SHOW ME HOW TO PAINT A CAR

[bwilson27]

This seems like the right area of the forum to ask newbie questions about painting my car, so here goes-

Question 1- I live in Phoenix, AZ, and I need to find a place that will be able to supply me with all my painting stuff. Primer, base coat, clear coat, reducer, hardener, masks, gloves, cups, and EVERYTHING to do with the job except the gun and compressor-related hardware. I want to stay with the same brand of chemicals all the way through, you know?
Can anyone suggest an automotive paint store where I could buy this stuff?

I'll ask more questions after this one is resolved... Thanks!

[pope]

http://www.tcpglobal.com/KustomShop/. They have about 5 different brands of paint including House of Kolor

[bwilson27]

Ok, I can order everything I need from there, right?
Next question, I suppose- How many quarts of basecoat should I buy? I want to paint everything excluding the underside. I don't want to run short...

[kilrwail]

Now may be a good time to ask the pro's who sell these products. They will know. A quart goes a long way when combined correctly with the reducer and activator. Since you live in Phoenix, do it soon. A high ambient temperature is not your friend.

[wachuko]

Best of luck, I don't have the patience it takes to paint...

I can take a car apart and put it back together, but the time it takes to clean, sand, filler in small imperfections, sand, primer, sand, clean, remove dust with tack cloth, clean, spray without runs or fish eye (even using the anti-fisheye stuff), spraying a clear coat that will take over the garage, the driveway, neighbors driveway... and leave a beautiful sticky coat on the cars two miles around my house... to then sand and polish the finish... nope... can't do it...

[maytag]

I'm a big fan of the "Chroma-Base / Chroma-Clear" system.
Very forgiving for a newbie, and the results can be (and frequently are) show worthy.

Ask some local sprayers down there how much reducer to use in your climate, etc. You'll be amazed how much the temp, humidity can effect the paint when laying it down.

[baltobernie]

newbie questions about painting my car!

Have you ever painted a car?

[SpiderJim]

I'm at this very moment painting my Spider. I have had experts suggest the brand Dupont Endura which here in Canada is sold via Napa. To give you an idea of volumes. Doing it the right way. Two coats of epoxy base primer 1 Qt A+B which is really 2 qts. Due to manufacturers crappy building methods to straighten the panel ripples and really have a show car surface use a high build primer I am on my fourth qt so suggest 3 qts or cheaper by the gallon can with a 4 to 1 activator. I have done all the prep work and sanded the HB primer with 280 then reapply then 400 repeat and finish with 600 dry hand sanded to show ant minor defects. Make sure you use the correct block sanding methods that can be viewed on YouTube if your not sure. Mine is now ready to paint tomorrow night. Currently on my fifth week of just body prep as I want a concourse quality finish.

The Endura is amazing and so tough and flexible at a very decent price. My painter sold me on this brand after I saw several concourse type vehicles in local shows that he did with this product. He also told me that many shops will try and sell you on high priced products to get the profits higher. THis paint is very flexible and does not crack and also takes stone hits without chipping in most cases. I crumpled a bunch of making paper that had this on then opened it up with no sign of damage. I also rust treated all of the worked on areas with a rust inhibiter prior to base epoxy. If you need bondo do not use the brand bondo it is crap to spread compared to a more professional product. A trick to a show car finish is to shoot a couple of coats of clear then leave the car for a week then sand it down and shoot your final clear coats. This will buff out like it is wet and in my case give the pearl finish a wet magnified look. I have also treated all interior compartments with a rubber spray coating to lock down dust and provide sound deadening. All lower surfaces are getting Euro stone guard just prior to paint. All inside steel members/ panels etc are getting treated with creeping wax to stop any rust that may be hidden from sight and prevent future damage $100 for both wax and special gun with flex nozzle. mY #1 Spider as this and is original and perfect condition. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[engineerted]

Here is a good site, they have everything you need plus a Forum, for all those questions you have.
http://www.autobodydepot.com/

I learned a lot from this site. I used PPG brand paint from our local Painters supply house, it is a urethane base paint thus a full fresh air system is need or you will die!! Do some research about the hazards of paints and what is needed to paint safely in your own garage. Good luck, its not that hard, just takes a lot of time.

Ted

[mdrburchette]

Hope you're ready for the cost of paint and materials. Most people don't realize how much epoxy primer, base, clears and all the additives cost. Also remember the color you choose has a lot to do with cost. Reds and blacks cost the most and are more transparent than lighter colors so you tend to use more. Hope you're taking everything off vs taping it up. Nothing looks worse to me than overspray when most stuff only takes a few minutes to remove vs tape up. Make sure you have a strong enough compressor with a water filter. You can buy a decent hvlp spray gun at Home Depot or Lowes. I use these gravity feed types for my stain and clear and they shoot a nice fan.
I buy some of my auto paint at the local O'Reilly's. Some still do sell automotive paint in the back. They can tell you what you need to mix it with for your area.]
Make sure you are working in a well ventilated and debris free area. Gnats, flies, mosquitoes all come running as soon as they smell fresh paint. They like to waller in it and get their legs and wings stuck, wreaking havoc on a beautiful finish. They usually wait until the final coat just to piss you off.
Also ask the paint dudes what pressure you should run through your gun. (Too much or too little air will cause mottling, sags and orange peel) You should hold the gun around 8 inches from the surface and make a horizontal sweep with your arm where your spray line will not have an arc. In other words, you want to stay a consistant distance from your surface throughout the sweep. If you reach too far, you will start farther away and get closer, thus making an inconsistent pattern. I always start the first sweep with half the spray pattern not hitting the panel (the nozzle pointed at the edge) because you will want to start the next sweep overlapping half of the first because the spray pattern is lighter on the outer edges and you want to blend them together to get the same thickness of paint. Your first coat should be light (tack coat) so the other coats will adhere better. Pope can probably fill you in on the rest and correct anything I said wrong.

[pope]

Pope can probably fill you in on the rest and correct anything I said wrong.

Denise, in all my years, I have never heard you steer anyone wrong.

[bwilson27]

Yes, I've painted a few cars before, but never with the kind of detail I'm trying to achieve here. I'm a shade tree painter, at best. The type of paint I typically used was bought from Napa or other parts stores, and I thought there might be some better quality source. But maybe not If you guys say Napa or O'rielly is a good source, then I'm happy enough to use them. Even if it costs more than an online source, it's worth it just to be able ask my questions in person, at the counter.
I'm looking to spend no more than $500 on all the paint and chemicals. That includes filler, primer, oh, and sandpaper.
My garage will be completely cleaned out, taped and sheeted off, with two box fans with filters going in, and two going out.
I'm sure I'll take pictures as I do it, but right now I'm just in the planning stages... Obviously.
Thanks for all the replies.

[mdrburchette]

Look in the phone book for your area for paint suppliers. The O'Reilly's in my area sells Glasurit to paint shops, as well as other brands, but not all stores carry automotive paint products. You can go to a Sherwin Williams store for their brand of automotive paint.

[kilrwail]

Google tells me there are at least three DuPont distributors in Phoenix. Probably more for other brands. Time to go shopping.

[bwilson27]

Time to go shopping.

Just as soon as I get my $8000 home buyer's tax credit deposited into my account.
...any day now....