DIY garage paint job.

Ok we have discussed rattle cans lets go to the next step. I have a garage a buddy with a decent HVLP gun and a 6 hp 30 gallon craftsman compressor. I am thinking a max of $100 in materials.

1st is my compressor up to a hvlp gun? I am thinking it should be okay.

2nd anybody have any good links for a good dirt cheap DIY paint job. I am not painting a classic car here, its a jeep thats destined for body damage before the paint fully cures

3rd any basic info on paint types? at my price range looks like its going to be some sort of enamel.

4th Any personal experience with particular paints? I am considering this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2449004462&category=42611&rd=1

$80-90 by the time you add in hardner, reducer and shipping.


or even rustoleum from Home depot, plus here is its dirt cheap and you can either get a quart at a time or rattle can in the same color. Probably $50 for everything. Including a couple spare rattle cans.

5th any personal relevant experiences?

BTW the goal is silver with a black flame job Everybody should have a car with racing stripes or a flame job at least once in their life I dig my car with stripes now I need a jeep with flames!

Practical paint job. White or black, if you have to patch one fender down the line, the difference in pigment doesn´t show up.
Prep, all metal has to be covered with primer. Clean, clean, clean. Wipe it down with a strong solvent, then keep your hands off of it.
A three part automotive paint works best, paint, thinner, hardener (slow, medium, fast). Enamel (rustolium) takes a long time to dry and cure. Try a practice patch on your old paint before starting the whole car. Some acrylic laquers, will orange peel on certain paints. Ask the guys at the paint shop what works best, over the factory clear coat (what are the other guys using). Ask more than one guy, there is a wise guy in every bunch. I´ve had good luck with plastic paint (acrlylic urethane).
If you don´t have access to a paint booth, do it outside early in the morning (fewer bugs). Wet the ground down in a large circle to keep the dust down, check out the weather report real good. Low temp. and painting don´t do well together. Closed spaces full of paint dust and solvent vapors explode. Wear a mask, read the precautions on the paint can (eurethane can kill you, among others).
I´ve picked up, inexpensive quality paints (and additives, fisheye and such), at wholesale paint outlets (truck paint/boat paint), usually by a shipping center or a harbor.
If the gun is new to you, try some tests, on some scrap material, before you start on the Jeep. Go to the library and look at some hobby automotive spray painting books (or boat for enamels).
Last tip when spraying, doing the tight spots, before the open areas, works much better.

Like he said, simple colors - no metallics. Silver is the worst, as it is all metallic and almost no pigment. Hard to shoot for a beginner and be happy with all the weird layouts where the metal flakes didn't flatten out across the fender. It can get hammertoned like an old tool box when it picks up surface imperfections under the paint. It really requires a lot more surface prep, which is the one thing that makes a paint job.

I don't have the patience. It's all black or white for me, and white doesn't seem to reflect dents as badly.

One thing my shop teacher said -"you can't sand it flat too much." But we were admiring a '63 split window Corvette in Candy Blue and it's equally curvaceous blonde owner at the time . . .

Gary E said:

Ok we have discussed rattle cans lets go to the next step. I have a garage a buddy with a decent HVLP gun and a 6 hp 30 gallon craftsman compressor. I am thinking a max of $100 in materials.

1st is my compressor up to a hvlp gun? I am thinking it should be okay.

2nd anybody have any good links for a good dirt cheap DIY paint job. I am not painting a classic car here, its a jeep thats destined for body damage before the paint fully cures

3rd any basic info on paint types? at my price range looks like its going to be some sort of enamel.

4th Any personal experience with particular paints? I am considering this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2449004462&category=42611&rd=1

$80-90 by the time you add in hardner, reducer and shipping.


or even rustoleum from Home depot, plus here is its dirt cheap and you can either get a quart at a time or rattle can in the same color. Probably $50 for everything. Including a couple spare rattle cans.

5th any personal relevant experiences?

BTW the goal is silver with a black flame job Everybody should have a car with racing stripes or a flame job at least once in their life I dig my car with stripes now I need a jeep with flames!

Click to expand...

Wouldn't rainbow strips look a lot better, Silver and Black flames are so

I used to paint VW bugs all the time in my garage, did about 20 of them (too many friends with not enough money,lol)

An HVLP gun will use between 8 and 14 psi max with very low flow. Your compressor will do fine. Get a good inline filter & regulator for the gun (most have a built in regulator already). Buy a good respirator, doesn't have to be fancy but it needs internal disposable filters and external pre-filters, 3M makes a good cheapy for about $25. When you're done with this paint job, throw all the filters away & buy new ones for the mask, the paint in the filters will ruin them once used and will concentrate in the element. If you use it again with the same filters IT MIGHT KILL YOU.

Like others said, spray down the garage floor a day or two before you paint. On paint day get some 1 mil plastic & cover everything. A good box fan in a window pointing out so that it sucks fumes is a good thing. Shut off the gas to the hot water heater & blow out the pilot. <-- Important

As for paint, I've shot lots and I prefer good 'ol acrylic enamel for quick spray jobs. All cars up to the '80s were painted this way and if you take care of it it'll last a lifetime. Acrylic Enamel is a single stage paint and comes in solids, metallics & pearls. As others said, stick with solids. Lighter colors will hide sags & make orange peel less noticeable.

Most AE paints will have a mix ratio based on the humidity at the time of spraying, pick a dry clear day. You usually mix 3/4 or 2/3 paint to reducer and add about a cap or cap & half of hardener. Get some anti-fish eye & add a couple squirts per pot of paint. For mixing I use fast food paper cups, cause they're free (after lunch) you can mark them easily & cut them down if necessary. Mark a line on the cup fill it with paint, do this 3 times & then fill it to the line with reducer and voila. Be sure to strain everything going into your pot, even the hardener & fish eye reducer.

Then you're ready to spray away, usually lay down a light coat doing all the door jambs, window frames, hood edges, etc first. Basically anything that doesn't need to be perfect & can have a little overspray on it when you paint the panels. Start on the roof & mix enough paint to do at least a 1 full coat per pot. I usually start with a light coat over the whole car, then a 3 or 4 good medium coats (solid colors, metallics you have to fog between coats).

Let it tack about 5 minutes between coats and when you're done let it sit for a good hour before pushing it outside to harden in the sunlight. Wait at least 3 weeks before you wash fresh paint & dont wax it (lol) for a month or two. You can color sand any imperfections out of the paint easily with some water, 400/600/1200 grit wet/dry paper & some elbow grease. Finish up sanding with a good buffer & some cutting compound like 3M Micro Cut.

Practice is the key and you want to keep a consistent distance from the panel as you move & fan off at the edges of the panel.

You'll do fine, it's pretty easy stuff.

ChuckD said:

Wouldn't rainbow strips look a lot better, Silver and Black flames are so

Click to expand...

Who are those guys anyway? your fashion coordinators, someone is just jealous because you have an oh so Vanilla, belly button (everyone has one) white paint, at least get a little gutsy with a winter camo or something :laugh3:

Gary E said:

Who are those guys anyway? your fashion coordinators, someone is just jealous because you have an oh so Vanilla, belly button (everyone has one) white paint, at least get a little gutsy with a winter camo or something :laugh3:

Click to expand...

I don't have all that time to be messing with a poser paint job. I'm lucky to have time to get my gears setup right. :laugh3:

ChuckD said:

I don't have all that time to be messing with a poser paint job. I'm lucky to have time to get my gears setup right. :laugh3:

Click to expand...

ya had enough time to save pictures of homosexual men and gay flags on your hard drive, then go out of your way to be a dick to some guy who was only trying to be creative with his XJ.

Did AJ Foyts 1 car for the first Ontario 500, Von Dutch did the lettering (by hand). multiple coats of Epoxy paint sand an buff (by hand), until it really shined. Retro paint job, that turned out really well.
Did a fade away, that looked like a solid color, at say thirty feet and would change a shade with every step closer, until about ten feet, then you could make out the individual colors. Wish I could do it again.
A guy should take pride in a good paint job. Why not be creative.
A good sleeper (put your money and effort where it don´t show) also has some class.
In the end, it´s all pride in your ride. You don´t have to be a queer eye to appreciate it.
Did one awhile ago, light brown, with darker brown flames (mud color), the flames outlined in white pin stripe. Got alot of critiism, I liked it, butt munch (a lot).

I did a cool copper metallic that was awesome, a really light flake, my favorite.

But for my next project? A '51 Merc, blue suede. Who needs gloss? :laugh3: