Hey Guys,

After dreaming for 15 years of rebuilding a camaro, I finally purchased one with extra money from when I went through Basic Training. I bought a 91 Z28 for 1400 from a guy who bought it for his son only to bring it home and have his son tell him he wants a mustang haha. Well his loss was my gain. The car is all original and is in good condition for being 18 years old.
Anyway, I have been reading through a lot of magazines and it seems a popular topic these days is saving money by doing bodywork/painting yourself. I dont know that I want to do a paint job by myself but more so take it to the shop ready to spray. How hard is it to prep and primer and can anyone offer any advice? Can you do it in pieces (take the front clip off and do it and then do other body parts another time) or does it need to be all at once? The body is in amazing shape with no rust or dents but the paint is faded out.
Thanks in advance!

 

Here is what she looked like straight off the flatbed right after I bought her

 

if you want to do all the prep work your self it will save money at the cost of your time but you could start and do panel by panel. i assume you have a air compressor with a sander if not it would help to have one or your hand will be really tired after sanding down the hole car. and depending on how many dents and stuff have to be pulled and filled and what not its alot of work but prep work is what makes a paint job really and depending if the car is going to be stored inside of a garage or not while primed depends on the primer you want to use unless your priming and then getting painted soon after. anything more specific needed just ask.

 

Congrats on the car and more importantly; thanks for your service.

Yes you CAN paint the car in pieces. The only time I dont reccomend this is if youre using a HEAVY metallic or a metal flake or a candy or even a 'mystic' (color changing) paint. Thats because those types of paint need consistancy across the car to keep an even look. If youre going with a factory type of color, paint it in pieces. If I was you, Id take all the ground effects off the car, and wetsand those with 600 wet. Just enough to knock the shine off. These parts should have an even, dull look to them when clean and dry.

T'd remove the hood and fenders, tail lights, gas tank door, door handles, antenna....anything that sticks out on the car. Tape the car off and use an epoxy sealer after you remove all the old paint. Then 3 coats of color and 3 coats of clear.

You'll need a medium sized air compressor, a paint gun and a NIOSH respirator (not a dust mask).

Check out my previous posts in the BODY section and check autobody101.com

Oh I dont reccomend going with a bargain basement colorcoat if youre painting red or black or silver. Buy a cheaper clearcoat and epoxy, then use the money you save on the basecoat

 

Remember, use a flex agent for the front/rear bumpers, and any plastic gfx you might have.

 

a flex agent is really only necessary if you paint the pieces off the car if you paint the parts on the car there is no need for it only used for when the parts are off the car when installing the parts and there is a possibility of flexing

 

Thanks for all the advice and responses! I am so glad I found this site!! I do plan on getting a compressor, lookin at one that wil put out around 10 cfm @ 90 psi ( I heard that is good not just for all air tools but especially for paint guns). Luckily I have a dent free car and the body (except for the rear hatch) aligns up perfectly. I think the hatch latch is bad because if I push down on the hatch it lines up but then comes up again when I release the pressure. Any good reccommendations for primer? What to look for or types? I am torn between keeping it the original red or going with black. Does the color primer matter for anything? I see all different colors when it comes to primer.

Once again, thanks for all the advice and the responses! I am glad to finally have a project car, its been a dream for so long. My wife was gracious enough to let me get one, she said after boot camp and training that I needed to reward myself haha.

 

oh yeah, any reccommendations on a good DA sander, I heard you can get a good one without breakin the bank! Any specific ones?