where can i get good auto paint from? im looking for the factory color spectra red #7211 i want to do this on a budget but i want a good paint job. also how much paint do i need to do a good paint job wit? im looking for at least 4 coats of base and 4-6 coats of clear what would be the verdict on the amounts i would need and a approximate cost.

 

Just find an autobody supply store in your area. They can answer all of your questions. And be sure to ask them about the amount of clear you want to put on. With auto paint you want to keep the paint build to a minimum. Two coats of high solids clear will give you something to cut and buff. Three coats of clear should be more than enough.

 

go to any local autobody supply in your area...

 

the problem im havig is locating a supply store around here. but i guess ill have to look on the yellow pages or somthing. anyways thanx for the advice!

 

As far as discount paint, i have used quite a few different cheap paints and quite a few expensive paint lines. For the money, PPG shopline paint and clear is relatively inexpensive and performs just about as well as their more expensive DBC paint. You will use about 1/2 gallon of paint, 1/2 gallon of reducer (total 1 gallon paint), and 1/2-3/4 gallon of clear and hardner. I would use 2-3 coats of color and 3 coats of clear, followed by wet sand and buff. The red paint in the shopline will run about 200, and the clear and hardner about 100. If you are really on a budget, i have also used the kirker paint, which is acrylic urethane. you can also follow this with clear. The paint does not reduce, so you need twice as much. It will be a little cheaper than the ppg, but not really worth it. Look online, there are a lot of jobbers that sell paint. Try Ditchek.

 

I used Sherwin Williams (from NAPA) on my firebird. GM 8555 black 3qts of base, a gallon of reducer and I had plenty left over; the color was $257 a gallon. Plan on 2-3 coats of base and 3 coats of clear. I cant really say exactly how many coats as red can be kind of finnicky when it comes to 'full hiding' which means full and even coverage. Also, you'll use less paint with an HVLP or LVLP gun and using a mini-gun for your doors and other small bits. It also depends on how far you take your car apart. I stripped my GFX off, fenders, hood, hatchback, spoiler, mirrors and door handles were all painted OFF the car. At a bare minimum, I reccomend stripping off the mirrors and door handles. If your car is already that color, I would skip cutting in your jambs and would probably paint the car with all the body panels on the car.
If you do want a newer gun, ASTRO makes a nice Sata copy and a nice anest-iwata copy for around $80. Also, if you have a smaller compressor, taking the fenders off the car may be best because you can paint each panel individually which allows the compressor to not work as hard. IF you do this, make sure you keep the hood and fenders mounted the way they will be on the car (set the hood so its flat and hang the fenders off a set of saw horses so theyre perpendicular to the ground as they would be ON the car) Or else your metallics will be oriented differently and it'll look WAY off when you put the car back together.
Make sure you have a dessicant or water trap on your compressor, a niosh resperator and you get the tech sheets for whatever paint you use (available online in PDFs)
If you use NAPA, 15410/15420 is a great airdrying clear coat its about $100 a sprayable gallon which is a lot more than you need for that car.
If youre painting your GFX, use an adhesion promoter (its a clear primer that helps paint stick to plastics and other slippery things) Bulldog is one name and it comes in an aersolcan, Ive also used the duplicolor one. Id also ask about a flex agent. The lower end flex agents flash out of the panels in a few days so you have to install them on the car a day or 2 after theyre painted. The higher end flex agents actually bond to the paint and make it different on a molecular level, they dont evaporate.

If your paint is in good shape, Id touch up the dings with bondo, shoot 2 coats of epoxy primer over it, let it sit for 2 days to harden (or else it clogs up sandpaper real bad) and blocksand it, wipe it down with a lot of clean rags and some thinner (take your time and get in every nook and cranny), shoot 2-3 coats of color under good light, then 2-3 coats of clear. Let it sit for a week, then work down any drips and runs in the clear. Wait a month then cut n buff. Check out autobody101.com for some tips

 

[QUOTE=NatesZ/28;4112854 Check out autobody101.com for some tips[/QUOTE]

best source of info when i painted my car. you really dont need four coats of base. as long as you het good coverage two coats really all you need, more more thn a gallon of base. as far as clear six coats is a little exsesive. if done right six coats will give you great depth to your paint, most of the time when guys use that much clear they flow coat, three coats of clear, wetsand, then three more coats adding more reducer as they go along. this leads to a finish that doesn;t need to be wetsanded, the only down side is that it isnt very strong. read about it and you will find out. do plenty of research before you start. oh and fyi red is one of the most expensive colors, so dont expect to find it to cheap. also dont buy a off brand just because it is cheaper, stick with something that is more mainstream. you will be happier when it holds up longe than a year.

 

I have used just about every brand there is of. I love DBC by PPG and Chromaclear 7600 clear by Dupont. Just get a brand name and go with it. Read the directions, make sure the car is clean, clean, clean. In my area, a lot of guys will let you rent their paint booth for like $100 on a Saturday.
Ask all the questions you want, because I love to talk about painting. I paintind a golf cart once some Plymouth color, when I looked in the can at the color, I puked in my mouth a little bit. Once I started painting, it ended up looking good. Oh and red is so expensive because I think it takes gold (like 10karat) to make it.

 

all of this advice is way cool guys. the amounts of base and clear i originaly posted was because im really in experienced with auto painting. but i will go wit the 3x3 coats of base and clear and i would really like to do this at home. im trying to learn this stuff as i go so i can expand my horizons in the automotive world its people like you that make these things possible for everyone out there looking to make themselves better. any advice is welcome, positive or negative. on to price, price is a concern but quality is much more important to me. i will try ppg paint the only prob im gonna have is wetsanding ive never done it but i here it"s quite easy. if you have any certain techniques to this im all ears. and thank you again.
p.s heres why im gonna paint

 

Prep work is the ticket. If you can feel it with your hand, you will see it in the paint. Don't get in a rush. Period. A paint job only looks as good as the bodywork. Other than the primered spot it looks straight from what I could see. Don't overdo it on the clear, trying to make it look "slick". There is no shame in wetsanding a little orange peel to get it slick. Runs are more work to me than they are worth. Make sure you use a good sealer over your primer too. I have done it without, but I would rather use it. Take as many parts off of the car as you can when you get ready to paint like taillights, door handles, lock cylinders, stuff like that. I hand wet sand my primer with 400. Don't use spray can primer if you don't have to. The shopline and Dupont primers are so much better. Some people say to wet sand the clear when you finish painting with 600, then 1000, then 1500 and so on. I won't touch one with anything more coarse than 1500 then work to 2000, then 3000. Just a little more sanding, but when it comes time to buff, I notice the difference. (Bad experience with black paint and starting with 600).

 

On wetsanding. On primer, use a block and loooootttsss of water. I use water bottles with a hole in the cap. On clear, use a soft block and more than looooottttsss of water. (its kinda like a foam pad). If you just use your hand, you could see where your fingers were in the paint. Its easy. Stay away from edges because your clear is very thin there. If you "burn through" your clear with sanding or buffing, its not fun.

 

Look up Kevin Tetz Paintucation video snippets on youtube. My dad used to teach this stuff and even HE learned a few things. Make sure you have a quality gun (not necessarily new or expensive) and a GOOD respirator. No joke man, some of my dads friends sound like theyre breathing in a bucket of water from the old lacquer days. Wear a dustmask when sanding (especially when using anything with hardener in it - BONDO) and get a good filtered respirator (napa sells disposable ones I bought a nice 3M one from HomeCheapo though.

Heres a tip for any of you guys: No NIOSH mask is rated for auto paint. and since isocyanites are odorless tasteless poison, I keep my mask sealed in a ziplock bag, and I replace the cartridges after theyve been exposed to the open air for around 8hrs or so. And always at the begining of a new job. I mix my paints with my mask on too. AND please, wear safety glasses when spraying. I was showing a friend how to spray his civic and he slipped and sprayed clear in my eye...I was sick for days. PLEASE GUYS take care of yourselves with this stuff. Its safe to use, but wear rubber gloves when mixing and spraying, long sleeved shirts and pants, a mask and glasses/goggles.

Paint tips:
*spray your first pass, move down about 2/3rds and spray your next pass.
*ALWAYS trigger your gun BEFORE you start to move your hand and always let off AFTER you pass the end of your line.
*Dont twist your wrist or SWING your arm. Think ROBOT you want to move in a rythym. *I count when I shoot paint to keep from moving too fast as well.
(1) trigger on (2) move (3) move (4) end of panel (5) trigger off (for example - get some junk panels and practice, learn how to work with your gun - tractor enamel is 20 bucks a gallon)
* When you mix your clear, let it sit in the gun with the lid on for about 15 minutes if you can before you start to spray (I dont know the chemisty behind it but it makes a nicer finish)
* Make sure you have all your supplies to mix the paint before you start to open stuff and make sure you test your gun with lacquer thinner on a piece of paper or cardboard to see how your pattern looks and that nothing leaks (I was in a hurry and poured about 100 bucks worth of gold paint in my minigun and the seal was shot...paint ran all over...'kill me now' moment). When you put the paint (primer color or clear) in the gun shoot a test pattern (a legit 1 sec full trigger pull move to another spot on the board and spray a nice even pass, then adjust things as necessary), the pattern should be pretty even and cigar shaped and thin out gradually to the edges (thats why you dont move down the full width per pass...you'll have stripes).

Enough for now

~N

 

once again thanx on the advice. im having a bit of a problem ive been looking on the net for ppg paints, i keep coming upon the sellers saying due to ppg's policy they cant sell online and they can only ship to the city they are located. also some say that they only will sell to professional body shops. wtf? how do i get this stuff? also i want to see my paint color before i buy most only list color and no pic or preview of the actual color i mean how hard is it to display a factory gm paint color. oh well i guess ill have to keep looking

 

You need to find an autobody supply store. Look in the yeller pages or ask a local bodyshop who their 'jobber' is (thats the middleman that sells the paints and supplies to the bodyshop. Here in my area, most of the collision shops use Napas Martin Senor cross/fire line (high end is 'tec/base')
The other option for you is to visit southernpolyurethanes.com and talk with Barry Kives (SPI's owner) Barry is/was a chemist and makes some incredible stuff (primers and clearcoats) The base color he reccomends is a brand called ProSpray; which was started by a bunch of disgruntled PPG chemists.
BakerPBE sells SPI clear (best clear Ive used that wasnt very soft and ultra expensive) and their primers as well. Barry will answer his personal phone if you have problems and can usually help you fudge things if you need to.
Lastly toolparadise or spraygunworld has Astro guns for reasonable prices (although they take a couple weeks to ship sometimes) Astro makes copies of the very expensive Iwata and Sata guns). You can always grab a scrap fender and ask your local bodyshop for any left over paint...practice your technique with the cheap stuff (my napa sells oddball enamel pints from leftover batches for like $5 a can).

Nate