Brian,
Painting a car can be done as a DIY, but there is a great deal time, money,
and aggravation involved.
Here's a site that has quite a bit of detailed info - DIY resto of a Jag
XKE
http://mckennasgarage.com/xke/index.htm
I've got some pics & info on my site as well, mostly on the prep side -
links from 4-10 to 11-24
http://www.mildevco.net/chevypowereddatsuns/
Some additional misc. thoughts.
- there are places in some cities that will rent booth time, including
protective gear
- today's paint systems are LETHAL without the correct supplied-air
respiration equipment and full body protection - I personally know two guys
who ignored all the warnings and who's health suffered from shooting iso
clears with just a carbon filter. Sanding fillers and primers requires a
dust mask.
- 2 stage sytems are quite forgiving - light color base coat practically
misted on, then lots of coats of clear let you buff out all but the biggest
hunks of crud. see note above.
- HVLP guns save you lots of paint and greatly reduce overspray - they take
a bit of re-learning if your used to high pressure guns however.
- The prep work makes or breaks a paint job. Wetting a surface you think is
ready for paint with prepsol will give it a good shine so you can check the
straightness. You need a lot of light to see what you're doing - a couple of
stand mounted halogen work lights make a world of difference.
- make the paint store counter man your friend - some dealers will only sell
to shops, others are willing to help a novice learn - stop in on a weekday
mid-afternoon with a box of doughnuts, and ask lots of questions.
- ditto with getting some books & videos, and go to some local cruise-ins to
see if you can find a shooter who knows what he's doing who's willing to
offer knowledge for beer....lots of car guys are like that.
- go to a junk yard and pick up some panels to practice on - you might waste
some money on primer & paint, but the experience will more than make up for
it. The paint store will have a shelf of mis-tinted paints that they sell
cheap - I bought some funky blue this way for the underside of the "R" which
was then hidden with undercoating.
Mark Sedlack
ZROC
Cuyahoga Falls OH
66 1600 http://www.mildevco.net/chevypowereddatsuns/
77 280Z http://www.mildevco.net/chevypowereddatsuns/
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Reynolds" <brianrreynolds@yahoo.com>
To: "Roadster List" <datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2006 7:59 AM
Subject: Paint - DIY?
> With the high cost of paint jobs, I imagine many people have thought about
> doing it themselves. I have thought that I could buy the paint, and buy or
> rent the spraying equipment including suit and face mask, hang some bed
> sheets in my garage, maybe even get fancy and use some machine to filter
> the air of dust particles, and start spraying. The previous owners used to
> have a smoke oven in the corner of the garage, complete with exhaust fan
> and chimney, which I thought I could use as ventilation. My question to
> you guys, is how realistic is it to DIY?
>
> I realise that it wouldn't look professionally done, as there would be
> chunks of dust and other stuff in the paint as well as other issues, and
> the finish wouldn't be baked, but paying 8000 clams to paint a $5000 car
> is not an option (at least for me).
>
> Is a good compromise to paint the primer and first coat or two yourself,
> plus sanding, and then take it to a shop for a quick final coat?
>
> -Brian Reynolds
> Toronto
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