Paint & Body Work - DIY Paint Job Questions

I'm planning over my christmas break to paint the T/A satin black at a friends garage. What all will I need in supplies other than the normal paint, spray gun, booth (plastic sheeting with a fan at one end blowing out. What sandpaper should I use? What primer? I'm thinking cost wise would be about 300

if you want to get it ready ill do it for $550 you can get ready at the shop if you want.
pm if it sounds like something you might want to do
shop is in deland

i honestly dont think getting it ready will be too hard with the right supplies. im gonna shave the antenna hole and got everything i really just need to know about the prep work involved

i honestly dont think getting it ready will be too hard with the right supplies. im gonna shave the antenna hole and got everything i really just need to know about the prep work involved

Unless you already have the correct size air compressor, guns, etc to actually paint, its going to be way more cost effective to have a shop paint it. There are some many different type of paint on the market that it is impossible to describe the different methods of applying different types without it turning into a book. From single stage to base clear, lacquers, etc etc and each require different methods to achieve the best look. I would highly recommend taking it to a experience painter. Most paint shops now a days either do single stage which is simply a sealer followed by a color, or base clear which is primer/sealer, color(s), then several coats of clear. Base clear is what really gives the shiny and is IMO the best paint for driven cars. It lasts, protects and can be cut and polished, or be cut and recleared and its like new paint. The clear though for this can easily be 150 dollars or more and thats just for decent quality clear. The eats half your 300 dollar budget right there. Then you need an array of sandpaper to wet sand to a shine, the color paint itself which for quality, lasting paint can get pretty expensive. The cheapest paint would be just doing single stage, but for a satin your not going to get the shine. And only protector for this type is wax. Getting it ready really depends on the condition of the car. Some cars only need minor sanding and cleaning, while others will need body work. It really depends on the quality you want to see. I guess in reality you could shoot some 20 dollar kragen paint on your car and be done with it, but I know for my car I would want my paint and body work to stand out for being beautiful for years to come.

I'm planning over my christmas break to paint the T/A satin black at a friends garage. What all will I need in supplies other than the normal paint, spray gun, booth (plastic sheeting with a fan at one end blowing out. What sandpaper should I use? What primer? I'm thinking cost wise would be about 300

Strike that........reverse it.

Blow through design, not draw through.

Electric motors and combustible fumes don't mix too well.

Strike that........reverse it.

Blow through design, not draw through.

Electric motors and combustible fumes don't mix too well.

its not a problem, i've done it before when i painted my car, and it's not like is gasoline, it's some paint fumes... do not blow through, unless you WANT to blow dirt all over your car

you really realy dont want to put the fan at the front pushing through... you'll be blowing outside dirt and dust right into your paint job...if you want the best results possible, clean the garage as best you can hang some plastic sheeting and rig up some filters on one end with the fan at the other blowing out.... (i know your on a budget just throwing out some ideas). i love diy stuff so as a painter/body man i'll give you any advice and helpful info i can.... first off before any sanding clean the car with soap and water, and once it dries wipe the whole thing down with wax and grease remover this will keep you from pushing contaminents deep in the paint when you sand( a quart of wax and grease remover is cheap insurance BUY SOME) if you are shaving the antenna i assume(and hope) that you are welding it up and will be doing body work on top of it, so your going to need a decent 2 part high build primer( you can find a set up decently priced in quart cans anywhere that has QUALITY paint supplies). Finish all the filler( bondo) work that you do in 180 grit sand paper. I personally long block any of my projects in 320 and then wet sand with 600 grit paper before i paint... long blocking it with 320 will knock out any small waves you may normally miss with a short block, then the 600 will knock down the 320 sand scratches... also grab a couple red scotch brite pads... when your done wet sanding run over any shiney spots with tha scotch brite and then roll it outside and wash the whole car with soap and water using the scotch brite instead of a brush or rag... now you can skip the 320 step and even the 600 grit and just scotch brite the car and be fine... but like i said i'm just throwing out options... you'll need to wipe the car with wax and grease remover again before any paint process (primer/basecoat/clear) and also pick up a tack rag... you'll use this right before you start painting... its going to be hard to do a good quality paint job for 300 bucks( especially if you dont have paint guns already).... like said earlier if you go for a satin black base/clear job... your going to be out about 150 bucks just for a setup of clear coat not including base and reducer for the base .... The last thing i did satin black was a set of wheels. I painted them with Matrix brand Black base coat... and use matrix 42 clear with a flattening agent mixed in.. if i didnt have access the mixing system at work i would buy the SEM brand Hot Rod Black kit from autobody toolmart... its 68 bucks and comes with the paint, catalyst, and reducer.., you can also get your other supplies from there to keep things simple.. i know its alot to read but i hope it answers some questions and maybe brings up some new ones ... like i said i'll help you with any information you need...

ya know guys his info is good i could disagree here and there but not going too, the bottom line is he`s asking what to do, and he wants to shave the antenna hole really?? if your asking how to prep a car for paint how is this guy going to close a hole up???

i too could sit here and type until my hands go numb again but trying to explain a trade that is all hands on learning, i would be wasting my time and would be pissed off becasue my hands hurt from typing for so long, like the one dude said let a shop do the work your asking how to do body and paint work and shaving a hole=FAIL no experience=let a shop do it

you do this your self and it looks like shit, and you dont remove no parts, and there are runs, orange peel, bad body work, guess what its going to cost you twice the amount if you had just brought it to a shop in the first place


and for 300 bucks ya might get a gallon of primer, the hardner, and the reducer, maybe if you went with a quality product like ppg, or spies hecker, for what you want to do in just product would be close to 1,000, and thats not including sand paper, masking tape, and masking paper

and not to mention the fact of using a decent gun is going to cost you close to 200, and what sixe tip do you use for primer, base, clear, sealer,???? im sure you dont know and me explainging it will just fail on my part, so do you see my point, its not as easy as it seems, its costly and most of all you can ruin your car with no experience so let a shop do it so it will look good and not like some kid did it in his garage

i already have a gun to shoot it with and i know how to fill in the hole for the shaved antenna. i was pretty much trying to figure out the steps to the actual job itself. thanks 00ultraz28 that actually helped alot with the steps. i work at a hardware store so i can get alot of the supplies for a really good discount. im not looking for a show quality look. just something better than my macco (previous owner) paint job which is flaking off.

Just remember...you're painting the car black...so it's going to show every little imperfection on the car. Be sure and TAKE YOUR TIME on the prep work, and that will save you a lot of headache after you lay the paint.

Hey good luck remember everyone has to start some where. If you don't try how will you learn. I am not sure how long you want the finish to last, but I painted a shop truck with House of Kolor black Ko seal. the problem was that after a year and a half the sun started to fade the satin to a more grey black. ( I did expect that) The cost was much cheaper and I got away with Da ing the truck with 320. (saved time) Also remember everyone that paints has at on time or another screwed something up or at least lies about never making a mistake.

Hey good luck remember everyone has to start some where. If you don't try how will you learn. I am not sure how long you want the finish to last, but I painted a shop truck with House of Kolor black Ko seal. the problem was that after a year and a half the sun started to fade the satin to a more grey black. ( I did expect that) The cost was much cheaper and I got away with Da ing the truck with 320. (saved time) Also remember everyone that paints has at on time or another screwed something up or at least lies about never making a mistake.

exactly im looking for help because i want to tackle a project that not many people can say they have. i want people to ask who did my paint and i will brag if it comes out good
im looking for like a wet satin look so im having a friend who owns a paint shop help me pick the color out.

Good luck if you try you will suceed. You may want to use a base coat clear coat with a flattining agent. You will have to play with the ratio to ge your desired look.

dude impossible to teach you online, it really is i could sit here and type and type but with out me being by your side, its pointless, thhis is a hands on learning trade not a online trade or watching a video, i dont care what anyone says, ya cant watch a video on you tube and say oookkkk im a body man now, and i can give my advice where ever i go, lol

like i said i would use hot rod flatz, but ya need experience, and ya need to know how to paint single stage, and what size fluid nozzle to use, do you use a 1,2 or a 1.5 tip which one?? us tech cant teach online, i cant teach you how to paint how to fabricate metal, so i cant help ya, eveeryone else withh the exception of a few guys must be techs, but read again becasue we cant teach online not going to happen

ya know guys his info is good i could disagree here and there but not going too, the bottom line is he`s asking what to do, and he wants to shave the antenna hole really?? if your asking how to prep a car for paint how is this guy going to close a hole up???

i too could sit here and type until my hands go numb again but trying to explain a trade that is all hands on learning, i would be wasting my time and would be pissed off becasue my hands hurt from typing for so long, like the one dude said let a shop do the work your asking how to do body and paint work and shaving a hole=FAIL no experience=let a shop do it

you do this your self and it looks like shit, and you dont remove no parts, and there are runs, orange peel, bad body work, guess what its going to cost you twice the amount if you had just brought it to a shop in the first place


and for 300 bucks ya might get a gallon of primer, the hardner, and the reducer, maybe if you went with a quality product like ppg, or spies hecker, for what you want to do in just product would be close to 1,000, and thats not including sand paper, masking tape, and masking paper

and not to mention the fact of using a decent gun is going to cost you close to 200, and what sixe tip do you use for primer, base, clear, sealer,???? im sure you dont know and me explainging it will just fail on my part, so do you see my point, its not as easy as it seems, its costly and most of all you can ruin your car with no experience so let a shop do it so it will look good and not like some kid did it in his garage

dude impossible to teach you online, it really is i could sit here and type and type but with out me being by your side, its pointless, thhis is a hands on learning trade not a online trade or watching a video, i dont care what anyone says, ya cant watch a video on you tube and say oookkkk im a body man now, and i can give my advice where ever i go, lol

like i said i would use hot rod flatz, but ya need experience, and ya need to know how to paint single stage, and what size fluid nozzle to use, do you use a 1,2 or a 1.5 tip which one?? us tech cant teach online, i cant teach you how to paint how to fabricate metal, so i cant help ya, eveeryone else withh the exception of a few guys must be techs, but read again becasue we cant teach online not going to happen

DUDE, cant you see he is set on trying this out himself, he IS going to do it, whether you like it or not. if you have nothing to say to help, why do you keep coming back. all the time that you have WASTED typing comments in to this thread you could (should) have given some good tips to help him out instead. why be an ass and say that he doesn't know what size tips, in less words you could have just told him which size he needs. i swear, some people act like everyone else is incaple of doing things that require a little work and practice. i dont know how good you are, but i'm damm sure your were NOT like that on your first effing paint job, so get off his damm back.

if he messes it up, so be it, it was still a good lesson, and still overall fairly cheap. and a LOT better than going to a shop and spending over a grand for a paint job that you may come out unsatisfied with like many people have done. and if he doesnt mess up, he has a good looking car, whether on not it lasts for the next 20 years. either way you wont come out too bad.

my bandit- good luck with the car.

because i can , why give him my 20yrs of experience in a trade when hes not going to get it, what do you do for a living?? in your field did you go online and aask for help?? or did you learn from a school or someone sitting next to you TEACHING YOU!

you are clueless in your repsonse, this is a hands on learning trade, we dont sit at a desk we dont do the things a desk jockey does day in day out, i learned from a jouyneyman, not a school, and not asking online, and i had my fair share of apprentices taught them well, and how did i teach them??? with me next to them, not online not on youtube, not at a trade school

so why should i give advice when he should have someone next to him teaching him, not some prick in a forum, sorry its not going to happen, so until you know me and know what im capable of doing, dont give me your psyco babble or try to tell me how to act on a forum,

remember i work with my hands i turn the radio up and get to work, so i dont have people skills dont need them in my trade, so i give a no bullshit answer and have a no bullshit policy, so if your a tech like me then ya know the buisness but if your not then STFU!

dude GTF out of here with your attitude. really. i believe you 100% when you say you dont have any people skills. and you're probably an ass in person as well. but hey, do you, i'm not gonna try to change you. my main point is that if you know he is going to do it, why keep coming to bash his attempt, what are you gaining from that?

all your are being is a pretentious ass. but you know what, i truly think that people like you are a huge inspiration to get things done. a quote i know from a song "the motivation for me, was them telling me what i cannot be" - so keep telling him what he can't do. cant wait to see your ass get proven wrong, maybe then you'll stfu

nope and nope
ok really dude you telling me to gtfo is not helping the cause here, and you didnt answer my question, so i guessed right and you must be a desk jockey and have no knowledge of body work, and thats ok i too can teach you you can become my bitch for a few months and you will leave a damn good tech

and what are you not getting huh??? hes asking how to prep a panle for paint but yet he wants to shave a hole, so how am i going to teach him to prep a panle when he is asking how to shave a hole, its a double edged sword dude c`mon its common sence really it is

so why should us techs help and type out what we do after yrs and yrs and yrs of experience when my point is we have to be next to him teaching have to show him how to do it, there are allot of techs on this site and we all including me give out advice, but if someone has no experience at all and asks us for help or watches a vidoe on youtube and does the work and fucks it up major!!! what did our advice to then huh???

nothing!!! its real easy to figure out dude its not rocket science,

lol.....please him showing a pic online isnt going to prove shit to me, there could be runs, fish eyes, lifting, who knows what it looks like, so im not going to say the norm "wow it looks good" i dont do that i have to see it in person to judge someones work and i`ll tell you to your face what is wrong and if it looks great or if its looks like my 13 yr old did it

i too could post pics of the work i have the work i did for past boss`s to make you stfu but then im stooping down to your level, so it wont happen, yes i should be and the rest of us techs should inspire people to do it the right way, one time not over and over and over, once!!! the correct way

so sorry i will not gtfo or stfu

Bdyman, i agree with both you and Krimson, but if you aren't gonna get on a plane to go help him, then let it be. So his car turns out like shit, who cares he'll do better next time. Like you said its a hands on trade, you have to start somewhere. I design planes i sit at a desk, but nobody can teach you how to 3d model you have to have a knack to see 3d in 2d space; "everything takes time to learn." At the end of the day he gets to say yeah i painted it but there is a few runs and fish eyes here and there, but fk it; its his paint job. I understand that you have umpteen years of experience, and i wish i could do body work and paint, hell i can't even spray paint with out it turning out like total balls. But give him some advice like a spray technique short or long strokes follow body lines somthing. Don't tell him he can't do it, when you and I both know hes gonna anyway.
1) its not helpful
2) where would be if people did push them selfs to do things on their own?
Know what i'm sayin?


Good luck man i hope your truns out better than your junk macco.

bdyman- you win dude, im burnt out. just a few parting comments to answer some of the things in your rant.

1) i do not work right now, i am a full time college student in my second year.

2) my_bandit never once asked how to shave the antenna hole- if you would take a few minutes to read he clearly states that he knows how to do that- and that his prep questions were spcific to the overall painting process.

3) take it as you like, but every damm body person did not go to some school, or even have a guide/teacher/tech pro to help them learn what they know. just because thats what you did, and what the bulk of others did, that is not the only way to learn. according to you, i probably shouldn't even try to switch out the shocks on my car- you know, since i have no formal training and all. i'll probably blow up the car in the process.

-okay i'm done. my_bandit- good luck with the paint job.

Lol, let me chime in a second here.

How exactly are you shaving the antenna hole? Ive seen alot of hack jobs and had to correct far too many.

Also when most people start out painting its something thats a piece of shit, or atleast a sheet of metal, not a nice car. Especially black. Replacing shocks is much less difficult than paint, you put the shocks in a hole and they bolt up a specific way. Painting takes practice and is very easy to fuck up. If your gun isnt set up right itll turn out shitty, if you dont sand it well enough itll turn out shitty, if the temperature is wrong itll turn out shitty, if you dont use the right primer itll turn out shitty, if you dont paint in a certain pattern itll turn out shitty. Do you see what im saying?

Let me put my 2 cents back in. I agree with both sides of this argument. I also think both side may agree (or not) you should talk to Yoda's little bro. Give him the 550 the 200 extra will pay off, but see if he is willing to let you shadow him while he works. This is the best way to have your car look nice, learn, and gain a personal contact for the future. I know what it is like to want to do it all yourself, and thats why we are all involved on this hobby to begin with. Just a thought.