Painting the car..Calling all body shop guys.

**Mad Monkey** · 08-19-2009

So ive taken it upon myself to fix the rust and repaint my car..
i have so far sanded down the rusty bits, down to bare metal, smoothed em out nice and wide and flat. Primed thoes bare metal spots with self etching primer, then over that a sandable fill primer to help protect the etching stuff...

now my dilema is that i wanna repaint the whole car.. im thinking its a good idea if i prime it first so i can see any other areas that need bondo etc.. but my problem is ive got no idea what i should do for that...

my question is, should i sand the whole car first to scuff the paint then prime? if so what grit etc.. any help would be appreacited.

**Mad Monkey** · 08-20-2009

common someone has to know? im thinking yes, but i just wanna check,,

also i dunno which primer to use for the whole car, self etching or regular?

**JoshMcMadMac** · 08-20-2009

Originally Posted by Mad Monkey

common someone has to know? im thinking yes, but i just wanna check,,

also i dunno which primer to use for the whole car, self etching or regular?

Folks know, but you are asking such an open question that I honestly am concerned that you have bit off more than you can chew from the get-go. You need to sand the whole car, and prime the whole car, to paint the whole car. The grit of sand paper, along with it being wet or dry, is something that comes from opinion, experience, and the current condition of the vehicle. There are countless sources on the internet for this very information that would better serve you than coming to a car-specific enthusiast site.

**Thunderturd** · 08-20-2009

You are going to have to sand, prime, sand, paint, sand, paint, clear, sand, clear, buff, I hope you have another car to use for a couple of weeks.

**Mad Monkey** · 08-20-2009

Originally Posted by JoshMcMadMac

Folks know, but you are asking such an open question that I honestly am concerned that you have bit off more than you can chew from the get-go. You need to sand the whole car, and prime the whole car, to paint the whole car. The grit of sand paper, along with it being wet or dry, is something that comes from opinion, experience, and the current condition of the vehicle. There are countless sources on the internet for this very information that would better serve you than coming to a car-specific enthusiast site.

i didnt come here for this ..ive been on the site for a while for various things.. i happen to be doing fine and wanted a professionals opinion.. i will admit ive never painted a car, but so far ive got it going really good.. just looking for a lil extra info that thoes "countless sources" you mention dont help with..

**Black18Ice** · 08-20-2009

Ok so for the bare metal areas you usually want to use self etching primer. It usually says it is not needed if the bare metal area is less then like 6 inches or something. You will want to prime those areas though and sand down to the proper grit before and after. Now for the factory painted areas you can just scuff up the clear coat by wet sanding with 200 then 400 I believe. I think you go to around 180 grit dry for bare metal then prime it, 200 then 400 wet for the primer and factory clear. You can also use a scotch brite pad for the factory clear in some areas but just be careful not to go through the factory clear because that can ruin your new paint job. I believe because sometime the factory paint can still be curing under the clear for a few years(may be wrong not for sure just what I was always told). Once the whole car has been wet sanded down to 400 grit you need to seal the entire car. This is a must and then the car usually has to be painted with base within 24 hours or so, or after a few days. Check the paint's recommendations. Then apply as many base coats as needed/recommended and then clear. If needed fix any runs in clear. Hopefully there are none in the base or you have to start over. Then you can wet sand the clear with 1000, 1500, then 2000 grit. After that you can buff and polish with an electric buffer. Just be very careful if you do this as it is very easy to burn through the clear and ruin the new paint job if you don't know what you are doing. If you clear is good enough you can skip sanding it and buffing but won't as good.

If you want to make sure you have a really smooth surface prime the entire car after sanding it with the wet 400. Not everyone may do wet but I like it. It is more necessary to do it wet after the prime not before. Once you have it primed you can lightly mist a darker paint all over the car either with a gun or can. There is also a powder you can use but this is easier I think. Most likely you will prime twice if you do this so after the first prime you dry sand with a long board(hand tool better than power) and it will show you any highs/lows. If you find anything you want to fix grind it down with a 36 disk and fix or fill and sand level. You need to make sure you feather the edges because they will show up in your paint job. Once the car is how you like reprime and then either dry sand with a long board or wet with a wet sanding pad(wet will be if you know you are ready to paint, dry would mean you would prb. reprime again). Then seal the car, base, then clear.

I may have missed something and have been wrong. If anyone wants to say something different they can but don't criticize just correct me. Thanks

**Mad Monkey** · 08-20-2009

THANK YOU!
thats information im talking about!!!!!

so far ive fixed up rust spots and primed with self etching on any bare metal..

im getting the paint etc from a pro shop so all im gonna do is tell them what ive done etc, and let them pile on all the stuff i need to do it right. i know the sanding part will be the most annoying part, but i want a paint job that looks like wet glass.. thanks for the info..

**Black18Ice** · 08-20-2009

Ya I'm no pro but I went to a tech school for auto body so just letting you know the little I know. Hopefully someone with more experience can hit some of the points even better.

**16MustangVet** · 08-22-2009

Do not foget Flex Additive to the paint when painting the plastic bumpers and side skirts!!! it will help a ton for durability for taking rocks chips for daily driver. Also ppg and dupont make some primers thats self etching and sealing. I believe its called epoxy primer and its a yellowish mustard color. Epoxy primer is exactly that it has some glue in it. pretty much the best stuff out for painting plastic added with the flex additive. Ive painted fiberglass boats with it and it holds up excellent! good luck take your time painting is 70% prep 30% talent. as for waxing id wait a few weeks and stay away from meguires personally i think its too greasy. new paint id use nothing but 3M products for buffing clear.

**Mad Monkey** · 08-22-2009

thanks for the heads up.. for my bumpers/side skirts ive used something called FlexFill primer (suggested by paint company) its got that rubbery feel, helps fill in low spots and helps the bumper..

yeah with this one im all about prep, having never done it before ive been reading/watching information about it and you are right everyone says 70 prep 30 skill and even that 30 skill comes from buyin the right stuff lol

**16MustangVet** · 08-23-2009

absolutly id love to see the finished product when your done. pro paint shop? nah! just take your time and it will look great!!

**Mad Monkey** · 08-23-2009

yeah i will be posting a HUGE ammount of pics, ive got most of em on my photobucket now.. Car Exterior pictures by madmonkeyphotos - Photobucket

shows some of the damage and progression.. the rocker rust is beyond my repair or desire at this point, im gonna use some good products for stopping it, then cover em with side skirts..

**HART** · 08-25-2009

im not an automotive painter im an aviation painter i get to paint lovely planes like boeings and airbus anywhoo when i did my car i started 220 then 400 then 600 then 800 then prime then 1000 blow the car down then clean off with some wax and grease remover then paint and clear or if your using urathane than just paint. my vw turned out like glass mind you i used urathane with metal flake in it.

the things you need to remember when painting
1 always keep your work area clean
2 you need a good exhaust fan or else you will have overspray on everything make sure theres a filter on it
3 wet the floor with water you don't want to stand in a lake but you want it wet it will keep some of the dust and over spray down
4 you will not avoid dust it will happen paint is a dust magnet
5 take your time making off stuff you dont want painted
6 remove tail lights and headlights and badges
7 its much easier to paint bumpers off the car same with skirts
8 DO NOT USE RATTLE CAN PRIMER with real paint on top JUST DONT BUY REAL PRIMER high build is better, you must always remember primer comes in may colors white grey red black yellow the different color primer will slightly chang your paint color
9 when painting dont get excited long strokes i like to bend my wrist not my elbow when painting i find i get less build up on the beginning and ending of the strokes
10 TAKE YOUR TIME
11 light coats of paint and as you start to get coverage go to medium coats never go heavy coats it will run.

now you must remember everyone has there own way this is my way and im not saying anyone else is wrong but im sure alot of people will agree with most of what i said

**HART** · 08-25-2009

BUMP sorry i wanted mad monkey to see my post

**Mad Monkey** · 08-25-2009

oh dont worry... i see everything lol.. right now car painting is slightly delayed, i effed my back up on the weekend doing construction.. that and my painting location fell thru ( i had lined up a legit paint booth i could use but it fell thru)

**nate9868** · 08-26-2009

Hey guys,
I know I'm new here, this is my first post, but I'm an ex-painter. Thought I might be able to help.
First- Any bare metal area bigger than your fist needs etch primer(no rattle cans).
Next- Don't prime over any scratches finer than 400 grit.
Next- If there are areas of your car that dont need repair dont waste your time sanding them down to prime them. New paint will adhere to properly prepped original paint as good as anything.
Next- I wouldnt get into a habit of spreading body filler over primer. Good body filler will stick to prepped bare metal and paint just fine. Plus your wasting primer if its under your filler. Primer is mainly for filling sand scratches.

Finish off your repair areas with 220 or 320 grit. Spray your first coat of primer over the repair. Spray the next coat slightly larger and so on with the following coats. Spray the primer wet, not dripping but wet. Allow the proper flash times according to the temperature. Allow plenty of dry time for the primer if air drying, a day or two if possible. Before block sanding the primer use a guide coat, this will help you to see the low and high spots. I use 400 grit wet wrapped around a thick straight paint stick to block the primer down (get a bucket of water and a sponge). After you get it blocked down hand sand alittle in a circular motion to remove any block marks. I would finish it off with 600 or 800 grit by hand. An easy way to check your body work at this point- Dry the panel off completly, put some wax and grease remover in a spray bottle and wet the whole panel. If you can put it on with out running it to bad you can look down side and see any waves or dents.

Okay I'll stop now.

**Mad Monkey** · 08-26-2009

good points of advice
glad to have an ex painter in the crowd willing to offer this DIY guy some info!

so by proper paint prep, you refering to clean, and wax/grease removed? or is there some more prep needed? im probably going to sand most of the large body panels to help wipe out surface srcratches and wear (some of my clear is flaking off).. but smaller areas id love to avoid the extra work...

**nate9868** · 08-26-2009

Anything you're going to paint has to be sanded, but make sure its free of wax and grease first.

**Mad Monkey** · 08-27-2009

"Next- If there are areas of your car that dont need repair dont waste your time sanding them down to prime them. New paint will adhere to properly prepped original paint as good as anything"

Maybe i missread