First Time Painting A Car?

[johnr9q@yahoo.com]

Don't respond unless you have had no experience and you painted your own car. If you want to give opinions and ideas, go here: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=355670&highlight=paint

 

[ModelA29]

Another lame premise - EVERYONE who has painted their own car had no experience when they started..........

 

[nkaminar]

When in college in the 1960's, Louise Crane painted her VW with a brush. She went to the local auto paint dealer and they formulated the paint so that it would flatten when brushed on. With the right paint this can be done and if you want a professional looking job you and wet sand and polish. I painted my fiberglass sailboat with urethane two-part paint with a roller and then dry brushed it in a cross pattern. It turned out looking like it was sprayed.

 

[chap52]

I painted my truck with a Harbor Freight HPLV spray gun. This was my first time.
I used clear sheeting to create a cocoon paint booth in my garage with an old box fan as my ventilation. I did all the prep work, shot the primer and two coats of enamel (no clear coat). Did all the wet sanding.
I was amazed at how good it turned out.
You Tube can be your friend here.
It was a learning experience and if I were 20 years younger I would do it again.
Warning: Do it when your wife is away visiting the grandkids for a few days the odor lingers a bit. lol

Chap

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Another lame premise - EVERYONE who has painted their own car had no experience when they started..........

Remember the only difference between a first-timer and a professional is a professional knows how to recover from their mistakes.

 

[marty in Ohio]

We have a member of our A Team who painted his entire coupe with 37 cans of Krylon. It doesn't look too bad.
Marty

 

[gdmn852]

Hello, on painting, most of the work is preparation, panel repair, welding, sanding and other related work is the key to a good quality paint job. Most of the modern paint is a catalyst based paint,reliance on chemical reactions to “dry”, lacquer was the go to paint for many projects years ago, today almost unattainable. Use proper protection when dealing with modern paints. I hope this helps.

 

[johnr9q@yahoo.com]

I understand it costs at least $6,000 to get a quality paint job. So is that what most people do?

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

I understand it costs at least $6,000 to get a quality paint job. So is that what most people do?

Basically yes, ...some do. Others tend to do it themselves. (-just an FYI, it is not uncommon for quality bodywork & paint work prices to be double or triple the figure you listed. Yes, people pay that. Read this article from several years ago; https://www.hemmings.com/stories/painting-costs/ )

It has been my observations over the years that guys who are top-level hobbyist Restorers generally spend money on buying quality tools to restore with. Those tools often include nice bodyworking tooling (power tools, jigs/fixtures, spray guns, portable booths & air filtration, etc.) and nice PPE to protect themselves. These level of hobbyists generally turn-out quality work simply because they pay attention to details and they don't cut corners. Only you know what your finances are and whether your skillset matches your expectations. Some Restorers look at each facet of the restoration as a challenge. They want to prove to themselves that they can successfully accomplish the task. Often times these people miss the mark on what their expectations are, so they do the same task over again until it is right. If that mindset describes you, I suggest you do the job yourself. It is very rewarding because it teaches so much on problem solving and brain-to-hand coordination. Those skills are easily adapted to other areas in your everyday life.


EDIT:
If the above article was eye-opening, then read this article too!! https://www.hemmings.com/stories/time-is-money/

 

[old ugly]

here ya go first time painting a car.
here is a guy painting a car for the first time. 1971
i was 16 in this picture. i worked every day after school and every week end until that car was completely stripped of paint. it took a long long long time.
i knew nothing about painting a car. there was no gooftube to look at. i just got at it. it was not very good. but i drove it for a while and then re did it a few years later. then drove it for over 30 years.
you need to just get at it. start sanding until it is down to metal every where. then fix the dents, if you want them fixed, then prime it with some sort of primer that will stick to metal and that the top coat will stick to. then sand again until you get to the point that you are fed up or happy with what you are going to put paint on top of.
as far as materials if you ask 50 different people what to use you will get 100 different ideas. you will never know until you use one of them.
if you are looking for a perfect job you will end up painting it a few times minimum. and each time you paint it will get better. but again i guarantee, like i said on your last post, if this is your first paint job you will not get perfection, but you may get something you are happy with and are proud of because you did it yourself.

 

[P.S.]

I did a YouTube video on painting your Model A fenders with rattle-cans.

This weekend, I will be filming "wrapping" a Model A instead of painting it. We'll see (and then you will get to see) how it goes. MUCH less expensive than painting, and you can go wild with pinstripes or whatever detail you want.

 

[nkaminar]

Wrapping does not eliminate the preparation. Good luck with that Paul. Are you going to wrap it with military camouflage?