I have a general question and would like some feedback:

My car was originally Orange, repainted Red, then repainted Maroon. By the time I bought it, someone had tried to use chemical stripper on the left door and left side of the hood. The paint in those areas is peeled up, but the body underneath looks fine. Incredibly enough, I am contemplating at least stripping the paint myself and maybe even doing a paintjob myself. I have never painted a car, but I paint lots of model trains, etc. Obviously there is a huge difference in size of job and swath of the respective airguns!

One friend of mine repainted his Chevy Suburban and he says I should get an orbital sander and get the paint off the peeled areas, scuff the rest of the car so the new stuff will bite, and then go for primer and paint. Is he crazy for recommending an electric sander on a fiberglass car? What about getting it media blasted locally in the St. Louis area. Any thoughts, shop recommendations for the blasting, paint supplies, the whole job, etc?

I am not looking for a NCRS show job here - and I don't want to pay that kind of price. I just want a refinish similar to what the factory did, using 1973 Dark Blue Metallic as my paint.

Am I nuts here?

Thanks!


[Modified by Wardog, 11:44 AM 12/9/2002]


[Modified by Wardog, 11:44 AM 12/9/2002]


[Modified by Wardog, 11:45 AM 12/9/2002]


[Modified by Wardog, 11:47 AM 12/9/2002]

 

Since your car has been painted 3 times, I would strip the paint, before you repaint.

 

Mine had Seven Coats of paint underneath and it was sanded completely down and repainted....It turned out great.I did not do the work though

 

I just started stripping mine also. I'm going to be shooting mine - I think with today's technologies - that it is pretty straightforward.

I'm planning to closing follow Lar's paper:
HVLP gun, High Build Sealer, couple of DRY coats of color, couple coats of clear, LOTS of wet sanding & buffing. Will be hanging plastic from a temporary PVC frame, with filtered air and a SUPPLIED AIR system.

So - if your crazy - then so am I...


[Modified by sray454, 12:54 PM 12/9/2002]

 

Yes ,definiteley strip all of the paint off.I dont recommend media blasting ,Ive had three cars done that way and they all resembled fuzzy tennis ***** when they where done.Sray 454,dont think with todays technology things are easier.Thats very far from the truth.Im not trying to scare anyone from doing it themselves Just want it to be known that it isnt a cake walk.Sanding and buffing makes the job stand above the rest (it is a must)And as far as the sander,an electric sander will be fine .Almost every painter /bodyman uses a dual action (DA) sander and it does the same thing that the electric one will do.
Nice pics alwyn.I can smell the fumes just looking at them. :yesnod:

 

If you have that many coats of paint you should strip the car completely. I've used Capt'n Lee's to strip my car twice with excellent results. It's very messy but doesn't do any damage to the body. If you decide to go with a sander be careful around the body lines. For a full story on stripping paint go to my website in my signature. As paintdaddy said the new paints are no walk in the park. If you shoot the new catalyzed paint make sure you use a fresh air respirator. Many guys have gotten away with a cannister type respirator but I think it's just rolling the dice and if you lose it's your health that's gone. Catalyzed paints contain isocyanates which can be deadly and should be treated with respect. As far as the actual shooting of paint goes, that's the easy part. A show quality paint job is all in the prep and final finishing. You will have to do a lot of priming and sanding before you get the body in the shape you want it. If you are taking it down to the fiberglass you should grind out all the seams and fiberglass them because somewhere down the road they WILL crack. Trust me on this, it's the reason I had to paint mine twice. Use as little or no body filler as you can. You can get a smooth surface on fiberglass without it. Use a little extra clear when you topcoat especially around the body ridges and you will be able to get a second color sanding out of the paint job a few years down the road but don't make it so thick that it causes cracks. Finally, if you want the opinions and help of the pro's go to http://www.autobodystore.com . They have a board there much like this one that's dedicated to auto refinishing. They have a lot of good people there who are very willing to help an amateur. Hope this helps.



[Modified by vettfixr, 8:12 AM 12/10/2002]

 

you dont have to strip it down to the body. just until its down to the original paint. mine had a couple touch ups where we could slightly tell the diffrence in the original yellow, and the touch-up yellow. we just snaded it down and made all the bodylines straight. even the ones the general forgot about like between the doors and the rear wheel well.

we did about 1/2 electric sanding and 1/2 had sanding. the electric on the flatter parts, and hand on creases, round spots etc.

doing a paintjob is diffucult. you will get fed up, and you will hate it, and it wont be fun. until its done. then its a great feeling. so if you plan to do it, make sure your going to stick with it. i know i was fed up many times, but we finally got it done, and i wouldnt have it any other way. :cheers: