Painting a car

[Marijuanasaurus]

Anybody know how to do this? I just want a basic paint job nothing fancy, so im planning on just sanding down the old paint, and spray painting it down.

Am i missing anything? Ive never really done this before:confused:

[MunkeyQ]

If you're aiming for a shiny gloss finish, take it to a paint shop. You won't achieve anything near a factory paint job in your back garden I'm afraid. There's a LOT of work in preparation - cleaning, hours upon hours of sanding - and even then it won't be great.

However, if you've got a Jeep or something which can look rough, then by all means go for it. I painted my Land Rover with military tank paint I got at a surplus sale with a 99p brush. This paint is so hardcore it's got glass chips in it...if you brush against it, you'll graze yourself. :D

[PooPfish]

Anybody know how to do this? I just want a basic paint job nothing fancy, so im planning on just sanding down the old paint, and spray painting it down.

Am i missing anything? Ive never really done this before:confused:

Basically that is it, but you should do a few coats of primer first. Make sure you sand even, and make sure the primer is all even, get sandable primer so you can smooth it out. If you are going to just use spraypaint, it won't be a big deal if everything isn't completely even, just don't expect a great paint job.

[MunkeyQ]

^^ And if your car has aluminum alloy body panels, apply an etching compound first otherwise the paint won't stick.

[Marijuanasaurus]

If you're aiming for a shiny gloss finish, take it to a paint shop. You won't achieve anything near a factory paint job in your back garden I'm afraid. There's a LOT of work in preparation - cleaning, hours upon hours of sanding - and even then it won't be great.

However, if you've got a Jeep or something which can look rough, then by all means go for it. I painted my Land Rover with military tank paint I got at a surplus sale with a 99p brush. This paint is so hardcore it's got glass chips in it...if you brush against it, you'll graze yourself. :D

I have an 85 chevy celebrity so im not expecting it to look anything great.
Im thinking of doing a rough stealth black color, nothing glossy. something sort of like this.
http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/pigscanfly/WindowsLiveWriter/CESCarAduio_1235A/Coup7.jpg
Can i see a picture of your land rover, or at least the paint you used?

Basically that is it, but you should do a few coats of primer first. Make sure you sand even, and make sure the primer is all even, get sandable primer so you can smooth it out. If you are going to just use spraypaint, it won't be a big deal if everything isn't completely even, just don't expect a great paint job.

Whats the purpose of the primer?

[PooPfish]

I have an 85 chevy celebrity so im not expecting it to look anything great.
Im thinking of doing a rough stealth black color, nothing glossy. something sort of like this.
http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/pigscanfly/WindowsLiveWriter/CESCarAduio_1235A/Coup7.jpg
Can i see a picture of your land rover, or at least the paint you used?



Whats the purpose of the primer?

Helps the paint adhere to the surface, you could just leave it primered actually if you want your car flat black.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g84/cecil_01/110506001.jpg

Would look something like this.

Edit: Notice that a car with actually flat black "paint", not just primer, looks much better, and has a sheen to it.

http://i40.tinypic.com/kb88lt.jpg

[MunkeyQ]

I have an 85 chevy celebrity so im not expecting it to look anything great.
Im thinking of doing a rough stealth black color, nothing glossy. something sort of like this.
http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/pigscanfly/WindowsLiveWriter/CESCarAduio_1235A/Coup7.jpg
Can i see a picture of your land rover, or at least the paint you used?



Whats the purpose of the primer?
That kind of finish can be done at home fairly well if you're not too concerned about perfection. Not great, but it'll look better than trying to make it shiny. As far as I know the process is a bit more complex as you have to apply a special clear coat which goes over the paint itself. You can't leave it in plain primer as UV will destroy it.

Unfortunately I don't have any pics of the Land Rover or paint, but I'm going home for a couple days next week so if this thread's still alive I'll post pics. If you imagine a very thick matte paint with coarse sand in it...that's what it is. You don't need any care or finesse in applying it. ;)

[Kwinnie Bogan]

Helps the paint adhere to the surface, you could just leave it primered actually if you want your car flat black.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g84/cecil_01/110506001.jpg

Would look something like this.

Edit: Notice that a car with actually flat black "paint", not just primer, looks much better, and has a sheen to it.

http://i40.tinypic.com/kb88lt.jpg

Looks to me like satin black, not flat / matte. If you are going to leave your car in primer, you should get a self sealing one. I don't mean to be condescending, but at least with a Citation you don't have to worry about the paint showing up every single dent and ding in th panels. Who cares?

[Rocko]

Don't just leave it in primer, have the decency to actually apply some real matte black paint and clear coat.

[sexualjesus]

you can always tell a backyard job from the real thing, because it has no shine to it.

if i was going to paint a car id sand it back, prime it with a tin of primer and then paint it with house paint and gloss and wax the shit out of it to see what it looked like, me be thinkin it would still look like shit but with any luck and no air bubbles on it it may just pass off as a normal paint job untill the gloss wore off.

a few ideas for ya, buy chrome paint, or specialist paint, you can buy a tin of chrome paint for cheap if you buy it in the litres (or gallons depending on where you are) try and pass it off as a bmw look alike, bmw made an all chrome car that failed harder then i do on a bad day :)
ive seen some very nice unique sports cars that pulled off the chrome look well, some people may insult you for it, while others will applaud the effort and uniqueness.

second idea is to buy reflective crystals, as a cheap way to make pearlescent paint, reflective crystals are used on white walls so you can see the projections of overhead projectors. (remember those old loud things from school) pour a packet of those into some paint and cover your car in it, it will look very unique as any light that hits it will just reflect back makeing it look VERY shiny, the colours wont change but people wont be able to notice that because of the glare lol.

also when useing house paints make sure there rust proof, america has a product called rustoleum which is a big paint company over there, in australia its hard to make sure what paints are rust proof because houses arent usually made out of metal, cans of spraypaint wont work very good because its hard to be professional with them to make layers, and it will fade very quickly, my father once bought a 200 dollar heap of shit, painted it and sold it for 500 the next day, that paint must have faded like a week after the poor granny bought it.

you may think its a cheap job but dont be afraid to go over your limit, buy some professional gear, such as powered sprayers, they make it easier to make thin layers and you can often pick up cheap versions of them for 30 bucks for the hose, you will need a way to power them so it all depends on how far your willing to go for a proper job

also do it inside, it will fail outside unless you do it fast, which isnt usually an option cause primers take a couple days to set in for cheap primer and you want to let the paint dry after each layer, clean out your garage or borrow your mates garage for a week, the better the job the longer it will last.

[sexualjesus]

also with the leave the car in primer idea, you would have to use a shittonne of primer, your not meant to cover the car in primer so you cant see the metal at all normally. the primers meant to hold most of the paint in place so it doesnt fall off, unless you use a special primer that sticks perfectly it will probably fall off in chunks as you hit more things, and you would need to put such a thick layer on it that it would have costed you less just to buy a second layer of normal paint to cover it, like rocky said, if your aiming for matte, put some matte black over the top

[TheGreenDoctor]

The bumper on my II was a rattle can job and it came out ok. Even after being driven daily though the past new england winter, it only has a few chips here and there. Also, it has a moderate shine to it. If I have to prove that, I'll wait until a bright sunny day and take a picture.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k113/Mark_Taylor87/Car%20Pictures/Picture008.jpg

[sexualjesus]

The bumper on my II was a rattle can job and it came out ok. Even after being driven daily though the past new england winter, it only has a few chips here and there. Also, it has a moderate shine to it. If I have to prove that, I'll wait until a bright sunny day and take a picture.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k113/Mark_Taylor87/Car%20Pictures/Picture008.jpg

that actually looks pretty nice, i stand corrected.
i was never a big fan of green, but nice job

[ratfrink]

I've owned a matt black car, and it's fun. If it gets scratched then you can just take a rattlecan and go over it. Matt black also hides dents very well.

The problem is that primer is porous. It'll soak water up and hold it. Even if the original paint underneath is okay to begin with, eventually it'll fuck up the factory paint and it'll start rusting.

If you are going to paint it matt black, do it with proper matt black paint, not just primer.

Here's my datsun
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/lewisantonearl/IMG_0529.jpg

Edit - matt black is also impossible to keep clean.

[cronic5]

If you're just going to rattle can it (I don't recommend it), then you have to do it RIGHT. That means sand it down to perfection (look up DIY articles on prep work for paint, there are some on instructables.com) and then coat it with primer, then if you use spray paint, stand AT LEAST 2 feet back, and spray away. Yes, it will take MANY coats, and take a long time, but it'll be worth it than the dripping shit you get all the time.

Don't forget to tape off the car, I have seen people who forget to do that. :facepalm:

[ratfrink]

I'd buy a book on it.

I've got a copy of 'How to Paint Your Car' which is a Motorbooks Workshop publication. It's very good and contains absolutely everything you need to paint a car, from repair jobs to colour changes to custom car artwork. It also has lots of technical details.

[IIIII]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Paint-Your-Car-With-Rustoleum/

Paint with rustoleum and a roller for a really good and not much money job.

[ratfrink]

^ Mnnn.

I've seen a lot of rustoleum paint jobs on t'internet. I don't think it's as easy as that guy makes it out to be. You'll have to do a lot more wet sanding with 2000 grit sandpaper and a lot of polishing with cutting compound to get it looking shiny. That MX5's paint looks really dull and matt.

An MX5 is also a pretty easy car to mask, it doesn't have chrome trim along the windows for example. Nor does it have a roof, which is pretty hard to paint on a large car.

[Marijuanasaurus]

Hey thanks for all the advice you guys. I realized this will be a larger project than expected, and im planning on replacing my passenger window before starting on anything, but at least i have some information to read up on before i start.:thumbsup:

[888]

Just grab a can of your prefered colour of paint and splash it on the car than take a ROLLER to it...Its the most easy way !

[cronic5]

Just grab a can of your prefered colour of paint and splash it on the car than take a ROLLER to it...Its the most easy way !

Even if it happened to look good at first, it'd last about a month then look like a total piece of shit.

[888]

/\ Dude I was kidding...

[happy_one_hit]

I have an 85 chevy celebrity so im not expecting it to look anything great.
Im thinking of doing a rough stealth black color, nothing glossy. something sort of like this.
http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/pigscanfly/WindowsLiveWriter/CESCarAduio_1235A/Coup7.jpg
Can i see a picture of your land rover, or at least the paint you used?



Whats the purpose of the primer?

I work in a body shop, I fix cars and do paint work, you will not make it look like that with an aerosol can unless you are God. You could buy a cheap compressor and paint gun and do a million times better. Get some automotive paint from Sherman Williams or some shit.