Can someone give me tips on exactly how to paint a car from start to finish? Like... 1. Sand 2. Bondo 3. Sand 4. Paint 5. Sand in rough areas 6. Paint Is that pretty good? Or can someone give me a better, more descriptive way?
It's more like: Strip Repair Filler Seal Sand Prime Sand Prime Sand Prime Sand Paint..... Wet Sand Buff But, that's just me....
Theres ALOT to it... And you need to have the word "Sand" in your post about 2 dozen more times. Hows this: Simple paint job... Assess what needs to be done to body Locate/acquire parts/materials to repair body Remove/treat all rust and dents (may want to remove existing paint from car before doing this) Repair all rusted areas with new metal/patches Finish out all repair areas with filler/lead... Get all panels lined up and finalized for fit and appearance Lay down some primer sealer or a metal etching primer if you stripped it all to bare steel. Start laying down filler primer 3 coats is a good place to start start block sanding car to get all panels flat/straight/level... Repeat primeing/blocking till panels are to your likeing (or perfect) Lay down some primer sealer Prep it for finish paint Lay down your favorite color Did I mention all the disassembly involved...Oops! sorry After paint is dry...Sand it buff it If you used paint that allowes you too Clean all flotsam/residual compound from all nooks/crannies Re-assemble all the stuff you removed back onto the car... Drive...enjoy...clean it,wax it... NOTE This is a rough overview. To do a show car job/restoration you will find yourself disassembling the "entire" car. If so, you can add the interrior,undercarriage, eng compartment, suspension and drivetrain to the list of things to rebuild/repaint along with all the ancillary stuff like nuts/bolts, trim pieces, and engine/interrior jewelry.Oh and lets not forget the electrical system. Not trying to scare you but...A good paint job requires some time/knowledge and planning not to mention a place to do it and the tools to do it. A great paint job requires all of the above plus plenty of experience. Your first project car is a great place to start learning/practicing. Keep asking questions and talking to people in the know about body/paint and you will gain knowledge, practice practice practice and you will gain experience. Every project started with with a question.Good luck!!!
You are in luck. There are thousands of websites and just as many books on the subject. There is even a very informative video series on the subject called "Paintucation" (or something like that). Google can be your friend, as well as ebay and Amazon.com
Do your homework and take your time, that's what I did when I painted my bike. Was it perfect when I finished???? NO! It turned out pretty darn good for a first time job though and once sanded and buffed it makes me happy. Go into it with reasonable expectations too, if you want a show stopping paint job your first time don't do it! You will be disappointed. I started with full on expectations of having to sand it all down and call my buddy to bail me out!!!
If you're fortunate enough to have a pretty decent starting point, do the body work first. Sand bondo working your way up to at least 320 wet/dry, prime repaired areas and wet sand again. If your project isn't a major undertaking there's no need to sand to bare metal, just was the entire car with purple scotch brite and some type of powdered cleaner (comet, ajax, etc.) You want to take all the shine off the paint your shooting over and scuff the surface enough for good adhesion. Clean and prime any exposed bare metal. I always remove as much chrome, trim, bumpers, lights, etc. as I can. Tape it off and shoot.
are you doing this yourself or getting information so you can check up on your paint shop to see if they are doing it correctly? ......
Painting is not one of my core competencies, and never will be. I'd much rather pay someone who's great at it and be elated with the end result.
Exactly. Everyone has to know what they like and dislike, where there skills are, and what they would rather pay to have done. How would anyone be able to make any money, if everyone could do it all. Bodywork and paint is my profession. I do mechanical work to keep my beaters running, because I am too poor to take it in and have someone else do it. If I needed any think other really minor electrical work done, I'd be writing a check, not something I understand well or feel comfortable doing. Least there now is the internet to learn from and get quick answers. When I was a kid getting interested in and starting to do bodywork, no such thing as the internet to turn to. Just had to dig in and try to learn, and had to rely on whatever I read in books, hot rod, or car craft, or ask one of the couple of my neighbors who did it. Well still had a strong interest, and soon went to tech school to learn more. Just wish they told me reading about it or in school, I would be poor choosing it as a profession, it would be tedious, dirty, and hazardous work, and after awhile you will likely get a bit burnt out, and looking and working on your own cars when you get home it can often be difficult to get motivated.
That's cool thanks! I am going to try this. I want to get a decent paint job for my maverick but that's a couple years out. This should tide me over.
