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Anyone paint their own cars, bikes,etc.?

OILFIELDTRASH

OILFIELDTRASH

Lifer
Im a total noob. Im gonna do it anyways since I have an old Mustang and the paint couldn't get any worse. Figure I'd do it myself. Any fall backs or things im not seeing as a complete noob that I should worry about?
 
If you're not ultra OCD like myself, I don't see why you can't just get some sand paper and bucket of paint for Home Depot and go to town on your car. You'll have an awesome bumpy matte look to your car.
 
Baked said:
If you're not ultra OCD like myself, I don't see why you can't just get some sand paper and bucket of paint for Home Depot and go to town on your car. You'll have an awesome bumpy matte look to your car.
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Im not going for the redneck racer look. Im buying legit equipment and looking to lay down a solid paint job. Somewhere between redneck racer and pro. I'd like to be more towards the pro side. It will be a source of pride when someone asks where I got it painted and I say I did it myself. Also will come in handy for painting parts myself such as rear ends, calipers, etc..
 
I suspect it's quite an art to do a good job with it, but I recall a vid or two online that had guys just doing it in their driveway and the end result was good.

Wear a mask 🙂
 
Adhesion promoter before the primer on any rubber baby buggy bumpers you're painting. Primer doesn't stick to plastic/rubber.

1. Primer

2. Let primer dry

3. sand primer

4. basecoat: 3-4 coats waiting ~10min. between coats. NEVER sand base coat, especially if it's metallic. If you do have to sand it, lay down another 1-2 coats.
Use tack cloth between coats if dust falls on it.

5. While base is still tacky, spray the clear coat. 2K clear is better than 1K, but it's very toxic so you need a respirator. You should wear a respirator anyway IMHO. 2K will last longer, be harder, glossier, more even and have better UV resistance. It's better in every way. It's also more expensive. 3-4 coats of clear should be enough. Also ~10 min. between coats.

6. Let it all dry a few days then lightly and evenly wet sand the clear with 3000 grit sandpaper. This will even it out and get rid of some orange peel.

7. Buff it with a DA polisher, preferably a forced rotation like the Flex 3401. Or You can use a regular DA like the Porter Cable 7424XP on it's highest setting with cutting pads. A rotary is faster but not noob friendly and not really necessary for 3000 grit sanding marks. Get some Menzerna polishes they are the best. Lot's of other brands are really good too, especially the rebranded Menz. ones lol. You can also use compound. It will cut faster but you'll need to follow it up with a fine cut polish.

8. Wait 30 days before wax or sealant.
 
For things like front fenders of motorcycles, splash guards, touch up sections, wheels, do-it-yourself paint jobs seem to do ok.

I have seen very VERY few good home paintjobs for entire cars. It's not that difficult to paint a bike, but a car has huge flat spaces where imperfections and issues show easily.
 
It's a lot harder than you think. Prepare for drips, runs, bumps, missed areas, clumps, dirt, dust, hair, etc. You're not pulling this off without a spray booth. Better off getting rustoleum and wet sanding coat after coat like some people have done. See google.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
For things like front fenders of motorcycles, splash guards, touch up sections, wheels, do-it-yourself paint jobs seem to do ok.

I have seen very VERY few good home paintjobs for entire cars. It's not that difficult to paint a bike, but a car has huge flat spaces where imperfections and issues show easily.
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Im sure it will look nothing like a $3000 paint job. Im hoping to spend about $500-$600 in paint, primer, etc.. though and it sounds fun. Believe me im not expecting a showroom finish. I am expecting a decent paint job and the experience itself and the bragging rights are going to be priceless.

As far as equipment that's going to be a little costly. I was looking into a large compressor anyways to run my impact for car repairs so that's not a big deal. I am going to have to run some copper piping for air lines and some filters to filter out the dirt and oil. The copper piping is not a big deal as I want to get some experience soldering copper joints so just in case I need to do some plumbing repair in my house I can do it myself. Decent spray gun probably$100.
Im not willing to hand someone 3-4k to paint my car when I truly believe im capable of doing a decent job and I'll come out of it having saved a couple grand with all the equipment paid for. And who knows later down the road I might do some racing stripes, or flames or something just for kicks.
 
I painted this inside and out around 4 years ago. It's not difficult if you're patient...

DSC_0026.jpg
 
Painted this with my brother, he has done a few cars as well. We used all automotive paint on it. We don't have a booth but have set up plastic car ports and done full sized cars, I don't have any pics of those right now though.

CannondaleLarge.jpg
 
It helps if you have a paint booth. Where do you plan on doing all the painting? If you do it in a garage you're going to have primer, paint, and clear all over everything in the garage.
 
IMO to paint something properly is harder than rebuilding an engine. There are so many factors to take into consideration, right down to what the weather is like the day you paint. (example: If its humid, the paint might not stick. If its below 72*F the paint wont dry properly.)
I painted my silver MR2 with absolutely zero knowledge about paint before I started. It was hard, but patience prevails. Now after doing it I see all the mistakes I made along the way and know what to do if I paint again.

The most paint staking part is blocking. It takes a LOT of patience. After that the most annoying part is getting the gun to spray properly - one eff up and your almost starting over on a panel.

Sign up on a autobody forum with a painting section and start reading. There are TONNES of threads out there with guys in your position. Also send Black2NA a PM, and read his "WHeeler Dealer" thread.
 
JulesMaximus said:
It helps if you have a paint booth. Where do you plan on doing all the painting? If you do it in a garage you're going to have primer, paint, and clear all over everything in the garage.
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Not only that in a garage you typically have dust, grease, wax and the like that will contaminate the paint.

IMHO the environment you paint in is almost as crucial as the prep job.
 
I've sanded, primered and painted my miata hard top, it was easy because I could move it anyway I could choose.

I would do it again to repaint it any color I wanted.
 
JulesMaximus said:
It helps if you have a paint booth. Where do you plan on doing all the painting? If you do it in a garage you're going to have primer, paint, and clear all over everything in the garage.
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You hang plastic from the walls and cover the floor when you spray. Let the paint dry for a day, than back out the car and pull down the plastic. The one car I painted came out just about perfect.
I'd never do it again though. It's easier to do all the prep work and have a body shop shoot the color and bake it.
 
Greenman said:
You hang plastic from the walls and cover the floor when you spray. Let the paint dry for a day, than back out the car and pull down the plastic. The one car I painted came out just about perfect.
I'd never do it again though. It's easier to do all the prep work and have a body shop shoot the color and bake it.
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heh. yea, this was my Dexter lab

IMAG0700.jpg
 
A friend of mine in college redid the hood on his car with OE paint in a rattle can with fantastic results. He did really good prep and a bit of wet sanding to make it all pretty in the end.

wVN3T.png
 
JCH13 said:
A friend of mine in college redid the hood on his car with OE paint in a rattle can with fantastic results. He did really good prep and a bit of wet sanding to make it all pretty in the end.
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Wow look great. How many coats did that take?
 
JCH13 said:
A friend of mine in college redid the hood on his car with OE paint in a rattle can with fantastic results. He did really good prep and a bit of wet sanding to make it all pretty in the end.

wVN3T.png
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Did he not want to polish the roof? It's not as glossy/reflective as the rest.
 
paperfist said:
Wow look great. How many coats did that take?
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I think it was 2-3 of paint and 2 of clear coat. I believe he sanded after the layers of paint and then either sanded or buffed after the clear coat

disappoint said:
Did he not want to polish the roof? It's not as glossy/reflective as the rest.
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All of the top surfaces were faded on his car, that picture was before he did the roof IIRC. It's been 5 years though 😱
 
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