I'm painting the roof of my friends car because it it chipping and just has a little bit of surface rust. What all do I need to repaint it all over again. I just pressure washed all of the paint off of it and its a tan primered color. I'm going to have to sand the rust spots down to bare metal so will it be okay painting on the primered surface and the metal surface at the same time or will I have to sand the whole thing to metal? It nots and doesnt have to be a profession job, I just need to know some steps on what products to use and what kind. Thanks, any input would be wonderful!!!

You might want to put some bondo or duraglass down where you grinded out the rust.. because there is going to be a nice little dip there if not. I'd say primer over everything again, i wouldn't Risk it.

x2 def primer it all when your done than paint, not sure if i misunderstood you but do not paint on the bare metal primer it all up before spraying

Ok well I just laid down a second coat of white enamel after the two primer coats. IT STILL LOOKS ALL ENEVEN!! I have no idea why I cant get it nice and smooth all across the whole roof. Do I just have to put the tip closer to the surface to make the coat thicker or what? I plan on letting it dry overnight and then wet sanding tomorrow with 2000 grit sandpaper and hopefully that'll smooth it all out. Any help or suggestions PLEASE!!??

what do you mean by un even the paint is lighter in some areas darker in others or the actual surface is uneven?

Well, both ways to some extent. Its lighter and darker in different spots and its also nice and smooth where I coat it a lot heavier and rough in other places. I have to put the can really close to the surface to get a good smooth surface, but it isnt that easy to do in all areas for some reason. Like the corners are really good for some reason and like all in the middle of the roof it just looks like shit. My main concern is just getting the whole thing to be smooth. Will wetsanding be okay to do now today this morning?

Originally posted by clipse2g95
Well, both ways to some extent. Its lighter and darker in different spots and its also nice and smooth where I coat it a lot heavier and rough in other places. I have to put the can really close to the surface to get a good smooth surface, but it isnt that easy to do in all areas for some reason. Like the corners are really good for some reason and like all in the middle of the roof it just looks like shit. My main concern is just getting the whole thing to be smooth. Will wetsanding be okay to do now today this morning?

"I have to put the can really close to the surface to get a good smooth surface"

Not sure if you meant spray can, if so your getting overspray clouding up your paint and lack of pressure in the can to try and cover and area that big with a can, In all reality though is a pretty big area to try to use a rattle can and get uniform even coats. The "roof" is hard to sometimes get right with a regular spray gun seeing though its tough to get the same altitude and angle with the gun to get nice even coats. Either way, if its uneven and looking shabby(dull) your going to need to wetsand and or buff with a compound to make it look right. Just have some paitence and not rush it and you can pretty much turn any paint job into something decent looking with some elbow grease.
Not sure if you clearcoated yet ... but you will probably have to do the same steps that you do with the paint to make the clearcoat look good. And also let it cure at least a day specially with thick coats before you consider wetsanding. And thats based on just average temps/humidity and whatnot. I would need to know alot more varibles before I could really give accurate advise on when to wetsand.....but thats a good guidline.

Thanks a lot, that info really helps me. I'll try to clear some things up. Right now I have about 2 cans of white spray paint on the roof. Some places look nice and others dont. I just went to a couple auto places and they told me to put on like 3-4 coats and then wetsand, and then buff. I have like 2000 grit sandpaper to wetsand with. I know that painting takes time and patients, but I'm doing this for someone that needs the car in a couple days if not tomorrow. How much more paint do you think I need and how much time until I can wet sand? If you have an questions for me or need clarifycation just let me know! Thanks for your input so far!

Edit: Its in a garage with a side door open, the garage door open about 2 feet, and a box fan venting it out for drying. Otherwise when I'm spraying its all sealed up so theres no wind.

Originally posted by clipse2g95
Thanks a lot, that info really helps me. I'll try to clear some things up. Right now I have about 2 cans of white spray paint on the roof. Some places look nice and others dont. I just went to a couple auto places and they told me to put on like 3-4 coats and then wetsand, and then buff. I have like 2000 grit sandpaper to wetsand with. I know that painting takes time and patients, but I'm doing this for someone that needs the car in a couple days if not tomorrow. How much more paint do you think I need and how much time until I can wet sand? If you have an questions for me or need clarifycation just let me know! Thanks for your input so far! Edit: Its in a garage with a side door open, the garage door open about 2 feet, and a box fan venting it out for drying. Otherwise when I'm spraying its all sealed up so theres no wind.

If you do want to add more coats you kind of lost your window....it will more than likely skin on you at this point......let it cure as long as you can before you wetsand and then after wetsanding you can respray......but if your going to topcoat again, wetsand with like like 600grt so it has something to bind to. After you clean your mess off try and go with a couple more light coats so you don't get "runs" and try to concentrate on the areas that didn't get coated heavy. When thats ready again to wetsand you should be able to blend all very nicely with 2000 grt. And a tip use a teaspoon of dishsoap in the water for wetsanding as it helps keep the paper clean and is like a nice lubricant to sand with. And remember let the paper do the work not your muscle.

why the fuck are you using spray paint to try and paint the outside of a car, then worry about it not looking good? It's not going to ever look good with spray paint on your car.

Originally posted by optikal
why the fuck are you using spray paint to try and paint the outside of a car, then worry about it not looking good? It's not going to ever look good with spray paint on your car.

the truth

Besides that, you rushed. 90% of a paintjob is all in the prep working and sanding and buffing. You might only spend two hours painting the car, but for a good finish, you need to spend like fifteen prepping and sanding, and I don't think you did that if you put paint down on it while it was still uneven and different colors in the primer.

OMG.. I'm not really sure where to start. You needed etching primer from the start for your bare metal. You have no consistency b/c you did NOT follow the etch with either a high build primer or some sort of filler. (DO NOT USE THE SHIT IN THE TUBE) To do roofs, we stand on stools or a ladder for some mini vans to paint the top. I'm only 5'9 and I can paint the top of an Eclipse w/o a step with a full qt paint gun. Most local paint distributors can aersol the correct paint code to a singe stage urethane paint. It should only take 3 coats of light/medium build for coverage. That is not 6 coats to be sanded back to 3. I'm trying not to be a cock here, but paint jobs aren't a few grand for no reason. You can read around on how to make a side draft booth properly in your garage. It won't be perfect, but it cuts down some of your wet sanding. If you are painting the car for a buddy, tell him to wait and start over and do it properly. Also buy some tack rags and make sure that the surface that you are working on is perfect. Then roll the car into your garage and tack rag it again. Then paint. Leave for 2-3 days then decide if you even need to buff. (Remember single stage paints do not use a clear coat b/c it is already part of the paint) When I paint a bike or even parts to a car in my garage, I do it in my boxers. There is no way that you can get lint, dirt, or any part of your clothes in the paint you've been working so hard to lay down.

Okay, well the top of the car is going pretty well...but I really fucked it up on a spot that I was just trying to clean up. I dont know why I did this and its probably one of the stupidest things I've done to a car, but there was a big chip on the side of the car and I just taped it all up around it and sprayed it. So yes it looks completely like shit and it totally doesnt match AT ALL. Anything that I can do to possibly fix it up to make it look a little better. Its a stock neon white, with the part I painted being like fucking bright white. Yea it looks like shit!

Originally posted by optikal
why the fuck are you using spray paint to try and paint the outside of a car, then worry about it not looking good? It's not going to ever look good with spray paint on your car.

:o

Well no fucking shit, you dont have to repost something that I already told everybody in my first post (its nothing at all like a professional paint job, its just a temp fix for someone else). I was just asking another question on a topic that I needed some more help with, not asking for shit from you!