I have seen several "attempts" at this... It is very time consuming, if you want to try it, go ahead. But I have actually painted cars with a gun and it is worth the time to "do it right" with the proper equiptment. It is no cheaper then doing it right. As I said I have painted cars for $30-$40 with great results. Why do tons of extra labor? I am very interested in the # of people who actually complete the job and are happy with the results.... I would rather see someone paint with rattlecan then this, the process is much easier with similar results. Anyways I am subsribing to this thread and hope that someone posts some pictures of the finished product on thier rex, with how long the process took them.

Good luck all.

 

well i just finished sanding the hood and fenders, their all like ready to go now
ill be out to buy the paint early morning so i can get 2 coats on by night
i want to do my first wet sand tuesday morning.

 

you are not doing this to the 10th are you?

 

I called Maaco in Albuquerque and they were at least honest and said their $400 job would be too low-grade for the rx7 dandy... Even if I could take off all my trim, etc., they would spray and it would go all over...
they do not paint the inside of the doors, so one would have to have the car painted the same color, or look totally awful... After that, you are looking at more 'intensive care' @ $1200.!

I am completely up for painting it myself, so it seems urenthane paint is the way to go, and a clear coat over it. And a garage.

Sanding sounds like a pain, can you use an electric sander or does it have to be manual.

I was wondering how a Jackson Pollock scribble would look - seriously.

 

i am but for good reason,
when i got the car the paint was almost all gone. There was a bit of white paint but mostly just primer showing through. If i let it sit, The primer would absorb water and make the car rust. So i painted it flat black (3 months ago)
Now im doing this so at least it will be back to white like it should be.

Im just a poor college student, some day ill have the money to strip the car to nothing and paint it.

dont worry im a perfectionist about my work
i hope i can get it to look as good as this hatch (same paint)

 

The best thing to do if your not experienced at painting with a gun would be to do all the prep work yourself and find someone reputable to spray it for you.

That is take it apart strip it down and prime it in the garage. Then take it to someone who you know does good work and have them spray the pieces for you with either a good single stage urethane or a base/clear urethane.

In my store people do this all the time, they buy all the materials for the prep and finish and just take it to someone when its ready to spray. Your local auto paintstore can probably make a recomendation if you dont know of anyone. Most of the work is prepping and its just tedious work. Actually spraying is quite fast but requires some experience especially with clearcoats.

Thats the way to go if your on a slightly less restrictive budget in my opinion. You'll spend more than $50 but you'll have a sexy rx7 with a brand new mirror finish for as little as $200 and it will last for years to come. Plus you will get metallics which practically every car is now and will make your car's body look like its not made out of plastic with a flat generic color.

 

it will f-up your paintgun just as much as any other paint.

 

well guys and gals, im 2 coats in I'll wet sand in the morning and see how it looks the
so far i like it, the paint is very glossy for the amount of orange peel it has (nothing some wet sanding wont get rid of)

 

i think you may be putting those coats on too thick...you should not really have coverage till the 4th or 5th coat so i hear... you may be getting a rediculous ammount of orange peel after these coats, lets see what happens after the wet sanding.

Zak

 

That hatch is pretty "flat" looking, did he wet sand then buff?

 

Hmm... are you thining that paint out? If you could compair the thickness of the paint with somthing, what would it be like?

 

it doesnt really have full coverage, it just looks like it in the picture.
The paint is a little too thick, i need to add about 20% more mineral spirits on the next mix.
the problem ive been having is that as i go down into the tray using up paint it seems to be thicker down lower.
im starting the wet sand with 600 right now.

 

3/4 done with the wet sand
just need to go back and find the rough spots
(been at it for almost an hour now

Edit i should also say my total cost up tell now has been $28
20 for paint 8 for spirts everything else i had around the house
its even cheaper than flat black

 

sorry but i have a question since i dont' know nething about painting the car.....how do u take off the original paint, sanding it or do it with some kind of machine?

 

i did it with a presure washer (the paint was that bad)
and alot of sanding with 100 and 150 grit

 

Snowball, are u using the roller method, or are you use putting the paint through a gun?

 

I agree. Looks like he coloursanded and buffed, however any rustoleum/tremclad/likwise jobs I've seen kid bring into the shop (even if sanded and buffed) don't have the same glossy shine as REAL paint.

And snowball - you'll have no trouble making your car look like the Honduh in those pics.....but just keep in mind that all those pics are in dim to low light and from at least 20 feet away.

IMHO as a bodyman, even tough I can understand the whole cost issue, it hurts me to watch this thread.

 

get it pro done for like 200 bucks...

 

You really think the paint is less glossy then 'real' paint? you mean real aftermarket auto paint or oem paint?

I thought my freinds red honda was really shiney, more shiney then an OEM paintjob. yes, I know the paint is not going to be as good as true high quality aftermarket paint, but thats not the point.

Maybe its just the color?

 

theres no such thing as 'pro done' for 200 bucks. Those guys say they are pro's, but look at their work. not only do you get your body painted for that much, you also get your tires, windows, and weather stripping painted as well.

 

im using the roller method

bmwjdmking, their is no such thing as a $200 pro job, not unless the guy owning the car is a pro painter.

classicauto, feel free to paypall me enough money to get it painted by a real shop.

one day ill be out of college and make enough to get it painted right but thats not right now...

im already more happy with this than flat black although its alot of work

 

Real aftermarket? Most paint manufaturersare used by OE's. I use BASF and its put on 60% of new cars. Everything from GM to Toyota to Rolls Royce.

Less orange peel, but not more shiny. Trust me - there is no way that an acrylic-oil based paint like rustleum has a higher solid content than urethane based paint.

Possible, some colours show less than ohers - but I was talking about the white hatchback that snowball had pics of. You can see in the last pic that the roof of the car (the only spot where actual sunlight touches the car in the pictures) doesn't reflect the light as sharply as proper material would.

 

the guy with the hatch said in the club4ag theard he had not finished sanding it yet

it does reflect a bit less than true automotive paint, but like ive said before its 100x better than flat black.

 

I agree, I have seen way to many people get sucked into things like this.. BTW what is it about the MAZDA white? My vert chipped paint off like crazy, and the T2 my brotherinlaw has did the same thing.. Must have been a problem with the 88 white.

 

while i agree that a professional spray job would have much more shine, as well as more mirror look...AGAIN to everyone this is a PAINTJOB ON A BUDGET....im not talking about spending 200 dollars, im not talking about spending 5000 dollars on a real professional one...im talking about a FIFTY dollar paintjob...so your car doesnt have "sun spots" or any other color malfunction, its a way to get the whole car to look the same, with a somewhat good reflection... seriously if i were to get a show car setup, i would never do this, but since its just for my daily driver, my future auto-x car. this is perfect, and i can fiddle around enough to make it look somewhat presentable, so i dont feel like such a poor bastard driving around all these nice cars with a busted paintjob!

zak