Any DIY Painters out there?

[droptop73]

That turned out nice.

Great reading here guys.

 

[Totalled]

Huh. The first car I ever painted was a '90 Dodge Shelby Daytona.

 

[71_resurrection]

Everyone has great advice! I really want to achieve this goal of painting her myself. My father was a painter for General Motors for 21 years before they switched over to automatic painting and all that new fancy stuff they have going on in the assembly factories. He does fantastic work to say the least. I think I am going to fly him out here to help me out, not do it for me, but give pointers on technique and to be in the booth when I do paint it. I found out today while I was changing my oil on base that the auto hobby shop has a paint booth that has been closed for years, damn EPA in California. Anyway I was asking if it would ever reopen, especially with water based paint now, they said probably not, but did recommend a place that rents booth time, so I think that is what I will do after having all the body work complete in my garage.

Oh and weather will never be an issue where I live...San Diego is 72 and sunny about 360 days a year! Thanks again for all your advice and stories!

 

[OMS]

Oh yeah one more very important item.

Turn OFF all gas lines and extinguish any pilot lights...water heater, gas dryer, stove, gas logs.

May not be an issue with water borne paint but you never know. No need to blow up the house.

I use gas heat in my garage - haven't blown up yet

Anyone remember the lacquer paint job buzz

 

[caspianwendell]

Oh yeah one more very important item.

Turn OFF all gas lines and extinguish any pilot lights...water heater, gas dryer, stove, gas logs.

May not be an issue with water borne paint but you never know. No need to blow up the house.

I use gas heat in my garage - haven't blown up yet

Anyone remember the lacquer paint job buzz

Oh yeah...well...I remember some of it

 

[BOSS 351]

Your car will only look as good as your prep work. Make sure you use a primer that is compatible with the paint you chose. Base coat clear coat is the way to go. Use a gravity feed gun. I don't know anybody, or body shop, that still uses the old type siphon guns. Use a fair amount of clear coat (min 2 coats, three better). Be careful wet sanding and buffing afterwards. Always a problem if you buff your clear coat off and get into the base coat.

Painting isn't near as hard as many people think. Don't fear it and it will turn out great.

 

[aryan900]

So, I will be moving into a house soon with a two car garage, my dream since I have been an adult. Now I will have a place to work on my car without having to put it all back together at the end to drive it home from the hobby shop on base. I really want my exterior to look nice. Living in SoCal is frustrating because body and paint guys are soooo damn expensive here and I will not take my car to Tijuana to have it painted for cheap. Now that I will have a garage, I am thinking of painting it in the garage. I will build an interior frame and use 6 mil plastic to cover the whole thing, then add air filters and box fans for negative air system, add lights and make sure it all air tight for no dust. The area I am running blank on is type of paint, the better guns, and filtration from my compressor to the gun. Is it necessary to have a different gun for the three stages of paint...primer, base, clear. How much paint is needed to paint a 71 Mustang? Where is the best place to buy paint supplies? What brand of paint is best, are some better than others? I live in California so is a water based paint best for me here? Is single stage paint any good, or is a clear on top of a base the way to go? I want to paint her a modified grabber lime metallic with gloss black on the hood and a modified mach one stripe down the side. Should I paint the black first and then mask it off, paint the lime, and then clear; or lime, black, then clear? I know its a lot of questions, and I have been a google tech all day with this and still dont have any clear answers other than the technical info. So what have you guys used? This will be my first paint and body experience. I know the paint job is nothing without clean body work, so I will take my time with prep. Anyone else tackled this in their garage? Thanks guys!!!

getting started in painting can be an overwhelming task. There is a lot to learn esp with the new waterborne systems out there today. Where to get the paint, what do you add in relation to your environment ( ie temp, humidity, etc ), what kind of gun, nozzle size for the type of media to be sprayed.....I can go on and on. I have some dvds that will give you a great foundation. If you would like for me to send them to you drop me a pm and I can get them to ya.