Howd you do it?? Do you have a full setup to spray the car? did you roll it? rattle can?? what?
Im really on the edge of what to get right now.
I would really like to get a TA for 400-1000 bucks and fix any problems it has and because of the price this gurantees some body work and **** paint.
I certainly dont have over a grand to take it to get painted but i dont wanna make a crappy 100 dollar paint job.
This is my deciding factor between getting a projectish car now and saving money to buy an already good one.
Thanks guys XD

 

I already painted my car with $100 in materials and alot of work!
Click the link labeled my photobucket album.The black car is the one I most recently painted.

 

What method of painting did you use??
It looks great btw!

 

painted car in my shop with single stage urethane and wetsande/cleared over top of that.I forgot to mention that the paint was also laid over 2 coats of epoxy primer and wet sanded between each coat.

 

As an autobody repairman with many years of experience I say it's possible for you to get a nice paint job, done at home, on a limited budget. Is it going to happen on your first try ... probably not. Materials for a quality paint job aren't cheap and learning with expensive materials is ... well ... costly. And using cheap materials is just a waste of time and money. My advice to everyone who asks is to check with a local technical college and see if they have an evening autobody hobby class. You can use the schools tools and equipment and the instructors experience to get your job done. And while I don't pretend to know everything, I do see a lot of bad advice given by people here ... with the best of intentions of course. Good luck.

 

1piece@atime has a good point. I would recommend going to the hobby classes. My first paint job looked like s##t. I would also find some cheap old hoods or doors to practice on. If you go to the major distributors/paint shops in your area, they may have some "Oops paint" (They sometimes mess up and mix the wrong colors) that they will be more than happy to sell you very cheap. Use that to practice with.
Really good bodywork is an absolute must! I have seen some really nice paintjobs ruined by "Sandscratch swelling" and other defects. It really isnt hard, just takes some time to learn.
Good luck!

 

Hay guys i appreciate youre input. I get exactly what you mean and its part of the reason im on the fence. Ive seen a couple good roller jobs but they look like they take a hell of alotta work. I dont really have the necasary equipment and theres only 2 or 3 paintshops down here (key west, no major shops here). Theres no school or hobby place to go learn at unfortunately. Im going to give the guys a call soon but being that theres only a few shops that paint here I think it might be really expensive. Which defeats the purpose.
Btw Im only 16 So I understand where you guys are coming from saying i should go check out a class or just pay for a paintjob.(my dad does have two old guns but i dont know how to paint,or have a compressor). I dont really have the income and resources to pay alot for paint and I would really like to buy the car now instead of saving up to get one thats already painted decently.
Thanks!

 

Hobby classes are for all ages ... mostly older ppl. And while you're car shopping look for a car that needs some paint work, not a complete paint job. Start small and work your way up.

 

some paintwork to me means a complete paint job and not alot of bodywork.
And 1 piece,do evening body classes do better work than day classes?
I've never been to either but just wondering from your first post.

 

Yeah of course lol. I just...dont have any where i live sadly. The other reason i dont want a shop to paint the car is because i hear it can take months.

 

Day classes are for people wanting to learn the trade and expect to get a job in a shop after graduation. Night classes are for people that want to learn a little and do some work on their car ... with help. I took a hobby upholstery course and reupholsterd my boat. I worked with a guy that taught the hobby autobody class and a friend of a friend took the class and did some custom work on an old 50's chevy, like he had when he was a kid.

 

Im so jealous. I really wish there was something like that down here. Im really interested in cars and Id be willing to take every class there is. Ive helped restore an M38 with my dad and currently working with him on his morris minor traveller. I still have tons to learn though.

 

i did mine over the summer. made it a t-top car, and redid the whole rear of the car thanks to a semi that was nice enough to hit it. i would say that the body work it the worst part of a nice paint job. painting is fairly easy. i painted my car and did half of the clear coat, and had another guy finish it. that was my mistake right there. if you take pride in your car you will do it right. some back alley guys can give to ***** about your car and will **** it up for you. i went with expensive paint and and it turned into an expensive mistake. the guy didn't put enough clear on the car and now i am having problems with it. it should be fine once i reclear it myself. the point is dont be afraid to jump into it. there are allot of helpful people on this site and some good body forums online. do your reasearch first and ask alot of questions. and either do it yourself or have a professional do it. i took the cheap route and had a back alley guy do it and i am paying for it now. cheaper is not always better. good luck

 

when i did my car, it probibly ended up costing about 700 or so. i did all the work my self but there is just a lot of stuff to buy to do it wright. sanding blocks, sand paper 100-600grit, primer, good quality body filler (not bondo), masking paper, masking tape, two colors of paint, clear coat, hvlp gun, moisture seperator, ect.... it took about a year and for my first paint job i think it came out ok. keep in mind that my parents already had a big garage i could use and an air compressor. with a tight budget on time and money i would say hold out on buying a car untill you find one that somebody already put time and money into.

 

Painted my Corvette myself, I ended up spending around $400-500 in materials I also paid a body shop $400 to buff it out for me.

But I had a place to do it (the shop in my back yard), a good compressor, good spray gun, sanders ect.

This was on a fiberglass bodied car....I would tackle a steel-bodied car any day.

BTW: I spent close to $3,000 to have a "professional" shop paint my car the first time and my re-spray came out WAY nicer. Plus if I get a scratch or something I can fix it myself.

This was my first time too







And the copper chevelle with the stuffed cat on top in this picture.....he owns a "professional" body shop

 

Sharp looking Vette.

When I painted my car at home in my detached garage, I built a make-shift paint booth out of 1 x 2 stock and clear plastic. I installed a cheap fan at one end with two furnace filters at the other for air flow. I used PPG 1 stage urethane and it turned out OK. I would not repeat the same procedure if I had a show car. What color is your car? Have you ever thought about painting it one panel at a time?

 

Learn as much as you can about painting.Get books and dvds.Go to a local bodyshop and ask if you can have a hood out of thier junk pile to practice on.Knowledge is power!
There are also 2 schools that I found that are in florida.There is a UTI and a Wyotech.Dont know how far they are from you though.
Also check out the local body shop supply stores.They may be able to tell you where you can go for a class on painting.Good luck!

 

very nice vette, very nice... but what are the cup holders for? I would strangle someone for bringing food or beverages near that beautiful piece of machinery...

 

this isnt a camaro....but i will tell you how i painted my dakota, first thing i done was misted the entire body down with black spray paint (guide coat) and block sanded it with 180....pulled and filled all the dents i could find. Primered it with k38 ppg primer, guide coated it again and block sanded it again just to be sure it was straight, and it was....then i sprayed it again with k38 and wetsanded with 400 grit, then with 600 grit, washed it taped up and sprayed it, let it dry over night and got out some 2000 grit sand paper and sanded the black down because it was showing orange peel, then took out my da sander and went over it all with 3k grit, then buffed it with a wool buffing pad.....and i done all this for $650 bucks

 

Yes, we would all love to have enough money to have it done, but for most of us, that just isn't reality. I have only painted two cars and both turned out great. The trick it to read everything you can find on painting and gun settings. Make sure you prep the car very well. Get your body work the best you can and before painting clean the hell out of it. Wipe it down several times and wear gloves to keep your grease off the cleaned body parts. Buy a cleaner from a body supply store. The prep work is very time consuming. For a first timer I would use a single stage paint and put on several coats, 3 plus coats is best. 3 coats is for all the wet sanding you will need to do to get you orange peel out if you do not have the gun set right.
I painted my car in the garage with a wet floor to keep dust down and I wiped the car down again before painting. Painting is very fun.

 

I saw it. It's good. What is the color/paint code did you use. The red is just right for my eyes not the usual bright stuff. Well I used to do it myself having some white primers.

 

huh?color is black,no paint codes used.I have nothing red,so I have no idea whats easy on your eyes?

Also folks,I forgot to mention that I work in the coatings industry so,I get a pretty sweet discount(hence the $100 mat. cost)

 

lol Thanks, I don't use them much, Mostly just to hold a 20 ounce bottle (with a lid) when I'm driving to a show.....no McDonalds in here that's for sure

 

i painted my car myself and used to tools i had around the shop. its alot of sanding, bondo (which if you don't know how to do learn how to work with it on something else first), then more sanding. i went and bought all the paint and all which is really expensive, and then sprayed it on with the paintgun and aircompressor. i only painted the fenders and frontend and spent a total of 600$ and 3 days worth of work. its worth it if you can do it right.

 

my cheapo project

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/cama...rustoleum.html

 

Depending on the quality of materials used, and the time spent, the price range can be from $50, to well over $1000. When I finally get my 91 to the right point, I'm spraying DuPont.. Not cheap, but it's easy to work with.

Me and my dad split on a nice Anest Iwata gun too, it's a very low pressure, high volume gun that maaco uses, you can paint anywhere and not get any overspray. But, for $650.. You could get a bunch of nice stuff..