It's fine and dandy reading up on everything and anything you possibly can find about repairing and refinishing, but unless you physically do it as you're being told, get the feel of what each thing is, see it first hand, it's going to be pointless. I can tell you how to mold a bumper.
Fit the bumper.
Clean the metal around the area where the bumper is going to mount.
Use the proper panel bond to adhere the pieces.
Tape or fasten the bumper to the car to let it cure.
Sand down any excess panel bond.
Use light coats of lightweight filler to blend the body and the bumper together. Sand.
Use a light coat of a glazing putty to finish. Sand.
Now unless you're phsically doing it, seeing where the bumper needs trimmed/heated/reinforced/parts added, all that typing is useless. How do you get the lines to match? It's all in technique. How do you know it's smooth enough? Technique. What grits of sandpaper do I use? It all depends on each layer, the type of material you're sanding, how much you have to cut down. There's too many variables to explain. You need to see it.
I"m going to pick on benham's car. Last fall I painted his car. Had a few runs (gun got cold and condensated) but were easily fixable. He took it to get finished after the paint cured, and the dude who did it cut through the clear and in some of the pearl mid coat he had on it. It just needed polished and buffed. That will ruin a paintjob like no other.
I'm so glad you decided to make a post about this as it is so true. Anyone who needs to ask how to paint needs to really pay attention to the part about learning paint/bodywork is learning a technique, and that doesn't really translate well into a written explanation.
if you have never painted a car before, listening to someone tell you the steps involved will do nothing more than give you an idea of where to start. it doesn't matter how in depth they explain it to you, how well you understand it, it won't make you a good painter. They key is practice and developing the techniques used. That's something you don't learn over night.
None of us just started out spraying an entire car and getting a showroom finish. I started off by spraying the same fender over and over again. I'd prep, paint, then sand it al off and start over. it took a lot of practice to develop a steady spray pattern and good control over the gun. No one can explain to someone just one general way to spray. There are so many different types of paints on the market, that all get sprayed differently. You learn through trial and error how to properly set up your gun so that the paint atomizes correctly, or else it's going to look like you smeared paint on your car with sandpaper. Learning to clear is a whole other story. It's probably a guarantee that you'll get runs the first several times you shoot clear. i spent even more time learning how to do proper prep work...cause as it's been said thousands of times on these forums..crappy prep work will show through even the best paint jobs.
On top of that, there is always something you can learn, or continue developing. I've been doing paint and body work for at least ten years now, and still to this day I get advice from others in areas that I may not work with as frequently, or just to learn a new way of doing something that I already know.
Lanman - thank you for this post (though something tells me the people who really need to read this won't lol!)
It's like this - someone side swiped me last Sunday. Ripped my molded bumper off the driver's side, dents and scratches. I could have had insurance buy me a new bumper and new skirt, and it would be peachy and it would have been back to the way it was. I'm saving some money doing it myself with insurance money, and I'm able to repaint the whole car all over again (blending chameleon is a bitch.)
That sucks about the car - but luckily you can do the work yourself. A couple of years ago someone side swiped me in the rear, busted the bumper, tail light, and left a dent the size of a basketball in the quarter panel...i was able to make out on the deal with the insurance money, i fixed the dent and repainted myself, and the insurance check ended up buying the car's first body kit.
And yes, blending chameleon is a bitch. Well, that is probably an understatement, lol. I'd offer you a hand working on it but you're a bit far away.
Five hours is nothing. I had the same dent in the rear quarterpanel. Figured while I'm there, I'll take care of the cancer in the rocker, and pretty everything up again.
Jefferey tell me how to paint my car.
Better yet repaint my car for me chop chop
JGM T-SHIRTS!!!!
In Loving Memory of Phil Martin December 14 2005
Alexis: Dustin, you're ghey, lol. I am better. I have tits, and tits rule all.
My Dad has been working in the body shop industry for 25-30 years, after seeing his work i always point out these hack jobs by these out of garage "body shops". No offense to anyone but i have seen a few jobs done out of a regular garage that look good but for the most part they are bad.
Lanman31337 - Cavfire wrote:Five hours is nothing. I had the same dent in the rear quarterpanel. Figured while I'm there, I'll take care of the cancer in the rocker, and pretty everything up again.
Can't you just panel paint that stuff? How would you see a color difference with the color? Ive never sprayed or even seen the stuff in person to actually know but i remember someone telling me you can panel paint that and not even know.. unless your trying to like blend within your fender and save some paint?
I am glad this thread was posted. I have had so many people asking me over the internet how much I would want to paint their car for them. There really isnt much you can estemate without SEEING IT in person. You have to take into account dents, chips, size of dents, panels that will need replaced, ect. ect. There is so much to body work you need to know before even attempting it. Things that cause fisheye, what causes paint to lift, ect. Body work to me is just something you need to research, understand, and its always nice to have someone to help you...you just have to educate yourself and get the feel for it, attempt it and see what comes out of it, and learn from mistakes..
"Hondas are like tampons, every pussy has one!!!"
Manta Z - normally you can blend withing the panel if you are using a solid color paint. i usually will blend in the color with the existing color, then just re-clear the whole panel (you can blend clear but it takes a bit of practice to do it without seeing the blend line). Chameleon color is a little harder to blend within a panel, so it's less hassle to just spray the whole panel.
David - yes, that's the one thing people never realize...we need to actually SEE the car to give accurate advice and estimates. Pictures can hide a lot of things like dings and dents which would need to be fixed. The worse thing for me is when some asks to paint a car that they already prepped themselves. We all know improper prepping can ruin a good paint job, and i don't want my paint job looking like $#@! because of poor prepping, which in the end would make it look like i did a cheap paint job.
Lanman - when do you plan on starting the repairs? Depending on my work schedule maybe i can make the trek up if you'd like a hand with things.
Bottom line for everyone who asks how to paint their car....DON'T!! Leave it to a professional. if you want to learn how to paint, great...i encourage everyone willing to learn to do so, i'm glad that I took the time to learn. But don't use your car as your learning project! i look at it this way...you are ready to paint your car when you no longer need to ask how to do it, lol. it takes a lot more than one time spaying to learn how to do it right. Hell, i lost count of how many times i resprayed the same fender when i was learning.
I know everyone wants to paint their own car because they think paint jobs are too expensive, but there is a reason it costs so much...you are paying someone for their skill and knowledge that took a lot of time and money to develop.
Ok, i'm done ranting for the moment, lol.
Believe it or not, I spent a good part of yesterday and got the bumper back molded in. All I have left is a little more sanding and touch up on the side and it's golden. I would love another body when it comes paint time to help prep and mask off the car.
Lol, yeah the masking and prep part is where i always try to enlist some help...let me know when it comes time for paint...you can count me in.
I hate masking!!! Other than that I like everything else....metal straightening is at the bottom of my list...but body filler, and other prep doesnt bother me....I actually kinda like sanding...just not a whole lot at one time...glide coating and blocking the car is ok...and my favorite thing to do is actually spray..masking...you can forget it lol I HATE it
"Hondas are like tampons, every pussy has one!!!"
I don't mind masking at all. Cause I know when I'm done, it's time to spray. It'll either be this weekend or next weekend that it'll be time to spray.
EVILution wrote:Manta Z - normally you can blend withing the panel if you are using a solid color paint. i usually will blend in the color with the existing color, then just re-clear the whole panel (you can blend clear but it takes a bit of practice to do it without seeing the blend line). Chameleon color is a little harder to blend within a panel, so it's less hassle to just spray the whole panel.
I know all that i was just referring to blending chameleon color. why not just panel paint it
Panel painting will work, but it's some big panels. The whole passenger side quarter panel, a side skirt, plus the rear bumper.
gotcha. Good luck with getting it fixed man.
cant wait to see it fixed and on the road.
It's on the road. I was able to fix all the cracks of the bumper being moved, and re-attach it. I ordered a sparco gas door, it's going to go in shortly.
Can somebody tell me how to paint my car? I just picked up a roller, and some rustoleum. Was wondering if anyone could tell me the proper way to go about this.
Go to your favorite tool store and buy a orbital sander.. not a dual action(aka d/a) sander, those take to long and don't cut. But a orbital sander and some 40grit sand paper for it. once you rough up the clear coat it should look dull, it make look like shiny metal in some areas but that is just how the clear coat sands sometimes.. anyway after that wipe it all down with water and start your rolling of the paint.
Retarded. I cringe when people say they rolled their car in rustoleum.
Its still better than complete rust on a beater.
Lanman31337 - Cavfire wrote:Retarded. I cringe when people say they rolled their car in rustoleum.
lol, its almost like when people bring their cars to our shop and ask me if i can paint it, but they sanded it all down and did the body work themselves.. needless to say after two of those jobs I won't do them anymore lol
