driver187

what is best way to strip old to put new on i repainted mine my self but i see scratches where i hand sanded it i would like to try to get it to look as professional as possible but do it my self and anyone know how hard it is to paint a spoiler? i am wainting to do my car the way it looks now with black on bottom candy apple red on top. any help would be appreciated

Goosepoop302

make sure you do alot of wetsanding on any ruf spots. what grit were you using hwne you originally sanded the car? also did you take it all the way off and reprime it urself>?

driver187

originally i was sanding everything by hand was using coarse and then fine and i reprimed also but my question what is easiest way to sand and how do you wet sand? there are no rough spots the car has no rust on it at all just wanting to get old paint off and put new on and i was priced 3g-4g for a paint job and i thought that was alittle high but i'm also not a painter so i wouldnt know but i have painted derby cars and i was attepting this one on my own just wanna know what is easiest route to make it look halfway decent

myshifter

dual action sander is the easiest way. As for wet sanding use 1500-2000 grit paper and a sponge you hold in your hand, get the sponge wet, apply the water over the sanding area and wet sand

Goosepoop302

haha sorry i think i misunderstood originally well if i were you i sould definatly go get a air cocmpressor powered sander if you can or use a good orbital power sander.(or sandblast) . by coarse do you mena like 80 crit cauase eventually you neeed to be up in the high hundreds. wet sanding is just that u actually apply wator to it while using a very high grit sandpaper

driver187

ok so get a dual sander and that will be the easiest route and is it better to go to bare metal or what? and also when painting how many coats paint how many coats clear? i have a air compressor just have to get it fixed and what is easiest way to get paint just buy from dealer? also how does the paint on it look now? this was original this pic might be better

Goosepoop302

ok here is some great tips comming at youHere are the most basic things you need to know:

1. Before doing anything else, wash the car with soap and water. This removes road salts and bird droppings and other water soluble things that you don't see. It's pleasant to eat from a clean plate at dinner, but critically important to have a clean surface to paint.

2. Use a wax/grease remover with PAPER TOWELS (which are not a fire hazard when you throw them in the trash ... cloth is a fire hazard ... use paper towels!!!). Commercial removers are wonderful. You can also use liquid charcoal starter or house paint type mineral spirits ... these all work to remove crayon marks from things the kiddies decorated too ... because they are wax and grease removers ... crayons are wax.

3. Now it's okay to sand something if you need to make it dull. NOTICE THAT SANDING IS STEP #3 AFTER YOU REMOVED THE WAX AND GREASE- otherwise, you will drive wax and grease into the surface.

4. Ground the frame of the vehicle. Find the chassis frame under the car or truck and attach any size wire to the frame and the other end to something grounded (or "earthed" if you're British,) so the static electricity can get around those pesky rubber tires on the car. The static makes the dust jump up off the floor into the paint job. Dust is quite lazy, so it would rather stay on the floor than jump up if you just get rid of the static. (Please note, my Lotus is a fiberglass bodied car, and skipped this step on this car- didn't seem to matter)

5. Make certain it is bone dry where you are going to paint. Helpful old souls will tell you to wet the floor down to keep the dust down ... say "Thank you for that idea," and then, whatever you do, DO NOT WET THE FLOOR IN THE PAINTING AREA. All urethane is moisture-cure material. Any humidity, fog, steam, cloud, water vapor, passing from the floor into the sky as it evaporates will pass through the spray mist from your spray gun. At the end of the spray gun, as you pull the trigger, the temperature of the paint drops many degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius, as you wish ... this cures some of the paint before it ever hits the car!!! "Gee, I got a lot of dirt in my finish ... duh. " No, actually, you PUT A LOT OF "DIRT" IN THE FINISH. DRY! DRY! DRY! Always paint in a dry place.

5A. PUT UP PLASTIC WINDSCREEN if you are outside in a car port. Yes, you can actually paint outside. You could paint in your driveway if you were really desperate, but you would have little mites and flies in your paint. I actually painted in my car port open on one side. Take a little extra time and put up that plastic sheet to keep out that little bit of wind.

5B. TAKE YOUR TIME MASKING the parts of the car you don't want to paint. This is a relatively unexciting portion of this job-- but its the difference between a crummy MAACO paint job, and a really fine looking precision job. Remember, spray will go EVERYWHERE you don't cover.

5C. USE PREMIUM BODY PUTTY. Okay, we shall assume you've had some good advice about the body work. Other than this, use the best urethane 2 part epoxy catalyzed body putty you can buy for patching . It is a million times easier to sand, doesn't shrink, and is much harder than the cheapo Bondo or other stuff out there (good lord DON'T USE BONDO- it SUCKS!!) , and dries almost instantly. You will have to go to a specialty auto paint shop for this. I used RAGE GOLD at about $30+ a gallon. It was worth it. Try: http://www.sherwin-automotive.com/pr...t=29779&cat=37 if you can't find it locally.

6. After enough base color has been applied to cover whatever you're painting, let the last coat air out (dry) about 20 or 30 minutes before applying the clear coat.

7. As you are applying the clear coat, you will get a run. It's almost a certainty that you will get a run. ( Well, okay, I DIDN'T.) Runs happen. With a ring (just loop a 2� piece of masking tape around your finger) of any kind of tape, while the clear coat is still wet, push the tape into the run and pull it off. This will remove however many coats of clear you have applied over the color. Instead of keeping the spray gun perfectly perpendicular to the spray surface as you have been doing on the rest of the paint job, to cover the mark you just made with the tape where you pulled off the run in the clear, make your wrist spray a "flicker coat." It's just a twist of the wrist following this pattern, holding your spray gun at 45 degrees rather than straight up, starting with pointing the guy away from the car, flicking your wrist towards, then away again, making an "X" with two flicks:

X

8. This blends in around the spot where The tape was pulled away. If you fix the run while it's' wet, the next day you are enjoying a pretty paint job. If you wait, till it dries, you are at the automotive supply spending money on sandpaper and rubbing compound. Either way, you're only fixing the clear coat and not messing with the color, because the color is underneath the clear.

THIS IS NOT MINE <----disclamer also fsorry for long responses writing a paper for school
These are the basics. If you have specific questions about primers or sealers or body putty, etc., ask the dudes or dudeens at the automotive paint store. You don't have to be nervous any more about painting, because you know how to get rid of runs. Enjoy your work.
....just a sec ill edit

Goosepoop302

C) You CAN paint your car in a paint booth or at home in your driveway or car port. Hurray! Yep, that's what I did, and the results were great. The key is, don't paint in a lot of wind (duh). Cover anything you don't want paint on. Final sanding can be with 250 grit if you use a sealer (see Allen Paint for details), or finer if you don't use a sealer, say, 400 grit by hand. Otherwise, sanding marks will show.

also looks like u got body work ot get done up front there as well

driver187

body work why would you say that its just where the idiot that had the car before me didnt paint the bumpercover corectly
going to try image again hopefully not as big this time

Goosepoop302

well in that thumbnail it looks like on the driver side of the bumber is in ruff shape but i cant see for sure...also are those crome wiper covers EEWWW also its really hard to judge a piant job in pick like that specially with rain