paint it mice elf?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 317
Likes: 0
From: olean ny usa
paint it mice elf?
I see a few articles lately on paint jobs, either expect poor results or pay a bunch for a good job... I need will be ready for paint in the spring if the body goes back on well.. :-)
is there a third choice?? how about spray it myself?? I have all the equipment and assume I could buy the right paint.
any opinions on this thought?
is there a third choice?? how about spray it myself?? I have all the equipment and assume I could buy the right paint.
any opinions on this thought?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 798
Likes: 0
From: Tampa FL
Re: paint it mice elf?
I am considering doing it myself if I can find a friend with a paint booth :) I am reluctant to use someone like Maaco, and I cant justify the $3500 a local shop estimated... but it would look so nice...
Lotsa guys I have seen at local car shows painted it themselves, and in most cases it turns out excellent, if not better :)
Lotsa guys I have seen at local car shows painted it themselves, and in most cases it turns out excellent, if not better :)
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 216
Likes: 0
From: Kingston Tn
Re: paint it mice elf? (tictocdok)
Doing a high-quality paint job on a car takes practice and experience. Even with all the right equipment and paint you're probably not going to walk right up to a car and do a really good job the first time. Even if your paint did come out slick and with no runs there's always the problem of dust and trash in the paint when not in a professional spray booth (and even they aren't perfect by any means). I would sure want to practice on a few cars before I even attempted to spray paint a Vette. I do have another option for you: You can save a lot of money, and sometimes come out with a quality job by doing all the prep work yourself (stripping, filling, sanding, etc.) and then just paying a professional to "shoot" the car. Good luck, hope the car turns out nice! PM , '74 350 Turbocharged, class of '71
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,825
Likes: 56
From: Shawano WI
Re: paint it mice elf? (tictocdok)
I prept mine myself. Took about 3 months of prep work. Then had a friend of mine spray it for me in a booth. Cost me about a $1000.00 in materials total. If you have the time and patience to do it you can save a ton of money. Even in a booth you better expect to wet sand and buff it.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 16,416
Likes: 1
From: NC,USA
Re: paint it mice elf? (Pete79L82)
what kind of equipment do you need to paint a car your self...
i bought a book about it but it doenst go into much detail, its how to do it not what you need to be able too :confused:
ZD
i bought a book about it but it doenst go into much detail, its how to do it not what you need to be able too :confused:
ZD
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 4,660
Likes: 3
From: South Central Louisiana
St. Jude Contributor
Re: paint it mice elf? (tictocdok)
I went through tis recently and can tell you:
Every painter has to start somewhere, each car you do will be better than the last.
Paint booths are nice, but a clean, well lit garage, without stuff falling from the ceiling, and no insects flying into the paint will do.
Paint something with the gun you choose to use BEFORE you paint your car. I don't find HVLP guns shoot clear that well.
Using degreaser prep is a must.
Cover every part of your body that has hair on it, or hair will end up in your paint.
Even if you fail at first, don't be surprized if you feel the need to try it again sometime.
Every painter has to start somewhere, each car you do will be better than the last.
Paint booths are nice, but a clean, well lit garage, without stuff falling from the ceiling, and no insects flying into the paint will do.
Paint something with the gun you choose to use BEFORE you paint your car. I don't find HVLP guns shoot clear that well.
Using degreaser prep is a must.
Cover every part of your body that has hair on it, or hair will end up in your paint.
Even if you fail at first, don't be surprized if you feel the need to try it again sometime.
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Racer
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 452
Likes: 0
From: Oak Hill, VA 20171
Re: paint it mice elf? (tictocdok)
I did the prep work on my 70 and had a friend shoot the paint for me. I used laquer back then and I know I didnt have 200 dollars in materials. I watched my sisters neighbor shoot a chevy nova in his driveway on thanksgiving day and his looked as good as mine if not better.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 5,245
Likes: 25
From: Blue Ridge Georgia
Re: paint it mice elf? (dlw)
Well, there's many steps to be ready to paint. I'm on my 8th week-end with a total of 100 hours. I think with one more week-end I will be ready for sealer and primer. Go to Corvettefaq and find the instruction my lars. It's the Bible on Corvette painting. I'm going to seal with DP and use the K36 for a surfacer. I will probally take it to a paint shop for BC/CC. I have prices from $1,000 to $1,500 for BC/CC. The stripping and sanding process is so long you will have a lot of time to think about your final choice. Heck, you got to pick a color 1st.