Painting my car...

[Kristopher1129]

So, I'm thinking heavily about painting my car this winter. I have a 99 Civic that is in decent shape. But, it's got a couple rust spots that pushed up through the paint, and it also has some dings and dents that I'd really like to push out.

Painting is definitely not something I'm used to doing. I've only painted a couple of things...and they didn't come out that great. But, I also didn't put much effort into it either.

I'm just looking for some possible guidance, cause I don't want it to come out like crap. I'd like it to look good. I'm not doing anything custom or anything like that. I just want to shoot the factory color back on to the vehicle. It is the typical black, and it has metallics.

Should I sand the paint all the way off? Or just scuff up the current clear, and paint over it?

[93fox]

So, I'm thinking heavily about painting my car this winter. I have a 99 Civic that is in decent shape. But, it's got a couple rust spots that pushed up through the paint, and it also has some dings and dents that I'd really like to push out.

Painting is definitely not something I'm used to doing. I've only painted a couple of things...and they didn't come out that great. But, I also didn't put much effort into it either.

I'm just looking for some possible guidance, cause I don't want it to come out like crap. I'd like it to look good. I'm not doing anything custom or anything like that. I just want to shoot the factory color back on to the vehicle. It is the typical black, and it has metallics.

Should I sand the paint all the way off? Or just scuff up the current clear, and paint over it?

Hey Kris! Dude as soon as i this thread i knew i had to jump in to see what your idea was. I am no expert and have been doing this for about 2 years now and have had alot of success from the metal work to the body work to the priming to the blocking to the painting. I am a big believer and supporter of DIY paint jobs. Some people see painting as something really hard but you'd be surprised how easy it is. What i mean by easy is in your situation. That you want just to repaint the car and dont want to do color change or do some custom work.

Does your car have dents that you want to fix or you just want to do a paint job? this is the first thing you should answer before you take any further steps.

I dont know if you missed my thread but take a look at this. http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/off-topic/37542-project-1993-mustang.html its the current restoration im doing on my 93 mustang!

Any questions you have Kris, feel free to ask away man! Ill do my best to provide the best info! :xyxthumbs:

[kimtyson]

I think it depends on your expectation of the final product. For me, painting is very similar to detailing. There are lots of folks that can "detail" a car. Then there are those that are trained, experienced, have all the right tools, and provide a show car shine.

[master detailer]

call a body shop and traid out some work with them. like wet sanding buffing thats what I do when I need gelcoat work done. then I mark it up 10% .

[Flash Gordon]

So, I'm thinking heavily about painting my car this winter. I have a 99 Civic that is in decent shape. But, it's got a couple rust spots that pushed up through the paint, and it also has some dings and dents that I'd really like to push out.

Painting is definitely not something I'm used to doing. I've only painted a couple of things...and they didn't come out that great. But, I also didn't put much effort into it either.

I'm just looking for some possible guidance, cause I don't want it to come out like crap. I'd like it to look good. I'm not doing anything custom or anything like that. I just want to shoot the factory color back on to the vehicle. It is the typical black, and it has metallics.

Should I sand the paint all the way off? Or just scuff up the current clear, and paint over it?

Remove all the trim pieces then send it to MAACO. When their done, reasemble and sand/polish

[kimtyson]

Remove all the trim pieces then send it to MAACO. When their done, reasemble and sand/polish
Always kidding around, aren't you Flash?

[Flash Gordon]

Always kidding around, aren't you Flash?


Not this time...

[Mike Phillips]

So, I'm thinking heavily about painting my car this winter. I have a 99 Civic that is in decent shape.


I say go for it! It's small enough that you can do it in your garage.




Should I sand the paint all the way off? Or just scuff up the current clear, and paint over it?


That's a good question, I know that the factory paint, including the ecoat and primer are generally speaking the best you can get because when your car was painted on the assembly line it was in a highly controlled quality environment. Sanding down to metal will remove these initial coatings that can't be easily duplicated in your garage.

My recommendation is to join a forum for auto painting and start doing some reading. Also, some community colleges offer classes in the autobody industry, check into what's available around you.

:xyxthumbs:

[wildjyoung]

I helped my friend paint a car last year and we used the link below to make a cheap paint booth. It worked incredibly well and really helped to control dust and bugs from getting in the fresh paint.

How to Create a Paint Booth in Your Garage (with pictures) - wikiHow (http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Paint-Booth-in-Your-Garage)

[Y2KSVT]

I highly, HIGHLY recommend you check out this site, and buy his DVD.

How To Paint A Car PRO Yourself | Easy How To Paint Your Car | Paint Your Car | Learn Car Painting | Free Help Painting A Car and Free Paint Car Help | Auto Painting Auto Repair and Refinish (http://www.easypaintyourcar.com/)

This site really has a lot of information and he (Neil Slade) does a fantastic job of taking all the information he learned from high end painters, and condensing it down into an easy to learn, DVD. I think it's $10 for the download and $15 for the DVD.

I was considering a repaint on a Lincoln LS I had owned, but being the kind of guy that always feels I can do things myself, wanted to give it a shot. Well, I sold that car but I did have a smaller project that the DVD came in handy for. My sister needed a bumper resprayed and I already had all of the tools. I watched the DVD again and had all the confidence in the world. That was about three years ago and the paint is still holding up very well. I even did all of the painting outdoors! The DVD was a great investment!

[Kristopher1129]

I highly, HIGHLY recommend you check out this site, and buy his DVD.

How To Paint A Car PRO Yourself | Easy How To Paint Your Car | Paint Your Car | Learn Car Painting | Free Help Painting A Car and Free Paint Car Help | Auto Painting Auto Repair and Refinish (http://www.easypaintyourcar.com/)

This site really has a lot of information and he (Neil Slade) does a fantastic job of taking all the information he learned from high end painters, and condensing it down into an easy to learn, DVD. I think it's $10 for the download and $15 for the DVD.

I was considering a repaint on a Lincoln LS I had owned, but being the kind of guy that always feels I can do things myself, wanted to give it a shot. Well, I sold that car but I did have a smaller project that the DVD came in handy for. My sister needed a bumper resprayed and I already had all of the tools. I watched the DVD again and had all the confidence in the world. That was about three years ago and the paint is still holding up very well. I even did all of the painting outdoors! The DVD was a great investment!

I actually have this dvd already, haha.

I have a pretty good idea on how to paint. It's definitely not new to me. But, I'm not about to say I can create a great finished product. I'm just familiar with the steps that need to be taken.

I appreciate the feedback guys. I think I am definitely going to tackle this job myself. I think it would be really good to learn, and it would also make my car look sweet.

There's some dents I'd like to push out first. Then, I want to remove all the trim, tape everything off and start sanding. Keep the advice coming...I'm a bit busy today, but I'll check in later.

[Y2KSVT]

Wow, nice! Glad to see someone else has the DVD! Now that I think of it, I painted that bumper closer to 5 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long!

[Flash Gordon]

Ur not going to need to sand to the metal

Be sure and remove the front and rear windshields or it will look like crap

Someone burn me a copy of that DVD

[BobbyG]

So, I'm thinking heavily about painting my car this winter. I have a 99 Civic that is in decent shape. But, it's got a couple rust spots that pushed up through the paint, and it also has some dings and dents that I'd really like to push out.

Hey Kris,

Bodywork and paint isn't as easy as it sounds if you want the car to come out looking decent. The last thing you want is to spend several hundred dollars and 50 hours of time and effort only to have the final result a disaster.

Take some time and do some reading to familiarize yourself with the basics.

Thoroughly wash the car scrubbing each panel down removing everything that you can possible remove. Be aggressive as this is not the time to worry about swirls and marring.

Once dry again wash each panel with DuPont Prep-Sol. This is designed to remove sealants, waxes, oils, grease, tar and just about anything else.

Paper and tape off the entire car ensuring that everything you do not want painted is protected.

Eliminating and repairing rust can be a real challenge and doing it correctly is the "only" way to keep it from returning.

If rust is causing the paint to bubble up then most likely it's coming from the rear side of the panel. In this case the area must be cut away and fresh metal welded in place to make a permanent repair.

If the paint is chipped and left to the weather then rust can form from the exterior. Sand this area to bare metal removing all of the rust making the area smooth. Treat the area with a chemical that neutralizes the rust transforming it into a black non rusting something, I can't remember but it's never rust again. The name of the product I used to use was Rust Mort. Feather sand each layer or paint and primer way back so that the transition between the layers is undetectable.

Dings and dents are easily repairable.

Use a dual action sander and some 220 and 320 paint sanding disks. These are all available from your local automotive paint shop. Spend some time asking questions and tell the guy what you're trying to do and he'll get you headed in the right direction.

Sanding and prep work is paramount to ensuring the final results. If you do a poor job cleaning and sanding I can guarantee it will show up later on. Proper cleaning and sanding prepares the way so that primer and paint will adhere to the panel.

You'll only need to sand the paint to the metal in those areas that require repair. Wet sanding with 400 to 600 grit is another great way to prepare the old surface. Use a sanding pad or block, this helps maintain consistent and even pressure for uniform results.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Want to learn to do the job the RIGHT way? Check out the Paintucation series of videos:

Kevin Tetz's Paintucation OFFICIAL SITE (http://paintucation.com/)