Why can't normal car guys do paint?

[747mopar]

I know what the word means, I just don't think it is justifiable description of the amount of work & effort involved from A to triple Z. In body & paint even shitty work is hard because of the amount of steps. I've worked plenty of kitchens & plenty more body shops.

Couldn't agree more, when you think your done it's just the beginning of the final step well.... final before sealer, base and clear followed by wet sanding and buffing lol.

 

[khryslerkid]

First ingredient when it comes to painting a car. (brand optional)

 

[Bladecutter]

Yep the doctor reminds me every time I see him. I am going to have to start listening before oxygen is a 24/7 thing. But its the inconvenience of wearing a respirator.

What I hate most about respirators is the condensation trap......sure as hell the sob lets go of a drip when I'm stretched out over the hood. I used to wrap them in many winds of nylon hosiery & blow it out in between coats. But a respirator in general is a major distracting nuisance.....& having to hear yourself breathe is like a low budget horror flick.

 

[Bladecutter]

Couldn't agree more, when you think your done it's just the beginning of the final step well.... final before sealer, base and clear followed by wet sanding and buffing lol.

#1 rule in this game, be ready to do it over. I know You know.

 

[mopar 3 B]

What I hate most about respirators is the condensation trap......sure as hell the sob lets go of a drip when I'm stretched out over the hood. I used to wrap them in many winds of nylon hosiery & blow it out in between coats. But a respirator in general is a major distracting nuisance.....& having to hear yourself breathe is like a low budget horror flick.

I have been considering a full mask and air pump but the hose on my cpap is only 4 ft and it doesn't
Iike dirty environments.
But you hit the respirator crap right on.

 

[Bladecutter]

I have been considering a full mask and air pump but the hose on my cpap is only 4 ft and it doesn't
Iike dirty environments.
But you hit the respirator crap right on.

I was never a daily shooter, so my exposure to heavy iscocyanates stayed limited. When I did shoot, I usually pitched the respirator.

 

[mmissile]

Becoming sensitized to the isocyanates, is a crap-shoot. It may or may not happen...and no telling when. [not odds I would play, again]A regular respirator does not stop them. A forced/fresh-air system, with a full-face sealing mask is a must. Gloves are also required. It'll absorb thru your skin, when mixing and spraying. They can cause all sorts of cancers, and/or destroy your lungs. I'll gladly leave that stuff to someone else, for the cost of a paintjob. I had all that good equipment[including Tyvek suits], and have health issues I'm sure are related.

 

[mopar 3 B]

Who made your forced air system? I deal mainly with sawdust, drywall dust, molds and occasionally chemicals.

 

[YY1]

It's very intimidating knowing that if you miss a body defect, get air in the gun, just a little to much or too little paint, get dust, bump it before it's dry, etc, you lose a lot of money and add hours and hours of labor to redo it all.

You also have to have enough room to work. I did the engine bay in a 20x18 stall, but that is not large enough to do the whole car as there's no room in front or back to get down low enough.

It took weeks to prep and I only did just a little spot putty on some pitted surface rust areas.
Oh, yeah, miss some rust- do it again in a few months.

Paint is expensive, plus other materials, and it's messy.

I'm happy with how mine turned out. My first time painting anything larger than a door.
I even found a spot that had a lot of sand, and I actually laid down a blend coat after sanding it mostly out. I had a big run/drip right on top of one fender that I googled and found how to basically block sand the run out, and it came out OK without redoing the whole fender.

I'm still scared to do a whole car, but I have a couple of hoods to get more practice on.
...and then there's that room to work issue again.

Mopars are special too because of that dang beautiful body color engine bay and trunk.

Also pro shops usually have a baking room that greatly enhances the durability and resistance to chipping.

...which also brings up lighting. You need a lot, and at some strange angles.
In my case it was better to do it outside from both a lighting and a dust perspective.

 

[Richard Cranium]

You have to be abnormal to do paint.

Watch it buster!!!

I wanted to put my 1973 Grand Am back in black. I have the time but I'm still scared.

Go ahead, it's only a '73 Grand Am.

 

[Speedbird]

The dreaded condensation in the respirator.
Always check before reaching if there is doubt.
I've started painting outside under cover.
Solves several problems with exposure and visibility.
Driver quality isn't hard to do.
That level is worth the time and equipment to me based on my usage.
It also saves a lot of tribulation over damage when you go to the grocery store parking lot.
If I want to look in mirror, I'll go to the bath room.
Then again, why would I want to look at my face?

 

[Speedbird]

I guess I should add that it's like anything else in life.
You will be better the second time you do it than the first time.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
And one will learn the tricks of painting.
And in this subject, perfect really can be the enemy of good.

 

[747mopar]

It's very intimidating knowing that if you miss a body defect, get air in the gun, just a little to much or too little paint, get dust, bump it before it's dry, etc, you lose a lot of money and add hours and hours of labor to redo it all.

You also have to have enough room to work. I did the engine bay in a 20x18 stall, but that is not large enough to do the whole car as there's no room in front or back to get down low enough.

It took weeks to prep and I only did just a little spot putty on some pitted surface rust areas.
Oh, yeah, miss some rust- do it again in a few months.

Paint is expensive, plus other materials, and it's messy.

I'm happy with how mine turned out. My first time painting anything larger than a door.
I even found a spot that had a lot of sand, and I actually laid down a blend coat after sanding it mostly out. I had a big run/drip right on top of one fender that I googled and found how to basically block sand the run out, and it came out OK without redoing the whole fender.

I'm still scared to do a whole car, but I have a couple of hoods to get more practice on.
...and then there's that room to work issue again.

Mopars are special too because of that dang beautiful body color engine bay and trunk.

Also pro shops usually have a baking room that greatly enhances the durability and resistance to chipping.

...which also brings up lighting. You need a lot, and at some strange angles.
In my case it was better to do it outside from both a lighting and a dust perspective.

This is why I love base coat clear coat, you usually spot problems in the base coat, maybe a run, dirt, etc but it's dry in 5 minutes where you can deal with it quick and keep on going. The clear being just that (clear) makes repairing blemishes undetectable as well so even though it's more involved than acrylic enamel it's a lot more forgiving and lord knows I need all the help I can get.

 

[mmissile]

Who made your forced air system? I deal mainly with sawdust, drywall dust, molds and occasionally chemicals.

I don't remember. The air was filtered from outside the booth, and was always cool. It was part of all the new GM equipment in our plant. We had all the equipment that federal standards required. It was all big-name/big-dollar equipment. That was 30 years ago. We had huge, climate-controlled, down-draft booths, oven...the whole bit.

 

[Budnicks]

I recently painted my 68 RR the org. LL1 Surf Turquoise Metallic
"in the garage", base/clearcoat...

I did most all the body work some 10+ years ago now...

never mind the date & time stamps "they're wrong"
it was taken 10-29-2017 1st day out in the sun
or a few days before on some of the other shots
it needs a good cut & buff too, it wasn't even washed yet...

it looks better in photos than in person

I wore a respirator, smell still gaged the **** out of me
I thought the body was straight & smooth,
well it's straight, smooth part, scratches I missed didn't see etc. {?}
I thought the base {LL1 metallic} was even, 3 coats,
I thought no blotchy type stuff,
I thought the clear was decent, 3 coats shinny but a little dry
needs cutting & buffing

It looks good in photos, it ain't no show paintjob
It is a garage paintjob...
It does have color now, but I'm the 1st to admit it's a 10 footer at best
I think a lot will cut & buff out, but the **** below the paint
I didn't/couldn't see, no cutting & buffing will fix...

I care but it's not making me lose any sleep &
my car wasn't in body shop jail for a year or more &
still not done to my satisfaction, yeah it's not perfect...
I know all my mistakes now too...
I can tell you I do like to do every aspect of all my cars
"when ever possible", BUT;
the next time, I will have a buddy paint it in his booth
go over it & make sure no scratches were missed etc.

Seems my eyesight is diminishing, my skill sets are too
more than I thought, I hate wearing glasses while working
seems I should have bucked it up & wore them at all times...
Seems my sense feel/touch it must be diminishing too !!
I thought I got all the scratches out, 220, 320, 400
I thought the lighting was a little bad,
I didn't think it was gonna' effect it as much as it did...

I didn't do the engine compartment either,
it's still the OE dull/worn LL1 paint
I just went down a 3/4"-1" or so under where the hood sits,
to the next break in body line, all the ledge all the way around...
And when I pull the engine again sometime in the future...
I'll probably paint the inside of the engine compartment too...

I wanted color on the car & I had the paint etc.
I went for it, it's better than the Ultra Flat Black paint
I had for 10 years, albeit it doesn't hide the sins as well either...

from April 2011 {RIP Lord Budnicks, my old lab}

I thought what the hell, I haven't done it in ten years probably,
if nothing else, if it's not good enough, it's a good base
for a good painter to apply a good professional paintjob over...

I'm not pissed, I know I probably won't do it again any time soon either...
I'm not extremely happy with it either, I'm not extremely disappointed either,
but for now it'll do...
I'm not trying to sell it anyway, I did it for me...
In my mind I sort of failed too, it's not up-to my best std.'s either...
It is what it is, I'm my worst critic sometimes too...
I can't blame anyone else,
I didn't have to wait years while it was sitting in a corner
"in someone else's shop either", with every damn excuse
"in the book", for why it's not done, we hear about constantly...
or that extra $5k-$20k either...
I did it for about less than $1000 in total in all materials
sand paper, sanding disks, board paper,
various sizes of masking tape & various sizes of masking paper,
LL1 base & Clear
http://www.automotivetouchup.com/touch-up-paint/

I did it in a 3.5 week time period...
I should have done more blocking before base paint,
I know it now...

I do have more & some "newer" found respect "again"
for better paint & body guys
I know why I never went into that field, it was a great reminder
of why, it's hard stinky sweaty & even dirty work...

I generally don't give a rats ***,
about what someone else thinks anyway, I do this stuff for me...

 

[Lets Roll]

Weeeeee! I'm normal !

 

[JimKueneman]

I did 95% of the work on my Firebird, including the paint. At the time I was in the USAF and we had a brand new paint booth. I've used an airbrush when I built plastic models as a kid, but never a car. The guy that sold my car was a friend of mine and also had some painting experience so he showed me the ropes. I turned out pretty good. Thirty years later it still looks good...about 20-30 feet away.

I plan on "restifying" my Coronet some day, but I'm not painting it. I don't have the room.

I'll paint it for you Mike.... will likely need it here for 2-3 years with the keys ;)

Jim

 

[451Mopar]

I see so many classic cars where the owner turned every bolt then had it sent out for paint. I've never painted a car but why is it so hard? I've thought about buying two pop up garages from Harbor Freight and having at it.

For me, working on the car as a hobby, it usually ends up being around a year or more worth of body work, a month of masking/priming/blocking/repeat, and the painting might take two days. Then let paint cure, and another few days to cut and buff the car, then depending on how far apart the car was stripped, many more weeks to put back together. Real easy to have the car apart for 2+ years for body work and paint when you only work on it a few hours a week.
Really sort of a numbers issue: For example, I might work on the car average 12 hours a week as a hobby (weekends.) A shop with three people working on the car at 8 hours /day, 5 days a week would be 120 Hours of work on the car, so they could get done in one week what would take me 10+ weeks (they should be more efficient doing it every day and having all the supplies on hand.) Down side is the cost. This is if you already know the quality of the shop, if the shop does low quality, then it ends up a waste of time and money. There is a waiting list for the good body shops for a reason.

 

[scottmann27]

As growing up as a kid. I did my share of water sanding. My dad owned a body shop for 40 years. I hate that crap. I always thought I was done. He would make me block it 3 more times. LOL One thing for sure, We did some great looking show cars. But never made any money on them. Insurance work is where that is at. My first paint job was an 85 blazer. Second was a purple dodge charger show car. Talk about nervous. Dad looked and said don't worry if you mess it up you can always sand it back down and redo it. Turned out beautiful.

 

[Bladecutter]

I factor in generous cure windows for Every material that gets applied before working it so the final sandwich doesn't shrink up & suck down. Paint itself vents off solvent up to a year.