Paint Advice

[Celsiorous]

Hi,

I have a 90 Celsior, a mate of mine paints yachts etc for a living, he has offered to prep and paint my car for a good price. I have no idea about paint and am wondering what brand or type of paint I should buy. The car is Forest Green at the moment and im wanting to go for a deep black. I have also seen some hot rods in matt finishes which is growing on me.
Also is it necessary to "bake" a car after painting to get a good finish?
Any advice or tips would be great.

Thanks

 

[WDoherty]

I don't know much about paintwork, but myself and my boss tried it out on my 77 celica and it didn't look so pretty. Make sure whoever does the work knows exactly what they doing, as it is an art. Has this guy ever done cars? And if so i'd let him buy the paint ( if you've decided he knows what he's doing) to make sure he gets the correct type, unless you want a matte finish make sure its a clear coat paint. Ask him if he has an example of a car he has prepped and painted for you to see.

 

[Celsiorous]

Hi thanks for the reply, he has painted several cars and said to me that compared to painting super yachts cars are childs play. He said the reason is because car paint is much easier to use than boat paint. I have no idea about this but he does have about 10 years experience. My main concern is whether I need to hire a spray booth to bake the paint on or not. Thanks again

 

[Muzza_NZ]

My 2 cents

Hi C,
If you're happy with bugs and hair stuck to your panels then do it in the garage, otherwise spend some cash and get a decent heated booth.

I'd use two pack paint which won't shrink as much, but you need a decent respirator because that stuff is real nasty.

Also, its always a good idea to let the coats harden and shrink before applying each subsequent coat - ie apply primer, leave for a few days, sand back and apply 2nd primer layer, give it a couple of days, sand it and apply base coat, leave for 3 or 4 days, (colour sand here if you're into that) then apply clear coat(s)

Finally, when you're putting it back together, make sure that you put masking tape around all of the panel edges, as they won't be hardened properly and will scratch and chip really easily (trust me)

While I remember, before you paint it, check your panel and door alignment, and shim them up if necessary.

Hope that helps,

Muzz

 

[Celsiorous]

Hi Muzz,
Cheers for your advice again mate, I think your right, I may as well hire a booth. I have tried reading about colour sanding but dont really understand what it achieves. Do you know if it is for changing the finish or making the clear adhere more strongly?

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Hi C,
Each coat that you put on has some surface inconsistencies and if you don't sand them you end up with slight dimpling on the clear coat - this is fine for most of us, but for show cars they start with 240 grit and work through to 1500 - they also put several clear coats on and sand these as well. A colour sand will usually put about $1000NZD on the final price...

Some believe that a light sand with 320 regardless allows the clear coat to better key into the base, but its up to you.

Muzz

 

[sleeperz]

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