DeathGrip
US Veteran
Absolutely correct writerinmo.
Have you ever painted your own car?
- Thread starter sigp220.45
- Start date
CAJUNLAWYER
Member
I vote to leave it the way it is. Face it, will a paint job increase the value of the car? If no-then why do it. You've got a 2001 interceptor whose beauty lies beneath the hood. I believe in putting money into a car only to a) keep it running or b) increse value over the cost of an improvement. This project fails on both criteria.
However the wildcard does creep in and may have a drastic effect in what you do. By wild card, I mean your daughter and wife
To answer your question though,No I have never painted a car but me and my buddy DID hand paint a 48' aluminum Sport fisherman-with brushes and paint rollers. And you know what...it looked it too
Something to do with the harmonics or whatever but that boat was a fish raising son of a gun as well as being ugly as homemade sin. We joined a hoity toity fishing club and promptly won boat of the year. Bunch of cajuns sitting on a hand painted "crewboat" built fishing boat next to the gleaming Hatterasses and Betrams, bar b quing on the back deck with laundry hanging from the outriggers listening to country music and drinking long necks. Talk about country come to town The 4-5 release flags didn't hurt either 
However the wildcard does creep in and may have a drastic effect in what you do. By wild card, I mean your daughter and wife
To answer your question though,No I have never painted a car but me and my buddy DID hand paint a 48' aluminum Sport fisherman-with brushes and paint rollers. And you know what...it looked it too
Something to do with the harmonics or whatever but that boat was a fish raising son of a gun as well as being ugly as homemade sin. We joined a hoity toity fishing club and promptly won boat of the year. Bunch of cajuns sitting on a hand painted "crewboat" built fishing boat next to the gleaming Hatterasses and Betrams, bar b quing on the back deck with laundry hanging from the outriggers listening to country music and drinking long necks. Talk about country come to town The 4-5 release flags didn't hurt either
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OP
sigp220.45
US Veteran
She just wants it to be one color - right now its white with large patches where the paint has completely peeled off. I'm not about to spend a bunch of money on this thing - its got about a quarter of a million miles on it already.
I was hoping I could get away cheap by doing it myself since I've got this mongo compressor and my Pops has the paint guns. But now it looks like I'd be the car-guy equivalent of the Bubba gunsmith we all bemoan so much.......
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When I was in high school, I had a 1950 Chevy 2-door. I didn't like the sky-blue color, so I made a deal with a car paint shop about 1/2 mile from me. I stripped the trim, sanded the paint down, used spray-can primer where needed, did all the masking, and then drove it down to the shop where they did a fine job of spray painting it '57 T-Bird metallic bronze. I think the total charge was $60. A couple of years later, I tired of that color, and did the same deal, only in '58 Corvette silver blue. By then I had also louvered the hood, so I needed to repaint it anyway.
The point is, that most of the labor is in the prep work. Once that is done, spray painting is a piece of cake for the professionals to do. I would never attempt to do that myself. The risk of an orange-peel surface, runs, etc., is just too great. You can probably make a similar deal as I did today, except it will cost you more than $60!
John
The point is, that most of the labor is in the prep work. Once that is done, spray painting is a piece of cake for the professionals to do. I would never attempt to do that myself. The risk of an orange-peel surface, runs, etc., is just too great. You can probably make a similar deal as I did today, except it will cost you more than $60!
John
caseydog
Member
I do a couple every year , my own ,family, close friends. You won't need to buy a bunch of tools , I use 80% hand blocks.
A cheap paint job really isn't enough motivation to take this on, you'll be ready to farm it out before you get it masked. For most guys who follow through and get it done it's really a personal satisfaction thing. I know a few office types who love that they can accomplish this themselves, basically I'm sayin unless you have some higher motivation you should probably consider farming it out. If you do decide to go through with it I'd be happy to swap a few e-mails with you and help all I can.
Just the bare basics , sandpaper,blocks ,tape,respirator, a little primer,color,clear,reducers you're probably looking at least $750+ using name brand "value line" chemicals.
Ray
A cheap paint job really isn't enough motivation to take this on, you'll be ready to farm it out before you get it masked. For most guys who follow through and get it done it's really a personal satisfaction thing. I know a few office types who love that they can accomplish this themselves, basically I'm sayin unless you have some higher motivation you should probably consider farming it out. If you do decide to go through with it I'd be happy to swap a few e-mails with you and help all I can.
Just the bare basics , sandpaper,blocks ,tape,respirator, a little primer,color,clear,reducers you're probably looking at least $750+ using name brand "value line" chemicals.
Ray
lonejacklarry
US Veteran
Nice car, caseydog-
That reminds me-if you are a novice painter, paint the car white or tan. DO NOT try to do black. White is very forgiving but black is for the folks that really know what they are doing.
Remember to use a respirator or, better yet, a fresh air supplied rig. If a filter mask filters out the particulate matter, fine, but if the oxygen is displaced in your shop then things go downhill fairly fast.
The isocyanate paints out there today can kill you if you do it wrong. They are tough on skin, eyes, and the respiratory system. They work great but are dangerous!!
All in all, I'd let someone else do it if I were you.
That reminds me-if you are a novice painter, paint the car white or tan. DO NOT try to do black. White is very forgiving but black is for the folks that really know what they are doing.
Remember to use a respirator or, better yet, a fresh air supplied rig. If a filter mask filters out the particulate matter, fine, but if the oxygen is displaced in your shop then things go downhill fairly fast.
The isocyanate paints out there today can kill you if you do it wrong. They are tough on skin, eyes, and the respiratory system. They work great but are dangerous!!
All in all, I'd let someone else do it if I were you.
venomballistics
Member
wivestale ... while black, and metalics show your sins, body prep is about making all your wrongs right.
take the time to do that correctly, and you will have no trouble with any color.
I was told not to try black or metallic ... didnt listen ... did the mustang in black and gold as God intended .. and for my disobedience I got a job out of it
My girlfriend's son has an old, white Chevy work pickup that his dad bought him for $900 and it was the most horrible looking thing you had ever seen. It had big dents and peeling paint and he was ashamed to be seen in it, but it runs fine and I told him I would help him with the appearance. I bought a bunch of cans of white, black, and silver spray paint and several rolls of masking tape. After about two hours of masking and sanding that truck looked 100% better and no, it doesn't look wonderful, but it looks decent and he is no longer ashamed to be seen in it. It was actually fun painting it and if I did it again, I learned enough that I think I could make it turn out quite a bit better.
caseydog
Member
Improving the appearance of a decent running vehicle is as old as cars themselves. I've seen some truly determined spray can jobs that actually looked pretty good. Spray cans have a lot of limitations , very thin so the tiny propellant charge can push it, fast drying seems like a good thing but when doing large areas causes major haziness from overspray.
Some more recent determined DIY guys have developed a solution using those little (4" ?) foam rollers sold in the paint dept at the box stores and some enamel tractor type paint thinned with a slow evaporating reducer and multiple coats until you get enough paint on that you can actually wet sand it with 1500 paper and polish it with a buffer.
A 1962 Ford Falcon Recieve A Budget Paint Job - Hot Rod Magazine
Some more recent determined DIY guys have developed a solution using those little (4" ?) foam rollers sold in the paint dept at the box stores and some enamel tractor type paint thinned with a slow evaporating reducer and multiple coats until you get enough paint on that you can actually wet sand it with 1500 paper and polish it with a buffer.
A 1962 Ford Falcon Recieve A Budget Paint Job - Hot Rod Magazine
CAJUNLAWYER
Member
If you do it, WE WILL COME to watch with popcorn and all kinds of helpful hints
I say go for it, you're just dyin to use one of those spray guns aren't you ???
Black_Sheep
Member
I have painted cars, boats, dump trucks and motorcycles as a hobby. The learning curve can be kind of steep. For a cheap and easy route google "rustoleum paint job", it's been a hot topic on a variety of automotive forums...
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rlsbee
Member
Geez...you got so much good advice, I'm not sure I can add much. I've painted a few race cars and a few restoration projects. It's not beyond most people who are somewhat handy. Here's my few points...
Prep is everything, including taping
Stick with one brand for primer, paint and solvents.
Have very good light
Clean the spray guns well and learn to adjust a proper spray pattern
Most of all, be safe...
If you need to have heat, make sure there are no pilot lights or open flames
As pointed out by others, the fumes are really hazardous, especially if using any hardeners. Use a very good respirator or fresh air system and have a way to ventilate the work space.
I'd also recommend that you price out all the supplies you'll need and compare it to having a shop do the job. You might
be able to work out a deal with a shop where you do a lot of the prep work and the shop lays down the paint.
I'll bet there are some YouTube vids on the subject.
Dupli-Color is making a line of paints aimed at the DIY market. A friend of mine just did a truck and with the stuff. I don't know how it will hold up but it looks pretty good.
Good luck and don't forget about being safe!
Prep is everything, including taping
Stick with one brand for primer, paint and solvents.
Have very good light
Clean the spray guns well and learn to adjust a proper spray pattern
Most of all, be safe...
If you need to have heat, make sure there are no pilot lights or open flames
As pointed out by others, the fumes are really hazardous, especially if using any hardeners. Use a very good respirator or fresh air system and have a way to ventilate the work space.
I'd also recommend that you price out all the supplies you'll need and compare it to having a shop do the job. You might
be able to work out a deal with a shop where you do a lot of the prep work and the shop lays down the paint.
I'll bet there are some YouTube vids on the subject.
Dupli-Color is making a line of paints aimed at the DIY market. A friend of mine just did a truck and with the stuff. I don't know how it will hold up but it looks pretty good.
Good luck and don't forget about being safe!
ohiobuckeye
Member
Been there...Done that...and unless you know what you are doing, you will end up with a not so nice looking paint job. It ain't rocket science, but it's not all that easy to iron out the wrinkles, prep all surfaces, and apply the color to produce the nice slick and shiny new car look you expect. The more likely result will be wavy panels, visible sand marks, fish eyes, orange peel, dirt flecks in the final coat, sags, runs, and a host of other unsavory little flaws that will look awful. Also, paint and material costs are too outrageous to waste on a bad paint job. If you must do the work yourself, get someone with experience to guide and inspect your prep work and let the pro shoot the color.
Personally, I wouldn't think of painting my own car. This is the sort of task requiring enough technical expertise that I leave to knowledgeable and experienced experts, not some simple do-it-yourself project such as my self-surgery to remove a tapeworm, last weekend. (The patient is doing just fine, thank you, the tapeworm did not recover...)
This is not to say that this has kept me from painting cars not my own. There was that incident involving the obnoxious, annoying, parking-space-hogging neighbor, and a can of Krylon, which had entirely satisfactory results (with which I still, steadfastly, deny any involvement...).
This is not to say that this has kept me from painting cars not my own. There was that incident involving the obnoxious, annoying, parking-space-hogging neighbor, and a can of Krylon, which had entirely satisfactory results (with which I still, steadfastly, deny any involvement...).
lonejacklarry
US Veteran
I think you and I differ on what constitutes a quality paint job.
truckemup97
Member
m657
Member
.....should I mention the dreadful experiment in high school involving a pair of shorts tied on a broomstick and a short bottle of vodka over at a buddies house one weekend?......
michael thornton
Member
i know a guy that drinks alot(ALOT) he has a real nice dodge truck or it was he spray painted rebel flags on both sides! i have done my share of drinking but never been that drunk!
venomballistics
Member
if you mean car show quality ... it was.
again .. black and metalic colors show your sins .. if you did not commit any in the first place ... wheres the problem?
retiredtech
Member
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I read all the Posts on "Rustoleum" Paint jobs, got out my Harbor Freight HVLP, prepped and masked my 88 Chev PU and "Viola" I have gotten Many compliments on how it looks.
Total cost less than $100
Total cost less than $100
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