ok guys, i figure i'm just going to paint part of my car myself. The paint on the door and fenders of the driver side is completely flat while the rest of the car's paint is nice and shiny. I dont want to pay to get it done, instead i want to use this opportunity to practice spraying paint (since the paint is messed up as it is, cant get worse). Where can I get the paint, color code of my car (G56 i think) for a decent price, and what supplies will i need to do so besides spray gun, paint, clear coat, primer? do i just go to any paint store and ask about it or what?

I'm on summer vac, and have the summer to do this, and want to get started right away. I will be taking all 3 pieces off the car for the paint. How much am I looking at spending here also? thanks

O'Reilly's mixes paint. Just take them your paint code and they'll mix you a gallon, or I think they do pints too.

so do Napa.

Originally posted by coppereclipse95
so do Napa.

with factory paints, do you still need to wet sand it after painting to get any kind of reflection and to lessen the orange peel? or is it just a spray on and give it time to dry kind of deal?
it doesn't make sense that you'd have to spend 40 hours sanding it to get a factory finish, since factory finishes aren't that great and the factory doesn't have time to buff and sand every inch of every car.

I just got a repair done to my car and they didn't wet sand it at all. Factory paint is shit. They basically spray it on, let it dry, buff it and send you on your way. It's a clear/base combo.

If you want a good paint job you need to 3 step it with primer, base, clear. And sand/buff between coats for a good super deep high quality shine.


Edit: You can order factory paint from paintscratch.com as well.

my paint is pretty shiny for factory paint... I was thinking about painting my car that blue color you can get on Neons nowadays because Subaru blue paint looks like shit.

since i dont know where there is an o'reilly's, i'm glad to hear that Napa also mixes paint. what grid sandpaper should i sand it with?

Originally posted by 96rs-t
since i dont know where there is an o'reilly's, i'm glad to hear that Napa also mixes paint. what grid sandpaper should i sand it with?

No offense but if you don't know that you shouldn't be trying to paint your own car.

Originally posted by a_miller_76

Originally posted by 96rs-t since i dont know where there is an o'reilly's, i'm glad to hear that Napa also mixes paint. what grid sandpaper should i sand it with?

No offense but if you don't know that you shouldn't be trying to paint your own car.

believe me, i dont know shit about painting, but fact is, that the 3 pieces i'm attempting to paint are crap as they are now, and couldnt possibly get worse. I have the entire summer to play trial and error with the 3 pieces, and dont care if i mess up. That is why i said i wanna practice painting, and starting with small pieces like fenders is not a bad start. I gotta start somewhere, which is why i started by posting here, to get some feedback to help me out.

easy way to get an idea is just go to Napa where they have the "paint" person and ask what he/she suggests. When I painted my stuff, I got 80 (rough) all the way up to about 1800 (wet sand, smooth). Just go through few stages sanding.

Take a summer autobody class and paint it during class.

Originally posted by EvuLFleA
Take a summer autobody class and paint it during class.

That sounds like a good idea, I actually wouldnt mind doing that

Originally posted by HipHop615

Originally posted by EvuLFleA Take a summer autobody class and paint it during class.

That sounds like a good idea, I actually wouldnt mind doing that

lol, most definitely

If the doors and stuff you are painting are in good shape, then I would start off with 320 grit sand paper to roughen the paint up a little. Then clean it with alcohol and a tack cloth, mask it off and spray light coats of paint until you get good coverage. Allow a flash time of 10 to 15 min between coats, a good way to time that is to smoke a cigarette in between coats. Wait about 20 min, then comes the clear coat, Start off with a semi heavy coat and put about 4 to 5 coats of clear on and you're done. Wait about 1-2 hours before handling anything otherwise you'll get finger prints in it and that sucks. Good luck, and Belive in your self, fuck what anybody says.

Originally posted by knight ryda 99
If the doors and stuff you are painting are in good shape, then I would start off with 320 grit sand paper to roughen the paint up a little. Then clean it with alcohol and a tack cloth, mask it off and spray light coats of paint until you get good coverage. Allow a flash time of 10 to 15 min between coats, a good way to time that is to smoke a cigarette in between coats. Wait about 20 min, then comes the clear coat, Start off with a semi heavy coat and put about 4 to 5 coats of clear on and you're done. Wait about 1-2 hours before handling anything otherwise you'll get finger prints in it and that sucks. Good luck, and Belive in your self, fuck what anybody says.

Good lord you're going to put on all your paint in 1 day? You're nuts. You need to sand and buff each solid color coat for a good quality job, and if you're doing it yourself you have the time to do this and save money (as shops charge you out the ass for this).

Do NOT try to paint it all in one day.....holy shit.

Originally posted by a_miller_76

Originally posted by knight ryda 99 If the doors and stuff you are painting are in good shape, then I would start off with 320 grit sand paper to roughen the paint up a little. Then clean it with alcohol and a tack cloth, mask it off and spray light coats of paint until you get good coverage. Allow a flash time of 10 to 15 min between coats, a good way to time that is to smoke a cigarette in between coats. Wait about 20 min, then comes the clear coat, Start off with a semi heavy coat and put about 4 to 5 coats of clear on and you're done. Wait about 1-2 hours before handling anything otherwise you'll get finger prints in it and that sucks. Good luck, and Belive in your self, fuck what anybody says.

Good lord you're going to put on all your paint in 1 day? You're nuts. You need to sand and buff each solid color coat for a good quality job, and if you're doing it yourself you have the time to do this and save money (as shops charge you out the ass for this). Do NOT try to paint it all in one day.....holy shit.

Don't you HAVE to do it all in one day? I've never painted a car, so I'm definatly not an expert, but the way I understand, you can only let each coat dry so long before you put on the next coat... it has to get dry to where it doesn't wanna run when you put on the next coat, but it can't get all the way dry.

Is that not right?

here is some good info for you to read, read, read...

http://www.autobodystore.com/

and

http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=a310fc8a724c23646676dd50bda10d5c&forumid=13

Originally posted by djtrickee
here is some good info for you to read, read, read...

LOL! That reminded me of the duck in Charlotte's web

Yes you can do all of that in one day. I don't belive he is painting the whole car. I painted my whole car in about half a day- Twice, and no I haven't sanded and buffed it yet and the paint is quite smooth, it just needs minor buffing.