Going to be painting my car. Need some advice

derekhay316

Registered User
My buddy just got a paint gun to paint some cars and after he gets the hang of it (i'll let em practice on some of my friends cars before i let em touch mine) i'll let him give er a go w/ mine. I'd just like to know where to pic up the best paint (i'd just like a similar stock red color like mine, pic below) and whats the best process for painting??? How many coats of paint and clear coat, sanding process, etc... Also is their anything I should tell him to be carefull with... How much do yuh think the paint will run me up? Thanks.
 
I'm no bodyman but my brother is and he's helping me with my body work so I'll tell you what I've learned so far.
The prep work(I.E. sanding and block sanding) is mainly gonna make or break your end results. You will spend countless hours,days or even weeks just getting the body ready to shoot paint on it. My brother spent 2 days blocksanding just the pass door because we could see a childs handprint in it around the door handle. Before we started sanding the door looked perfect, it is amazing what you find once you start sanding!
The red thats on the SC is very expensive, 1 gallon cost about $300 for the basecoat and that doesnt include the clear or the primers or any other supplies you will need such as countless sheets of sandpaper.
A ballpark figure just on paint and primer is around $800.00 and thats just getting started. I used to think paint jobs were way overpriced, I dont think so anymore!
There is no way in hell I'd do it for a living, I'd starve to death!
When it comes down to it blowing the paint is the easiest part of the job. But it does'nt matter how well you can blow the paint if you did'nt do your prep work good. Every imperfection will be magnified by the new paint tenfold.
Think long and hard before you do this. Its far more work than most people realize.
 
Another thing is the bumper covers and ground effects. They're flexible so you have to paint them with totally different materials. Some guys use the same stuff and it'll work... sometimes. It will fail before the rest of the car though. The crap is expensive too. You don't want to screw up that stuff and have to pay twice.

I bought a used front bumper for my SC, it looked perfect. Got a rock chip in the paint. Next wash job the garden hose blew off a big chunk of paint. I got pretty much all of it off with the hose and a sprayer nozzle. Wrong primer, wrong prep, wasted money.

Red will really show bad body work too. Almost as bad as black.
 
i would agree that prep is the most important part in painting a car....but the actual painting process is not easy by any means....all it takes is one second of hesitation and boom there's a run....so tell your friend to get real good before he does your car.....or you may not like the end result
 
Paint

I plan on painting my brother's Mustang and I will be using Jet-Glo as the paint. It is one of the types of paint I use when I paint airplane parts. You don't need a base coat or a clear coat, just a good primer. It is a very sturdy paint. It will not chip off your bumper covers and it will last a long time. It is maintenance free paint(no waxing). It is a one stage paint. You still have to do good prep work but you don't have to color sand, clear coat it, buff it out or any of those other steps involved when painting with laquers or other types of paint. Another alternative is Imron. It's the same setup just a little cheaper and it doesn't flow out as well. Dries quickly too. Spray car one day, dry the next. You still give a couple of days to really harden though. These are great paints for solid color paint jobs. I don't recommend them for paint jobs with stripes or multi color themes because you will end up with tape lines. It is durable paint though. It probably won't come out as glossy as a multi-clear coated paint job but it will still be glossy enough to make you happy. By the way, you can get DuPont Imron brand paint at most paint shops. I just bought a gallon of it to repaint an elevator on a 172 and it cost 140.00. Plus the activator is about 70.00. It's a 3 paint to 1 activator mix so 1 gallon after mixing will give you about a gallon and a half of usable paint. It's good stuff. Airplanes take more abuse than cars do and it holds up well on the aluminum as well as the plastic pieces on the planes.
 
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Darkside... sounds like an alternative if you're good with a paint gun. If you screw up can you color sand the stuff and buff it out?
 
No, you can't buff it out. The way it works is like this: after you spray it, as it dries the solids settle and the gloss stays on top. That is how it is a one stage paint. Imron however, if mixed right, goes on pretty thick so you would have to really spray it heavy to run it. If you did get a run you would have to wait till the next day when it is dry, sand it and either spray the car again or blend it.
 
i was happy with dupont centari basecoat clearcoat my red looks just like original i used about 4 coats of red and 2 coats clear . a gallon of red and a gallon of clear, and reducer , and hardener and a quart of primer was about 300 bucks about 3 years ago
 
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Personally I like the base/clear paints, especially on anything with flake or pearl in it. I did my bike in two colors and it was really nice not having any tape lines anywhere.
 
I've used Centari as well and it sprays and shines nice but it isn't as durable as Imron, Jet-Glo, Acry-Glo, or Alumigrip. I recommended these paints for the simplicity of use and durability. Centari is a good choice for cars because obviously they don't take the abuse that airplanes take. I've never put a clear coat over it though. I've always used it as a one stage paint. Alumigrip is awesome paint but you have to be good with a spray gun because you spray it thin and it takes like 2-3 days to harden depending on weather. If you're going for shiny you can't beat base/clearcoat paint jobs. If it weren't for parking lots full of you know what's slamming their 1979 Suburban doors on my car I would paint my car as shiny as I could. I feel for daily drivers you have to walk the line between shiny and durable. Another bonus like I said is you can use the same paint for your metal and bumper covers and it won't flake off. No additives required. For cars, like rlong said, Centari is a good choice for cars because it's inexpensive and it is pretty decent quality.
 
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