Okay, there seems to be a LOT of DIY painters. I'm starting to investigate everthing I'll need to get started, but I'd love to hear some things that you've done that worked real well that might not be that obvious. There's a lot of information on this site, as well as CorvetteFAQ.com, but I'm more interested in some tips that worked really well for you.

THANKS!!!

 

Where are you painting? Is it set up with air filtration, heat, air compressor, and room for the car and body pieces?

They first thing is get everything set up right...before you even start.

 

I'm going to be painting out of my garage...that is, if I can ever get the thing cleared out

 

You need to get a good book or books on how to paint your car. Kevin Teats Painucation video would help too. The books will tell you everything you need as well as how to do the job. It's a seemingly endless list once you start getting to the shop supplies, like masking tape, sandpaper and such. The forums are not a good place to start due to the amount of information you need to take on the job. Fine for answering specific questions, but a bad place to start from scratch.

And for a beginner, I suggest you avoid the power tools except for the buffer. Until you have a lot of skill, they only get you into more trouble a lot faster. It's a lot of labor to do everything by hand but you can stop and make corrections before they ruin your life.

 

I am a beginner painter with plans to paint my 72. Here's what I did by way of research. I bought Kevin Tezt's Paintucation videos. I went on several forums and just read old posts. I bought a couple of books. I was still worried about taking on the project so I enrolled in our local high school's adult education classes at the vocational high school.
the best $150 I spent. Two nights a week (go when you want); access to all needed tools and supplies. A commercial paint booth. And an instructor to help along the way. I grabbed my buddies old harley tanks and fenders and used that as my project. I stripped them; bondo'd them; sealed, primed, painted, cleared and buffed them out. DO NOT PAINT A CAR UNTIL YOU PRACTICE ON ANYTHING YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON. There is too much to learn from stripping paint from fiber glass, to prep, to sanding techniques, kind of compressor to use, spray gun to use, primer to use, paint and clear to use, grit of sand papaer and on and on. Also painting in a garage only works if it is not attached to your house. Otherwise make a booth (there's lots of plans on the web). I made tons of mistakes and had to redo alot of work. Everything the experienced guys will tell is true; you need to practice on everything and anything otherwise you will waste alot of time and money and get really frustratred. Hope this helps.

 

Yeah, I'd love to find a similar adult-ed typr class, but I've searched everywhere int eh Detroit and I can't find anything. No one in the Great Lakes region knows of anything either (including those folks who have also looked). I mean, in Detroit you'd epect there to be LOTS of these types of classes, but no luck. Day-um!

 

Maybe some of the Detroit forum brothers will drop in and suggest some places to seek classes...or even help from their own knowledge.

 

My family ran a body shop for 40yrs. There are lots of tips on in the forum that will help you, not to mention the internet. Hate to say, but not really all that hard, just learned skills, and materials that work well together. Have to say, of all the materials you buy, please don't skimp on the tape. I say this because i know everyone buys the best that they can afford, but skimp on the tape. Cheap tape will curl on the edges, and not bond well, dont skimp. You will hate the results when you tape something off, only to have it bleed thru on the edges. Learn what you read, practice, and buy quality products, and you will be very suprised at what you can do. good luck

 

So.. who has the BEST tape?

 

Go to the forum here for a lot of DIY'er info.

www.autobodystore.com

Here's a tip that might not get mentioned otherwise. Make sure your air compressor is outside the booth/garage where your painting. No matter how well you clean the "booth", the compressor will stir up dust.

 

You may also want to check out this forum. These guys know everything there is to know about body work on hotrods...and I was surprised how many of them knew about the Corvette fiberglass body.
http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/

 

No such luck (so far)...but, we'll see. I've got a lot of inquiries out there.

 

Onaqwst lives there...I wonder who painted his. Maybe he did it himself.

 

He posted a while ago that he isn't too happy with his painter....

 

Why? He didn't want that color? J/K.

 

Motor City Vett,
Don't get discouraged, I painted my son's car in my garage using a 3.5 HP compressor and a Home Depot HVLP spray gun. It can be done.

Look at the forum, lots of good tips on here.

Practice with primer, you can't screw it up, if you do just sand it. Same with the base coat, if you run it, you can sand it out and re-paint. The clear just requires some light sanding if you run it.

 

Yeah, everything they said, and then my two cents: MAKE LOTS OF ROOM.... Room to walk around, room to hang up parts, room to walk around those parts, room to avoid dragging a hose against a freshly painted quarter panel , clean area to mix materials on (paints, fillers, etc), and place to dispose of dirty towels or tape or whatever.... Prep your environment as carefully as you prep your car and you can do it in your garage no prob.

 

Test your gun over and over with water in the tank. There is NOTHING worse than laying down a great new coat of clear, and then having clear seep out of a bad seal under tank and drip all over the fender...making that weepy look. AHHHH....I was SOOO pissed.

 

I painted my Vette in August. I suffered some rookie mistakes but it has turned out nice all things considered. Had to do over again I would have done more research before getting started. It was a good learning experience. My next paint job will certainly turn out better, cost a lot less money, and take much less time.

I just attended a House of Kolor two-day training class in Grand Prairie Texas on January 11th and 12th. It was a screaming good deal for just $100. (Price just increased to $150 for 2007) The class was geared toward the use of House of Kolor custom paint instead of typical jobber paint but the hands on experience is very useful for any type of paintwork you have planned. The price included a two night stay at the Wyndham Hotel, a knowledgeable/motivated instructor, a mailbox that is used as the canvas for your paint project, all chemicals, and use of a TOP NOTCH lab/paint facility.
The location is excellent. Your family could spend two days at Six Flags over Texas while you attend class.

They also offer a four-day class for $500.
http://www.houseofkolor.com/hok/news...ngschedule.jsp
http://www.houseofkolor.com/hok/news...gSchedule.html

http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/DFWAS/main.wnt

 

Anyone in the Nashville TN area is welcome to use my booth for free if you can schedule around my current work. We normally dont work on Sundays so that would be a good time.

Your also welcome to use any of our paint guns, we have a large assortment of Sharps (high and low end) and Sata's.