The proper way to prep for paint. Help

[McWatters]

So my car will be getting painted sometime soon, and im playing on doing hte prep work myself and a friend. SO pretty much Where do i start, what tools will i need, whats the best way to do it?

cheers

J.McWatters

[gmannino]

Air tools are great for sanding. Die grinders with sanding attachment are great for small area's. I also have a 6 inch air sander. Also, another great tool are those long straight sanders. Those are good for getting large panels smoothed out. You can also accomplish a lot with electric sanders also.

[GoldenOne]

one of those orbital sanders, sandpaper, blocks(if you do it by hand), time, patience....may have to do some body work depending on how much rust (if any) you have...depending what route you may go you can use self etching primer or do it the old fashion way of priming, sanding, priming, sanding, etc till everything is picture perfect...

[McWatters]

Thanks for the help, my rust consists of the obvious bottom door pannel sections. a wee bit round my gas door. and then a bit upfront on the painted pieces surrounding the grill headligths ect.

What is self Etching Primer???

cheers

J.McWatters

[Evan]

I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to do the prep work yourself.

How about advertising on Craigslist for a body guy to come to you and prep the whole car... do you feel comfortable negotiating a deal like this with an experienced body guy?

[632 Regal]

grind as much rust off as you can, then use the rust converter stuff. sand it down then use tthe self etching primer. if theres divots to fill then use primer, wait for it to dry and use real fine sandpaper til its smooth.

Prep is 90% of the job when done nicely. It is a lot of work but very worth it. Ill type more later.


Thanks for the help, my rust consists of the obvious bottom door pannel sections. a wee bit round my gas door. and then a bit upfront on the painted pieces surrounding the grill headligths ect.

What is self Etching Primer???

cheers

J.McWatters

[McWatters]

Can someone explain the self etching primer?

thanks for the info

cheers

J.McWatters

[1995 525i]

Can someone explain the self etching primer?

thanks for the info

cheers

J.McWatters

Self etching primer is what you put down on your old surface so that the new paint will stick to it. This is what I used to paint my chrome trim and license plate. Got it at advanced auto and it worked like a charm. Had to sand and clean before hand. Not sure what to recommend with your car paint though.

Michael

[nizmainiac]

self ecthing primer is for plastics only ie bumpers only and plastics only, don't use it on doors , use a good 2k primer on your doors then ghost coat it with a contrasting colour ie black or blue, rub it down with something like 400 or 500 grit wet and dry until the ghost coat has gone that way you will know that your painted surface will be flat, make sure that when you rub it down you put a tiny bit of soap in with your water to give good lubrication, your prep should then be done, you ask how i know this, i work in a body shop

[632 Regal]

self etching primer is to etch itself into the metal...what body shop you work at again?

self ecthing primer is for plastics only ie bumpers only and plastics only, don't use it on doors , use a good 2k primer on your doors then ghost coat it with a contrasting colour ie black or blue, rub it down with something like 400 or 500 grit wet and dry until the ghost coat has gone that way you will know that your painted surface will be flat, make sure that when you rub it down you put a tiny bit of soap in with your water to give good lubrication, your prep should then be done, you ask how i know this, i work in a body shop

[GoldenOne]

self etching primer is to etch itself into the metal...what body shop you work at again?

I concur...

But I will give him the benefit of the doubt and he may be thinking about that new Krylon Fusion paint...thats made for plastics...

edit: and mcwatters, basically self etching primer helps it bond to the metal or any surface so that later down the road the paint wont peel/flake off...

[Eric Clark]

I think he should go for it. I painted a car last summer. It took about a week to prep and a half day to paint. It was a "budget" job and cost less then $250. I can say it is a hell of a lot better job then you would have gotten at Macco for their $250 special.

[nizmainiac]

etch primer has a mild acid in it which eats into the plastic so that it sticks , if you try 2k primer on plastic ,when it drys and you rub it down it all flakes off in big patches , thats all we ever use etch primer for , and i work at c&r body repair in the uk

[1995 525i]

I concur...

But I will give him the benefit of the doubt and he may be thinking about that new Krylon Fusion paint...thats made for plastics...

edit: and mcwatters, basically self etching primer helps it bond to the metal or any surface so that later down the road the paint wont peel/flake off...

If I get touch up paint in a spray can and want to touch up some areas on my car, do I need to put on the primer and sand it? Or can I just spray it on?

Thanks,

michael

[632 Regal]

one time I sprayed a car and the humidity was way high. A friend that was helping went on a beer run as I started spraying and when he got back totally freaked out when he saw me pouring thinner on the whole car and wiped the paint off. Ended spraying it later that night with a different mix and it turned out like showroom.


I think he should go for it. I painted a car last summer. It took about a week to prep and a half day to paint. It was a "budget" job and cost less then $250. I can say it is a hell of a lot better job then you would have gotten at Macco for their $250 special.

[1995 525i]

one time I sprayed a car and the humidity was way high. A friend that was helping went on a beer run as I started spraying and when he got back totally freaked out when he saw me pouring thinner on the whole car and wiped the paint off. Ended spraying it later that night with a different mix and it turned out like showroom.

jeff I bought some aeresol touch up paint coded for my car. I want to do the fron of the hood, the fron tbumper and a few spots throughout. Should I do the whole sanding, primer thing on touch up paint?

Michael