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Cheap paint job for car beater

T

TXHokie

Platinum Member
My old 98 Accord with 150k mi+ still drives good but the paint has oxidized on the roof and some on the hood and need a paint job bad. But it isn't worth that much and I don't really want to put too much money into it. Go cheap and just paint the panel that oxidized? Or do cheap paint job on the whole car at Maaco? I hear both good and bad coming out of there.
 
Sure Maaco would work, but if it is heavily oxidized...I wouldn't expect them to do much in terms of keeping it from coming back.

How bad is the oxidation?
 
I knew a guy who owned a Maaco. Basically, he said the shop can do everything from the $100 special lovingly referred to 55mph paint (any faster and it might come off) to a really nice, almost factory job. It's all in the prep. At the low end, they're not going to sand it down to the metal, fill it, sand it again, then apply 5 coats. They'll probably rough sand it a bit, spray it a couple of times, and roll it back out. It'll look ok, but not like a new car or anything.
 
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Have you tried buffing it out yet?

Seriously.
Click to expand...

Seriously? Seems to me oxidizing means the air reacted with the paint and has dissolved it unless I'm using the wrong term. If I buff it down, that'll just take it down to some primer coating - I don't see how that would restore the old paint. About 75% of the paint on the roof is gone and spots showing up on the hood, looks like it's starting there and spreading (car was dark green glossy, then the spots turn whitish and then turn flat black. I wouldn't mind if a new paint job last only 2-3 yrs. I almost wonder if the car will even last that long before some major issue comes up that won't even be worth fixing (>$1k - cough..transmission...cough).
 
No, there are just different severities of oxidation. Very minor oxidation can be easily clayed out, slightly more can be buffed, but if you're talking about severe rust (where the paint has bubbled off, flaking, and oxidation has eaten it's way down to the metal, or futher) then a repaint will be necessary.

However, simply repainting over oxidation is only delaying the inevitable. It really is like a cancer. You need to REMOVE the oxidation to keep it from coming back. Again, this on the minor side this can be accomplished by claying...on the severe side this means having to replace panels.
 
If the paint is all not rusted thru, then by all means try a polishing with
either NuFinish or Polishing Compound ... You will need an electric Buffer
with the proper fine, cloth head ... try it on a very bad area and see what
happens. Best case, it will look ok and last for 3-4 years when you likely
dump the car. Worst case, back to the original idea of paying anywhere
from $250 +++ to have a full repaint job done.
 
As far as I know this is the original $50 paint job thread on the Moparts forums...

http://board.moparts.org/ubbth...82&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1

It is a long, long, long read... 200+ pages full of good information, but if you have the time and gusto to do this you can get some impressive results.

Basically this is a discussion of rolling on paint and achieving a decent paint job. It is a little labor intensive, but it definitely will save you in the wallet.
 
Originally posted by: bruceb
If the paint is all not rusted thru, then by all means try a polishing with
either NuFinish or Polishing Compound ... You will need an electric Buffer
with the proper fine, cloth head ... try it on a very bad area and see what
happens. Best case, it will look ok and last for 3-4 years when you likely
dump the car. Worst case, back to the original idea of paying anywhere
from $250 +++ to have a full repaint job done.
Click to expand...

NuFinish will not remove oxidation.

You're only asking for more damage if you use a cloth "head".

 
Originally posted by: bruceb
By cloth, I do not mean like a flap head. Buffers have a very soft
white polishing pad.
Click to expand...

Gotcha...I thought you were referring to one of those "cloth things" that you can put over a cheap-o "Wal-Mart" buffer that does nothing but spread wax.

I wouldn't recommend a newbie using a buffer though...they'll most likely burn through the paintwork. If the oxidation is light enough to be polished then I would recommend a DA with apporpiate pads and polishes.
 
Go get some rubbing compound and give it a shot. I did that on a 35 year old jeep and waxed it. You'd be amazed at the difference.
 
Originally posted by: Nutdotnet
Originally posted by: bruceb
By cloth, I do not mean like a flap head. Buffers have a very soft
white polishing pad.
Click to expand...

Gotcha...I thought you were referring to one of those "cloth things" that you can put over a cheap-o "Wal-Mart" buffer that does nothing but spread wax.

I wouldn't recommend a newbie using a buffer though...they'll most likely burn through the paintwork. If the oxidation is light enough to be polished then I would recommend a DA with apporpiate pads and polishes.
Click to expand...
At least you can get random-orbit (dual-action?) polishers nowadays.
 
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