Mach1BBFun

So here is the car.






So I painted it Satin black last year and after a year of sun the car has faded pretty bad, not to mention was backed into at an NHRA event....and they didn't even leave a note...


But anyway here is my delema. I want a low budget paint job again, but dont know where to start. I am willing to go all the way and get a gun and some decent paint, just don't want to run over around 200$.

Believe it or not the car was painted last year with Krylon rattle cans, the paint looked good as you may tell but was not protected. I was scared a clear would gloss up the paint.

So the question: How to do a low budget paint job either gloss or satin black and what is needed.

Cburnett92

I was always told that painting a car yourself was a bad idea and you needed a pro to do it for big bucks, Im doing my own mustang with Plastidip latex paint, doing it matte black with black gloss wheels, and only reason I am doing it myself is because its almost impossible to mess up, it costs about $56 a gallon and i picked up a spayer at Lowe's for $70 bucks, if there are a ton of tutorials online and if you go to youtube there are a couple videos of people doing their cars and it comes out looking good. the plastidip is removable and PROTECTS your paint, maybe you should look into it, or paint the car like you did last time and buy some clear plastidip to go over it, a few coats should do, and it wont mess with the color of the car.

Five0hFox

Putting clear over satin or flat will gloss it up. When you spray base coat it has a matte appearance, the clear adds the gloss. Hate to break it to you, but unless you're doing a rattle can job again you won't be under $200. After the cheapest gun you can find you'd be sitting at $170ish left for supplies. If you want to do it right, since you sprayed it with rattle cans last year, you need to strip the car. Why? Because anything you spray on top of the rattle can job won't last. Then at this point you'll spend at least $200 on epoxy primer and high build 2k primer. Then you're looking at $100 for clear (you can add a flattening agent to it to give the satin look again if wanted, add $30ish for that) and $100 for base coat. Roughly $5-600 and that's for cheap stuff.

Mach1BBFun

Thanks for the advice. So from what Five0hFox is saying, it isn't really worth it doing it yourself. I know shops and friends that are willing to spray the car for around 300 after all the body work is done which I enjoy doing so that is no problem.

Thanks for the input, hopefully more will come.

van-swink85

Plasti dip is good stuff but i wouldnt do my whole car with it, its good for trim pieces and wheels though, but i would just pay the 300

Boss_Hotrod

If you have someone with a booth that will spray it for $300 do it. Especially if that includes paint.

TheRedBeast'12

DONT DO IT YOURSELF, GET THE PROFFESIONAL TO DO IT. lesson learned the hard way in a few situations.

Five0hFox

I'm not saying that it's not worth doing it yourself. I found it to be a frustrating, yet great experience. I'm glad that I decided to do it myself. You're looking at maybe $1000 doing it yourself with decent paint. A shop would be over $2000. It all depends on if you want to be able to say you did it yourself or not. But it is definitely best if you spray it in a booth.

351mustang

I am a body an paint guy..u can easily do I nice paint job for under 1k..but u will not b able to spend under 200$ if u have a Napa or an Als automotive in ur city u can get a cheap 3 piece paint gun kit for bout 100$ one prime gun..one main gun an one mini gun..since ur not gonna b painting many cars thas ur best best cuz there only good for about 2 paint jobs.

I didn't read everyone comment so if I'm repeating sorry lol..but make sure u have a good 2 stage compresser..but as for paint it all depends ur style..u can get factory
Pearl paints like u see on some caddys..and Wat I've learned over the years is that cheap paint will save u money..but it lays out like crappy..and usually will have to use 2-3 coats..a good premium paint will Cover n bout 2 good passes..also get a good clear coat..

And check out alsa corp..google them..u can get crazy custom paints in small portions for cheap to do custom graphics or something..make sure u mask an tape ur car good!! Tthere is no such thing as too much paper or tape lol u will b happy n the end when u don't have a lot of over spray..

But realistically u can paint ur car under 500 bucks with everything included

351mustang

And dam the most important thing I forgot to mention is preparing..make sure u sand car nice an good with 320 grit..depending on how ruff ur paint is..and use a decent primer