| Spray Paint: How to |
| One thing to remember on this page, is that it's just a spray paint-job. Using spray paint to replace a 'real' paint job is not what you really want to do. What a spray paint job is good for is if you have a beater of a car, that is not worth the effort of going through the hassle of all the tedious bodywork, and the expense of all that paint and materials. If you decide that you are going to spray paint your car, know that, it is more dificult to avoid runs, more thin spots, and more dry spots. It's not as easy as going down the the hardware store, picking up a few cans of paint, and spraying away. My paint job may have cost me less than $12, but it takes a lot of patience to make sure it turns out alright. |
| The second step is to wet sand the whole car down. It's nice to get one of those rubber sanding blocks to make it easier. Don't worry about sanding through any paint, all you're looking for a surface that the new paint will want to stick to. I prefer 400 grit. I go over the whole car and then dry it off. Any part that is not a uniform dull shine, needs to be sanded more. Anywhere that is still shiney, and you paint over it, the paint will likely chip off. |
| The first step is to take everything off. What i mean here is, take off any body accesories that you can. Door handles, headlights, taillights, side view mirrors, bumpers, wipers, anything that can come off easily, take it off. This will give a better finish than just masking them off. |
| Now get your masking tape out, along with the sunday paper and go to town. Remember, the better you mask, the better the car is going to look. I push a piece of 12-14 gauge wire under the window rubber edges, then maske the window rubber. That way, when after the car is painted, the window rubber goes back down over the paint, creating a nice finished edge. I just paint over the fender beading, because it's just not worth it to me to try to mask those lines. |
| Now hose down the garage floor with water to keep the dust down and push the car in. Get a surface prepping cleaner and wipe the whole car down. I had some stuff laying in the corner of the garage that I had gotten a few years ago from an automotive paint shop made just for this. I highly recommend getting one of these cleaners, they will eliminate your chance of getting fish eyes. Now that you have the whole car wiped down, do it again, you probably missed somewhere. You cant be too careful when making sure the whole car is oil free. |
| Now you're ready to paint. Did you buy the right kind of paint? Stay away from the 'fast drying' paints, they are nothing but trouble when you are looking to paint a large area of car. You will end up with more dry spots than you can shake a can of paint at. My personal favorite flavor of paint is Rustoleum. Its good stuff. Also, get one of those cheap-o spray can trigger things. Otherwise, your fingers will start killing you. Also, buy more paint than you think you'll need. I usually buy 6 cans, which is plenty for an exterior job, or 8 if I do inside and out. I always end up with extra paint, but that's better than falling short of the mark. Just start spraying now. Follow the directions on the can for correct spray distance and all that highly useful information. One thing I have to say, is make sure you have plenty of light. It's hard to see the spray pattern on the car without plenty of it. In my garage, I have 12-4foot florecent lights. And it's only a small two car garage. Can't have too much light. You will get some runs, dont worry, it's just a spray paint job. You will get some dry spots, don't worry, it's just a spray paint job. You may even bump the spray can againts the car where there's fresh paint. Don't worry, it's just a spray paint job. Try to stick to a lighter color, it will hide flaws a lot better than darker colors will. Stick to light colors. You'll be a lot more proud of the finished producs. After it dries, put the car back together, and enjoy. Just make sure you have plenty of light so you can make sure you dont have any thin spots, that's what ALWAYS gives away a spray paint job. You know the ones i'm talking about. You see the old Chevy pickup with a replacement door from the junkyar, that has been spray painted to match. You can see every stroke of the spray can, and even though you cant tell the exact color under the paint, you know that there IS a different color trying to come through. Take your time, and make sure you get good coverage. Good luck! |