Painting your own car...who's done it?

[Bigbore500r]

Thinking about taking a stab at painting my own car. Obviously, not expecting a show car finish but I'd love to learn and keep the DIY theme going with the Chevelle and my son. The color will be solid red, no metallic. Nothing fancy.

Who's done it? Any tips on forgiving, easy to use product / systems? Should I go single stage or base / clear?

I'd be doing this in a makeshift home-built booth. I have an HVLP gun but would probably need to get the proper size tips for whatever I end up spraying.

Any tips or recommended paints / products, post them up!

 

[4Waters]

Thinking about taking a stab at painting my own car. Obviously, not expecting a show car finish but I'd love to learn and keep the DIY theme going with the Chevelle and my son. The color will be solid red, no metallic. Nothing fancy.

Who's done it? Any tips on forgiving, easy to use product / systems? Should I go single stage or base / clear?

I'd be doing this in a makeshift home-built booth. I have an HVLP gun but would probably need to get the proper size tips for whatever I end up spraying.

Any tips or recommended paints / products, post them up!

Go talk to the guys at Simi Valley paint and supply or Modern Paint & Body supply in the valley, they will get you set up

 

[530RL]

In Phoenix, there is a paint booth rental place on Grand Avenue that is very reasonable.

Wonder if there is one in S Cal around you?

 

[monkeyswrench]

Local guys will know what will work best for your temps and humidity.
Prep work. The better the prep (and your patience) the better the outcome.

 

[ltbaney1]

done it a few times. my suggestion is pay for a class at one of the community colleges, and use their booth. the last time i did it, i signed up, and the first night i told the instructor my plan, he said no problem, i rolled the car in the next night, masked it up mixed up my paint and went to work. under 300 bucks to use a real booth with good compressed air and temp control.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

done it a few times. my suggestion is pay for a class at one of the community colleges, and use their booth. the last time i did it, i signed up, and the first night i told the instructor my plan, he said no problem, i rolled the car in the next night, masked it up mixed up my paint and went to work. under 300 bucks to use a real booth with good compressed air and temp control.

Man thats a nugget right there.
@500Bigbore500r I used to work for Akzonobel Coatings on the Sikkens label but my spray training was nowhere near the skill levels of the auto body refinishing guys. I can say one thing since you aren't experienced.... this does take practice and I found in my training that staying a good distance away and wrist movement was key. Good sprayers move like artists... just lay it down light to avoid any running. Of course Sikkens is best lol.

 

[liquid addiction]

Done it a few times also. Started out by painting our race cars. They didn't have to be perfect because they usually would get beat up after a couple weekends of racing, or after opening day. I did a couple of my own pickups. I always just make sure to cover anything you don't want over spray on and the put a make shift exhaust fan in a door. I always put the exhaust to the outside and slightly crack roll up door. Like you said, not for show but would get them all the same color and usually shinny.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

done it a few times. my suggestion is pay for a class at one of the community colleges, and use their booth. the last time i did it, i signed up, and the first night i told the instructor my plan, he said no problem, i rolled the car in the next night, masked it up mixed up my paint and went to work. under 300 bucks to use a real booth with good compressed air and temp control.

This is what I would recommend. Pretty much what I did, I just bypassed the class and used the facility because I knew the teacher.

Used Summit non CA single stage paint.

 

[rlemn8r]

Man thats a nugget right there.
@500Bigbore500r I used to work for Akzonobel Coatings on the Sikkens label but my spray training was nowhere near the skill levels of the auto body refinishing guys. I can say one thing since you aren't experienced.... this does take practice and I found in my training that staying a good distance away and wrist movement was key. Good sprayers move like artists... just lay it down light to avoid any running. Of course Sikkens is best lol.

Thats pretty cool. Just sprayed a 1951 plymouth with sikkens autowave and used there autoclear performance lv slow clear. Absolutely great product, just a little pricey..

 

[Bigbore500r]

done it a few times. my suggestion is pay for a class at one of the community colleges, and use their booth. the last time i did it, i signed up, and the first night i told the instructor my plan, he said no problem, i rolled the car in the next night, masked it up mixed up my paint and went to work. under 300 bucks to use a real booth with good compressed air and temp control.

That's a great idea!

 

[traquer]

I would love to do this one day as well. Good thing is if you have time and patience, you can always sand your way out of most problems lol.

I'd start by getting a junkyard door or something and practice on that. Or better yet just get a bumper cover with lots of curves.

I will X3, it's all in the prep work. And also the sanding/polishing. The painting part shouldn't be too hard if you're halfway good with your hands

 

[ChiliPepperGarage]

Here you go.

 

[Travmon]

I have painted many a show car in a 2 car garage and a box fan in the window. Products are user friendly and you have to try very hard to screw it up. Go for it !

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Thats pretty cool. Just sprayed a 1951 plymouth with sikkens autowave and used there autoclear performance lv slow clear. Absolutely great product, just a little pricey..

Yeah we were the Bentley line for sure but sprayers knew the difference the way it layed down. AkzoNobel prides itself on color as well. Truth is only experts could tell difference through closest inspection... show car guys dig Sikkens.

 

[Maw]

I've done a few boats and one car using AwlGrip LP paints (https://www.awlgrip.com/homepage), both rolled and sprayed. Rolling comes out much better than you'd imagine, when properly thinned, if you apply it then walk away and let it shrink and stretch as it wants to.

 

[mjc]

I am heading that way. I am at this stage and hope to DTM prime this week or after vacation week. I hope to get my gun control back duing primer stage then door jambs. Using a fairly cheap Kirker paint(they make simmit i believe) and primers. Gokng to do single stage with a clear so i can fix f'ups easier.

 

[Gramps]

I've done a bunch of these in my garage................................

 

[Bigbore500r]

I am heading that way. I am at this stage and hope to DTM prime this week or after vacation week. I hope to get my gun control back duing primer stage then door jambs. Using a fairly cheap Kirker paint(they make simmit i believe) and primers. Gokng to do single stage with a clear so i can fix f'ups easier. View attachment 1256272

Post up progress on this, would love to see it come along. Question - when you say "single stage with a clear" - doesn't that make it a base / clear system and not a sigle stage any longer? I thought single-stage was when you spray it with the color coat and it has whatever clear or protection / shine mixed in, no separate application of clearcoat

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Here you go.

I plastic filmed my garage, set up two box fans with square filters (like house HVAC filters, at base of garage door, wore a respirator and tyvek suit. Used the rustoleum single stage paint and a cheap ass harbor freight paint gun, with my compressor to paint it. It wasn't horrible, wasn't great...it was my beater work truck back in the day...I was like 21 when I did it.

Ive seen some guys do the foam roller thing on beaters...after they sand it etc it was a good 25 ft away job.... not something I'd try on anything worth a shit lol

If I was going to do it again I would go somewhere cheap and just do ALL of the prep work my self prior like Maaco or something.

 

[Flat freak]

I recently painted this in my carport. Because I live in Commifornia I had to use water based paints with a chemical/solvent based clear. There are definitely some things to learn regarding that. If you have o experience my advice would be to go get a hood or trunk lid and paint it however many times it takes until you’re happy with your results. Get ready to spend some money too . Between primer, paint,clear , gallons of acetone, sandpaper, bondo,tape & the tools you’ll need the cost gets pretty crazy. Just to give you an idea that orange is just a Toyota color & it was $1600 a gallon. If I added up everything I had to buy to do that job. It would be $3500 or more,

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

I am heading that way. I am at this stage and hope to DTM prime this week or after vacation week. I hope to get my gun control back duing primer stage then door jambs. Using a fairly cheap Kirker paint(they make simmit i believe) and primers. Gokng to do single stage with a clear so i can fix f'ups easier. View attachment 1256272

They tell me technique comes back pretty quick like riding a bike kinda thing.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

I recently painted this in my carport. Because I live in Commifornia I had to use water based paints with a chemical/solvent based clear. There are definitely some things to learn regarding that. If you have o experience my advice would be to go get a hood or trunk lid and paint it however many times it takes until you’re happy with your results. Get ready to spend some money too . Between primer, paint,clear , gallons of acetone, sandpaper, bondo,tape & the tools you’ll need the cost gets pretty crazy. Just to give you an idea that orange is just a Toyota color & it was $1600 a gallon. If I added up everything I had to buy to do that job. It would be $3500 or more,

Your welcome ha... ex paint sales guy. Crazy expensive when using good stuff for sure

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

I plastic filmed my garage, set up two box fans with square filters (like house HVAC filters, at base of garage door, wore a respirator and tyvek suit. Used the rustoleum single stage paint and a cheap ass harbor freight paint gun, with my compressor to paint it. It wasn't horrible, wasn't great...it was my beater work truck back in the day...I was like 21 when I did it.

Ive seen some guys do the foam roller thing on beaters...after they sand it etc it was a good 25 ft away job.... not something I'd try on anything worth a shit lol

If I was going to do it again I would go somewhere cheap and just do ALL of the prep work my self prior like Maaco or something.

Man the "spray booths" I saw in AZ were hilarious ... those guys would paint in open fields in 110 under a friggin tent but call it their booth ha. Loved em.

 

[bonesfab]

the materials are expensive. Do all your prep and find someone to spray it. A good gun man makes a world of difference. I have painted my own stuff before, now I have a guy that does it.

 

[pwerwagn]

Ive painted a few trucks/jeeps. Like said many times, its all in the prep and planning. Ive painted a few outside in the weeeee hours of the morning, wet the ground down before to keep dust down and have at it. I find single stage a little easier to work in a poor environment, and fairly easy to color sand any bugs/etc out of after the fact. However a good base/clear does allow you to sorta mess up the base and still fix the whole job with clear (within reason).

What still gets me, is the being prepared part. I will be 100% that i have everything out and ready to roll. Then it never fails that something isnt where I thought it was. All while youre worried about flash time of the base while mixing the clear, etc.

There is a guy on you tube, paintsociety, that has some REALLY good videos. Watch them, he has some on painting a car without booth, or using a crap gun, etc.

The few key things that Ive found I cant do without are:
Good compressor. Its a game changer I feel (I have a big 100gal quincy).
Good coalescing filter, and a good regulator.
A good helper that understands what you are doing. Someone that can start mixing the next batch of paint, have the clear ready, etc.

Lastly, I have seen some amazing paint jobs from old guys that just paint crap in their garage.

And even more lastly, once you've painted a vehicle and you see all of your own flaws, be prepared to nitpick every single paint job you ever see afterwards. Youll develop an eye for runs, bugs, orange peel, etc. My wife LOVES it when i point out all of the paint flaws of any used vehicle she finds that she wants.

 

[Bigbore500r]

Ive painted a few trucks/jeeps. Like said many times, its all in the prep and planning. Ive painted a few outside in the weeeee hours of the morning, wet the ground down before to keep dust down and have at it. I find single stage a little easier to work in a poor environment, and fairly easy to color sand any bugs/etc out of after the fact. However a good base/clear does allow you to sorta mess up the base and still fix the whole job with clear (within reason).

What still gets me, is the being prepared part. I will be 100% that i have everything out and ready to roll. Then it never fails that something isnt where I thought it was. All while youre worried about flash time of the base while mixing the clear, etc.

There is a guy on you tube, paintsociety, that has some REALLY good videos. Watch them, he has some on painting a car without booth, or using a crap gun, etc.

The few key things that Ive found I cant do without are:
Good compressor. Its a game changer I feel (I have a big 100gal quincy).
Good coalescing filter, and a good regulator.
A good helper that understands what you are doing. Someone that can start mixing the next batch of paint, have the clear ready, etc.

Lastly, I have seen some amazing paint jobs from old guys that just paint crap in their garage.

And even more lastly, once you've painted a vehicle and you see all of your own flaws, be prepared to nitpick every single paint job you ever see afterwards. Youll develop an eye for runs, bugs, orange peel, etc. My wife LOVES it when i point out all of the paint flaws of any used vehicle she finds that she wants.

Ive watched a few vids from paint society over the past few nights, he's got some good videos

 

[mjc]

Post up progress on this, would love to see it come along. Question - when you say "single stage with a clear" - doesn't that make it a base / clear system and not a sigle stage any longer? I thought single-stage was when you spray it with the color coat and it has whatever clear or protection / shine mixed in, no separate application of clearcoat

I am using the single stage so I don't have to clear all the jambs and stuff and it will shine. You can clear over single stage it will just shine before you have at it with scuff pad to cover it again. If it looks good enough I may not do the clear at all. I am also going with the plan if it really looks bad I have a real good base to repaint from and can pay to have it resprayed.

 

[Bigbore500r]

I am using the single stage so I don't have to clear all the jambs and stuff and it will shine. You can clear over single stage it will just shine before you have at it with scuff pad to cover it again. If it looks good enough I may not do the clear at all. I am also going with the plan if it really looks bad I have a real good base to repaint from and can pay to have it resprayed.

Makes sense!

 

[TimeBandit]

I did my own complete paint on a 240Z I restored back in the late 80's. I painted it bright metallic silver, then applied the clear, turned the lights off in the booth and went home, this was in a borrowed booth at a friends body shop on a Sunday.

Monday my friend called me and said he found a tiger in his paint booth.

I guess I sprayed the clear on too soon and it caused all the metallic to run and "stripe" the car.

I was heart broken, I had him paint the Z in Alpine white over my mistakes, that paint job came out great!

I have since painted some panels, hoods and bumpers, but not a complete.

I have never used a water base paint system.

 

[Ladsm]

I have done a couple cars, one with a roller!!!, But seriously did shoot a single stage in my garage with plastic and fans, Came out decent. I have done a few motorcycles. Much easier to shoot a tank and two fenders. The motorcycles were a color and then a clear coat with some metallic flakes. I did screw up the metallic by getting more flake on the fender than I did the tank. It got sanded down and repainted again. I havent used the new style guns and water based.

 

[USMC2010]

I had an 86 Firebird I painted at the base hobby shop on Camp Pendleton in the late 90's. It was a great learning experience, one I don't think i will ever do again. It did turn out really good. I will need to find a picture to scan and post.

 

[Cdog]

Anyone do paint work in Phoenix? I need the rear bumper Re painted on a black e46 bmw

 

[coolchange]

Spay wait spray stop
Spray wait spray stop
Spray wait spray stop
Spay wait spray stop

Edit do the jambs LAST

 

[ka0tyk]

id do all the prep work in house and then slap it on a trailer and earl schieb/body shop do the final wipedown and spray. those guy suck at prep given their policies/time constraints but they do have good equipment and spray alllll day long. its like welding, you gotta do it constantly for good technique. also take it to AZ/NV, CA paint sucks. im a 100% DIY'er but painting is just something I could never get good at.

 

[endobear]

Here you go.

So correct me if I'm wrong. Penetrol is an oil based paint extender.
Meaning it slows the dry time down to allow it to level. The acetone will speed up the dry time making the Penetrol useless.
I thin "oil bases" with mineral spirits and Penetrol. I can get great finishes cutting and rolling that look sprayed. I've done a few metal toy hauler ramp doors, trailer and car frames this way.

 

[BUDMAN]

It’s been a minute. Last car I painted was a 46 ford coupe. Turned out decent. Learned from my dad who would paint cars all the time.

 

[4Waters]

id do all the prep work in house and then slap it on a trailer and earl schieb/body shop do the final wipedown and spray. those guy suck at prep given their policies/time constraints but they do have good equipment and spray alllll day long. its like welding, you gotta do it constantly for good technique. also take it to AZ/NV, CA paint sucks. im a 100% DIY'er but painting is just something I could never get good at.

I know a few people that have done it the way you just said and it turned out great

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

the materials are expensive. Do all your prep and find someone to spray it. A good gun man makes a world of difference. I have painted my own stuff before, now I have a guy that does it.

Yeah but your shit is art baby

 

[outboard_256]

I did a trailer using house paint/thinner and roller. Used white house paint for the base and did accents in auto spray paint. Came out pretty good. But after 5-7 years the white housepaint started to have micro spider cracks and after a few more years it started peeling. The auto paint still looked good. Maybe I needed more coats, not sure.

 

[707dog]

id do all the prep work in house and then slap it on a trailer and earl schieb/body shop do the final wipedown and spray. those guy suck at prep given their policies/time constraints but they do have good equipment and spray alllll day long. its like welding, you gotta do it constantly for good technique. also take it to AZ/NV, CA paint sucks. im a 100% DIY'er but painting is just something I could never get good at.

i did this back in the 90s with one my impalas, the painter gave me marching orders on the prep work brought it back a couple days later and he shot it starburst blue metallic. that $600 paint job won a few trophies and lasted many years.

 

[arch stanton]

First I'm not a professional painter but I have painted my semi trucks and dump boxes some pickups and cars when I buy paint I walk out with as much as 5 gallons so I do sling a little paint now and then.
I spray PPG Delfleet Essentials its a solvent base paint and is durable and I find it easy to shoot, it also has an advantage of the same can of color can be sprayed as single stage or 2 stage { base coat clear coat } all you change is the hardener or base coat converter.
I shoot the jams first and may shoot that singe stage then shoot the body 2 stage for me I do all jams,trunk and under hood one day and come back and shoot the body a day or two latter.
The paint will last way longer if you go 2 stage and you can sand and buff almost any mistakes out
Red is a very translucent color you must have a uniform color under your top coat solid red or a dark red is more forgiving but a light red or a metallic red will be very tough to get a uniform color you can use a tintable primer in red it will help you use fewer coats to get the color uniform. The Metallic red KW below was a very translucent color and I tried it over a white primer a grey primer and the silver I use a lot and no mater how many coats I used I could not get the colors to be the same on my test strips
I am about to repaint my wife's yellow truck and yellow is terrible at hiding and getting a uniform final color so I have a gallon of yellow primer and hope to only have to use 2 coats of color.
for clear a use Tamco Hi impact clear dries to the touch in 30 minutes they also have a speed clear and I think it dries in 15 minutes thats too fast for what I paint put they both go tack free very fast and that keeps the bugs and dirt to a minimum
Tamco also sells color but I have not asked tammy if she can make a convertible paint like Del Fleet that can be used single stage and 2 stage out of the same can.

 

[arch stanton]

 

[arch stanton]

g

 

[arch stanton]

The first truck I painted back in the 80’s an old 73 square body that my brother and I converted to 4 wheel drive and made it a dulie running 36’s all around and my dodge current daily driver

 

[Yoshiro]

This was the first car I painted. Take your time, listen to the folks at the paint supply store. I've shot both single and base/clear paints. They both work good. The good thing is you can use the primer coats as practice to get used to your gun and shooting techniques. And when it's all done you wet sand it and buff to get rid of any imperfections! This was done in a 1 car garage! FYI that's house of kolor silver ultra mini glitter flake mixed into some clear.

 

[Carlos90041]

Painted this myself (backyard boogie) about 13 years ago. Purchased from original owner. 1963 Chevy SS Impala Convertible.

Used the best material (Diamont/ R-M) available, Practiced patience, painted in pieces in DIY booth. I used the best HVLP spray guns found at Harbor Freight.

 

[SoCalDave]

Painted the frame and two lower panels on my RD500 with base/clear and it came out decent.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Wow some great results from the folks here!

Painted in the Cypress College paint booth in a marathon 20 hour day. Did all the rough bodywork first. My good friend and teacher there was the gun man. He hadn’t painted a car in 20 years .

How the day started -

How it ended

All put back together

 

[coolchange]

If you paint the jams first you wind up with over spray in the jams. If you do it last the overspray is on the outside, which is getting cut and buffed anyway.

 

[traquer]

If you paint the jams first you wind up with over spray in the jams. If you do it last the overspray is on the outside, which is getting cut and buffed anyway.

I was just thinking about this, that makes a lot of sense