Robert D

To tell the truth, I never saw the galvanising layer when I had my 944. As for removing the rust, I'm about to go through some surface-rust removal and painting on my new car ('91 K5 Blazer). Hopefully I'll be doing it this coming weekend. I plan to use steel-wool to remove most of the surface rust (it isn't a bad case) and if it is necessary a drill and wheel. Since it is a giant truck and I'm pretty good with a spray can I'll be krylon'ing the top of the cab and the hood. I'll try to take some pictures so you guys can see what I'm cruising now .

500

Excellent how-to DVD's are done by Kevin Tetz (paintucation.com) good forum too. Also check out autobodystore.com for a good discussion board. There are some good books out there, but get something very recent, as a lot has changed in the past 10 years.

Choose a system and stick with it for every stage. Download all the product data sheets and review them intensely. Follow directions closely.

There is so much to learn, but once you dive in, you will start to pick it up quickly. Also, give careful thought to the type of paint you choose. You can pay anywhere between a few hundred to well over a thousand dollars for the paint products alone. I spent a ridiculous amount (I'm hesitant to say how much, 'cause I'm sure many would think I'm nuts). However, most paint looks good at first (especially if a good job has been done on wetsanding and polishing) but the cheaper paints do not hold up as well over time.

As mentioned earlier, prep is very important. Many tasks you will find are both boring and time consuming. You just have to get into a mediative state and plug through it. I started my paint project in May (prep and bodywork) and am still going through panel by panel wetsanding and polishing (I have other commitments since August which leaves less time for finsihing this up). However, I have gone over the top in most regards and a good job can be done in a much shorter time frame.

Going in, you have to decide what you really want. If you are after a show car finish, it will be a lot of work, but it is possible.

Alpine951

I live in massachusetts and my car sits in an unheated garage over the winter. This probably is not the proper environment to tackle some rust removal and repaint, right?

500

Some bodywork can easily be done in a colder environment, but painting is another story. The paint I used couldn't be used below 65 degrees fahranheit. There are special activators available in some paint lines that allow you to work at cooler temperatures, but you really need a warm environment.

Start by first determining what kind of quality job you are after. You can usually save money doing it on your own, when comparing equally. However, if you go high end, you can easily spend more doing it on your own with very good tools and materials than a "decent" job might cost professionally done. You can get repaints done professionally for as little as a few hundred dollars (waste of time) to well over $5000 (easily, can still be more, and may actually be worth it).

I wasn't going to get into costs, but here is my story, just for thought. A lot of the items here are tools that I will use elsewhere, and definitely I will do another project after this one, but still, if you don't already have 'em, you will have to fork out for them!

Paint (Glasurit, top-line stuff): $1400
Spray guns (at least one primer gun and a good quality top coat gun): $350
Remote air supply (you can use a mask instead, but this is the least health risk option): $350
Air compressor: $600 (you should aim for at least 15 cfm)
Sanding blocks, paper, tack rags etc. etc. etc.: Purchased many times over, probably spent at least $200
Rotary buffer (get a real Makita or DeWalt variable speed unit) $200
Polish and pads: $200
Air filtration and dryer: $250

You can go cheaper, but it is always a trade-off.

There are other things, but that list is already $3550. However, I have top quality paint everywhere on the car (engine room etc.) with five coats (min.) of clear. To get this amount of work done at a shop would have cost considerably more. However, the amount of hours put into the job is huge (I did not keep track). I'm happy I did it, but I would advise anyone considering it to really consider the true costs (and cost of your time) and then choose. The reason I did it myself was I wanted to learn the process.

924Superwagen

I picked up this book a few years ago, so that I could paint a Formula SAE car... great to get started on. I feel like I can tackle a full respray now. Check if your nearest Barnes & Noble has it.

How To Paint Your Car
by Dennis Parks
Motorbooks International
ISBN: 0760315833

DanG

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...52964?v=glance

apierce918

amjf088 spent a considerable amount more than i did, but i guarantee his looks better up close, im happy with how mine came out mostly. when you compare it to what it was, its night and day, and you cant pick out the spots in the pictures i post (thank god, lol) its little things where your dollar value will take note. i didnt have a high cfm compressor, ours (my dad and i) can only push out maybe 9.5, and he bought a cheap HVLP gun that supposedly only requires 6.

well, it worked, but i thought way more sanding had to be done than what a good gun could have provided. the clear looked downright ugly when it was first layed on, and even now i can see sanding marks in spots (i spent more time in spots than my dad was) i cant blame anyone but myself on that. but even mediocre (its better than mediocre in my opinion) can look pretty good

i used PPG products throughout



soon i can actually clean it up and get a good wax on it, then we'll see the true potential

500

Hey Andrew,

Don't underestimate your job. I think it looks great! Unless you're spraying in a booth, its impossible (I think) not to have dust etc. in the paint. What has saved my bacon is the re-clearing I did to get 5 to 7 coats of clear (some areas I did an extra re-clear: I either did 3+2 or 3+2+2). That is the beauty of clear coat, as long as you have enough film build, you can sand and buff to perfection.

The book recommended by 924Superwagen is where I started too. Good choice.

PPG has an excellent reputation and I think the prices are good. Glasurit is very good too, costs a little more (it's German... go figure) but I chose it due to local availability. Plus, I purchased double the clear (and associated reducers and activators) you would normally buy, do that makes my paint cost a little different too.

apierce918

thanks, but some of the imperfections i think were caused by insufficient flash times or something, my bumper and nose panel looked immaculate when we first did them, after a few days, there are little pin-type marks. not much, hardly noticeable, but definatly there. just little things like that :/

its not like a fisheye, but it seems like it was solvent evaporation coming through or something

Mike C.

Thanks for the tips Dan (run file)...

944J

So your saying to not use a clearcoat? Please list the kind of paint to use for gaurds red.

500

I think he means use a solid color base (non-metallic) with clear over top as per usual.

Mike S

Can one of you paint pro's answer a basic question for me. This has been bugging me for far too long now.

When you are painting a two stage paint (base and clear), do you color sand the base before applying the clear or do you just apply the clear over it without sanding? If you don't color sand the base, how do you get rid of any orange peel in the base layer?

500

I'm not a pro, but I do not sand the base. It goes on very smooth (and thin) and you have to spray the clear within a specified time frame, so there really is not much opportunity to sand anyway.

944J

What kind of paint are the $199 paint jobs like at the paint shops?