If anyone knows, or has a link to the process for painting a car which gives
detailed instructions for the process please post. I am interested specifically
in the areas of surface prep and paint application (i know how to remove
parts and mask things 8) ). I need to know what kind of prep is necessary
to get the stock paint ready to be painted another colour, and details on
the process of applying the new paint…
Post if you can, thanks.
Basicly just make sure the surface to be painted is free of any dirt, greese, or wax. Prime it and lightly sand the prime. Paint it with very light/thin coats. Four light/thin are better than one thick one. After every coat give the whole car a qick sand with something along the lines of 2000grit sand paper. On the final coat give the whole car a good wet sand with 4000grit sand paper. Wash it, polish it and then seal it with a wax.
Here’s a helpful link.
Another thing is spend alot of time doing proper masking work gettin into every corner and crevis. Make sure all your lines are straight.
Trust me it’s wort it…
Well you don’t want to spray a fresh coat over your existing paint, no matter how clean it is.
For good adhesion, it is critical to sand the existing paint well. And by sand I mean taking it down (or close to) the factory primer. You’re never going to get good adhesion painting over the existing coat, as the new coat needs something to grab onto.
Personally I would just call a reputable shop and ask them what procedure they follow for prep. I mean the specifics like what grit to use, in what order and in what increments, and any special procedures to follow.
I’m friends with two good paint shops in London. If you like I can give them a call and see what they say.
Pete
I found this link a while back. It’s for painting a car with spray paint. It might help.
Even pro paint shops don’t sand down the car to the primer dude.
Not unless your willing to pay out 7g’s for a paint job.
They just prime and paint.
Umm… I’m not sure what shops you know, but I know plenty of shops in London (such as Swales Autobody) that charge approximatly $2000-2500 for a complete job which includes heavy sanding. That is including door seams. I’ve had sections of my car done there, as well as seeing other cars come out of the shop, and they do great work. I know they sand down heavily because I’ve been there during the process.
Even if you don’t take it down to the primer, you most certainly should scuff up the surface. I wouldn’t trust any primer to grab well onto a smooth clear coat, no way.
ok, step 1 buy supplies.
you will need 180 and 400 grit paper.
Step 2 sand factory paint.
-use 180 grit to get through the factory colour and clear coat.
Then sand with 400 wet, making sure the peice is always wet.
Step 3
Clean off car with a tack rag and degreaser.
Step 4
Tape off panels for paint, and any areas that may get overspary.
Step 5
Prime the car with a high build primer(will fill in the scratches you missed)
Step 6,
Sand primer with 400 wet.
ANd clean again with tack rags.
Step 7 Colour
-Paint the car.
Step 8 Clear Coat
Apply clearcoat, wait till dry and buff out with proper buffing compounds.
hope this helps
Actually, most professional shops will sand the car fairly heavily. Not necessarily down to the primer, but just to the point that the car is smooth (no chips, dents, etc.), and the factory coat is roughed up a little bit. So it will in fact be sanded down to the factory primer in many areas, but in some it will not. It’s just a matter of how smooth the surface of your car is.
Furthermore, most shops will charge between $1800-$2600 for an average paintjob with a good clearcoat. More exotic paints like pearlcoats, flecks, glitter, metallic, candy coats, etc. can be anywhere from $2000 to $10 000 depending on the complexity.
ya if anyone wants a really really good job on a show car i ahve a great guy. he usually does things like clasic corvetts and cars like that. but he would do it for use. I had him do some paint work on my car and he is great
so just let me know but he does charge usualy around 7 to 9 Thousand and usually wants the car for about 4 to 6 months.
but you will not find a better paint job anywhere.
andrew nice topic and good time…
im really interested in doing prep work myself before i get my paint job in the spring time… (maybe a possible group buy 
) mainly because i will spend more time on the car and make sure everything comes out perfect…
anyways…
Black Apple, how long does it take to do your step-by-step? and how good are the results?
if you guys want a good body shop, for cheap, call my buddy Lal
416-292-6642
ask anyone who saw my car last year, when i got it out of the shop. i’ve gotten lots of compliments on the work, and i paid $1500 to change the color from biege to graphite, its a 7 stage metallic/ pearl paint job. He’ll probably knock down the price a little if you do the prep work yourself (he spent 3 days prepping my car alone, and it wasn’t in bad shape either).
quality work, i send all my friends to him, and some of my customers as well, and i’ve heard no complaints, and no one that i know of can beat his price. he’s located at markham road and steeles, scarborough.
good luck
Werd up…
sounds good…i might have to pay Lal a little visit in the Spring
Lal will here from me in the spring time… 
The prepwork, if you have all the tools and no rust will take no more than a day or 2. It’s the rust and the lack of the proper tools that slows you down.
The main thing you have to worry about is scuffing the surface enough so the paint adheres well. Also you want to remove all the build up of oil, grease and dirt(door jams!)
That said it took me over a month to “prep” my car, actually it’s still in primer and will probably stay that way forever. But the reason it took so long was that i took EVERYTHING down to bear metal and then removed all the rust.
If you are serious about doing your prepwork, take your time, because like everything else, if you rush you will pay for it in the long run.
sup Mercedeh, how are things??? if you do make the trip into my side of town, i expect a call… 
trust me guys, just get a quote from him. his shop looks kinda ghetto (its small), but he is opening up a new, bigger shop in the spring/ summer of '04, but even in his little shop, he still does great work, you’ll see once you step in there the kind of work he does.
EDIT - I spoke to alot of body guys, and they all say NOT to sand down the car to the bare metal. There is no point. All you have to do is remove the clear coat (like mentioned earlier) and thats it. By the time you remove the clear coat, the original paint will be rigid enough for paint to adhere to it. Don’t sand down to the metal, you may sand it down too far, and effect the stability of the body panels. And never use a power sander, always wet sand by hand.
I’ve never heard a paint guy say to sand the car right down to the metal, unless you plan on dumping over 5 grand ++++ into your paint job (there are 4 stages of prep coats you have to use to in order to prep the metal properly, and the factory stuff is good for the life of the paint, so long as there is no rust in the area that will be painted).
good luck
do you guys know of a place that can bend a hood back… its slightly bent on the driver side…
lemme know if u know neone that can do this…
A pic would help to see the damage, i can give it a shot if it’s not to bad off.
as soon as i can find someone to take a pic of it… ill post it…
thanks for the help
In February I’m going to be apprenticing in a bodyshop, first for painting, then for bodywork. So next year, once I get good at painting, I will gladly paint anyone’s car for cheap if I have spare time.