Jack605

I found a couple of shops that have done corvettes in the past but they are both so backed up with insurance work I am not sure when they can fit me in.

I found a couple of hot rod shops that would love to do the work for me 15-20K.

I bought this car to drive not to show, I would like the paint to be a good 5ft car.

So am I crazy? Alright dumb question, I do own a vett. Am I crazy to think that I can do this myself?

I have a large maintenance by at work that I can tent in a small area for a spray booth, I have the compressor and the gun. What I do not have is experience painting something this large my experience comes from an air brush with painting and spray cans.

The car is 90% ready for primer, there are a couple of areas that need work and one or two small areas that need fiberglass, nickel size repairs.

moosie982

If you think you can, you should try, but first practice on what ever you can find to get the technique of how to use the gun. I'd do it if I were you. Good luck
Peace,,,moosie

MIKE80

What color are you looking to paint it? If you are going to be spraying a metallic paint, you may want to have someone experienced spray it for you, or it may end up looking like stripes. If you do a one stage solid color and lay enough down, you can color sand out all the imperfections and buff it up to a mirror shine.

MrJlr

I'm going to try it myself in a year or so.

Never done it before, but that's never stopped me before

You CAN do it!

tokim

I've painted a few cars, including my old '73 Vette.
One thing I've learned is the best paint jobs come from the best preparation done before hand.
Follow manufacturers instructions-temperature, time between coats, same brand of reducer as paint, air pressure at gun, etc.
Remove all bumpers, emblems, insignias etc. tape off trim tag.
It's the attention to detail, that will separate a quality job, from the average.
Try it, you might like it.
Warning..you might end up enjoying the process, and gain confidence in your ability, enough to where you do it again, and again.
It's a prideful thing to have done the work yourself.
Good luck, in whichever way you go.

Jack605

I'm going with an easy color, white with the red interior.

Pretty sure I am crazy.

69red

Why don't you do all the prep work yourself. Spraying primer is not that difficult. Once the prep work is done pay someone to spray the paint for you. I have had cars sprayed for as little as $500 (I did all the prep work and provided the paint). Once sprayed cut and polish it yourself. You can get a show car finish for not a lot of money. Be prepared to invest hours and hours of your own time depending on how straight the body is and how well the panels fit. I've learned that if you want something done well you often have to do it yourself.

Capkunu

I'm considering the same thing. I've got a (thankfully) large garage which can be easily arranged as a spray booth, a compressor, a few $$ in the bank, but not enough to justify paying a ginormous amount for pro paint job. And I intend a solid color red re-paint. So, what's stopping me?

My tendency towards painting impatience; I know from past experience with small touch ups I can be a little sloppy. There's no room for that in a job like this; short cuts in prep and an impatient attitude spells: Nasty Paint Job.

Unless - or until - I can master my mental attitude, harnessing my 'inner paint 'pro,' - I will remain a 'Vette owner with a 38 foot paint job.

"A man has to know his limitations." - Dirty Harry.

71 Green 454

What kind of paint are you planning to use?

I've painted several cars.....Lacquer and Base Coat/Clear Coat.

Preparation is key, any flaws will be highlighted by the new paint.

my 76 ray

My sons and I have painted a few vehicles. The best result was with a base/clearcoat. If you're looking for a driver/5 footer and are willing to take your time to do it right then you should be happy with the results.

When my son took his newly painted car to college he had a lot of his friends ask him to paint their cars. The thing is that it takes so much time and effort to do a good job that he wouldn't have had any customers once he told them how much he wanted to be paid to do their car.

v2racing

If you do it yourself, make sure you use a good dust mask when you are doing body work and a good respirator when you paint. Fiberglass dust is nearly as bad for your lungs as asbestos. Although the water based paints aren't as bad as solvent based such as lacquer and urethane, paint hardening in your lungs isn't good. The solvents from the older style paints attack your nervous system.

It kills me on some of the car TV shows when they are doing body work or painting without masks. Sets a very bad example. I've even seen Chip Foose working without a mask, and he is a really sharp guy, nice guy too.

Muddywaters

I'm telling ya.... there's nothing like driving down the road in your own paint...Nuttn' Everyone thought I was crazy too.... the way I looked at it....hey, if he can do it, so can I.

Everything has a technique....research! There is the obvious Google, Youtube, & painting sites, as well as (did not have when I painted my LT-1) but on this site is a painting category. Go for it...and
don't look back. The plus side....you will learn how to blend...touch up any rock chips ect. down the road. Good luck! Muddy

Roco71

If you do not lay metallic down even you can get "tiger stripes" solid single stage paint is less money and easier to correct mistakes.

Aquarian

I also plan on doing mine as well, haven't had a spray gun in my hand since the lacquer days but....check around with some of the trade schools in the area, see if they have adult classes for auto body they should have a paint booth. We have one close to us and when I get ready I am going to sign up for the class (225.00), that way someone will be there that has some experience if I need it. Good luck with the spray job!!

Jack605

Thanks everyone, I am going to do some research and start to take off the rest of the parts that need to come off.

When I do start after training on a couple of junk cars we have laying around I will start with the doors and hood and move to the body of the car only after I am comfortable with my work on the doors and hood.

BigAl5611

You can do it yourself with a lot of practice and patience. A lot of different things can mean a lot in the quality of the job you'll end up with. Paint, Clear, thinners and other materials are very expensive and can add up quick if you have to re-do. I think it's great that you want to do as much as you can yourself, but as a painter for over 30 years, I would suggest you do what you can yourself. As for the final spraying of color/clear, I suggest you check around with some of the local car clubs/car guys, I'm sure you can find someone that paints for a living that does work on the side and would be more than happy to spray it for you. Area's are different as well as people. I help guys out and go to their garage and spray their cars for a few bucks.

Best of luck on how ever you decide do it and have fun.

Sunstroked

I've been prepping my car for some time now. Still have a lot to do. I'm slow.
A suggestion, try painting a piece of the car first. Like the underside of the hood. See how it goes. I guarantee you'll learn something. Like if you think you're ready to do the overall finish.
I have found a local paint supply store owner who has been very helpful. I buy my materials from him, and he is giving me great pricing. I can't beat the prices online. His tips have been great too. He also sells SPI line of primers, which get pretty good reviews over at the paint and body section of this forum.
Also, I now have found a reasonably priced shop to do the final coat. A guaranteed show quality finish for a fraction of what the rest of the shops quoted me. He happens to own a small body shop. This is the 3rd paint shop owner, over the years, who has offered up his services or directed me to a painter that I can afford.
My wife's car got hit recently so I had the paint store owners shop do the repair. Fantastic work for 1/2 of what my deductible was if I would have used the insurance. It gave me the confidence to take my 72 to him.
There is a lot to learn about painting. I've been spraying the primers and sanding them off. I'm final coating the underside of my hood this weekend. That's my experiment. Using a single stage semigloss black. I hope it looks ok. Because I have learned I am not good enough to do the high quality overall final coat finish I want on the exterior of my car.

BOSTONCAMARO

I have painted cars in both high end shops and my barn, key is prep, air pressure, clean gun, clean environment. You can do a decent job by taking your time.

I think a better option, prep the car take off all trim, bring to MAACO, these people paint multiple cars a week and today with all the great paint products, most do a great job, go check out some cars they did, find the right maaco or similar chain to paint your car

Being a 'Vette' most times the painters and body people will be pretty excited and spend the extra time on it

MIKE80

Like the others said, do a good prep job, take your time. Your just doing white, go for it, then color sand it and buff it out (stay away from the edges). Everyone will think a pro did it.

Mikesfreetime

You would think there would be painters out there willing to make some side money. I have offered body men 20$ an hour cash which is close to 30 without taxes and they all balk...Wish I could make an extra 20$ an hour tax free. Hell I even offered to do all the manual side of things to one guy...NOPE....Offered an 05 GT Mustang Conv, guess what NOPE...lolol