Has anyone painted their own car?

[SteveSS]

I see a lot of articles bout Muscle Cars where the owner did all the work except the paint. Is it really that hard to do? The one thing holding me back on the '71 Charger project is paint. Even MAACO charges $1400 for a basic job.

Sometimes a good paint job costs more than the entire car. Asking around the cheapest I've heard is $3,000. I also heard you can paint a car with a tooth brush as long as your're willing to buff it out completely.

Has anyone had good results painting their own car?

 

[mmissile]

Prep is the key. Actual painting requires knowledge of applying different materials, and having experience. Some people have that "gift"....and others will never be able to do things. I was better than average, back when I did the stuff. I quit because of the materials/health-hazards.....and not soon enough.

 

[STREETREBEL]

I have painted a couple of cars, outside!
Had NO dirt in the paint. I watered the grass to keep dirt down.
Wait for the humidity to be just right.
And yes, there can be a LOT of sanding if it's wrong.
My first car I had to sand 3 times!
And paint is expensive.

 

[Cranky]

I've done some repair work here and there but I'm planning on painting what will most likely be the last car I build. I restored a dash in a 79 pickup years back and it came out looking like new and that gave me some motivation! Then I painted a rear hatch and quarter panel but I think I had too much air and not enough paint. It came out pretty dull but it stayed on the car for years lol. Recently I put on a new fender on my daughter's PT and it came out looking pretty nice. Had a bit more orange peel than I wanted but it wasn't any worse than the factory orange peel. First time I did base/clear. I've painted parts etc like rear ends and the like using acrylic enamel with epoxy primer and that's been pretty easy. And yes, prep and body work is where most of the work is. One thing you can do if you're not too picky on color is look around for returns on paint. I got a gallon of metallic blue not too long ago for 40 bucks. It's base/clear but man, that's dirt cheap. The NAPA parts house near me has a pretty decent paint section so I asked. I was amazed at how much returned paint they had there.

 

[RT K_line]

I've painted 2 cars, just finished one for the second time too. It does take some skill and practice to learn the gun operation. You can learn a lot just spraying the primer though. But as mmissil said the health risks may not be worth the trouble. As far as getting it to have that glossy look wet sanding and buffing is best with non metallic colors. I'm not saying you can't work with metalics in single stage stuff just your margine for error is tighter. I have never worked with 2 stage paint so can't speak about it. Check out project R/T in members projects an restorations to see my work as an amature.

 

[Lionized]

Painting is easy (for me at least). It takes serious skills to prepare the vehicle however.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

I've done it & I know quite a bit about paint. As mentioned, the prep work is tremendous to get the car smooth & dust-free. I used 2-component urethane the last time. If you're going for a "like new" paint job, then dirt (aka just lint/dust floating in the air) is a major problem. You can build your own "plastic sheet tent" inside your garage & water down the floor (lightly) to keep the dust to a minimum. You have to be VERY careful about the solvent vapors since they can ignite in the air. Also, for your health, you should wear AT LEAST a respirator (gas mask) with organic filters (they have different cartidges, you want organic vapor). Another thing to consider is that paint shops have heat lamps inside their spray booths to improve the cure of the paint which makes it last longer & more chemically resistant. You also need to consider the "speed" of your reducer (paint thinner).... use faster reducer in colder weather & slower reducer in summer. Filter all the paint you use, make sure you don't have any water in your air lines, overlap 50% on each line of paint vs. the last line, etc. You should also practice a little bit with gun settings/spray pattern/gun tip selection/air pressure/flow rate until you get a good spray pattern without any drips. Watch between coat "flash time" carefully so you don't get "orange peel" and as Street mentioned, watch the humidity (moisture in the air reacts with the isocyanate half of a urethane coating). Also, if you're using a metallic-filled paint, your gun settings & application method have a big impact on color, so stay consistent throughout the paint job...once you dial in your gun, leave it that way. Lastly, be aware that for 2-component paints there is a minimum temperature below which the coating will never cure (dry)...roughly 60F for epoxy and maybe 50F for urethane depending on the formula.

 

[moparchris]

Painting is not complicated but it is painstaking work if you want a paint job you will be proud of. You must use quality materials and TAKE YOUR TIME!!! Painting something for the first time do not paint a metallic color. The odds of you laying down uniform coats is almost 0. Stick to a solid color of which there are many cool options. 71 Charger's look great in Green-Go or Citreon Yella or Red. All of these are easier to shoot in single stage paint. Single stage (meaning no clear coat) is easier to fix after the fact. If you put a lot of runs in the paint, don't worry. Let the paint cure for a few days and just sand the runs out. You will have to wet sand and buff the paint anyway to really get the shine you want.
As mentioned above these chemicals are nasty. I do not want to paint anymore cars because I just don't want to breath this crap and have it all over my hands when I'm cleaning the guns etc...
If you are doing this for the first time, you will have to have at least a 5h.p. compressor that will put out 13.5 cfm at 90psi or you will be stopping quite frequently to let the compressor "catch-up" with your demands. Then you have to have guns, usually 1 for primer and 1 for color (different nozzle sizes).
You will be shooting primer probably 2-3 times as you progressively block sand the car with finer grits of paper. This takes a long time to get right.
If you buy good primer (PPG or similar) you'll spend a could of hundred bucks on primer. For a quality top coat (color) you'll be looking at anywhere from $200-600 a gallon. If you are doing the complete car i.e. body, eng. comp. trunk etc...
you'll need at least a gallon if not a little more. If your Charger has a vinyl top you can do a gallon and by the time it is reduced you'll end up with almost 6 quarts of color. And speaking of this, remember you'll need to buy hardner and reducer for the color. Understanding this you'll be almost to $1,000 in materials even doing it yourself. Now there are cheaper materials to buy and things can be done to cut corners. I have no idea what your expectations are or what your car looks like. There are people who will claim a car can be painted for 300-400 bucks and it "will be beautiful". After painting numerous Chargers I'd call B.S. on those statements.
If you have never painted a car before I'd be tempted to just do as much prep work as you possible can, strip the car down as much as possible and take it somewhere and let them do the crap work of painting.
If you really want to do this and you think it will be a great learning experience then go for it. Buy a real piece of crap car for $100 and practice on that. Get your technique right and then tackle your Charger. Here's a couple of cars that I have painted myself at home. 68 Hemi Charger R/t and 71 Super Bee
My 2 cents, and worth every cent!!
Good luck with your Charger!!!

 

[69a100]

I painted my van outside with no real problems, it was nice and calm at 5 am when I started. But the temp was predicted to be 108* that day so it was about 92* when I started. Finished by noon and sweatin my *** off, so it was rushed a bit because of the heat. I'm happy with it for a 1st time job.
Don't feel bad about the MACCO road, my bro had his painted there, if you want concours correct, MACCO won't work but you can get a nice "drivers" paint job from them. Prep's the key.

 

[Lionized]

You should also check your area for a "Do it Yourself" shop. There was one near me years ago and they had a booth you could rent by the hour. Do all of your prep work at home up to and including final block sand then trailer the car to the shop.
Just spitballing but it could dramatically improve your results.

 

[moparnation74]

Been there done that many times......I sent myself to a Sikkens and PPG training course in back in the day.

Like everyone has said, whats key and important is everything prior to paint......

For me my time is more important than wasting it away on body/paint work.

 

[Bladecutter]

In paint & bodywork, even bad work is hard. The body work isnt over til the top coat.....then how accurate the color sand blocking is, is the final leveling twist.

 

[Auggie56]

I preped a few cars in my time. The painter I did them for said they came out better than he ever did. However, I painted one CJ for a friend. It didn't come out well. I leave that for a pro now.

 

[Budnicks]

I've done several of them...

A couple in a booth...
Down draft & heated booths are the best...

A couple in my garage...
floor wet down plastic covering everything from floor to ceiling,
fan stuck in the door cracked open, for ventilation,
the gas pilots lights/burners shut down & pray

IMO Booth environments, controlled temps, ventilation etc.
& fresh air system is far better...

I'll date my self & say I've never done a HVLP spray...
It's been over 10+ years since I've painted a car,
except spot primer & some really nice Ultra Flat...

I ain't no painter, I don't proclaim to be a body & paint man/pro,
I can "get by" if need be, I just like being in control &
doing as much as I can, learning all aspects, BUT;
I have a Bud budget & a Moet taste...

Like someone else said "prep is everything",
the "actual spraying" as soon as you get used to a gun,
have the proper temps, psi pressure, control of the damn hose,
paint inside out & top down, it's pretty easy to just slop/spray on some paint...
Prior to & after;
It's sand, sand, sand & paint & more sanding/blocking,
unless you don't care about the orange peel look,
but also some types of paints/formulas flow way better than others...
Again I ain't no pro !! won't claim to be...
I'm just a guy who wants to be in control of every aspects
of my builds...
I've had nothing but nightmare experiences with bodymen
{seemingly a ton of flakes, drunks, druggies, broken lives, bad business practices, sickness}

Sorry not meant to offend the whole body industry
it's just my experiences over the decades...

BUT I also still have 99.9% of my brain cells still...
unlike most body & paint people...

Practice on something you don't care about 1st...

I prefer to leave the final spraying to a pro,
as much as I hate to, I don't own a booth &
I feel bad asking to borrow my buddies,
when that's how he makes his living...

good luck

 

[moparnation74]

I've done several of them...

A couple in a booth...
Down draft & heated booths are the best...

A couple in my garage...
floor wet down plastic covering everything from floor to ceiling,
fan stuck in the door cracked open, for ventilation,
the gas pilots lights/burners shut down & pray

IMO Booth environments, controlled temps, ventilation etc.
& fresh air system is far better...

I'll date my self & say I've never done a HVLP spray...
It's been over 10+ years since I've painted a car,
except spot primer & some really nice Ultra Flat...

I ain't no painter, I don't proclaim to be a body & paint man/pro,
I can "get by" if need be, I just like being in control & doing as much a s I can,
I have a Bud budget & a Moet taste...

Like someone else said "prep is everything",
the "actual spraying" as soon as you get used to a gun,
have the proper temps, psi pressure, control of the damn hose,
it's pretty easy to just slop on some paint...
It's sand, sand, sand & paint & more sanding/blocking,
unless you don't care about the orange peel look,
but some paints/formulas flow way better than others...
Again I ain't no pro !!
I'm just a guy who wants to be in control of every aspects
of my builds...
I've had nothing but nightmare experiences with bodymen
{seemingly a ton of flakes, drunks, druggies, broken lives, bad business practices, sickness}

Sorry not meant to offend the whole body industry
it's just my experiences over the decades...

BUT I also still have 99.9% of my brain cells still...
unlike most body & pain people...

Practice on something you don't care about 1st...

I prefer to leave the final spying to a pro,
as much as I hate to, I don't own a booth &
I feel bad asking to borrow my buddies,
when that's how he makes his living...

good luck

You can tell the ones that lost those brain cells

 

[Cranky]

I've lost a few brain cells but it wasn't because of paint

 

[XMAN JR]

Ive done a lot of paint jobs & have no schooling. Ive worked at a few body shops & picked thing up there. Practice Practice is what I did. Now I have guys coming to me. Cleaning & prepping the car is VERY important. If the base is non metallic its pretty easy. The clear can be a pain in the *** To me the clear is more finiky. The right gun tip, air temp, the right hardner temp. The cheep material isn't always the way to go. You get what you pay for

 

[Glenwood]

Takes lots of practice to get the technique right. I'm just learning this myself and trying on areas that won't be seen, etc. It's tough to get the consistency right and avoid runs. I've been using a HVLP gun but I think the reservoir is too small for a whole car and would need to be upgraded to a larger one.
Good paint and related equipment is not cheap and painting in a makeshift booth like I've been experimenting with might be tough to yield good dust free results. If I decide the entire car is to be repainted, I will likely take it to a pro. It costs a lot more but hopefully will be done right!
A good quality spray gun, adequately sized compressor and some air drying components will help.

Good luck.

 

[badmopar67]

I must have been at the right play at the right time this was done by maaco. Basecoat clearcoat,door jams and inside the trunk and cut and buff for $1300 Crystal clear reflections but this was in 2010

 

[Cranky]

Nice looking RT!!!

Another thing you need is a work table or bench with all of your supplies for painting that day and a place to hang your gun. And if you don't like cleaning your cup, you can get throwaways but sometimes they leak. If you plan on cleaning your cups and gun, have your cleaning area ready so you can go straight to it when you're done spraying. I hate nasty looking guns and I take it apart and throw all the small parts into a cup of solvent right away and soak the gun too. Before the end of the day, everything is clean and dry and goes into a plastic bag and back into the cabinet and all of my filters, extra cups, mixing cups etc are stored in large plastic bags. If your shop isn't as dusty as mine, then you can probably by pass that....