Cory9584

My paint is in ok shape everywhere but the hood my unpainted vented nose and my shaved rear bumper so i was thinking of taking those parts off and painting them myself. Can slate gray be painted in one coat or does it require more than one? Does anybody have any tips besides bringing it to a body shop? Id like to atleast try to do it myself before bringing it somewhere.

LFA951

I would have a pro do it, when I got my vented nose panel from Hank at Gt Racing, the shop that painted my car did it for $50, of course I told the owner that my previous nose panel blew off at 140 mph to get a little empathy...

Jeremy Himsel

I do all my painting at home with great results and recommend that everyone takes a shot at it. However, to do it right you need to consider it a long term investment in both time and money. Unlike other DIY items, the proper tools go a long way and if it's just a one time thing it may not be worth it. You need to be prepared to do some reading as well as make some mistakes. One thing that was helpful for me was I have a good friend who has as many paint projects as I do so we split the cost of the supplies about 5 years ago and have made our money back a hundred times over when compared to just taking it somewhere.

M758

I painted my race car a couple years back.

Came out great.




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For a race car. lol!

I learned that I really DON'T want to paint a street car.

special tool

I can vouch for Jeremy's supa-skillzzz
Although he has been known to be over-zealous with the buffer....

Jeremy Himsel

LOL, it's a good thing I was wearing my helmet on that one. BTW, I owe you some cash for the valves. PM me you're address and I'll send you a check. I'm in no rush.......

gregeast

Jeremy: Any recommended reading? I've done a little looking but haven't found anything all that useful yet. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

dougoh

check out maaco...right now 499 one color and 4 year warranty...here is how my car came out

SpeedBump

http://rollyourcar.com/default.aspx

amazing the results people get.

Cory9584

does that maco paint job include any prep work?

dougoh

there was somthing that did that they threw in for free but i wasnt paying too much attention ... it was valued at 150.00...i am very please at the job they did though...no runs and as you can see it does shine but for me its a race car and if i have to repaint it every 4 years its not a big deal...if you have one near by it doesnt hurt to stop in and talk to them

Jeremy Himsel

I suggest buying a good or great gun. If you have the cash I would buy a nice HVLP Sata however I use a Binks M1G which has been a very durable (8 years now), reasonably priced gun that’s produced excellent results over the years. The price has also dropped drastically since I bought mine. If you ask 10 different painters about guns you’ll get 10 different answers but most agree that a Sata is one of the best. Sometimes the paint shops will have used guns on sale that have been returned by a really good customer or ones that are being sold on consignment or are discontinued. You can generally get a good deal on a nice paint gun. Some guys have used the expensive end of the harbor freight guns (which almost look like Sata replicas) but the finish doesn’t hold up as well over the long haul and can be more prone to clogging. You can however get decent results with them if they’re set up properly. It really depends on how much/often you’ll paint and how long you want the gun to last.

I really think the best thing you can do is go to your local automotive paint supply shops and “browse” the aisles and talk to the guy behind the counter. Most of those guys know how to paint and they typically make good recommendations. They always have some good DIY books there as well. Do a few google searches and you should be able to pick up enough of an idea on how the process works so you can apply any tips you get from the paint guy. Understand the difference between single stage (acrylic enamel) and double stage paints (base/clear) as well as compressor requirements, spray tip selection, hose size, and pressure drop associated with long lengths and fittings.

Probably the best tip I can give anyone is go to your local wrecker and see if you can buy a fender off of an old LTD or some other boat that has a lot of surface area and corners. Then while you’re at the paint shop as them if they have any paint on “sale”. Most of the time that have a quart of some ugly or over mixed paint that just want to unload for $20 so they don’t have to add it to the HAZ Waste container. Use this and the old fender as a practice panel which will help you learn how to set up the gun, prep the surface, and get an even coat.

I promised my self that I’m going to do a full write-up for a DIY when I paint the spec car but at the rate I move you could probably learn how to paint and have a job painting for Foose by the time I’m done writing it. Rennlister GotMeAPorsha is also pretty good at laying paint and we’ve done a few cars together.

sm

I'd have to say that did come out nice. Where in NJ is this Maaco? Also, what brand paint did they use? Can they get "real" Guards Red?

Did you get a clear coat?

dougoh

here is there website ..i ended up getting the supremme paint job as far as the kind of paint and if they can get gaurds red..you would have to ask them...the maaco i went to is inpleasntville nj

http://maaco.com/

Mike B

Great advice! Here are a couple of sites that will get you started with your homework...very helpful and patient pros there

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/body-exterior/

http://www.autobodystore.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2