car painting 101

DaveC

Dragway Regular
May 22, 2003
765
0
0
Southern MN
Anyone care to detail step by step procedure for car painting with base clear? Starting with stripping, what sandpaper # is used for what stage, what type, brand of sealer and or primer . What really is needed, what isn't. How long between coats. You know detail.
I've looked on the web and I don't find anything detailed enough.

Thanks
 

malibumike

Frequent Racer
Oct 6, 2005
476
0
0
BANGOR ,PA
if u are stripping to bare metal or just to base coat i would use 180 then to 220 then prime it i use epoxy primer but if u have any bare metal i would use self etching primer.then once u get it prime i would give 2 or 3 coats primer waiting about 15 20 mins.wet sand it with 500 then 600 if u burn threw u got to reprime it. then again wet sand it,when that's done i use a solvent 1 wet rag 1 dry rag as soon as u wet it wipe it off,then tack rag it now your ready for base coat,i do 2 to 3 light coats of base as soon as u see it dull dust it again waiting bout 5 to 10 mins after u got 3 coats and its dry it can be wet sanded again try not to burn threw it is easy to do that on the body lines.if u burn thew u got to spray it ,once that's done ur ready for clear coat this u want to spray 1 to 2 heavy coats but not to heavy it'll run on ya.when then done wet sand it with around 1000 to 1500 wet sand paper.sand it (to get out blemishes) then buff if with a buffer variable speed works best.slow speed with buffing compound and water. now u can sit back and say WOW thats looks good. hope this helps ,mike
 

DaveC

Dragway Regular
Thread starter
May 22, 2003
765
0
0
Southern MN
Just the info I've been looking for.
Thanks Mike

Couple more questions.

Difference between sealer, high build primer and primer?
Is it best to strip to metal?
If I use a DA to strip my car instead of chemical do I need to worry about the metal surface flatness? I assume block sanding the primer will get the surface back to flat, correct?
Can you use a DA with 2500 on color sand, or stay with long boards?
Will it make difference to the final look of the paint job if I purchasing a quality gun (being a novice), or can I acheive the same out come if I use an average gun and spend more time sanding?
 

bukweet

Top Fueler
Mar 22, 2005
2,803
0
0
Mississippi Gulf Coast
http://autobody101.com/forums/index.php


Just what you asked for.
Great site.



bukweet
 

malibumike

Frequent Racer
Oct 6, 2005
476
0
0
BANGOR ,PA
that site bukweet posted will tel u alot more then me.i'm just starting to get back into autobody.just got out of school in april so some of the things i told the teacher told us. but i'm gonna look more on that site he posted.
 

awbrooks496

Weekend Racer
Apr 21, 2008
63
0
0
Lansing, Michigan
What are you going to do strip the car to bare metal, or go over the existing paint? If you are stripping the car to bare metal I would use a variable speed buffer with a 8 inch stick it pad with 40 grit sand paper. If you are a moron you can warp panels and cause more problems. This will be the fastest way to strip the car, but you have to have common sense, so you don't mess things up. After it is stripped with the 40 grit you can go back over the whole car with 80 grit on a DA. Some people like to start with 80 grit on the Variable speed buffer, and again this depends on your ability. After the you metal finished the car with the DA I would start doing your filler work. When you block out your filler work start with 80 Grit then when you are ready to prime metal finish the whole car with something finer on the DA 220 etc. You will have to block out your filler with at least 180 grit to save yourself more coats of primer. Then I would epoxy prime the whole car. You can coat it with your epoxy primer let it flash (15-30 minutes) dancin_banana.gif then put your high build sandable primer on it. That will get you started if you have more questions just ask.
 

westexun

Frequent Racer
Dec 27, 2008
528
0
0
Brooks gave you some good advice but one thing I would add if you live where there is some humidity I wouldn't get the whole car in bare metal, I'd work a panel or two at a time or you'll be fighting flash rust. You can check out my posts over in the gallery for some info on chemical stripping. You don't use epoxy primer to straighten out a panel it's for bare steel or a sealer before paint. Use a good 2k eurathane high build or a polyester primer for blocking. Poly can save a little time by building thicker without haveing to mask and spray several times with the 2k. I'm using a little poly on a door that was in terrible shape but the rest of the car was done with 2k. Make sure you finish your primer with at least 400 wet if you seal and 600 wet if you don't especially with metallics. Also, there's a reason they call this stuff body"work".
 

dev1360

Frequent Racer
Dec 22, 2006
561
0
0
East Alton, IL
http://www.purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/techinfo/tech--body-paint1.html

this guy gave an awesome write up, I will be painting in the near future and I read this (knowing nothing) and learned alot. Good luck.
 

DaveC

Dragway Regular
Thread starter
May 22, 2003
765
0
0
Southern MN
dev1360 said:
http://www.purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/techinfo/tech--body-paint1.html

this guy gave an awesome write up, I will be painting in the near future and I read this (knowing nothing) and learned alot. Good luck.


Thanks
 

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