I have a ways to go until I paint my vette, several years perhaps, but I would like to answer the question of who is going to paint it. Paint jobs cost a lot of money, and don't give much satisfaction to the owner - just a sigh of relief that there were no mishaps.

I have been working with my hands my entire life, but have never painted a car. I feel the job of painting a car is massive. I have access to a paint booth - so if I paint my car myself, I'll be doing it in the proper environment. Has anyone here painted their car themselves, with no prior experience, and ended up with positive results? If you had a second chance, would you shell it out to a pro or do it yourself again?

I keep on thinking that even if I had a perfect body and I painted it myself, that I would screw it up. Is it true that painting is the easy part and body work is the tough part? Is it true that as long as you have done meticulous bodywork (and block sanded the car to perfection) that the final paint job will look great? I'm a perfectionist when it comes to bodywork, so I'm not worried about what surface the paint is being applied to, just the paint itself. Who has had a successful experience with do-it-yourself painting?

I'll be painting my vette yellow for two reasons
1) It hides lots of imperfections (if there happen to be any at all).
2) I love the color yellow.

My expectations are quite high, so should I be painting my car...or should a professional?


Post pics please.

 

GREAT QUESTIONS BUT:

I'm looking forward to some of the replies on this one but,
Here lies your answer ........

My expectations are quite high, so should I be painting my car...or should a professional" ?

"PROFESSIONAL"


Oh, & since i have no experience with painting either it would only make sense to me to practice first before you try on a Corvette for size...........lets say with, a, ahhhh, a, uhhh, uhhhhmmm,
MUSTANG. Just in case you screw it up real bad, it will still look the same



"

 

I guess I just answered my own question. What I was referring to though was on a level of personal satisfaction - does it outweigh the $6000 one would spend for a better than average paint job (done by a professional)?

 

And to be honest, I really think I can do it myself with great results. I just need some inspiration from you guys and all. You know how it is when you've never painted a car...and then you finally do, figuring out in the end that you had nothing to worry about.

 

stinger, When I was racing I thought that I should paint my next dragster myself,wanted to save alot of money. I read everything I could on the subject,talked to a few painters for advise,and did it
myself! Three color job that came out great. You will need alot of time to do it. It must be very straight and keep the surface clean. I borrowed a nice Binks spray gun which I think made a difference.
With base/clear paint it isn't that difficult to do. Good luck

 

there ya go

 

Is it possible? Yes. Lots of guys do it. I would paint a cheap daily driver (I have done two) but when it comes time to do the corvette I will borrow the money if I have to for a decent professional job. I know my limitations. I know a painter who is also a corvette guy. He runs a dealership body shop and has been painting cars for 25 years. He will let me bring it in and do the stripping myself. Then I will let him oversee my work and do the shooting. At 54 I don't want to do this again in 5 years. But if you have confidence, I say go for it. Just post lots of pictures.

 

thanks for the replies, anyone else have input?

 

Read everything and paint it yourself. There are some DVD's online by Kevin Tetz (current co-host of Trucks) called Paintucation. I don't have them, but maybe someone who does can comment.

I look at it this way: I was going to send it out and pay $6K for a shop to do it, then I saw a vette painted by the shop and it had noticeable blemishes on it. I would feel cheated if an expensive paintjob had blemishes, but could accept some if I did it myself. I figure if I take my time, and block sand several times, then practice spraying it should turn out alright.

I figure for $6K I can buy new seats, new bumpers, a 60 gallon compressor, a nice paint gun, all supplies, and send my wife and daughter away for a week while I am spraying.

 

I just painted my '79 at home with no prior experience. It turned out pretty good for a $1500 paint job:

60 gallon compressor - $400 at Homedepot
HVLP guns (full size and detail gun with 1.3, 1.5, 1.8mm tips) $350

http://www.tcpglobal.com/autobodydepot

add another $100 for hoses, connectors, filter/regulator

Material: PPG Omni (or Shopline) products from the local paint supplier is probably your best choice. primer/sealer/base/clear is about $650 including the reducer and activator.

 

Having growing up around body shops... (my dad was an auto body repairman/painter), I was always facinated with the before and after results on cars he repaired. Although he wouldn't allow me to go into the car repair business, I still liked to tinker with body repair and painting.
The first car I painted was a 1972 Chevy ex-police cruiser, next was a 1972 Datsun 240Z, next was a 1975 Audi 100 LS, and then a 1982 Mercedes 240D. These were painted with acrylic lacquer with clear added to the last 2 final coats. My only experience with base/clear was in 1988 when the paint supply shop salesman talked me into trying it on a Ford van I was repainting. I was very pleased with the results of my amatuer paint jobs.
Of course the most important part of painting is the preparation, only use the best primers, thinners, and paint products. And, most importantly, take your time. If you are painting base/clear you'll be impressed how easy it is. Spraying the color coat is sort of like like spraying primer, then when you apply the clear coat everything comes to life and it looks great. You can wet sand the clear coat, then buff it out to give a nice smooth finish if needed.
From reading your post, it sounds like you really want to paint your car yourself. And, since you have access to a spray booth you should go for it. Search this forum for others that have painted their own vettes.

Just my opinion...good luck either way,

Dave

 

I painted mine myself in my garage and very happy with the results .
If your not in a hurry and stay with a known system ppg products and have a decent air compressor you can be successful. The hardest part of the actual painting was keeping the booth bug or dust free ...
also a solid color will be easier with the basecoat/clearcoats.

 

I painted my '68 and my '80. Original acrylic lacquer on each. The results are positive on each, but neither is "show quality." For that matter, the expense involved was not "show quality" either. Total costs were for paint and supplies.


Do it myself....again.

 

I think it's soon to be a moot point...

http://www.aftermarketbusiness.com/a....jsp?id=197849

 

There will be a new black market/undergound dealing in automotive finishes

I will at a minimum get my '69 ready for final paint, and will likely do the whole job myself. I've painted a couple of cars, but it's been 10 years.

I will practice on my son's '70 Mustang first

 

I hope so.

I'm fed up with dealing with ****'s.

I'll cut down trees just for spite.

 

i say go for it!!!!!! thats what its all about pride if it dosent turn out good just make shure you have extra paint and do it over. We did a 87 jeep ind had to pant it 3 times to get it right but when it was done it was smooth as glass and we did it. so what how much time it takes we all like to tinker or we would not ahev older corvetts. just go with base coat clear coat we did 4 coats of clear and 5 coats of clear and wet sanded till perfect it looked like glass. we also did a 67 riveara and i think a 89 gmc jimmy. all i can say get the right tools for the job dont skimp on a spray gun or compressor and use good paint. it is alot of work but in the end i think its well worth it and its nice when people ask wow who painted you car and you can honestly say i did. so go for it it all just time and money and i know we all have plenty of that lol i wish i had more of both!!!!!!!!!! oh and by the way me and my wife will be painting our 76 as soon as we get all the body mods done l88 hood 80s from and rear bumpers and side and rear skirts we will take tons of pics this summer when all this snow is gone we are in denver colorado been a bad winter. take alot of pics we all like to see pics

 

Go for it! Thats how you learn and improve yourself.

 

I have my 82 CE in for paint at the moment . I thought about doing it myself and even posted questions for advice here and on other forums about it. My paint scheme is slightly more complicated with the fades and stripes etc and many cautioned about the toxic nature of the materials in use and how unpopular you would be with the neighbors with the dust , noise , mess and fumes.
I think the key here is that you have access to a booth which will solve the paint fume problem but all that blocking and sanding will still produce alot of dust and mess that should be taken into consideration.

I decided to get a pro to do mine as I rent my house , had no equipment , no painting experience , and no access to a booth. I only wanted to do the job once and wanted to be able to get the more reliable results that are to be had from a good painter. I checked out many shops in my area and went with the one who gave me the gut feeling that he wanted to do a good job and one who had been reccomended to me. ----- Is all that worth the 6k compared to 1.5-2k for the materials plus the time and effort to DIY - its a personal decision , my circumstances dictated my decision , had I been at my house in the UK and had it been a simpler paint scheme , I would definately have had a go myself.

Not sure if all that helps - just my 2c

 

Paint it yourself. On my car, I did all the prep & sanding work as per my friend's instructions. He actually painted the car, in his garage. He had painted 3 before, but even his first looks great. I think I couls shoot the paint myself now that I've seen it done.