Painting Car?

blackdog · 05-08-2006, 03:53 PM

My friend and I are painting my car and was wondering a few things before I go ahead and do it. He has painted cars before but that was along time ago and I want to get some input from you guys to confirm what he has told me.

I'm thinking to paint a 4 door alero it will take about a gallion of base coat, clear coat and primer. Am I right? Also looking a two different brands, one is PPG and the other is ultra 7000. I have heard of PPG but ultra 7000 is a bit new to me. Anyone have any luck with it or know anything about the brand? I also have a bit of filling do it on the car but have heard a lot of bad things about bondo. I was reading online that Rage Gold is a good filler... Anyone have anyting to say about that?

I trust my friend knows what he is doing but hes a farmer and like I said its been a number of years since he painted a car and I know very little about paints and stuff so any input would really help out.

natedawg9640 · 05-08-2006, 07:20 PM

i dont think you need a gallon of base... unless you are doing like 10 coats...
i dont paint cars for a living but i did all the stuff to the eclipse linked in my sig. i used about a half gallon of color and a gallon of clear for the whole body, door sills, and kit. i reccomend using a gravity feed HVLP gun over a siphon feed. that's a bout all i can say... never heard of either brand of paint... and as long as you dont use the bondo too thick and have a clean metal surface before you apply it it is fine... some people say it cracks if you have a huge system but i've only seen it ha[[en when people used it too thick...

05-08-2006, 07:46 PM

well here is my sugestion....don`t let the farm boy paint your car
plastic filler if used correctly can be you friend if used to much or improperly preped metal it can crack "bondo" is like a sponge so if it has a chance to soak up water heat and cold can affect the material as well
so used in moderation it can be a good thing

PPG`S dbc system i think professionaly speaking is one the the easiest systems to use, the durablity the shine is second to none, or you can use ppg`s cheaper brand omni still a great product just a bit cheaper
doing body work/painting takes yr`s and yr`s of experience to gain knowledge in and i can not teach you online all i can do is give advice on what products and or material and or ways to make something work
can not give you a estiamte online just ain`t gonna happen
but i really suggest taking the car to a shop and to someone that has the experience in body work, if this farm boy hasn`t touched a car in yr`s he can easly screw up the car bad, so save your money and let someone else do it for ya so it comes out nice

blackdog · 05-08-2006, 11:37 PM

Well by the looks of it I should only end up spending around 600.00 - 700.00 range on paint, clear, primer... The body shops I have been to say the car is in such bad shape it would take hours of work just to get it to a point they could start painting it at. Price range I was given was 5000 - 8000 for the work so if I can give it a shot for 700.00 and see how she comes out then I think that may be my best bet. I have used the HLVP guns before on bikes and stuff so I am not a total noob to painting just painting cars.... Guess that makes me a noob lol. Anyway thanks for your input I will take it to mind when I start working.

05-09-2006, 12:02 AM

well something fixed and painted for 700 bucks its going to look like 700 bucks
if you have no experience with body work and farm boy by your side its goint o look like it was fixed by a noob and a farm boy

again my suggestion is to save your money and have a professional fix the car

SweetNLow · 05-09-2006, 12:14 AM

i suggest a 3/4 inch knapp roller and a nice dutchboy gloss latex paint

natedawg9640 · 05-09-2006, 12:18 AM

bah... dont listen to them... a budget is a budget... personally if i was quoted 5-8k i wouldn't save up to have it done by a pro... i'd save up and buy a new car... give it a go... make sure you practice on something first to know how the paint is gonna lay and stuff... and make sure that the area you're gonna be clearing in is clean and well lit... dust and clear coat do not mesh well... and make sure that the body work is done before you paint... dont cut corners there... you will be able to tell easily when it's shiny... good luck with it

FormulaNERD · 05-09-2006, 06:09 AM

poop, i'd just go with a rhino liner, textured goodness.

05-09-2006, 08:44 AM

right don`t listen to a body man of 15 yrs right?? so he should listen to someone that has no experience in this trade

everyone thinks body work is so easy that a monkey can do it, even at 15 yrs i still learn every day to make my self better i can remember my 1st car i did was my 81 honda accord looked like crap when i finished it but fromt hat point on i was fortunate enough to have people take me under and teach me

paying over 5,000 is not crazniess if you want quality you pay for it paying 700 bucks its goin to look like a 700 paint job
so i n closing you do what ya want let farm boy paint you car and see how it turns out and when you are shaking your head sayin "damn i should have saved my money" then you can pay me to fix the work

blackdog · 05-09-2006, 10:18 AM

point is the car is not worth the money to have someone like you to fix it. More or less its the prep work needed to get the car ready for paint that added up all the labor on the paint job. Really we well see how she turns out. If its bad oh well its a 2000.00 car and all I have wasted is 700.00. I'm sure I will have questions when I start working on the car. Just a quick note, everyone starts somewhere Im sure you wasted your fair share of money as well.

racin4JC · 05-09-2006, 11:08 AM

And even if it does get screwed up the first time he can try at least ten more times to get it right before totaling what the body shop wants! (Have to start somewhere, why not on a $2,000 alero!)

natedawg9640 · 05-09-2006, 11:57 AM

exactly my point in the first place... it's easy to say "save your money... take it from a pro" but to someone who just doesn't have the resources to do that... it's hard advice to follow. the best thing you can do is a little research... ask for helpful tips from people who have done it before and take it slow. make sure you prep good before the body work, .... what is in need fo so much body work? is it smashed or just door dings or hail damage or what? ... any place you are using filler make sure you have sanded down to the metal... that will allow the bondo to bond solidly... make sure that when you sand it down it follows the contours perfectly or when you clear it you'll see it. make sure you prime it enough and use HIGH grit sand paper so you get all the sanding scrathes out before you paint it. for areas that you dont need to fill i suggest using one of those green scouring pads (the ones without the detergent on them)... those scuff the clearcoat (so the following paint will stick)but dont cut deep enough to leave scratches... if you can take anyhting off to paint it you might want to... e.i. doors, bumpers... it just makes it easier to see how the clear is going on and help you prevent runs.

what are you gonna paint this in? a garage? paint booth? hopefully not a hay barn

blackdog · 05-09-2006, 01:01 PM

The car does not have any digs, its all in what the owner did to the car before me. He said that the car was keyed and that the insurance wrote the car off because of they paint damage. Anyway he sanded some parts down to the metal and others just down to the color coat and can't forget his POS job on molding some cheap Z3 fenders. The fenders need to be replaced and the whole car needs to be sanded right down to the metal then primed. Then the window seals have all be ripped out of the front and back windows and now have a bit a rust showing up so that needs to be fixed but thats not all. It looks like he hit a speed bump or something and the molding on the side skits is cracked bad and needs to be repaired. It's all the little things that have been done that have caused this to be so costly to fix in a shop.

We are doing it in a metal tractor garage, it is a new garage with a lot of airflow and nearly no dust. I am going to take the doors off, trunk and hood and hang them in the garage and paint them. We are gutting the insides of the car out seats, dash, trim so on and so forth and paint the car. All the windows are also coming out.

The interior all needs new vinyl and dye but thats a whole different ball game. I will take as many pics of the process as I can, maybe it can help someone else out on the site and maybe even save someone money.

Anyway I am sure I will be back on here asking for help.

natedawg9640 · 05-09-2006, 01:04 PM

yeesh... i woulda sold you my car for 3k and saved you an assload of work. lol

blackdog · 05-09-2006, 01:29 PM

I got this car as a fun project car. I didn't want to pay anymore then I did buying the car I don't mind the labor and trial by error. Hell I get to spend 2 weeks on a farm miles from the city, its a much needed break from work and school.

Way I see it is 100 hours of work and I will end up with a sweet ass ride and a new car smell

blackdog · 05-14-2006, 11:51 AM

Try to PM somone and it posted here WTF????

Molson · 05-14-2006, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SweetNLow@May 8 2006, 10:14 PM
i suggest a 3/4 inch knapp roller and a nice dutchboy gloss latex paint

Quoted post

Give your head a shake...

Use all your leftover Tremclad and a 20 dollar gun... :P