the paint on my '86 iroc is in pretty rough shape, and I want to try to paint it myself. I was wondering how hard it is to actually paint a car, or if would be more worth my time and money to get it done by someone else.

 

I've never actually tried, but freom what I understand, painting is the easy part, it's the prep that'll be a pain

 

BINGO! the prep is the hardest part of it all. Painted(only primered) both my camaros and I still spent 3 days prepping(filling sanding bondoing) And of course after you promer all these little dents show up so you have to go back over with galzing putty...

 

i had a friend with a shop do it, and from my view, it looked a little more involved. prep work is more tedious, but when it comes down to painting, he used beeswax or something over the primer, used a spray booth and still got some overspray that had to be take out. lol i say go for it tho if you want to learn a new skill

 

Painting is easy if you have the right settings on the gun, paint is mixed right and you have the right technique. Prep work is a different story...

I spent roughly 500 hours on my Camaro just doing prep work. Spent 3 days in the paint booth and 2 weeks sanding and buffing the paint. Wish I had painted it black instead of white to show off the straight body but I'll be doing that soon enough.

 

You go into a shop and they give you an estimate of $4000.00 for a complete paint job with minor body work on a car you're changing color on.

The bodyshop will be using chemicals and paints and supplies that cost them around $800.00. These supplies have a retail of $1200.00 but you get them for "street price".

They will be using two HVLP guns that cost an average of $400.00 each, one for primer one for basecoat/clearcoat. This will be shot from a compressor that runs about $2000.00 in a paint booth that could run $10,000.00 by someone that has probably painted several hundred cars before yours.

Your bodywork would be done with air tools that cost $500.00 and your dents would be pulled to minimize bondo with a machine that might cost $1500.00 by someone that has seen every which way metal can bend. A dent is actually "streching" of the metal so when it is straightened the same machine above will shrink it for stability.

Every chemical choice is compatible because every potential mistake in blends has been made long before your car shows up. If your car gets "trash" or a run the experienced worker knows how to remove it. If a mistake is made on the work it's a "no brainer" .... re-do it, no questions asked.

When your car is painted filters are used, the correct air pressure is used on a gun they know how to use, the correct temperature reducer is used to make the paint flow right.

When the job is done it is professionally color sanded, knowing all the tricks on what to do and more importantly what NOT to do, then it is buffed and polished.

If you're changing color your doors will be removed to paint edges and the jambs as well as under the hood and inside the trunk. These components will be professionally realigned and adjusted.

If it is done right you will get back a car that looks like glass, with not one run or trace of overspray and will last for many years.

To answer your question... YES... you can paint your own car... just learn as much as you can about the process. Additionally if your 86 was made in Van Nuys, CA, take it all the way to metal to eliminate the water based primer they used.

 

PS... I forgot .... this might help.

 

thanks guys