ok its come to my attention that affording a proffesional paint job just isn't going to happen. This project car of mine is just that... a project. I can't afford a 5,000 dollar plus paint job plus along with everything else i wnat to do with the car. besides i hate paying for labor. Especially when the labor is more expensive then the part i purchased.

now this spring time i will be ready to do body work and prepping for paint. does anyone recommend a temporary garage tent that can withstand wind and rain? i'll find out eventually somehow but just curious if anyone has been forced into this postion and doen the same thing.

just need it long enough to do body sanding and fixing rust spots. paint wont take long at all compared to the prepping time.

i'm willing to take this on. i have a pretty good idea of what i'm doing and i can get help along the way.

just would like to see if anyone has painted at home and faced the no garage situation.

now i do have access to power outlets and air compressors and welding machines just not a nice roof and walls to put around my car.

just curious if anyone has any suggestions.

and i know theres a right and wrong way but one or another i'm gettign this car painted in the spring time so i can enjoy it in the summer.

sucky situation i know

 

Although It can be done, and you are right - there are the right and wrong ways to do things, I would be very careful about particulate landing on your freshly sprayed car. The body work should be fine, I would ask tho, the tent you plan to use - does it have a bottom to it? The reason I ask, is if you have bare metal that you are working with (say repairing rust damaged area, and you have Not primed any parts yet), then moisture will wreak havoc with the bare metal. Even if you do have a totally enclosed tent with a bottom, I would argue that you would have more moisture in the air then in a booth or a garage - especially in th spring time.
My other comment is that without the booth, and being out in the open, the prep work won't be as much of a concern as the actuall painting - Imagine, you just squirted the paint or clear, and something lands in the paint (dust, a tiny bug ect...Anything can happen out there). Are you prepared to prep and re-spray the area? This could be a PIA.
If you can get most of the body work done in a short period of time, I would recommend doing the prep out in the tent, and renting out a booth - this would save you from the endless possible negative scenerios that can ruin the fresh paint and save you some$
That's my
-Andrew

 

well i'm not sure which kind of tent to buy yet. and I would lay down rolls of plastic sheets on the floor and walls and ceiling anyway. lay mist of water on the floor to keep dust and lint to a minimum while painting. and your right about bare metal. i figure i do one section a time most of the car i jsut need to sand and scuff up the original paint that isn't rust damaged and just prime over that. the rust spots i can bring to my friends garage and cut/weld for free and quickly prime over that. i will aslo do the acholol wipe down over the bare metal and then prime.

when u say booth what are you referring to? just not quite sure what your talking about.

 

Bobby80's
By booth I mean spray booth, (sometimes called paint booth, downdraft booth etc... The area that a body shop would actually paint the car in after all the body work got done.) Head over to Macco or any body shop to see how things are done (my comment is not insinuating anything here! ) - ask for a tour of the facility and the paint booth. This should be easy enough if you mention you are considering having your car's body done at the shop. This will give you a general idea of how clean the area the car is painted in.....
In my area, a person can go out and rent out this type of facility...You have the body work done else where, and then you bring the car to the facility to have it painted - in some cases you paint or again you can pay to have someone paint it for you. The facility that I have visited provides you with the booth, compressor and spray gun(s) - you will have to provide all the material. I'm sure there are variations to the type of facilities that are out there - perhaps a quick flip through the yellow pages and a few calls will give you an idea of what's in your area. In addition, in a booth the temperature is controlable - another very important aspect to painting a car. Different paints require dif tempts to cure.....Something else to consider. Outside, there can be the possibility of too much of a temp variation between say dayligh and evening hours. In the end your budget will determine what you can do. You can even rent out facilities that let you do everything there - all the body work, and the painting - it's like renting a shop, You do all the labour.

I just wanted to pass along one other comment: First is the car an original paint car or has it been re-painted? You mention it has some rust.
I have never personally physically done a full body and paint job. I have had supposedly 'clean' rust free cars show all their 'sins' once the bodywork got started - To do the job well requiered a lot more work than I had initially anticipated. A lot more work. I would bet that although you see only a bit of rust, there will be a lot more that is hiding in places you never anicipated. It won't matter if you plan to cut or just putty (it again depends on what you want your 'project' to turn out like and obviously how long you want the body work to last), but don't place yourself in a position/mindset where you think you can get this type of job done quickly.... You may start to scuff areas of the car and find previous repairs that are sh*tty -, you may run into a snag, you may need to buy a part etc etc...
Painting a car well takes time and patience, it can be overwhelming.
If you can get your hand on the last 4 (or 5) issues of Hot Rod Magazine, you can read up a little regarding painting cars - the articles address exactly what you intend to do - Painting your OWN car!.... It's not an extensive write up and by no means the best info out there, but it's a start. (Some public libraries have Hot Rod in their stacks if you can't get your hands on the copies) Look for May-Oct 2006 editions. For example: The oct edition talks about How to choose what goes on your car Material concerns p#126.....
I better stop writing now...
-Andrew

 

Do all the prep yourself, and pay someone to paint it in a booth.

I don't have the most recent, but to give you an idea look here:

http://members.cisdi.com/~anesthes/projects/sanding/

Depending on how the body is. sand the whole thing, remove the rust, sandblast any pits, mud 'em, glaze 'em if needed. finish sand to 400 and ship it. You can shoot the door jams and hatch area yourself as I wouldn't be too worried about dust there nobody will see it. A properly prepped body, straight and ready to shoot should be about $1400-1600 to paint basecoat clearcoat, with a little bit of buff time. Take the lights and markers and stuff out, mask off as much as you can. If they are doing it time and materials you want them to spend more time on stuff YOU CAN'T do, like spraying, buffing. make sure it bakes for a while.

-- Joe

 

A friend of mine took two 2x6x20's and two 2x6x10's and basically created a 10x20 base. He then erected corner braces using 2x4's and essentially created a box. He ordered a roll of thick plastic and draped the "box". He cut a slot into one end and started his work. Spent about $300 in materials.

On the other hand, the majority of the cost of a paint job is due to the body work. Maybe try sourcing your body work or paint job to a local high school. They sometimes take in cars as projects to work on. Or you can just do the body work yourself and know you're getting a good foundation to work with.

Frank

 

no no write all you want. thats why i come on this forum. i want people to speak their mind and help all they can. Your right abotu the paint temp. i kinda forgot about that aspect. i will start my own little search about where i can rent a booth and go from there. and your right my car is probably hiding a real mess for me. but im very determined. i'll get frustrated ticked off but in the end the only way i will feel better is getting the job done. and i will lovethat car even more if i did the work myself. i must be crazy but if i am then we all are or else we wouldnt be on this forum haha. anyways any other ideas or suggestions please dont hesitate. i print out these forum pages with my questions and the suggestions/answers.

once again thanks you have been a big help

 

well high school nearby is booked till next yr already. i need this car doen by the end of june. thanks anyway. and i just might have to pay someone to paint it only because where i live there might be state or town laws agaisnt building something like that. or i would have to pay more taxes or i don't know.

i'll start in the yellow pages and asking around where to have soemone paint it. if i do a maako job i might as well driv my car off a clifff because thats how the car will look 2 months in the sun with a maako job haha.

nothing agaisnt them i jsut know they dont have the best reputation.

thanks guys

 

FYI, macco doesn't do good body work, but not many shops can paint like they can. They often have the best and latest booths, they buy so much paint they get good quality in bulk discounts, and often the guy whos painting has been painting thousands of cars a year for over 20 years.. It's the 17 year olds doing the bondo work that worry me.. If the car is prepped right, there is no reason why macco can't, and won't paint it better than most local shops..

-- Joe

 

ok i'm warming up to the idea

thanks