback from you guys.

Let me know what else you suggest!

Howard92884

Maybe more places to find different color paint? I was thinking of doing a two tone on my fastback with satin red and satin black. Also is there anything different for people doing gloss paint and not flat? Maybe you could put that in there.

mehsilvia

I thought of that at first, but had a hard time myself. eBay also has some stores that sell automotive paint, i just got stuck on TCP-Global cause they carry quality product and complete paint kits. The hardner/reducer that shipped with my Flatz was house-of-kolor. Ya know its good.

Gloss - prepping and applying the paint would not be any different. Just make sure you read the materials instructions carefuly about flash/coat intervals. The main difference with Gloss would be the application of a clear afterwards. Which i would then recommend a second gun, so you dont have to worry about cleaning the paint gun out right away.

Howard92884

Roger, good info, still debating wether I want to go flat or gloss.

s13gold

damn im glad i just went premie; for this writeup alone its worth the 10 bucks.

mehsilvia

Well, when we do move this to general chat, dont expect a refund! LOL

Thanks for the compliments. Though i am open to more feedback or recommendations to update or improve it.

SR240DET

i just thought id add a little more info for the people that are limited to equipment such as my self.

For some of you that cant afford or install a 220v 60+ gallon compressor you can get the biggest 110v that’s almost 30 gallons and 5.X cfm @ 90 psi ( make sure it’s a oil compressor) and use a binks 7 copy conventional gun that runs 4-12 cfm @ 50-60 psi. I have used that gun on a smaller compressor using 4 cfm @ 30 psi and the compressor cycled after I need to re fill.

Another thing to note is you dont have to have HVLP guns thats just a standard for people in certain areas and paint shops.

a good cheap bc/cc is omni (made by ppg) and nason (dupont) it cost more than ebay but its really easy to work with for beginners

DUFFM4N

i do NOT have the patience for this...but both of you did an AWESOME job, ive seen the black s13 out at TAB Tuesday locally..good job gents

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cfinch

I don't understand all these budget paint job write ups... I mean does no one value their time? I mean ya I see paint your car for $300 but why even spend the $300 if your not gonna be all that happy with the end result? I mean maaco will just spray it with a single stage for $300 and you don't have to lift a finger and will come out looking like what you paid... Yeah sure your cars look great from a distance but thats it...

I spend on average per car $350-500 for paint materials... Not a whole lot more than what your talking about... The low side would be without primer and just a sealer which works fine if your clear on your car is in good shape right now and your not repairing anything along with all the panels matching... You can sand the car with around a 320-400 grit sandpaper and apply the sealer then base coat... All these products can be had at any paint supply store and they will also have recommendations...

I recommend just using primer... The high fill kind not cheap spray can stuff... This will send you off into the $500 range. First sand the car down with 180... Then find the spots your going to repair and hit them with 80 grit and use body filler not bondo... Get the car looking as good as visually possible then your ready to primer... Once you primer mist black spray can primer over top and let dry. Then hit the entire car with a long board to show anymore imperfections. If ya don't care skip that and wetsand the entire car with 400.

Then your ready to shoot your basecoat/clearcoat... Pretty simple really just go nice and easy... Try to keep it as even as possible and I highly recommend having a couple drinks prior if you haven't done it before it will definately calm you down. Just spray on a thin layer and let it sit for like 10 min to give the next coat something to stick to. Spray on more coats until evenly coated and you got good coverage and your done. If your not confident just take it easy and don't lay it on too thick and just go for more coats. Remember if you make a run just let the car dry then sand and respray that simple...

Next let that dry for about 45 min and hit the car with the clear... Again same idea light coat to start and I like to go easy on the 2nd coat as well... Basically ease into it and get some clear on the car. Then from there lay it on as thick as possible without running it... If you run the clear its ok! Once you have a couple layers down you have a base then keep spraying the car... If you run it go over the car again and lay it on thick in that area so you have something to sand.

Then once your done with that just sand the entire car with 1000grit on a block and flatten down all the runs then switch to 1500 then 2000... Basically if ya put enough clear on there it's gonna turn out as good as you want to sand the car... Then buff the car out with 3m rubbing and polishing compounds and you have a factory quality paintjob for maybe $500? I mean if you have to buy the tools and stuff it will be more but just ask around... I use a harbor frieght buffer and da which were stupid cheap...

The biggest thing is the clear leaves room for error... Basically screw up and run it? Oh well sand it out... Just don't spray it too thin which shouldn't be very hard. Screw up the single stage paint and thats just the deal... It's a pain in the ass to fix and the end result never looks near as good. I use Nason which is a Dupont product for paint and I believe the clear I've been using was Xpol? I'd have to check but seriously is $100 for a gallon and works great.

Also your gun is huuuuge. People say just get a cheapo hlvp they are fools... I've tried several and there is no comparison to a sata gun... The home depot/lowes guns are trash and so are the harbor freight guns... The uneven spray patterns will make it nearly impossible to get a nice finish along with having the problem of getting airbubbles in the clear/paint which are not removable and look nasty. One option I have found tho! This gun is awesome and I'm gonna purchase a couple more is U-pol!

Here is some on ebay 1.4 tip for base/clear something slightly larger for high fill primers.
http://item.express.ebay.com/Vehicle...mdZExpressItem

It's just a sata knock off and had some bugs but pretty even spray pattern and no air bubbles I swear by this gun! I have used it with great success!

So yeah just a few more bucks and a little more time and you can yield excellent results... If you seriously read this carefully and take your time you should have absolutely no problem making your car look great! Oh and it will last too... This is the same process a body shop would go through on a paint job they would warranty for several years... I have a pretty hardcore pressure gas pressure washer and I wouldn't think twice about blasting one of my cars... I garuntee if you hit that guys car with it the paint would peel off... 600 grit sandpaper is going to leave you with a pretty poor surface for the paint to bond too...

Hopefully this helps some of you do it yourselfers who want quality without insane body shop prices...

cfinch

Here is what I did for $500

prepped


primered then sanded with 400 wet


as I was spraying... it was a light orange base with gold pearl in the first 2 coats of clear.



outside the following day


outside after a nice wetsand/buff job


I sprayed it in kind of a booth... Your garage would prolly turn out better cause the booth was dirty and not made for cars... I think they used to spray funiture in there? It's a construction company and they build walls in there so I was battling dust pretty bad which up close you can see some imperfections but not bad at all...

Koopa Troopa

For $42 this is what I did

• 6 cans Krylon Hunter Green
• 4 cans Krylon Super Flat Black
• 1 pack paint masks
• 3 bottles Goo Gone

Bought some other stuff too though..

Use goo gone and an angle grinder to take off double sided tap and other crap, give good car wash, tape newspaper on things you don't want painted and paint away.

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cfinch

oh wow you car looks like shit... you didn't even prep it? I could prolly peel off your whole paintjob... Jesus man does no one on here give a shit? All I see is ugly ass cars... You can't even play the broke card either cause you could easily lose that gross ass front end or something else... Man sil80's are terrible... Thats whats wrong with this forum. What a waste of $42...

Koopa Troopa

Do you see a 180 in my sig? That car got junked a week after that pic was taken. I sold the passenger fender to a friend... He couldn't remove the pant with a pressure washer...

Why would I care about a car that had rust eating through the body and had a tweaked frame?

Because what my car looks like is all that matters huh? You'd probably talk shit about my 14 too wouldn't you? Go post on drifting.com rice boy. Why can't I play the broke card? How do you know what I make?

Homo's like you are what's wrong with this forum.

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WILDACEX187

lol at cfinch's hatting. anyway u think that gun u posted is good for primer, paint and clear?

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cfinch

You can shoot the primer out of a 1.4 tip... I prefer using a 1.7-8 for the high fill primer so it puts out a ton of material... Your gonna sand it after you primer so just have at it. You need the high fill primer to cover the sanding marks with the 180 grit paper and the pinholes left behind from the filler.

cfinch

Riceboy? Keep spray painting your cars broke ass. You drive an s14 on r33 wheel and your supposed to be cool now? Your still a faggot ass poser.

Koopa Troopa

That's all it has too

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cfinch

Wow your a SNIP... See I figure some people might actually be able to benifit from some info on how to properly paint a vehicle... But all I get are idiots who like to spray paint cars like any fucking moron couldn't figure out how to use a spray paint can... Oh for those of you who decided to neg rep me that car I used for an example looks much better than any of your cars. This is why I don't contribute to this forum it's full of fucking SNIP. Even the premie section is full of SNIP go spray paint your shit piles.

With wheels and tires for good measure...

Koopa Troopa

I'm sure that stock ass KA under the hood spins the shit outta them 12J's too. :lol:

If you can paint then you can paint and good for you; that was never the discussion. Going out and saying a car with more money in the engine than you've got in your entire car is a peice of shit is a little farfetched and unwarranted. If having the same paintjob the car came with 14 years ago makes me gay then call me Liberache. If spray painting a rust bucket with a bent frame and a 99% chance it'll see another guard rail makes me gay then call me Elton John.

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Farzam

Seriously...who in the right mind wants a yellow car? Go get a Ford Focus or a VW Beetle.

And who brags about a $500 paintjob?

"HEY I'M A FUCKING CHEAPASS BUT MY PAINT LOOKS OKAY LOOK THAT COST ME NEARLY HALF OF WHAT MY CAR COSTS THAT'S PRETTY FUCKING BALLER IF YOU LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE RATE INSTEAD OF WHAT ACTUALLY WAS SPENT ON A 15 YEAR OLD PIECE OF SHIT!!!"

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bardabe

guys guys guys, stop arguing, remember we are premies and we should know better. we all know that we all have different taste some people like it others don't. people hate, that's just the way life is ok. Cfinch is just a hater, sure your paint turned out ok, good for you. if you wanna go talk about shit pile zilvian cars then go somewhere else, because I know of at least 4 cars that look allot better than yours, and would actually spin those big ass wheels your car has. stop the arguing and being a dick. Being a premie does not give you the magical power to be a penis on the internet. if you keep that up i'm sure you will be banned, at the very least have your membership taken away. premium membership is a privilege not a right.

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