How To: DIY Paint and Body work

[waxball88]

Originally Posted by Trinidrift3

any tips or steps on how to straighten a dented metal fender/quarter panel? both are easily accessible.

The only real way to yield good results with this is to buy a stud gun and slide hammer. Ill try and get pictures but my friend had a 240 that had a 12" by 8" pushed in 3" section on his rear quarter, slide hammer/stud gun and a lot of bondo later could never tell it was there
However a fender a decent set of body working hammers you can probably get it decent enough to bondo
Recently painted this wing and valance, wasn't very happy with the finish, so I sanded down and am getting ready for a second coat.

Here is a trashed out drift bumper I fixes both side had 6" cracks all the way down, chunk of the pass side lip missing that I had to completely reconstruct
When working with glass there is no easy way, you grind out everything that's cracked out, tape the front side, do the glass work on the back side, use fiberglass jelly and block the front out.

[s14croom]

Originally Posted by buentellomma

Not true, every bit of the work i have posted on this thread has been done with a craftsman 33 gal 1.5 hp all in my garage. However a 60gal would be the best choice if i had the extra cash. As far as moisture control i use a inline filter attached to the hvlp gun. Super cheap like a dollar or so and works good. A full out inline filter system cost way too much for the average diy user on here. To paint with the smaller compressors you need a decent hvlp and keep the psi leaving the tank between 40-60 psi and then adjust your air pressure at the gun with a regulator

I didn't say it couldn't be done, but hey everyone has different opinions, I was just coming from a production stand point, and I know were not talking about production. I do agree with the rage and platinum bondo that is also what I like to use also, what type of base/clear are you using?

[buentellomma]

Here are some of my past projects done with small compressors in a garage



Harley painted in my garage with a 33 gal 1.5hp





Toyota painted in my garage with a 6 gal air compressor ( do not attempt)



Ford 150 bed cover painted in my garage with 33 gal 1.5hp







86 toyota corrolla JDM coversion project done in my garage with 33 gal 1.5hp

[buentellomma]

Originally Posted by s14croom

I didn't say it couldn't be done, but hey everyone has different opinions, I was just coming from a production stand point, and I know were not talking about production. I do agree with the rage and platinum bondo that is also what I like to use also, what type of base/clear are you using?

First of all, its not BONDO, its polyester resin based filler or body filler..... no professional collision repair technician refers to body filler as BONDO Also this is a DIY thread not a production thread so most of these guys do not have the cash to afford a 60gal with complex water removal/dryer systems so everything i have posted on here can be done by the average user. I normally use the Dupont Chroma base system or their ecomony line Nason

[Boss_S14]

What's the best way to get out small dents in the door? About the size of golf balls

[buentellomma]

Originally Posted by Boss_S14

What's the best way to get out small dents in the door? About the size of golf balls

Hammer and dolly metal finishing if you can get to the backside of the skin, if not weld on studs/slide hammer would be the other way to go. Filling it with body filler is the wrong way

[ManoNegra]

Originally Posted by buentellomma

Not true, every bit of the work i have posted on this thread has been done with a craftsman 33 gal 1.5 hp all in my garage. However a 60gal would be the best choice if i had the extra cash. As far as moisture control i use a inline filter attached to the hvlp gun. Super cheap like a dollar or so and works good. A full out inline filter system cost way too much for the average diy user on here. To paint with the smaller compressors you need a decent hvlp and keep the psi leaving the tank between 40-60 psi and then adjust your air pressure at the gun with a regulator

I tried several types of inline filters with similar results
gun was a Finnex 3000 - not the best but still a decent gun
and I did adjust the pressure as you say - ~50 psi in tank and fine tune with regulator at gun
small parts - fender, valences - were fine, prolonged use was the problem; compressor would run constantly and generate moisture in the line

Originally Posted by buentellomma

two things went wrong here: 1. Your air pressure and fluid ratio was off( too high or not enough) thats why it looks textured 2. your masking was too close to the painted surface so when you pulled tape it pulled the paint up. I dont demask under the clear is somewhat cured.

It wasn't as textured as the picture would have you believe (poor lighting and cell phone pic)
and yeah, my masking could have been better.



ps - I'm impressed and somewhat incredulous at the work you generate out of your garage.

[s14croom]

The work you do looks good, but since my 10years or painting and body experience is not professional enough I'll quit posting in your thread, again your work does look good.

[silviaks2nr]

If you use an air/water separator and break down the car into parts and paint the parts separately it's fine to use a small compressor. I've shot a lot of cars with my 1.5hp 25 gallon 4.0cfm @90 psi compressor and I've never had fisheye or hazing etc. I don't know what the big deal is there. Just adjust your gun tip, spray pattern, and air pressure according to the products you're using and let the compressor keep going between coats or panels. One thing I do want to point out whoever is asking the steps for priming/bodywork you always need to epoxy prime bare metal before you put any 2k primer or sealer down! It's okay to use filler then do the epoxy but just make sure you cover all bare metal before moving on to primer and topcoats!

[buentellomma]

Originally Posted by ManoNegra

I tried several types of inline filters with similar results
gun was a Finnex 3000 - not the best but still a decent gun
and I did adjust the pressure as you say - ~50 psi in tank and fine tune with regulator at gun
small parts - fender, valences - were fine, prolonged use was the problem; compressor would run constantly and generate moisture in the line



It wasn't as textured as the picture would have you believe (poor lighting and cell phone pic)
and yeah, my masking could have been better.



ps - I'm impressed and somewhat incredulous at the work you generate out of your garage.

This is all i use when i paint, a inline filter and a regulator. If i can ever get a two car garage ill invest in a better water removal system and better compressor



here are a few other options that are easy to find at lowes and affordable
Shop Kobalt 3/8-in Air Filter at Lowes.com
Shop Kobalt In-Line Desiccant Air Dryer at Lowes.com

[g2ic02]

When spraying something with a metal flake would you recommend having all the panels on the car, to prevent miss matched coloring? Also do you clear all the jams, or how do you clear around edges so you don't get flaking clear around edges

[g2ic02]

Also can anyone chime in on how s13 window trim is attached.

[RichieRichJPN]

Hopefully the OP can fill me in on this...
I went to a PPG distributor locally a couple months back and I was picking their brains on certain aspects of painting.
One of my questions were on how to go about using primer over metal vs. over the base coat or factory primer. It seems that you used one primer based on your first few posts; however, the person at the shop said that there were two different primers: one primer for metal; and a separate primer for laying over everything else. Is that right??

[buentellomma]

Originally Posted by RichieRichJPN

Hopefully the OP can fill me in on this...
I went to a PPG distributor locally a couple months back and I was picking their brains on certain aspects of painting.
One of my questions were on how to go about using primer over metal vs. over the base coat or factory primer. It seems that you used one primer based on your first few posts; however, the person at the shop said that there were two different primers: one primer for metal; and a separate primer for laying over everything else. Is that right??

Yes they are right, epoxy primer goes over bare metal first then primer surfacer. Honestly most of the time if its just a few small bare metal spots i just hit it with the primer surfacer.

[RichieRichJPN]

Thanks for the reply.
What's the reason for this? Does it have to do with how the primer bonds with the surface?

[buentellomma]

Originally Posted by g2ic02

When spraying something with a metal flake would you recommend having all the panels on the car, to prevent miss matched coloring? Also do you clear all the jams, or how do you clear around edges so you don't get flaking clear around edges

It is easier to paint with most of the panels on the car except the bumpers, i normally hang those like they would be displayed on the car so the color matches. Yes you have to clear the jams , masking and prep work is key to your paint sticking and not flaking around the edges

[buentellomma]

Originally Posted by RichieRichJPN

Thanks for the reply.
What's the reason for this? Does it have to do with how the primer bonds with the surface?

Epoxy protects the metal surface from corrosion, primer surfacer provides the base coat a suitable surface to attach to

[Trinidrift3]

Originally Posted by s14croom

can you get access to the inside of the quarter panel where it is dented? Usually the only dents that just "pop out" does not have a crease or body line running threw it. If it has been dented pretty bad and been pushed in awhile theres a good chance the metal has streched. I will try and gets some pics tommorow at work to help with this thread about straighting metal, i am a certified Painter and autobody tech so any questions that may not get answered i will do my best to help

this was right after in happened in october. i bought a hammer and dolly kit and started to try to bang it straight yesterday. its tough to get next to the edge of the tail light. i'm just not sure if i should try and hammer it as straight as possible and then bondo/sand to get the right shape, or if its more complex than that.

[Duke89]

Subscribed for a later date lol

[RichieRichJPN]

Originally Posted by buentellomma

Epoxy protects the metal surface from corrosion, primer surfacer provides the base coat a suitable surface to attach to

So if for example, I sanded down a rear quarter panel and a significantly large area was cut down to the metal, how would you go about prepping it if you had to use the epoxy primer?
Would you simply use the epoxy primer on the metal area and use the primer surfacer over the other areas?
Or would it be advisable to use the epoxy primer over the metal, set to dry, then use the surface primer over everything including the epoxy primered area?

Thanks for the replies!

[silviaks2nr]

Just spot the bare metal with 2 coats of epoxy then shoot the surfacer over the whole car. It also works fine to shoot the whole car with epoxy then sand with 220 grit and get a good key then 2k prime directly over the sanded epoxy. A lot of restoration shops do this when it's not really a "scuff and spray" production type job. This way you avoid the surfacer all together too. With some product manufacturers you can just shoot the 2k directly on top of epoxy without sanding and without using a surfacer, it just kind of depends.

I can't stress enough how good this following process is, especially if you are painting outside or in a makeshift paint booth. Perfect Paint Job

[buentellomma]

Originally Posted by Trinidrift3

this was right after in happened in october. i bought a hammer and dolly kit and started to try to bang it straight yesterday. its tough to get next to the edge of the tail light. i'm just not sure if i should try and hammer it as straight as possible and then bondo/sand to get the right shape, or if its more complex than that.

You sir have a mess on your hands fixing this without any collision repair exp.
Ok, the area i circled in green: This area concerns me because of possible core support damage because of the way the grill is out and the headlight is out of place. It could just be the fender bracket the headlight is attached to is bent but you never know with this type of collision. Do a measure of your engine bay to check, measure from the first hinge bolt on one side to the opposite side front fender bolt, repeat to the other side making a "X" measurement. the distance should be the same or very close on both sides, if its off you have structure damage.
The area i circled in blue: this can be metal finished out but its not going to be easy. You can use a small 2x4 wood block and use it to wedge between the pushed in areas and slowly work it back out or use the wood and a hammer to push bend brackets back straight. You can also use the 2x4 and place it on the inside of the fender edge inside the engine back and use a hammer to pound that front edge straight, same with the corner of the hood. Place the 2x4 on the upper rail where the hood would cover and close the hood on the block where the corner is bent and light put pressure down, use a body hammer if needed. This repair will use a good bit of filler to get it looking right, make sure your filler is not more than 1/8" thick

[7jpat]

Originally Posted by silviaks2nr

Just spot the bare metal with 2 coats of epoxy then shoot the surfacer over the whole car. It also works fine to shoot the whole car with epoxy then sand with 220 grit and get a good key then 2k prime directly over the sanded epoxy. A lot of restoration shops do this when it's not really a "scuff and spray" production type job. This way you avoid the surfacer all together too. With some product manufacturers you can just shoot the 2k directly on top of epoxy without sanding and without using a surfacer, it just kind of depends.

I can't stress enough how good this following process is, especially if you are painting outside or in a makeshift paint booth. Perfect Paint Job

so if i prime the whole car with epoxy prime i cant just sand it and do base coat then clear ? is epoxy not good enough that i have to use another primer over that ?

[silviaks2nr]

You could, but I really doubt the car is going to be that straight. But yes, some epoxies work as primer sealers too. The reason you do 2k primer as well as the epoxy is so you have something you can block down to get it super flat before applying the sealer or basecoat.

[7jpat]

so a 2k urethane primer is the sealer ? and on fiberglass body kit i'm guess i dont need to epoxy it , or would it be good to anyway

[silviaks2nr]

2k is a filler primer and there are different builds that lay to a certain thickness. A sealer is something you put on top of the 2k after you've sanded it.

[buentellomma]

Originally Posted by 7jpat

so a 2k urethane primer is the sealer ? and on fiberglass body kit i'm guess i dont need to epoxy it , or would it be good to anyway

The sealer seals off everything underneath from the basecoat. Sometimes old paint or primer will react with the solvents in the basecoat and cause issues

[7jpat]

OK thanks so its
Epoxy
2k
Sealer
Base
Clear
If I'm doing the entire car how much of each would I need

[buentellomma]

Originally Posted by 7jpat

OK thanks so its
Epoxy
2k
Sealer
Base
Clear
If I'm doing the entire car how much of each would I need

Depends on the size of the car, S13? Probably 2 qts of epoxy, primer, 1 qt sealer, gal basecoat, and gal clear coat

[7jpat]

Originally Posted by buentellomma

Depends on the size of the car, S13? Probably 2 qts of epoxy, primer, 1 qt sealer, gal basecoat, and gal clear coat

s13 u nailed on the head thank u