First time Painter
 

Hey everyone, After a year of dealing with an annoying dent on my quarter panel, my sister decided to also back into the quarter panel making matters worse. I'm looking to do the body work myself and painting myself because the shops estimate to repair is $1,500. My dad is knowledgeable about dent removal and body repair, but i have nothing as far as painting goes. All i have is a quart of my cars paint from it's previous owner and an air compressor. I'm looking to buy an auto paint gun and the air hose filter/dryer attachment. I'm looking for any advise you guys might have for a first time auto body painter.

Re: First time Painter
 

This is what i am dealing with.

Re: First time Painter
 

ouch man! That sucks...as for spraying,you can use a harbor freight cheapo gun..they work well..I painted my gta with one and it turned out pretty nice..the drier/filter,I like to use the mini dessicant driers that you can attach inline ..I put them right on the end of my spray gun..no complaints yet....I believe harbor freight carries those too,I picked mine up at Northern Tool..for a first timer and just doing your car yourself theres really no need to go spend big money on spray equipment..its not something you will be using every day..

Re: First time Painter
 

I am not a painter, but I have dabbled in it. I can pretty well say a quart may not be enough depending on the coverage of your paint. There are no good break points in the quarter panel to flip edge, and you have the bumper to do as well if that won't buff out. Being a first time painter, blending isn't much of an option either

Re: First time Painter
 

do you know if it is base coat if it is and after you have done all the body work and blocking then wetsand the rest of the panel all the way up to where the quarter panel meets the roof with 1000 grit paper tape the panel off to keep overspray from getting on the rest of the car so you need to cover the whole car then you will need a good cleaner to wash the panel down before you start painting then base being new i would go with light to medium coats then when you have it covered then apply 3 coats of clear your first 2 coats of clear should go 3/4 way up the quarter and the last coat go about 6 inches on up then you can buy a solavent that will burn in the edge of the clear go very light with this stuff are you will get a run maybe do 2 light coats

Re: First time Painter
 

First thing see what rubs off with orange rubbing compound, evaluate the dents and scrapes
Then get a hammer and Dollies from harbor freight hand hammer and Dollie the dents out, the less bond the better, also buy a good gun binks is good don't but don't buy harbor freight ones there good for priming

Re: First time Painter
 

1.) Pay a professional.

Re: First time Painter
 

I do high end restorations and I am starting to tell people about the great products that I have found for a reasonable price. the customer service is second to none and barry is available 7 days a week for your questions.

http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/index.htm

give them a try

Re: First time Painter
 

Buy some books. Pro Paint and Body, or Pro Paint on a Budget.

Painting is the easy part, but a paint job is only as good as whats under it.

Expect to spend days on body work.

Expect to spend a minimun of $500 on paint supplies, and possibly many many times more.

Eastwood sells some good budget paints.

The key is to spray on many guide coats, and sand sand sand.

I spent about 3 years doing body work on my 55 before I felt it was straight enough to paint.

Probably sanded off 2 gallons of primer and glaze over that time.

Re: First time Painter
 

I have never used their paint materials but I'm on another forum and that is all they use and swear by it and is half the cost of PPG or DuPont

Re: First time Painter
 

Thanks for the advice everyone. I still have not begone the painting yet, but it's getting close to that time. I have borrowed a paintgun from a friend of mine and bought a bunch of supplies from auto paint shop store the Chevy dealer informed me of awhile back.