Paint help! - Team-2G Mitsubishi Forum

Newtodsm87 · 07-17-2007, 04:54 PM

So I want to repaint a 1995 gst. Now i don't want to do it the cheap way and make it look like ****. But i don't have a lot of money due to the car needs an engine while I'm at it. So me and my friend has this idea of painting the car our selfs. We both don't know much about painting so does anyone want to give us some hints or tell me if its a good idea. Oh yea i o most forgot the paint kit i just got from Alsa paints is 900.00 so there cant be any mess ups.

Also the the car was painted two times before so i been stripping the paint to the steel. and using a temporary spray primer. that will come of easy with stripper.

thanks,

Mike

Newtodsm87 · 07-18-2007, 05:53 AM

g.... thanks

basketballmail2 · 07-18-2007, 07:03 AM

Curtassy of BioHazard from my thread:

Quote:

Even for just a plain color, you have to have the paint base, the reducer, and possibly a hardener, plus primer, a wax, grease and contaminate remover, and possibly a clear as well. I'm going to see if I can break this down for you a little bit better. These are prices from some of my receipts where I did my car.

Paint=$174.95 plus shipping off of Ebay.
Reducer=$33.00 per half gallon plus shipping on Ebay= $66.00+
Hardener=25.00 per quart at a paint store= $50.00
Primer= 32.99 at a paint store
Wax and Grease Remover (2 quarts) =19.99 per quart from paint store.
Total just for wet supplies =$363.94 plus shipping for various items.

Then there is body filler, sand paper, and a million other little things that you end up needing as you go along. Honestly, you are better off going to someone on Ebay and purchasing a rattle can of touch up paint in the color of your car, than stripping it down and re-doing it yourself. Whichever you decide to do, though I wish you the best of luck.

BioHazard · 07-18-2007, 08:57 AM

Thanks basketballmail. I saw this thread and thought it might be the same thing.

To OP:
Ok, you have the paint kit. That means very little in the long run. 95% of all good paint jobs depends on how good you prep the car. First and foremost, throw out the stripper. In it's place go buy a lot of sand paper. If you strip the car down to the metal with chemicals, you will end up with chemical residue on the metal, which will in turn cause a very ****ty paintjob. Even with primer. If you want the paint to look good, put your back (and arms and shoulders) into it and sand it down. This accomplishes two things.
One, it takes the old paint off, and Two, it roughs up the metal, promoting adhesion of the primer/sealer. Before you prime the car, though, get body filler and a dent puller. pull out any dents, or replace body panels where needed. Then mix the body filler and fill in any imperfections. let it dry completely, and then sand it down. Start with 80 grit, then 100, then 150, 220, 320, 400, and finally 600. this will smooth it down, and the last three grits will feather it in so that to the naked eye it is flush with the body panels. Rinse the car well, and if need be, wet sand it. Make sure you get all dust and dirt off of the car, then dry it with a soft, clean cloth. At this point, you are ready for the FIRST coat of primer. spray it, then let it sit for 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on humidity. Let me know when you've reached this point, and I'll tell you what to do next. Good Luck!

Newtodsm87 · 07-19-2007, 09:25 PM

Well bad thing is i stripped the hole body with stripper so my bad. so ill sand the whole body down and sand blast it and just hope for the best.

BioHazard · 07-20-2007, 08:46 AM

Don't sand blast. Block sand the entire car. If you don't have a block, hand sand it or go buy one. The key to a decent paintjob is taking a lot of time to make it come out right.

KOG_GSX · 07-20-2007, 02:26 PM

Ok, here's the thing:
1) u hurt yourself by putting stripper on the car... but it's not a total loss
2) if you've never used a paint gun before, i'd honestly suggest not practicing on your newly purchsaed car.
3) maaco, or 1daypaint are fairly decent 3-5 year paint jobs for around $400-$500, depending on what type of paint, solid, metallic, pearlescent.
4) if you're going to spend $363 + shipping for crappy products from ebay, PLEASE get it done at maaco!
5) If you are insistent in doing the work yourself and you're at that stage, do the following: (this is going to get VEY detailed...
A) Sand EVERYWHERE the stripper has touched. You don't want to leave that residue on it, it 90% likely will come thru your paint. You DO NOT have to take the paint down to the bare metal, thats waisting your time, again, you want to remove all the stripper residue, and as long as the paint is knocked down (no gloss showing) then you're good to go.
B) If you have any metal body work to do, fill in dents (only after working them out as smooth and "back to normal" as possible (dont fill in deep holes with bondo it WILL cave in eventually), then apply bondo to those spots. Let dry for about 20 minutes (it will still be a little soft, sanding now is good cuz once bondo's hard, it's VERY timne consuming to block), lightly sand the edges with 80 grit first, then move into the bondo (outward - in) this will featheredge the edges but keep the majority of the bondo where it needs to be, over the repair), the finish sand with 180 - this provides a very good adhesion for the metal etching primer.
C) Spray a METAL ETCHING primer onto EVERY METAL piece showing. This will protect you from rust and condition the metal, along with providing an adhesion for the primer filler.
D) You DO NOT have to prime the entire vehicle. There are three types of primers; metal etching, filler and surfacer. This step, is the Primer FILLER! It's used to do JUST THAT, fill in the areas of the body that is hard to see to make the body smooth. Once that dries, get what is called " GUIDE COAT " by 3M, or the poor mans guide coat, a can of black lacquer spray paint. Spray a mist coat over all of the primer filler. What this does is provide a guide for low and high spots. For instance, if you're sanding a spot on your hood, and you notice the guide coat disappears from sanding in one area, and right next to it, there's a little left, that means ther's an imperfect there, wiether it be high or low, it's there. When you keep sanding and the guide coat disappears, that means that portion of the hood is now even with the portion next to it. I block filler with 400 grit.
E) Next is the Primer Surfacer. This protects ALL of your man hours of blood, sweat and tears that you did to the body thus far. Nothing gets out from under it, nothing gets into it from above. This is VERY key in mainting the infrastructure - the prep work! Here's where you actrually spray and dont have to do any more body work! Apply two good coats of that let it dry and start with the base coat. There's two versions of a paint job you can do from this point - A Single stage which is the color and clear coat mixed in one, or a 2stage/3stage coat, which is base coat, pearl/metallic effect coat, the clear coat.
F) For single stage, merly apply the paint to the car let it dry, and you're done.
G) For a 2stage or 3 stage - applly base coat - color i.e. black, white
H) Tri coat - optional... some paints have pearl in them, but if you're like me and love the depth of a tri-coat, even if your base has pearl, put another one on top of it.
I) Clear coat. Done.

Here's my advice, along with the reducers, hardeners and other specialty products like flex agent on your bumpers... if you dont know what you're doing, DONT DO IT! the money you'll WASTE in experimenting, you can pay maaco to do, TRUST ME. Painting a car isnt as simple as pointing the gun at the car and pulliung the trigger, ESPECIALLY the clear coat. You have tyo know how that chemical works, or you'll run it (where the clear starts dripping down) very easily. Then you'll have to spend more time sanding those runs, THEN have to buff and polish where you fixed the runs. I hope this helped and opened your eyes some. Good luck!

Edit: I use DuPont's ChromaPremier line, VERY good line, so if you want the product numbers, i.e. etching primer and the activator, clears and what not, I'll be happy to walk you thru the process with them.

BioHazard · 07-20-2007, 03:03 PM

After reading that, and thinking about it, I agree with KOG. The prices I gave you were for house of kolors products, but nonetheless, If you don't know what you are doing, you should take it to maaco or some other paint place that doesn't charge a lot. Definately don't experiment on your car if you've never done it before. Paint and clear are delicate mixtures that HAVE to be exact. You can't just half ass it and hope it comes out right.

I keep forgetting that just because I know how to paint a car, doesn't mean everyone does. Thanks for clearing up a lot of the things that I missed KOG

eviltsi · 07-20-2007, 04:25 PM

Macco...............?

Are you guys serious?

I would never recommend taking your car to macco. THEY ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A BUNCH OF HACKS. You're much better off doing it yourself, just do your homework. I'd suggest you start reading, autobody101.com .
There's more info there than anyone can tell you. Yes, you will most likely screw something up, but that's how you learn so plan on it. Get some extra materials to practice before you go for it.

The one thing you must remember is cleanslyness is godlyness. You can sand the crap out of something, but if isn't clean, the paint will not stick.
CLEAN BEFORE AND AFTER YOU DO ANYTHING.

I can teach a monkey to paint, it's not hard at all. Just ask questions, do some homework and take your time. YOU CAN DO IT!

If you have any questions, I'll be happy to help you through it.

BioHazard · 07-20-2007, 04:32 PM

you have a good point too, but at the same time, i wouldn't suggest that anyone who strips the whole car with chemical stripper paint it on their own. No offense intended.

bosox28 · 07-21-2007, 12:53 AM

Duplicolor has a full paint shop set, I'm gonna be trying it out next month when my car is done with everything else first.

Newtodsm87 · 07-24-2007, 06:03 AM

Did all my body work and primed the car. just waiting for ever molding to come in before painting. Going to a freinds body shop to learn how to paint so yay. its coming along fine.

thank you every one for you input!