ALT-3 Tips for Painting your Car yourself
Painting cars usually falls into two categories. The first being relatively new vehicles that have incurred some damage. Usually requiring part or all of the car to be repainted, in the process of returning the vehicle to like new condition. This group should be left to the professionals.
Remember this is your second most expensive investment, and retaining as much value as possible should be your goal. To do quality refinishing of today's multi-layered lacquered finishes requires many special talents, and tools not commonly found in the normal residential garage.
The second group of cars would be those that have quite a few years under their belt. Mileage is getting up there, but darn they've been reliable. To make them look closer to how well they run a little sprucing up is in order. They'll never be show room condition again, but fading and discoloration is leaving them a little tacky in appearance.
These are an excellent opportunity for the home mechanic to increase the value, and improve the appearance of the families second car, also known as the soccer Mom's chariot.
As much as possible the surface needs to be prepared. The level of perfection to be determined by the quality of finish expected. The more you work on it, the better the end results will be. Investing in an entry level electric random orbital sander should be considered. At a minimal expense the quality of your work will increase greatly.
If you live out in the country, where your dust and noise will not intrude on others, outside open air is best for the prep part of the project. Wind will carry the dust away, and you will leave your garage clean from dust for the next part of the project.
Once your done with sanding and filling, the car needs to be wiped down with a solvent, paint thinner is inexpensive and does a good job of removing the dust particles that remain.
Now's the time to move the car into the garage. If your forced to paint outside, make sure it is a calm sunny day with no wind. Make sure your parked far enough away that overspray doesn't drift over and coat your house, or the neighbor's with a fine coat of Resale Red that you'll be spraying on your car.
Be sure to do a through job of masking off any chrome, glass, or other area's you don't want paint to hit.
Forget spray cans, you need to use an automotive paint gun operated off an air compressor. If you don't have one, you can always rent one from your local tool rental store.
Choice of finishes should be kept simple, remember you're an amateur. A good quality automotive enamel is easy to work with, and leaves a nice shine that doesn't require buffing out when done. No it won't give the nice lacquer depth of color, but remember your goals. Clean, simple, and an improvement from what you had. Your not looking for show room, and your not going to get it.
Mix the paint and reducer as is indicated on the instructions. When you spray you may want to take some practice passes on some cardboard until you get the rhythm down. Be careful to avoid runs, as what you see is what you get. There is no rubbing out boo boos.
Taking your time, with care a more then satisfactory finish can be accomplished at a very modest price. Good looks and cheap, that's what it's all about isn't it.
