junkie

hi all my camaro is in about a million pieces right now and ive got a few questions
1. the floor has a few holes in it how expensive is a new floor pan or should i just weld up the holes??

2. you know where the spare tire goes..mine is soo rotted that you can put your arm through but you cant see it from the outside. would a new rear quater fix that or again do i need to do some metal fab and welding?

3.ok when im ready to paint would i be better off painting it all apart? or should i put it all back together than paint it?

thanks for the help im in no rush to finish so it turns out right and hopefully wont have to paint again for a while ..the paint thats on it is only a year old..and it looks like ish..:lala: :lala:

thanks for any help

junkie

yup

Charged350

iTrader: (1)

Break out the welder, u dont wanna be changin 1/4s trust me, weld it all up, make sure you get rid of allt eh cancer though, dont leave any and use good undercoating from 3M to cover it up, for paint, youc an preshoot all teh parts first then assemble the car and then paint it all together

junkie

allright sounds good but when you say preshoot so you mean to just prime it..than put it together>? or prime than just a quick shot actual paint than assemble???
thanks for the help

benoit454

alot of the pros will take everythgin they can off doors fenders hood hatch all that paint the whole thing inside and out and then reasemble therein lies the prob.
i'm too afraid of scratching my fresh paint up tryin bolt it all up after paint but alot of ppl do it but when doin it tape off yur edges when puttin pieces on to try keep down on scratches dings and chips in the new paint.

like u goin to hang door tape of the jambs on the door and car body.
u goin hang fender tape the back like off and the front door lip that sorta thing. and definatly have a buddy or to help ya.

i painted my car all together accept for the hood we wanted to test pattern on it to se how the paint needed laid out and how it looked and it sucked so we had resand andpaint again which was no biggie.

but doin it al together u cant get yur door jambs and cracks so im just gonna mask them off and the outside of car and go in paint my jambs later prolly even with an air brush to avoid as much over spray as possible.

on yur floor not well but floors might try por 15s floor repair kit comes w/ some fiberglass mat like and there rust preventative stuff not sure how much tho.

floorpans are around 100 or 200 each and then gotta pay shipping. i'd definatly weld up new piece in the well yuself but as mentioned grind out or cut out as much as the rust as u can u want it al gone. then weld in new piece and undercoat both sides heavily. or por15 it maybe.
i've never used it but its supposed to stop rust permaneently w/o removing it just painting it right on over it after u degrease it and kinda etch the rust then paint over it.
alot of ppl used it and loved it u can search for it on boards im sure ul find something about it or check out there website n all

MikeC.86Roc

iTrader: (10)

Painting your car while it's in pieces can be a tricky task at best. However, it is no doubt the most effective way to do a color - change paint job or completely covering job.

Benoit has some good tips there too and maybe I can add one consideration if you will paint it in pieces.

Color matching is your biggest concern in that case I would say. It will be like a rocket - launch to mix up all that paint and then shoot everything in one day while maintaining temperature, thickness, and color matching from part to part.

This is usually something even pros can have trouble with. My car is in bare chassis form right now and I will begin by painting just the chassis MINUS the rear quarter panels and any other finished outside surface. For me, I will shoot them when I hang the doors, fenders and hood. I feel that I can't get everything consistant unless I do it that way.

Good luck!

benoit454

yea i was thinkin the same thing i done my hood off the car and it seems to be a tad different shade and it is true thats its soo hard to get even, thickness and as many coats on each part when they are off the cr unless u hang em up like they would go on the car n move fomr one piece to another. so u can do both sides then move on.

its easy and at least the outsides kinda seamless and smooth by painting it all together makes it nicer and easier.

i do mine and did do mine all together.
i mena interior wise u got all that plastic and trim to cover the areas that are metal u only have yur door jambs and like underhood and hatch i'd just shoot them 1st then do the car outside w/ everythgin together n all or else if u do car 1st yull want to mask the new paint on outside off to do jambs w/o overspray gettinon them.

junkie

ya the car is tottally gutted i wanted to paint inside and out including engine bay takin out the engine this week ..but i have to put in the new one right away so i might not be able to do the engine bay all the same maybe ill just give the bay a quick shot of black. i just think it looks way better when its all the same..or can you paint the engine bay with the motor in????

MikeC.86Roc

iTrader: (10)

Sure you could paint the bay with the motor in there, but I think you would be much happier with the result of doing it with the motor removed.

benoit454

agreed.

Charged350

iTrader: (1)

nope, pros dont paint the cars in peices, we preshoot the car in peices, which means that we paint the door jambs, teh trunk, all the lips on all the fenders and door, and whatever you cannot reach when its all put together for the outside paint, taht way when you put it together and paint it, it will match, and all the jambs will the covered and its a job well done...

benoit454

thats what i mean some take em all aprt n do the jambs and cracks then put em back together n spray the whol eoutside n some do everything in pieces then reassemble.
i've been to many a shops and sen ti done and have alot of experience 1st hand myself doing paint work.
eveyrone has their own preffference on how to do it.
if u were worried about the front part of the door jamb then take it off and spray it if not mask of inside open the door and do the bottom and back edge then after sets some remove masking and shut it then spray the car in tact.
same for the hood and hatch open em mask off areas to not be done then spray em shut em and go on w/ the rest of the car.

ColdGTA

Yeah there are some good points here. If you are not experienced at painting then the "easiest" way would be to jamb all of the places that you can not get to when the car is together . Then put all those pieces on and shoot the car as a whole minus the spoliers and ground effects. You shoot them seperate. Some paint the pieces of the car seperate, but that is just the way they like to do it. It's really a personal preference. The only thing is it's just to risky to paint all those panels then try to put them together. It only takes one slip to mess things up. As for the floor pans since third gens are a unibody structure and the floor is part of that structure then you have to cut the rust out and weld in new metal. Fiberglass won't do the trick and after time it will crack and be useless. Do it right the first time and never worry about it. I think they make new floor patches for third gens now and if not then just cut a peice out of a donor car. It sounds like you want to do alot of work to your car and you want it to look good so do it right.

junkie

so if i cut out all the rust and shape the new metal to fill what i cut how expensive do you think it would be to get it all welded in?? i dont have access to welder ..wish i did i have like 5yrs tig experience...or would i be better off to just buy a cheap mig welder?? how diff is mig from tig anyways???

ColdGTA

If you know how to weld then that is the way to go. That way the job will be done to your satisfaction. A mig will work fine. You don't need a tig for that. You can also rent welders from tool rental places. They are very reasonable for a few days. Not sure what it would cost to have a shop do it as I have never had a shop do floor pans for me. Maybe $200-$400. Just a guess. Take your time and you will do a good . Just have faith in your self.

FireRed91Z28

im planning on changing my cars color from bright red to Sunset orange and i like the idea of painting with all the pieces off the car but then doing one final coat with them on. my question is am i supposed to clear coat everything i basecoat? like all the edges of body parts and door jambs and under all the weather stripping?

i plan on completely stripping my car and leaving just my interior in and masking it all off.

ColdGTA

Yeah you will have to clear coat it. It will look like crap if you don't. Plus the clear coat has a time window on top of the base coat that you can spray in. So if you are going to put a few coats on your body panels then you will have to do it all at once. Other wise you will have to sand the base coat then clean it all up and spray another coat of base and then clear coat. So if you paint stuff like the inside of the fenders, doors, and door jambs, then put them back on the car and tape them off it will be a little easier. Next you can then spray the car as a whole and will have less chance for mistakes and you will have even coverage. That is the way I like to do it .

FireRed91Z28

the only thing im worried about is when i go to paint with everything on id miss the cracks where the body panels like front bumber and fenders are attatched. and if i masked off wouldnt the area im painting get higher and leave a line of where the paint built up as to where has already been painted?

ColdGTA

Not really if you do it right. Usually most people will back tape or use Fine Line tape to mask off those areas at the edge. What that does is leave a soft edge so that is thin enough that you can buff it out or color sand it it out then buff and it will blend in. Anyway the tape method is standard practice for body shops. For the feders and covers you can either jamb them as well while they are off the car or just put them on and paint them. Most older cars from the factory between gaps usually have very little paint there since they use to paint them as a whole. Most of the time it was overspray that sneaked into the cracks. So for a clean look with more protection it would be a good idea to just jamb those pieces all though not required. depends on how picky you are.