Question about painting my car

[devilgear]

Hey hey. Could anyone give me a quick run down of the steps involved in painting a car? Lets say the body is striat, it's down to bare metal and all parts are off the car that will not be painted. Lets say I have a place and the tools and all the supplys are there as well. Thanks.
LATER!!!

[moparguy01]

uh, first off i've only seen 1 straight body that was bare metal. most bodies need some filler or they need way too many hours to make it worth it to straighten metal. ok, then if you have a place and the tools and the supplies....i guess its hard for me to know what your saying. if you have all that then the only things left really are to get the car clean clean clean, mask any areas you dont want sprayed, tack it off, and spray.

unless your asking for an order to spray what type of material, in that case maybe you should try to find a painter who will let you watch him do a car so you get an idea. Its easier shown than explained

[devilgear]

Hey hey. Yeah, I do have some body work to do. I have been reading alot about painting cars and other things as well, but I don't get the clearest picture of the whole thing. I was thinking that I may have someone do the body work for me and I would paint the car, but I just want to see the steps involved and get a better idea of the process. Like I start with a light primer step, then sand, then a full coat of primer...etc. Something like that. Thanks.
LATER!!!

[70charger_boy]

heres the link
http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/perfect%20paint.htm

[Drop Top]

Most people do the body work and hire out the paint work. But to each his own.

[Lord Warlock]

Even if the body is straight, there are always a few dings that need to be removed or fixed prior to painting.  Plus all the rust needs to be removed etc.  But if you really did have a perfect body down to bare metal (mine was almost perfect) and all the parts removed for paint, it still isn't as simple as buying paint and spraying it on.  Using a paint gun takes quite a bit of practice to do it right, spraying the primer which is required when you take a car to metal is a good way to get accustomed to air pressures, gun adjustments, spray patterns etc, but won't help much when you start to get clogs (filter in the gun starts clogging) or when it starts spitting unevenly.  I just sprayed my 69 r/t se with 2k primer last week, after doing a majority of the ding work and masking.  Spraying 2k primer isn't that big a deal since I plan on sanding it out and recoating it again later before i paint the color coat. 

1.  spray car with primer
2.  sand all flat areas with a block of wood/sandpaper
3.  sand all other areas by hand until smooth

I usually sand with 220 grit to start with (on the primer) then move up to 400 grit dry, and afterwards 400 grit wet before painting a color layer.

4.  When all sanding is done, then mix up the quantity of paint you can use in 15-20 minutes (don't want it to start hardening in the gun) and spray a light coat (not usually full coverage) wait for the surface to tack up between coats (usually 15-30 minutes, depending on the paint/reducer you use)
5.  mix up another batch, usually enough to do a complete full wet coat of paint, I usually mix about 2-3 paint cups at a time but then again i rarely plan on painting an entire surface in a single go.  Start on the flat areas and work your way to the fenders, overlapping each pass by at least a 3rd, sometimes 50% until the flat areas are coated.  On a charger you'll have to stand on the side of one fender and do half the hood, then move to the other side and repeat since you can't reach all the way across the hood.  The sides have to be done in one smooth motion, pacing from front to back of the car, start at the top edge of the fender, and keeping the gun parallel to the car at approximately 8-10 inches (depending on the gun) walk down the entire side of the car as you work your way down  the fender.  Make sure you keep the hose out of your way so you aren't tripping on it as you walk, any jerks made while stepping on a hose will be visible on the surface when doing the color/clear coats.  On the primer it isn't that big a deal since you'll expect to sand it afterwards.  Also make sure you have the car up high enough so you can get under the rockers enough to coat them properly without banging the gun on the ground.  (also, make sure you cover the wheels/tires or you'll get overspray on your rubber) I usually drape the hose over my shoulder, around my back, and hold it with my other hand to make sure the hose doesn't bump the car when spraying.  You'll never know how frustrating it is to shoot a perfect layer of paint only to have the hose rub against it and ruin a whole panel.  Almost as frustrating as having moisture/condensation drip from the gun onto the freshly sprayed color coat. 

I was able to spray 2 coats of primer on the entire surface of the car in about 2 hours.  I'd been waiting for several weeks to allow the temps outside to rise above 70 degrees to spray, so the first day we had last week to shoot it, I rushed out and got everything out to prep and spray the car beforehand, and didn't waste time.  In my case even after I sprayed the primer, I knew it would be several weeks before I can do the color coat, because i only work on the car a couple hours a day, and there is still some basic sanding needed on previously worked spots.  When the body is bare, you can't see all the imperfections on the surface, once the primer goes on and you sand it down, you can see high/low spots better and also see edges of the bondo that need more smoothing.  I was also not real happy with the por15 work done on the roof of the car, the Por15 was coated very well, but it wasn't real smooth, showing brush strokes, so when I primered it I can see spots that will need to be built up after sanding before I'll be happy doing a color coat.  I shouldn't be that anal about the top since i plan on covering it with a vinyl top, but i figure it may be years before i put one on so want the paint to look nice, and want no ridges or obvious spots. 

In my case, I spent 2 years practicing painting on a different car, as well as body panels for neighbors etc, before i felt comfortable in painting the charger.  I can't afford to pay someone 5k to paint the car for me, and have all the tools, compressors, paint guns etc already as well as having the gallon of 2k primer on hand, and a gallon of dupont single stage polyurethane enamel to color coat it when its ready.  I've spent the last 6 months working the bare metal body to prep it for the paint, and even after primering it, still realize i have a ton of work to do before i can do the actual paint job.  But its getting closer.  Maybe I'll post a picture to show progress. 

[BlueSS454]

I am in the process of finishing up the bodywork on my 69.  If you have the car in a state of bare metal, I suggest getting a coat of epoxy primer on it before it flash rusts.  Once you have done that, do your bodywork overtop the epoxy.  Once you have the bodywork roughed out, lay down a few coats of a 2K Urethane primer for blocking purposes.  Urethane primer will let you see your high and low areas and is much easier to sand than an epoxy.  Once you are happy with the body, lay another coat of epoxy down as a sealer.  Before you do this, make sure there are no areas of body filler exposed.  If there are and you lay down the epoxy, you will see where the filler is.  Once you have completed this step, you are ready for paint.

[devilgear]

Hey hey everybody, thank you all for the input. Just to let everyone know, my car is not stripped or even rust and dent free yet. I just wanted to get a feel for what is involved. LW great idea practicing on other things first. I was thinking the same thing. I wanted to do something small at first and see how it would go. Even if I painted just a square panel or something and just get it to look as good as possible before I touched my car. I want to do just about everything to my Charger, and I know it will be a big learning curve and alot of work-I will paint it myself. I can see it in my head the way I want it, and I want to do it. Also I may not get to do it for 2 or more years anyway. My time frame is to keep it on the road until my new 2009 Challenger comes in and then I will have a car to drive and one to work on too...HAHAHAH. Thanks again guys for all the info.
LATER!!!

[Todd Wilson]

I am in the process of finishing up the bodywork on my 69.  If you have the car in a state of bare metal, I suggest getting a coat of epoxy primer on it before it flash rusts.  Once you have done that, do your bodywork overtop the epoxy.  Once you have the bodywork roughed out, lay down a few coats of a 2K Urethane primer for blocking purposes.  Urethane primer will let you see your high and low areas and is much easier to sand than an epoxy.  Once you are happy with the body, lay another coat of epoxy down as a sealer.  Before you do this, make sure there are no areas of body filler exposed.  If there are and you lay down the epoxy, you will see where the filler is.  Once you have completed this step, you are ready for paint.

I'll add the pictures..............

Down to metal do all your patching or dolly work you need to do.
(dont look at the weld might burn your eyes!)


Spray on epoxy primer





Apply filler where needed



sand sand sand sand sand sand sand sand sand sand sand sand sand by hand



Recoat with the white epoxy when done with filler



High build primer and the sealer  can hand sand entire car at his point also





paint time



done with paint



wet sand and buff





ready to be put back together



a few more weeks of work putting it back together

[devilgear]

Wow Todd...Thanks. That really helps out. I have a bunch of books and articles, but this is better. By the way when you are sanding, how do you know when it's good enough?

[SeattleCharger]

great pics to see process, thank you          looks great

[Lostsheep]

Well your mainly just wet sanding to get the trash out of the clear.

[moparguy01]

Jeez todd, thats the most pictures of me I've ever seen in one place. 
yea, thats right, the big ugly bastard in those pics of todds is me. 
knowing when enough is enough is just one of those things you get a feel for.  It really depends on how flat you want the paint really. if you want it show quality you wetsand it then spray clear coat again, then wetsand the clear again. So it really depends on the quality of paint job your wanting.

[rob9593]

looks really nice! Thanks for the photos!