hey guys, im thinking of painting my own car. I;m pretty good at picking up new things. Do you think it is possible for me to paint my own car? Are their any How tos out there?

hey guys, im thinking of painting my own car. I;m pretty good at picking up new things. Do you think it is possible for me to paint my own car? Are their any How tos out there?

Yes U can paint your own car depending on

Having a good place to do it (clean, able to vent fumes over-spray etc.) It can be done outside but will be some work getting bugs and dirt out of it! I would only do Lacquer outside as its easy to work afterwards

Having decent equipment (good gun, clean dry compressed air at a constant cfm flow rate, meaning have a compressor capable of air flow needed for spraying, I always though min compressor 4 hp with 30 gal tank)

Have good personal protection equipment..this is a main concern as you dont want to get sick as a result of painting. There are many many threads to read about the dangers of modern paint to your body and protection devices for this. However it seems the newer paints are the most dangerous while old Lacquer although a danger with a good respriator no problem.. so the EPA bans it almost!!!!. You can get lacquer but its not easy or cheap anymore.

Patience; one of the hardest things for me is waiting...between steps etc

Find a buddy with some experience to help you

Picking the paint you want ??? The new Base Coat clear coat product is the best, you just have to get the base coat on correct (color) then the clear coat you can work so runs can be fixed etc. Enamel is ok.. Lacquer dosent hold up as well but is easy for the beginner as you can fix mistakes.

Practice a bit on smaller parts

Look at this site
http://hotrodders.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=19te


good luck

Figure a minimum of $1000 for tools, seriously. Then $500-$750 for materials. If you are still interested, go to www.autobodystore.com and buy the painting 101 video. Visit the BBS there.

Have a go! We all had to start somewhere. Just try to practise on some small panels. If you get runs, its not the end of the world, you can always either spray them in or compound them out later. I am very careful about ventilation and always wear a good double element respirator. I NEVER spray 2-pack which is carcinogenic, but use cellulose thinners-based paints. I know that the modern paints are meant to produce a better finish, but prefer to lay on more coats and get the deep shine that way! Good luck.

Pod.

thanks guys ill talk it over with my dad

I was in the same boat as you wondering if I could paint my own car. I visited autobodystore.com and read A LOT and asked a lot of questions on their BBS.

I already had a 7hp 60 gallon compressor, bought a Finishline II gun and practiced a lot shooting the PPG DP40-LF primer as I did my bodywork.

I then had enough confidence to try it, besides, most shops around wanted thousands of dollars to shoot a BC/CC on my Judge.

I spent around $900 on materials including all the stuff I needed for dry sanding.

I riged my garage to be a booth with filtered ventilation and I used a forced air respirator I bought from autobodystore.com.

I used PPG Deltron line of bc/cc and it came out great! I always get compliments on the paint job..

So do your studying and practice and go fo it!

A1, did you have any issues with the smell from the fumes coming out of your garage causing the whole neighborhood to stink, or at least with the fumes annoying your neighbors? That's one of my concerns about spraying in my garage if I rig it...I only have one house close to me, but still...