GTA-Force

What does "doing prep work" on a car before you take it in for a paint job mean, and what does it consist of?

Thanks!

Jason

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1989 Trans Am GTA: 350 TPI, N10 Dual Exhaust

Mods: K&N, Dynomax Super Turbo muffler, 3.5" intermediate pipe, twin Dynomax Super converters, Dunlop Sport 4000 tires.

All of us have potential...few ever realize it.

EVILFACE

I basically sanded the entire car with 320 grit sandpaper. My car was pretty straight except for a few dings. It also good to remove the mirrors and the ground FX.


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EVILFACE

88 Camaro
Stock 305 TBI Auto, Flowmaster, Full 3" Exhaust, B&M Megashifter, K&N Open Element
Runs A Blistering 16.5 @ 81.5 mph (due to major tire spin)

http://www.evilface.com/evilscamaro.htm

Tom Keliher

I prepped my Formula 350 before I had it painted, and saved a ton of money on labor charges. I don't recommend you do any sanding. Leave that for the pro's at the body shop. What you can do though, to save lots of money is remove all sorts of things. Here is what I did:

Romoved all decals, using 3M decal and adhesive removers

Removed the turn signal lenses in front and the tail light housings in the rear

Removed the outside mirrors

Removed all the front underneath air dams and air deflectors

Removed the inner fender liners

Removed the rear spoiler

Removed the hood bulge scoop

Removed the side marker lights

This allowed them to mask and sand and paint the car for a lot less labor ($$$) and the paint job came out looking 100% better because there was no tape lines or overspray on all the parts I removed, and things like the mirrors and spoiler were painted seperately and then attached back later and looks just that much better.

There will be overspray everywhere else: under the car, up in the engine compartment, on chassis pieces. Be prepared for that and to do some overspray clean up when you get the car back. But the effort you put into it will make the paint job look that much better. The money you would have spent on labor, you can spend instead on better paint, clearcoat, and color sanding for that show car finish all for the price of a "regular" paint job.