i'll paint the car myself

seriously, i want your opinions on this, cuz heres my idea


i can take a vo-tec night class in autobody, and around here they let you paint your own car

i dont know if i can paint well or not, but the class is only $200 (i think) and that way i can afford quality materials

a guy i work with told me he was a vo-tec teacher several years ago, and said he may possibly may even be able to get me into the class for free

:shrugs:

sound like a good idea, or should i get maaco?

 

hey man I say go for it. Im taking a class like that right now and my final project is to paint a car. I have learned a lot and my first car might not be real good, but im sure ill get better. You cant do any worse than a macco job. Also youll have the feeling if painting your own car.

 

Have a go yourself.

I do it and it is seriously satisfying!!

Andy.

 

go for it.

the worst that can happen is that you get run marks or dust in the pain. but thats what wet sanding was invented for.

don't be afraid just give it a try.

good luck

 

Plus youll no how to do that in the future never no when you might have to paint a car!

 

thats cool man i say go for it.im going to have a chance to be working at my friends body shop this upcoming summer,and i cant wait to do it.ill be able to paint my front end and GFX for cheap,and learn how to do it so if the chance comes,i can do it for others to make some extra $$$.a new skill learned in the automotive field is always good,cause theres always someone that cant do something that you might be able to do,and right there is a chance to make more money and if you do a good job,you get referred and you can just do more and more.good luck! :lala:

 

I'd go for it, its worth the shot, and if it turns out good for only a couple hundred, thats great

 

I say go for it too. Just take your time though, DOn't try to rush the coats of paint on the car. That way you avoid runs, and inperfection. patience. You don't want to have to take all that paint back off again if you mess up. Hope it goes well for you. Just my 2 cents.

 

go for it

 

Painting is the kinda think that you dont know if your good @ it till you try it. You might suck at it or you might end up making 18 bucks an hour doing it. I would say that its worth a shot. It would be worth the experience that you tried to paint a car once in your life. So I say go for it. You might see if they have a practice car first of maybe some scrap doors or something.

 

Go For It !!!

The first car I ever painted came out nearly flawless (with the exception of a tiny amount of dust specs here and there..I did paint it in a garage though,) and I was constantly getting asked where I got my car painted. I did a lot better job than most $2000 paint jobs I had ever seen.

Paint in very light coats, and allow about a 15 min flash time between coats. It took me 3 coats of paint before I had all of the primer covered up, and I put on 3 more coats after that, with the last two coats being applied a bit thicker than the first 4. And if you are painting a metallic color, put a marble or two in the paint gun and swirl it around every now and them to keep the metal particles mixed up well.

 

That's how I got into painting cars, through an after school program that taught auto body repair and painting. I took it 4 times just because each time I had a vehicle to paint LOL They had the tools, paint guns and most important, the paint booth I've been gathering my own tools over the years now though and just rent a booth for 40 bucks when it comes time. I've painted about 15 vehicles now and 2 boat trailers lol.

 

EVIL CARTMAN, WHERE IN NOR CAL DO YOU LIVE?? IM IN SACRAMENTO OR RIGHT NEAR IT FOR THAT MATTER. bUT i WAS WONDERING i BACKED UP INTO A ESCALADE. aND F***ED UP THE QUARTER PANEL REAL GOOD. i AM GONNA CUT THE BAD PART OFF AND FLANGE IT AND WELD A NEW PIECE BACK ON. i WAS JUST WONDERIN IF YOU HAD SOME FLANGIN PLIERS. AND ALSO WERE YOU RENT THESE PAINT BOOTHS. i WANT TO TRY AND PAINT IT MYSELF, i JUST GOT THE CAR PAINTED LIKE 5 MONTHS AGO SO IM GONA JUST GO TO THE PLACE i GOT IT PAINTED HAVE EM MIX ME UP ANOTHER BATCH AND IM GONNA GO BUY A DETAILING GUN AND SEE HOW IT TURNS OUT. i AM JUST LOOKIN FOR A LITTLE HELP.

 

Eek. What a car to back in to.

 

You have no idea. It was brand new pearl white with 20s. I couldnt beleave it. It messed up my car a whole lot worse than his though.

 

Eek.

 

if you have the tools go for it!

 

I'm up by Chico in Paradise and I don't have any of those pliers, sorry. I haven't had to do any patch pannels yet so haven't bought any. Look at http://www.eastwoodco.com for tools. There's a couple of places in town that will rent out their booths, one charges 75 and the other 40. You can ask around your area at the repair shops about renting a booth but some don't like doing it because people screw up stuff.

 

You should try it.

I never took a class but I read a lot and just dove right in.

I've never painted a car yet. I started on motorcycles and I can tell you they bring a lot more $$$ if they have a color that wasn't stock. I've done a full size pick-up which IMO is easier than a car because there are more flat panels.

It's not really that hard. The biggest thing you have to remember is a good paint job comes from 90% great prep work and 10% great application.

And remember, several light coats are better than fewer heavy ones because gravity likes heavy ones.