Disgustang

Hello...I have a '90 convertible and I am doing a full restoration of it. I already installed full new black interior, new top, engine and all driveline are perfect, and now its time for paint! I don't know exactly how to prep the car so any help would be appreciated. I was told to wet sand first, and I was wondering what grit sandpaper to use and how to do wet sanding? I am in Columbus, OH and need someone to paint so if you are in the area and know of a good place then please let me know and leave the number that shop! Thanks.

JD1969

If you are going to prep the car yourself and have another shop do the paint,you should find a shop who is willing to that and talk to them before you do anything to the car. Some shops will not want to touch the car after you have worked on it, because the prep work is THE most important part of a paint job. You may be able do some stuff to keep the cost down, like doing all the disassembly yourself, maybe some of the taping, but you really need to find a shop who is willing to work with, thats the first step. Sorry I don't know anybody in Ohio or I would try to help you there.

1hot88drop50

wise words JD.. a friend of mine thought he would try to save some cash and do the prep work himself.. came out horrible!! the prep is very crucial in how the piant lays down because that is what it sticks to. It isnt much more to have a quality shop prep and paint it and belive me in the end it will be well worth it. just shop around and get estimates and also ask people who painted thier cars. Word of mouth is the best advertisement there is and plus u can see the finished product. lots of times shops have b4 and after pics which come in handy. If you do decide to take on the prep work yourself after research then just be sure top take your time and make sure everything is nice and even..

USAMuscle

I agree. If you aren't experienced with refinishing, leave it to a pro. I am in the auto body industry and I can tell you the worst thing that can happen to a shop is to have the car come back because something went wrong. Just FYI though, wet sanding only comes after the clearcoat is applied on a base/clear application. During the prep stage, dry sanding is used to rough up the surface to be painted, usually with 320 grit or 400 grit (if the paint is to be applied over the previous color). Anything more coarse than that and the paint won't fill the scratches. You'll be better off letting a shop handle it from start to finish. Just stay away from Maaco...[:'(]