Just out of curiosity, how many of you guys have painted your car yourself? For those who did, what type of paint did you use and what was your experience. Thanks.

Phil

 

I considered it. I mean paint was like $40 a gallon and then all you need is a compressor and spray gun. I dont have the skills though. I would have drips and stuff like that.

 

Use PPG paint, it's the best stuff out there. Their basecoat/clearcoat system is used in a ton of body shops. It goes on really nicely.

The biggest problem with painting a car is the equipment. A good paint gun is 150-300 bucks, then you need the paint, which is a lot more expensive than you think, then you need a buffer and compound, plus all the stuff to create a temporary paint booth in your garage. It's a hassle.

It's definately doable though, just take your time.

 

Like? I mean would you just section it off with plastic sheeting or do other stuff too?

 

I know what he means....you can build a make-shift paint booth with pvc piping and plastic. There's a couple of good articles. When you paint you want a dust free environment so you need a filter, a fan and a 'tent' to paint in.

 

Yeah basically you need to put plastic draping on all 4 walls, and get as close in as you can to the car. You dont really need any filtration, just water down the walls and the air before you pull the car in. Maybe put one of those portable air filters from walmart in there the night before. When I worked in an auto body shop, we would spray down the walls of the paint booth before pulling a car in.

The key to painting is to stay 6" away from the panel, and make straight strokes, not fanned strokes. What I mean by that is always keep the gun parallel to the panel, like a robot would do. you dont want to wave the gun at the panel. Get some sheet metal to practice on. You will get drips in your clear coat, its inevitable. However, you can rub those out with some 1500 grit sand paper, then buff it. Check with your local community college, they might have an autobody class.

The best advice anyone can give is that painting a car (or anything for that matter) is 90% prep. Painting doesnt take that much effort, so its easy to get rushed. Patience is a virtue in automobile painting.

 

I wouldn't risk doing it in your own garage. You would be much better off going to a local community college and paying for a course there in which the can teach you how to paint your car as well as give you a proper place to do it at.

I took a course at my local community college for 6months and my car is 90% ready for paint. I'll hopefully be spraying it this winter break.

Doing it in your garage is way to much risk for messing up your car. I wouldn't risk it.

as far as paint, PPG ive herad is good, but comes with a nice tag. I have, but havent used yet, Sherwin Williams straight black that i'll be spraying. I got it when they had a misorder and had put the paint on a shelve to get tossed but i bought it just in the nick of time for only $14 for a gallon. I still need clear coat though, but generally you can spend around $500 for paint alone, and if you plan on spraying in your own home using your own equipment, look to invest another $1000-$1500 for the supplies/material.

 

I agree Ivan. We can all do the elbow grease of prepping it for paint, but if you don't have the proper environment and painting skills, you will most liklely spend more money to purchase all the equipment and paint than getting it done professionally.

 

So what does a good paint job cost? Presuming I do all the prep and send the car out in pieces? I'm looking for a candy apple red.

Phil

 

$1000 to $5000

Seriously though, ever shop is different depending on the quality and type of work you want. Call some local shops and ask.