EXT: prepping and priming

[i'm the girl]

if im gonna paint it im gonna paint it myself...
either spray paint or spray gun (much more expensive)
or do all the body work and send it to maaco to get it repainted white

*i was thinking i wanna paint it black so bad the thing holding me back is the fact that the value of my car will drop significantly due to the fact that under the hood and the rest of the body thats not painted will remain black...

tips, sugguestions?

well what you want to do is up to you. I prefer air guns to spray paint for obvious reasons of quality and durability - we also make money doing work for other people and have access to a paint booth and shop etc...


as for your car's value, if you go for black- then you're gonna suck it up and paint it all black if that's what you decide... ... including under the hood, frame, etc...

but IMO -- a white on black car would be kinda hot -

[alb_accord]

wtb my molding.

[i'm the girl]

wtb my molding.

?? I 'm about to rip mine off ... my whole car is getting shaved by summer

[alb_accord]

how can i paint it. since my stock ones are black and the new door had white one.i think its like an se model or something like that because the molding on the new door is different from the original one.
so what do i need in order to paint it.

[i'm the girl]

sand prime paint.... just like you would metal. should be able to use the same paint too --

and i just wanted to add a note that when you are wet sanding the primer -- there are spots (NOT THE WHOLE CAR!) where you'll see you sand right through to the sealer... that's normal -- you wet sand until your first primer layer is smooth, then you prime again ther are spots that show through for reasons of evenness of the coat... this is why you sand prime sand prime... usually 2 or 3 coats should do it

[alb_accord]

i don't know how to wet sand.
is it ok if i just sand it and primer it and then paint it. i am scared since its plastic and all.

[i'm the girl]

i don't know how to wet sand.
is it ok if i just sand it and primer it and then paint it. i am scared since its plastic and all.

my bad - those were two separate thoughts.

you can just sand it - i would suggest cleaning it & letting dry before [ainting though, to make sure you get all the dust off

i have a post in here somewhere about wetsanding... btw it's just cleaner and helps make for a smoother surface

[alb_accord]

yeah i got these napking things that colect dust. i used them on my floor before painting it.
its only one door molding thats it. lol i am sure that wont' take me that long.

[i97supratti]

So you guys sanded the car down manually, by hand? You wrapped the sand paper around a block of wood and sanded like that? No tools rite? B/C I know there's a tool that u place the sandpaper on and it spins really fast. Just asking in preparation for my plans to prep the car myself. I will sand it down with 320 grit, it will be hard to sand the roof and other spots right? Then i fill in the small dents, dings, etc. with bondo. And the rust spots I'll have the body shop(Maaco) cut them out and weld in new pieces and paint the car a nice midnight black. Sounds good? I'm planning on installing a body kit, would i have to sand down those pieces too? Front bumper, rear bumper, side skirts.

[networknewbie]

Hi I would like to paint my own car its curently greeen and i want it all black how should i go about preping the inside what sanding technics should i use? also what kind of black should i use

Thanks for all the help

[PakaloloHonda]

I'm no *expert* but I know what I like, and how I like it done .. I've had quite a few cars sprayed ..
My *90* LX was painted last Dec by a shop, base coat/ clear coat Honda OEM NH-531M-3.

There was no rust to speak of, but there was an awful lot of oxidation, and clear coat peeling.
This color was *recalled* by Honda as the clear coat failed. Unfortunately, I bought the car long after recall.

There was however lil dings and dents .. I replaced the hood, the front bumper is off a 93EX,
and the rear bumper we bought *after-market* cuz I'm doin a coupe trunk conversion and, it was way cheap ..
I also replaced the pass/side r/door moulding ..(only place to get um with the tabs = stealer.

We fit everything first to make sure we didnt have fitment issues later .. then started sanding ..and filling ..



and primed, and sanded, and primed and sanded, and sanded .. and .. Zzzzzzzz .. oiii ... newayz ..
We just *loosened* the jdm headlites, (I hate realigning um) but later found out they dont require *realigning* ..



Then after all was said and done .. it was time to slap her back together ..I wish I took more pictures
of the entire process, but I was limited in time, and was only able to shoot, whatever they were doing
when I showed up ..



I would have loved to have had some in the *booth* and more detailed pictures of well,
just about everything else ..but since *Gen* cant find her roll of film, I was hopin this might sufice
for the time being, and show a little of the *process* and what to expect? There's a grrrreat thread
on a member here who sprayed his own car (i think?) and he has images of how they went to the extent
of removing the hood so as to not get any over-spray in the engine bay
(mine had *some* but it was easily cleaned up)

Before anyone asks, I'll tell you right now, this job cost me around $1300.00. Its a base/clear coat OEM color.
It's been considered a good price by some, and not .. by others. The car was *in-shop* for 3 weeks.
Long you say? Maybe .. but we did *other* things and I had to wait on a few simple things as well.

Just dont *plan* on everything going the way it should .. cuz it wont .. plain and simple ..
The phsycology of self-control, plays a big role in all of this as well LOL !!!
Its a bigger job then alotta people are aware of, and the people that do it for a living ..
are *pure chemists* hands down ...

I had no idea that our very own *Gen* was a chemist tho .. Hope you find that roll?

A Hui Hou !!!
Tomi

[networknewbie]

I can see that its a big job i dont mind takin all sumer to do it i would have to take off all my doors cuz the door jams are way rusted i thats why i want to prep the whole car my self so i can make sure its done right also i know here in montreal to compleatly respray its about 2500 $ hell no im trying to save as much money as i can and still have it done right im pretty confident in my self execept when it comes to the priming / spraying trying to gather up as much info as possible kind of like Automotive painting for dummy's lol

Thanks Again

James

[aero]

Just a few tips for sanding... When you are sanding the primers to get it all smooth, some people like to use a spray paint color of contrasting color (white on red, yellow on black etc) and just mist over the body panel you are working on. Then you go back to sanding. If there is a part that is a little lower, or has a crease or something, you will see it since that color will stay after you have sanded.

and i97supratt... typically people use a DA sander or random orbital. Both of these if you apply too much pressure will not spin anymore so you dont burn through the paint/primer.

[i'm the girl]

frankly, aside from the initial scuff sanding, i sand by hand. use a block on the large flat parts (hood, trunk lid, etc...) but anything else is by hand... so you can really feel it and not accidentaly over sand


Tomi, nice pics,, and thanks too aero... i have yet to find my roll of film it sucks being a phorotgrapher who's too poor too get all her film done and too lazy to remember to label the rolls


so im a chemist now? *thanks*



$1300 is a good price for a paint job, esp if they did all the proper filling. prepping beforehand. you have to understand that paint and supplies alone will run about 5-650 for our size cars... and that's assuming you're not redoing under the hood, doorframes and whatnot... $40/ hour labor on paint is a fair market rate, so you made out on that deal

anyway

if i can't find these pics i will be eventually posting pics when we paint one of our cars... and ill post them then



p.s. network newbie:
it depends on what you are painting in your car. leather or vinyl need their own special paints, and you are usually better off just buying the color you want... so what surfaces are you trying to paint





ok thats enough for now

~*~Cass

[MRX]

I might be attempting this over memorial weekend. Gotta find a hood scoop and such. I'll take plenty of pix. And i think i'll flat black the engine bay