What are the different methods for painting cars?

tw2

New member
This is just for general info, I am curious. How can you have your car professionally painted?

I know you can strip the interior, engine, everything out and paint it but are there any other ways? For instance if you wanted to keep the same body colour, can you mask everything off except the body?

What are the relative costs for each method?
 

WarTowels

Active member
Generally, there's 2 ways.

Strip everything- repaint, everything. Best done for color changes. Very expensive, much less common.

Same color, or similar color paint jobs, you mask everything, windows, doors, engine bay, ect. and you paint all of the body panels.

This method is extremely common, much less expensive, and done right, can yield excellent results as well.

9944597_scaled_409x307.JPG


It really depends how bad your current paint is, how much money you want to spend, and what expectations you have for the end result. There's always the two extremes, you see people paint with Krylon cans, and you see people strip every nut and bolt and dip the entire car in acid (to remove all the paint) and then repaint the entire car.

-Towels
 

tw2

New member
Thanks for that, my car has a whole pile of scratches so I guess one day I will take it to have just the body repainted in the same colour if I can find someone I actually trust to do it. Otherwise I have an air compressor :shock:
 

Hotrodhendrix

New member
Personally if money is a factor you can always learn to do the body work yourself. Buy all the paint and supplies then either take it to a shop to get it sprayed or try it yourself.
 

tw2

New member
If I have time when I decided it is a good project to get into then I will definitely consider doing it myself. I find good painting resources hard to come by though; I have tried searching before and given up.

How do you setup your garage? Hang some verticle sheets around the car, one on the floor and one on the roof for overspray? Then do you need a fan etc?

I have an air compressor and I guess I need a good quality paint gun, what about a water trap?

Then do you sand down to the base coat and paint your final colour on that or go down to metal and do a primer layer etc etc etc...... its not technically hard but there are so many things to learn to avoid a pretty average result.
 

tw2

New member
Thats really helpful, thanks. I haven't read through all of it but he has some good info. I think it would be much more fun to learn to do it myself than pay someone.
 

Simba

New member
If you're changing the color dramatically, the only real way to do it properly is to yank the engine, pull all the glass, and remove all the door/sill trim. You do not need to gut the entire interior, all you need to do is remove enough trim to allow spraying the inner door/hatch surfaces.

If you're not changing the color (or just don't care) you can mask everything with the glass in, and just pull all the trim, bumpers, lights, etc, etc.

So far as pricing goes, anywhere from 2-10k depending. You can save a lot of money dis/reassembling everything yourself, though most shops won't touch a car (at least with any sort of warranty on the paint) if you do your own prep.

A few tips specific to the AT:

1) Disassemble the hood. Do not try to paint it with the scoop insert in, nor the washer nozzles/grills/trim.

2) Remove the mirrors AND the doors. It's next to impossible to paint the doors well with them on the car.

3) Remove the front fenders. It's next to impossible to get the prep and spray correct with them on the car. While you have them off, paint the back with POR-15 to prevent corrosion.

4) The rubber gasket around the rear glass can be pulled back slightly and masked under, without requiring that you remove the glass-- however, if you do this, do not let the rubber get cold, or it will be very difficult to get back down after painting. Also make sure the paint is completely dry before releasing the tape, or it'll stick to it permanently.

5) Paint the bumpers off the car, same reasons as above. Use A LOT of flex agent for both, as they always require some tweaking with the corner bolts. If you don't do a good flex primer, the paint will chip and flake off the bumpers very easily, especially the CS bumper.

6) Remove the sunroof to paint it, especially the gasket in the roof.

7) If you're spraying yourself, be VERY careful to use light coats on the roof near the rain grooves. It's extremely easy to get too much paint in them.

8 ) Remove the rear inner fender liners prior to spraying.
 

___Scott___

Active member
Hotrodhendrix":2bph9crl said:
Take a look at this guys page.
http://www.mckennasgarage.com/xke/jag_25.htm

Everyone should. Also go threw some of his other write ups... Great stuff.
+1

Anyone who doesn't have experience doing prep & paint work and wants to do their own really should read through that site carefully. I haven't read the whole thing, but what I did see shows a pretty good rundown of the basic requirements for a good result and many of the problems you are likely to encounter along the way. Also take heed of the amount of time he has into the job. It'll give you an idea of how long it may take you, and also give a clue as to why professional paint jobs can cost so much. Good work takes time, and time is money.
 

88st165

New member
^that looks very nice for a rattle can job.

i know a guy that owns a detail shop and he works with you as far as budget goes. so if the customer doesnt want to spend money on a base/clear job he can do it out of a rattle can and im serious you cant even tell. obviously you'd have to see his work to believe it because i didnt at first.
 

tw2

New member
That looks very nice. Thanks simba for the very helpful tips. So for a reasonable job ie not excessively expensive but with more time and effort than a rattle can job what is involved....

Do you sand the whole car back to metal or just rough it up?
Do you apply a base coat if not going back to metal?
How many layers of what sort of paints?
Are there special types of tapes, techniques and materials for prep work?

I know these are probably very basic questions but I have no idea what is normal.
 

88st165

New member
tw2":15ma0l0t said:
Do you sand the whole car back to metal or just rough it up?
-You dont have to sand it down to bare metal. It would depend on if there was rust under the paint or body work that needed to be repaired.

tw2":15ma0l0t said:
Do you apply a base coat if not going back to metal?
-By base coat do you mean the base color? Or do you mean primer? Usually if you are painting the car the same color you might be able to get away with not priming the whole car. Most would prob spray some primer/sealer then base/clear over that.

tw2":15ma0l0t said:
How many layers of what sort of paints?
-That might depend on how you paint and if you wont need to fix any runs/drips.

tw2":15ma0l0t said:
Are there special types of tapes, techniques and materials for prep work?
-Usually the blue or green masking tape is used. You also want to get masking paper that you know the paint wont bleed through. Honestly if there is an automotive paint supply around your area I would pay them a visit as they will tell you everything you need from supplies all the way to what grit sandpaper to use.

tw2":15ma0l0t said:
I know these are probably very basic questions but I have no idea what is normal.
You have to start somewhere. Best thing to do is practice spraying panels so you can get used to the gun if you plan on trying this yourself.
 

tw2

New member
Thanks for taking the time to answer those questions. Thankfully the car has no rust, just a few scratches here and there which only go down to the primer. I will be painting the same colour.

Apart from the flex primer which simba mentioned is there anything different about painting the bumpers?

Haha yeah I think most things I own will be maroon before I get to the car.
 

TomsGT4

New member
88st165":2iz8iqx4 said:
^that looks very nice for a rattle can job.

i know a guy that owns a detail shop and he works with you as far as budget goes. so if the customer doesnt want to spend money on a base/clear job he can do it out of a rattle can and im serious you cant even tell. obviously you'd have to see his work to believe it because i didnt at first.

Thanks,
There is a really good store here called "Cross Canada".
They mix to match your original paint code & it really is exceptionally good paint.

I generally use 3 coats, a light coat 1st over the primer to ensure that the paint is compatible.
The second coat is usually moderately heavy & I wet sand after.
3rd coat is the one that takes some finess.
Too little & it won't have a high enough gloss & lots of buffing to follow or re-painting.
Too much & it runs.
 

lumbercis

Moderator
Hotrodhendrix":786zv3h1 said:
Take a look at this guys page.
http://www.mckennasgarage.com/xke/jag_25.htm

Everyone should. Also go threw some of his other write ups... Great stuff.

Reading that page makes me realize that the cheapest and most time efficient way to paint your car is to do the disassembly yourself and then take the rolling shell to a professional for prep and paint.

Doing it yourself isn't worth the aggravation for the results you will get. I'd rather get a second part time job to save up money to pay a professional than go through the trouble to do it myself.

DIY only makes sense to me if you are going to do multiple cars like that guy.

J.
 

WarTowels

Active member
The two advantages to DIY, are the pride and enjoyment of... doing it yourself.

As well as the lower cost.


I've painted a bumper before. The only differences from my experience is the flex additive to the paint- and if you are filling scratches, dents, scrapes, ect. you need to use a flexible filler.

If you used bondo, or a similar product is would obviously brake and crumble if you got in a small bump.

Here is a lengthy thread detailing my experiences painting in a home garage:

http://www.alltrac.net/phpBB2/viewtopic ... sc&start=0

-Towels
 

tw2

New member
And.... if someone scratches your brand new paint with their door you don't have to be as upset as you would if it was just done professionally since you can just go home and repaint it whenever you like.
 

redGT4

New member
The second sentence of that XKE resto page says it all: I put about 10 hours total in the booth and it should save me at least 20 hours in sanding dust out of the clear coat.

If you can't control the dust effectively, then your finish is screwed. Plus the time and expense of prepping work areas and tools plus relationships problems("Sanding again? Aren't you gonna finish that car?").

However there is nothing better than the applause of your peers when your turn out a sharp paint job.
 
Top