painting mustang...need help fast!!!

[TacomaNC4X4]

aight i need some help fast cause i dont know what to do. im going to be paintin my 5.0 mustang soon and im going to buy the paint tomarrow. i want to paint it comp. orange. sherwin williams sells it for $83 a qt. should i get this stuff or should i just go to napa and get it for $20 a qt? is it the same stuff? i want it to look really good and not like a cheap paint job. also when i bought the car its been painted primer with the stuff you get at autozone and sprayed it over the stock white paint. what do i need to do to prep the car before i put the orange on? i really want it to look good but im not sure if i should go with the expensive paint or the cheap paint, or what kind of preping has to be done. i know theres somebody on this board that knows somethin about paintin cars that can help me out. i need to know fast before i go buy the paint tomarrow. also whats this stuff called orange peel? since im painting the car orange will i have to worry about seeing it?

[Mxjunkie]

Do you have a spray gun, have you sanded and taped the entire car.

Is the paint your getting a single stage paint which you dont have to clear.

[pastfast125]

Originally posted by TacomaNC4X4
also whats this stuff called orange peel? since im painting the car orange will i have to worry about seeing it?

Orange peel is a texture you get when the paint is applie simproperly ( flash times werent right, gun not set up properly) it has nothing to do with the color of the paint. the only way to get rid of orange peel is to wet sand it untill smoth. Honestly, I don't mean to sound rude or mean or anything, but it doesn't sound like you have enough knowledge on auto painting to do this and have it turn out nice. If you wanna do it go for it, but theres more in painting a car than just buyin some paint and slapping it on. For prepping, I don't really know, Did you say the car is covered in primer right now? How smooth is it? You said they sprayed it right over the factory paint though right? I don't know if that's good, it would probably be better to completely strip, and then re prime, and paint. Somebody else with more knowledge will clear that up though.

[TacomaNC4X4]

whats single stange paint mean? i do have a spray gun, and the car is goin in the shop tomarrow and im gonna tape everything off and start sanding. i was told to just scuff the whole car up. why is it that you dont have to clear coat a single stage paint? does a single stage still shine like a new car does?

[TacomaNC4X4]

Originally posted by pastfast125
Orange peel is a texture you get when the paint is applie simproperly ( flash times werent right, gun not set up properly) it has nothing to do with the color of the paint. the only way to get rid of orange peel is to wet sand it untill smoth. Honestly, I don't mean to sound rude or mean or anything, but it doesn't sound like you have enough knowledge on auto painting to do this and have it turn out nice. If you wanna do it go for it, but theres more in painting a car than just buyin some paint and slapping it on. For prepping, I don't really know, Did you say the car is covered in primer right now? How smooth is it? You said they sprayed it right over the factory paint though right? I don't know if that's good, it would probably be better to completely strip, and then re prime, and paint. Somebody else with more knowledge will clear that up though.

i have a friend thats goin to come over and spray it for me after i get it preped and everything. im just trin to get everything together and make sure i get the right paint and prep it right so when he comes over all hes gotta do is spray it. i think i could do it, ive painted 3 trucks but ive never really cared if it looked good. if im gonna spend $200 on good paint..i wanna make sure it turns out good.

[Mxjunkie]

For prep you have to D.a sand the entire car with either 180 or 220 then do any spots you cant get with the da sander with a sanding block with either 320 or 400grit paper on it.

Once all that is done take a air chuck and blow the entire car off.

take 2 and 1 inch masking tape and tape up anything you dont want painted such as the trim etc, use newspaper as well.

Blow the entire car once again and if possible get tack rags from your local store and mix your paint.

once you have done that, start spraying LIGHT coats, dont try and spray it on wet and heavy the paint will react and it will lift.

[pastfast125]

o ok...Well single stage paint is basically what the name implys, the paint and clearcoat are mixed in one, and can be applied in one stage, you dont have to apply the clear coat afterwards.

[Mxjunkie]

Originally posted by TacomaNC4X4
whats single stange paint mean? i do have a spray gun, and the car is goin in the shop tomarrow and im gonna tape everything off and start sanding. i was told to just scuff the whole car up. why is it that you dont have to clear coat a single stage paint? does a single stage still shine like a new car does?



Single stage is almost like the paint in your spray paint cans. When dry it has a glossy finish and doesnt need to have clear coat applyed to it where a Base clear paint when sprayed it is glossy, once the paint drys it turns dull and you then spray the clear coat to give it gloss..

Both have their advantages, Single stage is cheap and affordable and makes repairs cheap.

Base/clear has that really shinny look to it, but its pricey because of the 2 step.

I'd see if you have any PPG stores close by or a autoparts store and get what you need from them.. I'll warn you materials to paint a car is EXPENSIVE, I painted a lowered c-10 pick up and he bought the materials for it and was 1,200 for a gallon of candy apple red paint, gallon of clear and the other things needed.

[pastfast125]

or you could always check out house of kolors website, search through their stuff. If you just doing plain base coat or whatever, no kandies and pearls and what not, it shouldn't be too bad, I was gonna paint my friends truck for him, but he doesnt drive yet, and his dad is phsyco and wouldn't let us. but anyway, I think it turned out to be like close to 300 for 2 different base coat colors, clear, and some metel flake.

[TacomaNC4X4]

my main thing is i want a bright orange shine that i can wax over and over and make it smooth again. i want it to look really clean. should i go with the single stage or base/clear? also, whats the best and fastest way to sand it everything off? how much of a diffrence do yall think it would make if i sanded down to bare metal and then reapplyed the primer?

thanks for helped me out so i know half way what im looked for tomarrow when i go buy all this stuff

[Mxjunkie]

I wouldnt strip it, you never know whats under there. Could be alot of bondo, could be a perfect body..


if you get some of your buddys, some sanding blocks and 220 -400 grit sand paper and work at it for a day you can sand it that way.

when sanding go this way <~~~ ~~~>

Not up and down, when you flow with the car it makes a huge difference, same as polishing for example.. :)

[TacomaNC4X4]

far as i know i dont have to worry about any bondo. i put a whole new front end on the car after i bought it because i wanted to go with the 87-93 body style and not the 86 which have the 4 headlights. so am i going to have to sand this whole car down to bare metal?

[Mxjunkie]

You dont have to, just as long as the car is smooth and no blemishes or anything spray it.

[TacomaNC4X4]

what do you mean by smooth? ive been told to sand it just enough to make it rough so the paint will stick. damnit im about to get a maaco job.

[pastfast125]

I've heard bad things about maaco. what he means by smooth is, are there any like, oh bubles or osmethin weird like that, or drips or runs, fi there are, sand them so it's a uniform surface. Then you do your final prep sanding, then you paint. You just dont want any imperfections like drips, runs, rough spots.

[TacomaNC4X4]

alright its lookin good then..i just dont know if i should get a single stage or base/coat. and if i should go with cheap paint or sherwin williams $85 a qt? what do i need to do and ill be set i think?

[ieatglue]

base/clear would be better but you can make single stage look good. definetly get the sherman williams over the napa. if you have a place i would go with ppg or dupont products.

i would suggest to sand the whole car with 220 on a d/a sander and then put a couple of heavy coats of primer on it. then wet sand the whole car to take out all the sand scratches.

do not use anything rougher than 400 grit to sand with if you are using single stage paint and 600 grit for base/clear paint. anything rougher than that will leave sand scratches that will not sand and buff out.

this is all coming from an experienced painter, i painted cars for 2 years in a body shop.

[pastfast125]

just wondering, what color is the primer that's already on there? It'd be sweet if it was white, or if you put anymore primer on there if you used white, cuz that would make the orange really pop.

[pastfast125]

shermin williams actually sells automotive paint? I didnt know that.

[Mxjunkie]

Originally posted by TacomaNC4X4
what do you mean by smooth? ive been told to sand it just enough to make it rough so the paint will stick. damnit im about to get a maaco job.

By smooth I mean no bumps, no chips etc.

[400exrider707]

The key to good looking paint is the prep work. The more time and energy you put into prepping the car the better its going to look, and so far it sounds like this isn't going to look good at all....no offense, but you just have no clue what your doing.

I wasn't even aware that they sold automotive paint for $20 a gallon! My buddy bought some canary yellow for his old truck and it was somewhere around $500 for a quart. $20 a gallon doesn't sound like very good paint to me, but hey what do I know.......:ermm:

[milburn]

take it to maaco. i had one car done by them and it looked good for the money. prep work sucks!

[Diedrich]

i wouldnt go with a 1 stage paint..just wouldnt look as good in my opinion..also dont use newspaper to tape it off with cause the paint can bleed thru it...yea ur gonna need to prep it really well or it will look like chit...and for paint i would go to a auto body supplying shop and get either dupont or ppg paint if you dont wanna spend a whole lot of money...house of kolor and hot hues paint is pretty expensive...a gallon of dupont paint is usually around $150-250..well thats what i can get it for but my buddys dad owns a body shop but it shouldnt be alot more than that

[DieselBoy]

I'm sure Maaco does a decent job. If you don't pay much, don't expect much. You get what you pay for. They've been around for years and years. Doing your own paint job is a difficult, exhausting process if your aiming for perfection. There is alot of taping, sanding, and prep work to make it worth the while. Also, paint can chip and peel off if the surface neglects the paint your using. Good LUCK!

[pastfast125]

How much paint is needed for a truck, regular cab shortbed. Like how much base, how much clear? Also, I still don't know a super lot about paintin. Is color sanding ( wetsanding) required between each base coat, and then again between clear coats or what?

[cosborne]

Don't take it to Maaco. Get the more expensive paint and try to get a base/coat. I think it is a lot better than stage 1. A little more expensive but you will like the outcome. If you want to make the car look good, spend a lot of time on the prep work. I know it sucks, but it will really show after you paint. Even though when you got the car it was primered, I would still go through and prep the car, you never know what kind of job the person before you did to it. You get what you pay for!!!! If you don't know a lot about painting, try taking it somewhere to get it done. Just my $.02.

[Mxjunkie]

All of you are telling him to do base/clear but obviously hes still a begginer, how is he going to spray the clear without any runs?

Think people!

[user101]

Do yourself a huge favor and take it to a professional!!!!!!

There is nothing worse than a car with a crappy paint job. I've seen this to many times.
If you don't have the money to take it to a professional, I suggest you invest in the "do it youself" videos and books before you take on a project like this.
A paint job can only be as good as the prep job. If you do a $hitty job prepping the car it will look like crap after the paint is applied.

[user101]

Originally posted by Mxjunkie
All of you are telling him to do base/clear but obviously hes still a begginer, how is he going to spray the clear without any runs?

Think people!

You told him to sand (~~~~~~) which is wrong. Never Never Never sand in the same direction continously. This will put grooves in the primer. But what do I know I've never done this before:rolleyes:

[Mxjunkie]

Yeah if you go fuggin oger on it and you sand primer with 180 grit :rolleyes:

[Mxjunkie]

I did it the way I just told him and I dont see a darn thing wrong with this do you?

[Mxjunkie]

I dont see the sanding marks? do you? :scary:

[jcv400ex]

Why do you have a dish washer in your paint booth Josh? :scary:

[Mxjunkie]

Originally posted by jcv400ex
Why do you have a dish washer in your paint booth Josh? :scary:

Gotta clean the parts some how


:bandit:

[TacomaNC4X4]

alright. i forgot to add that im having a friend come over aftet i get it all preped and he has painted about 5-6 cars and has his own gun and stuff so im gonna let him spay it since hes got more experience with a spray gun. hes just never spayed a base/coat before. is there a diffrence between spaying base/coat then just stage one? i went today and got 2qts of comp. orange base and 2qts of clear coat. i guess im going to start sanding tomarrow by hand with 600gt, then im going to wet sand with 1000gt. then i guess ill tape everything off and take care of the 2-3 chips on the hood. what should i use if i dont use newspaper? i would take it somewhere but i just cant afford to do that. i dont want maaco because if im gonna do something i want it done right and i dont want it to be chiping in 6 months. i WAS gonna just spay it myself too but after spendin all that money on paint, i dont wanna put runs in it since i dont have any experience with a gun. anything else i should do when preping it besides sanding and tapeing, etc? i was told that i dont have to sand down to bare metal..just rough it up with 600 then wetsand with 1000. is this all i need to do?

[metalmellinium]

Just remember if you shot it single stage you can not wet sand it and polish it. It will turn white some times when you wet sand it. So if you run the paint, most likely will have to stay there.

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Mxjunkie
I dont see the sanding marks? do you? :scary:

Did you plan that middle-finger looking thing in the light spot on the tank? LOL thats awesome....:devil:

[TheFontMaster]

Originally posted by TacomaNC4X4
alright. i forgot to add that im having a friend come over aftet i get it all preped and he has painted about 5-6 cars and has his own gun and stuff so im gonna let him spay it since hes got more experience with a spray gun. hes just never spayed a base/coat before. is there a diffrence between spaying base/coat then just stage one? i went today and got 2qts of comp. orange base and 2qts of clear coat. i guess im going to start sanding tomarrow by hand with 600gt, then im going to wet sand with 1000gt. then i guess ill tape everything off and take care of the 2-3 chips on the hood. what should i use if i dont use newspaper? i would take it somewhere but i just cant afford to do that. i dont want maaco because if im gonna do something i want it done right and i dont want it to be chiping in 6 months. i WAS gonna just spay it myself too but after spendin all that money on paint, i dont wanna put runs in it since i dont have any experience with a gun. anything else i should do when preping it besides sanding and tapeing, etc? i was told that i dont have to sand down to bare metal..just rough it up with 600 then wetsand with 1000. is this all i need to do?


Where are you getting this information. 1000 grit is way too high for primer. The highest you want to go is 400 wet grit. What I would do is go over the whole car with 180 grit dry, spray on 2 good coats of primer, along with a coat of guide coat. That is a very very light coat of single stage paint. The wet sand that primer with 400 wet grit sand paper. What will happen now is any low spots, like small dents that you might not normaly see, you will see because the guide coat wont be sanded away. After wet sanding the whole car, if you have any dents, fix them, then do a spot prime on the area. Now you know that you have a good base to paint on with zero imperfections.

Now before the base coat goes on make shure that there are only 400 grit scratches in the primer. Any marks lower than 400 WILL show up in the paint. The you are ready for 3 coats of base coat, waiting 5-10 minutes in between each coat. Then wait another 10-15 minutes, and lay down 2-3 coats of clear coat. Once again waiting 5-10 minutes between coats.

Remember that before you put a coat of paint on the car, you need to blow it off, and then use a good wax and grease remover on the body.

[TheFontMaster]

Originally posted by metalmellinium
Just remember if you shot it single stage you can not wet sand it and polish it. It will turn white some times when you wet sand it. So if you run the paint, most likely will have to stay there.

That is not true. You can wet sand single stage, then buff it, and it will not have any problems.

[Mxjunkie]

Originally posted by TheFontMaster
That is not true. You can wet sand single stage, then buff it, and it will not have any problems.

Done it before on a 65 chevelle it is possible. ;)

[TheFontMaster]

Originally posted by Mxjunkie
Done it before on a 65 chevelle it is possible. ;)


What paint did you use. In the last 2 years, My auto body class has re painted atleast 6 cars, 5 of them in single stage, and we wet sanded and buffed them without any problems. We have been using the PPG paints.

[Mxjunkie]

PPG, Blood red/cherry red.

[user101]

Like i said before, i've never done this.:o
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid202/pf309e0c08ece722e414ce38b573eff42/efb84199.jpg