Has anyone painted a car? Any tips/tricks to do it on the cheap while still turning out good?
>>2869725>prepmax>thin coats>many layers of clearcoat, can get away with no polishing if applied well
Painted many. I could give you all the information out the ass but nobody will listen and corners will be cut. Prep well, have clean air (15cfm), buy quality paint, lay the last coat on wet without runs. Don't cut corners or it looks like shit
>>2869725>Has anyone painted a car?No. Nobody has ever painted a car.
>>2869725Waste of time iyam
>>2869725Wrap it.
>>2869725Bodywork needs to be on point, use a single stage paint, read the instructions and make sure your paint and primer are compatible, use an epoxy primer, get a good paint gun, make sure you have the compressor to run it, don’t fuck around make sure you have good respiratory protection, watch some YouTube videos to understand the techniques and lay it on thick so you can cut and buff all the runs and bugs and drips and shit when you’re done. You don’t need a full paintbooth, an easy up and some tarps will be good enough, you will be buffing dust nibs and trash either way. Did a full color change in my driveway, came out about as good as the Mexicans in TJ would do it for less than half the price they would’ve charged but it’s a lot of fucking work too. Spent about a grand on paint and a good gun, already had a good compressor. Be prepared to spend a lot of time and money if you want to do it right or don’t bother.
>>2869952What this guy says.I've been doing this rattle can shit for a while on a couple of vehicles. One was an old yard truck F150 that I painted a door on. Then I decided recently to paint the hood and bumper on my 2000 Durango. Be weary of the youtube videos. They don't show up close shots of some of their jobs. Also, I fell in love with the Rustoleum 5n1 can meme. It looks good on paper but you better get your prep correct. Also, the correct primer is important. I tried a 2in1 as well as a filler. The filler sprayed much better. Had I to do it all over again, I would have sanded the hood back down to metal. Or sandblasted. Trying to sand flaky clear coat down for a quick spray job is bullshit. Just sand all of it down. Long of the short, if you can afford it, get a good compressor with desiccant water filter and a good compressor. Also, don't fuck around with PPE. That 2K clear is nothing to fuck with. Get the proper mask. And ventilation. I sprayed my basecoat and clear today. Didn't see the pinholes in my primer until the base was on. No turning back. The clear didn't fill it. I'm full of regret. Don't be like me. Prep your shit right. Painting is a high stakes deal. If you give a shit about the results, your work will telegraph that. I'm learning. And I'll probably be that guy that paints cars on the side. But it'll be done right. >Picrel is the F150 door I did in white.
I rattle canned the hood of an Intrepid I used to have. It was dark blue but I couldn't find a decent match so I just went with matte black. I don't have any pictures, it was just a beater
>>2869725>Has anyone painted a car?no never, cars sprout from the carcasses of dead dogs fully colored.
>>2870110I used to work at Hyundai, it was a not uncommon occurrence for an entire chassis to fall into a paint vat xD
can you powder coat metal at home
>>2871770Yes. Just plug your paint gun into the nearest socket.
>>2869725>Has anyone painted a car?no one has ever painted a car.
>>2870104I was trying to color match some tweeter pods last week and tried the 5in1, I was surprised how good it worked, not that expectations were high, but still. Did you guide coat before primer? Depending on the clear coat u can get away with a scotchbrite and some spot putty, worst case a glaze coat. Full on sanding is for the birds, better off with paint stripper in that situation.
>>2869738>I could give you all the information out the ass but nobody will listen and corners will be cut. Smartest anon I've seen all week. We all like to talk but hate to listen
>>2871770>can you powder coat metal at homeYes, but you are limited to what you can fit in your oven to cure, or if you get some of those infrared light heaters you can spot cure. Never been around one though, so I dunno how well it works. I painted my service truck and it turned out great. A shit ton of work though. If I were to do it again I'd probably just leave it rusty and send it! Getting too old for this shit.
I had fun doing one this way;'How to Paint a Car With a Bucket of Rust-Oleum and a Roller' (actually, I used the Tremclad version, I assume they are the same.)Looked pretty good when it was done, I was satisfied.Much better than CRAP, not as nearly as good as PRO.
>>2871841Man, this was my first time trying any of this shit. I saw a bunch of YT vids on the 5n1. Thought I'd give it a try on my old yard truck. This used to be a DOT truck and they had some magnets/emblems years ago that rusted both doors. I did this while I had the transmission out getting rebuilt. I sanded down to metal in spots. Discovered a dip. Bondo'd that section. Sanded again, and ended up primering the whole door. (learned that I didn't need to do that) I did a guide coat after the primer. And used white scotchbrite after my first base. It's all fuckery. I wasn't expecting show car quality. I just wanted to learn and try something I've never done. I have yet to even tag this thing. It's a practice vehicle. You're right about stripping. I just did the hood/bumper on my 2000 Durango and while it looks fantastic from 10ft. I'm embarrassed to show the details. I'm learning. Fuck that 2K primer at $20 plus a can. It just doesn't lay down like I thought. Might as well get a proper spray gun and system going since my goal is to paint my Gen 3 Honda Prelude. Next spring. My shop's not heated. I've also looked into those cheap sand blasters that hook up to pressure washers. That might be the ticket. Painting a car can be a fickle whore at times when you're just DIY-ing. But I enjoy the challenge.
Get Marine paint and a roller, apply a coat, let it dry then sand it back, repeat 2-5 times depending on how autistic you are and tadaa, painting done on the cheap (if you don't value hundreds of hours sanding it all down)
