Since deciding to keep my wife's 90 IROC, I was thinking about something yesterday...

Why not paint it myself? I've done some mild paint work before and have a small amount of experience so I doubt it'd be that hard.

Just a few quick questions:

As for prepping the surface, how should I go about it? Right now most of the paint is still there, its just the clear that's pealing off in most areas.

Also, for small dings, dents about dime size, should I take the time to try and pull it from that backside or would body filler do the trick? There's not many dings that will need filled, maybe 3-4 IIRC.

One last question, as for painting the car itself, can I leave the GFX and bumper covers on or should they be removed?

Any help would be appreciated - The car REALLY needs a paint job!

 

No one, eh?

 

1. make sure you remove all the clear on the car sand it down and get it to the base coat otherwise the car wont hold the paint properly

2. dont use body filler on small dings , i know it sounds goofy but before you start sanding go buy a "Dent King " remover they are like 20 bucks and work awsome

3. yes you can leave them all on but you may want to remove them to see whats under them sometimes thats where the rust will start first just because its hidden and water seems to get trapped under them quite often

 

What would you suggest to sand it down? Sanding disc, sandpaper, sanding block? Again, I've never done this type of work before.

 

How much time and money do you want to spend? How long are you planning on keeping the car? Are you looking for a quick job or a complete resto finish?

 

If your good with the "PDR" stuff, then it would be great to go that way....but if you know little about it..and don't have much experience...it's alright to use a little bondo on little dings here and there...just as long as bondo is used properly...it's a great product.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...ct+resurection

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...ct+resurection

here is a thread i completed that may answer alot of questions for you.

this was my first real paint job so it is possible. it is cheaper to do yourself....it is way more rewarding than going to macco for the cheapy....stay away from candy paint leave it for the pros... go with base clear...get more air than you need never can have to much....remove your gfx....buy pleanty of sandpaper and don;t streach it it just takes longer.....ask all questions none are dumb and there are quite a few members that have great experiance,,,,.....i could not have completed mine without the help from KevinG

other than my big one liner tips... whith your car in good shape with only one coat of factory paint (correct). you can sand the car with a d/a with like 220 or 180 to take off the clear and give it tooth for the primer to stick. you should stay away from pbr you can do damage with that thing leave that to the pros....use good evercoat fillers you;ll like em on your dings. guide coat guide coat guide coat it will show the way for the repairs.

sorry so long good luck keep us informed of your progress and choices.

Jeff

 

The car itself will be my wife's daily driver in the summer. Its not going to have to be a complete resto or show job, just something #1 to gain some experience, #2, something to look better than the flaking clearcoat that its got now

 

i say go for it , its not that difficult but remember to take your time your not going to do your very first paint job in 2 days its going to take a little bit of time to get everything prepped correctly and then patience when doing the actual paint work

 

So if I understand this correctly, basically I need to:

#1 Remove lights, gfx, etc
#2 Pull/Fill dents
#3 Sand the clear off and any loose paint (with just regular sandpaper or what?)
#4 Prime
#5 Paint/Clear

Obviously its not gonna be a quick job, but I feel I could tackle it.

 

You didn't answer how much you want to spend as this will affeecxt the advice considerably with respect to everything from prep to paint etc. If you want a real nice job that will last many years then use base clear. Pick a manufacturer rm, Dupont, PPG etc and stick with their system from start to finish using only the products your supplier recomends and it should turn out fine. Removing all the skirts and bumper covers will make the job that much better and there is usually some minor spot rust behind there that needs tlc anyway. The best prep is to snad the complete car with 180 grit I like Norton paper but use a quality paper its worth it as it lasts three times as long. Once the car is fully sanded and properly feather edged then prime the whole thing using 2K primer ( remeber one system is best ) Use 2 part spot putty for minor imperfections get your self a couple of sanding blocks/floats and smooth it all out using gudie coats. When you are pleased with the straightness of the body final sand with 400 dry or 600 wet and shoot it. Good luck... patience is your best friend when it comes to body work

 

Cost is not that important to me. As long as I'm not paying $700 for a kit/system, etc its ok. Is that doable?

 

Well $700 is not a whole lot when you consider that you have no chemicals at this point. Here is a list of minimum products you will need to do it properly.

1. plastic parts cleaner/mold film remover
2. metal pre clean silicone remover
3. sandpaper in 80, 180, 320, 400 grit you can cheap out here but you will only use the cost up in consumptiuon as cheap sandpaper don't last nearly as well.
4.plastic adhesion promoter
5.flex agent
6.sealer
7.2k primer+thinners+hardener
8.body filler + a good two part spot putty
9.pro quality masking tape. Don't use cheap Home depot stuff cause it cannot withstand the strong chemicals and will allow the paint to seep in under making a terrible mess. I like 3M. P.S. don't set masking tape down on its side EVER as it will pick up dirt on the tape edge making it poor for sealing out the paint
10.taping paper. don't use news print as it will not stop the harsh chemicals from going through and the cleanup will be hell
11.base+reducer
12.clear+reducer+hardener

There is more but at the bare minimum that is what you will need. Speaking to paint suppliers in your area will give you an idea on what the costs will be and ask for literature on all aspects of their system. Weigh the pros and cons and choose one accordingly. You can mix and match products and use "white label" stuff but longevity will suffer. Good luck

 

when looking for paint check out omni by ppg i belive is who makes it. it is a lower line price wise but has gotten very good reviews here. i've heard prices around 300-400 for complete paint. check ebay for 3m or norton d/a paper you can find some deals there, just have to know the price it cost locally to insure a deal i got alot of my supplies of ebay for a song.

check out this site also mesage board with alot of good info and a great store for equipment and supplies. his prices are very good. www.autobodystore.com

Jeff

 

I believe what he meant was that he didnt want to have to spend 700 dollars on tools that he would only use once (more than likely). Like the paint gun, compressors, paint booth (if you so choose), and the filters.

I've sort of priced all of that, and you would be spending something like 300 - 500 dollars on the tools, and that is with a decent/average quality, there would be no point in going to a high quality gun unless you plan to do more paint jobs, or do a hell of a bang up job on the car. And there's no reason to get a crappy quality paint gun if you plan to make the car look better than it did originally

I've never painted a car in my life though so my info could be slightly off, this is just the findings of my reasearch so far... I plan to paint my car in a couple years, or while I'm at WyoTech, so I'm trying to get a head start now