has anyone painted a car before?

after destroying what was left of the good paint work on bucephalus taking off my go faster stripes i've decided to move up a re-spray on my list of "to-do"s

ive been talking to a company called Autopaints Brighton, as per DrDrials recommendation but i'd like to know if anyone on here has painted a car before and has any tips... i painted my classic mini but i was hoping for somewhat a better finish than using hammerite aerosol tins! lol

incase anyone is wondering why i'm doing this myself this is an idea of what costs may be involved from Autopaints

Primer and lacquer are the easy ones. 5L cellulose primer is £27+vat, 5L 2 pack (for professional use only) lacquer is £59.95 + vat incl activator, 5L 1 pack lacquer is £55 + vat. All prices are subject to a delivery charge of £5.95 +vat.

(not sure if i need both laquers? or somthing im a bit confused there but thats why im starting this thread hopfully there is enough expertise on here to work these things out lmao)

so thats around £100 + price of paint... as opposed to around £2500.00 ive been quoted from most local spray shops!

Adam-MGTF;5276 wrote: after destroying what was left of the good paint work on bucephalus taking off my go faster stripes i've decided to move up a re-spray on my list of "to-do"s

ive been talking to a company called Autopaints Brighton, as per DrDrials recommendation but i'd like to know if anyone on here has painted a car before and has any tips... i painted my classic mini but i was hoping for somewhat a better finish than using hammerite aerosol tins! lol

incase anyone is wondering why i'm doing this myself this is an idea of what costs may be involved from Autopaints

Primer and lacquer are the easy ones. 5L cellulose primer is £27+vat, 5L 2 pack (for professional use only) lacquer is £59.95 + vat incl activator, 5L 1 pack lacquer is £55 + vat. All prices are subject to a delivery charge of £5.95 +vat.

(not sure if i need both laquers? or somthing im a bit confused there but thats why im starting this thread hopfully there is enough expertise on here to work these things out lmao)

so thats around £100 + price of paint... as opposed to around £2500.00 ive been quoted from most local spray shops!

I've done the odd panel, but unless I had a spray booth, an oven and a lot more expertise I wouldn't attempt a full respray.:dunno:

David Aiketgate;5279 wrote: I've done the odd panel, but unless I had a spray booth, an oven and a lot more expertise I wouldn't attempt a full respray.:dunno:

well i figure it can't look any worse than it does atm and there is no way i can afford to pay for someone to do it, i know a good effect can be achieved without a oven, mainly it's about 'moving the air' :yesnod: whatever that means lol

Adam-MGTF;5281 wrote: well i figure it can't look any worse than it does atm and there is no way i can afford to pay for someone to do it, i know a good effect can be achieved without a oven, mainly it's about 'moving the air' :yesnod: whatever that means lol

I don't know how bad your paintwork is. Are you talking about spraying the same colour? If so they're have a laugh with £2500. I would have thought £1000 was more than enough:dunno:

The problem doing it yourself is getting a dust-free enclosed heated area to work in.

Unfortunately there is a reason that it costs so much for a respray. There is a lot of work and expertise needed to even get a decent looking job.

You may be lucky and find you are born to do it, but it is a fair bet that you will not achieve a satisfactory finish.

The main thing with painting is preperation and patience.

I have resprayed a Landrover with acceptable results, but I would not have called it a showroom finish. You can get away with that on a Landrover, but not so much on a TF.

If I really really had to paint a car myself I would go for something like Snow camouflage. The main reasons for this is it would certainly look different, I like the pattern, but the main reason is that it is a random pattern and you can get away with a lot more as the surface is broken up compared to a large area of unbroken colour.

CJJ;5285 wrote: If I really really had to paint a car myself I would go for something like Snow camouflage. The main reasons for this is it would certainly look different, I like the pattern, but the main reason is that it is a random pattern and you can get away with a lot more as the surface is broken up compared to a large area of unbroken colour.

And it would match your jacket!:whistle:

David Aiketgate;5286 wrote: And it would match your jacket!:whistle:

Exactly. :yesnod:

What I really meant is a pattern is easier to DIY than a solid colour.

David Aiketgate;5283 wrote: I don't know how bad your paintwork is. Are you talking about spraying the same colour? If so they're have a laugh with £2500. I would have thought £1000 was more than enough:dunno:

The problem doing it yourself is getting a dust-free enclosed heated area to work in.

i want a custom colour, probebly from this site

http://www.flippaint.co.uk/candy.htm

(these prices seem VERY cheap mind you but there you go... the alterative is possibly and audi/bmw pearl white)

i was thinking a wine or candy apple red from that list, or ideally a custom red/orange flip effect if i can get it

more to the point im planning on doing a little more than just a respray

bare with me

the idea is to remove the interior (dash, carpet, center tunnel and cubby + door cards, and fuel tank etc)

take off the bumpers to spray separately (after some possible "re modeling" thanks to CJJ) lol

then drop the front and back subframes

the idea being i can basecoat (which is cheap) every inch of the car to stop the dreaded rust bugs (much of which i've found in the weirdest places)

obviously a spray shop would never do this... and as a bonus i can save alot of prep work time.

oh and i plan on removing the door handles and boot lock in favor of solenoids

Soooo. Not only are you thinking of trying to get a good finish yourself, you are going to use paints which normally only professionals would use. You really like a challenge. Personally, I would think this is close to impossible mate. I would love it if you proved me wrong though.

CJJ;5285 wrote: Unfortunately there is a reason that it costs so much for a respray. There is a lot of work and expertise needed to even get a decent looking job.

You may be lucky and find you are born to do it, but it is a fair bet that you will not achieve a satisfactory finish.

The main thing with painting is preperation and patience.

I have resprayed a Landrover with acceptable results, but I would not have called it a showroom finish. You can get away with that on a Landrover, but not so much on a TF.

If I really really had to paint a car myself I would go for something like Snow camouflage. The main reasons for this is it would certainly look different, I like the pattern, but the main reason is that it is a random pattern and you can get away with a lot more as the surface is broken up compared to a large area of unbroken colour.

i totally agree, i know it's not going to look show car finish but as you've seen clive the paintwork on my TF is totally buggered so the way i look at it is how much worse can it get?

im lucky enough to have two good mates who have sprayed cars (and trucks) before so they can help me out

as for snow camouflage wouldn't there be a risk of loosing it in february :nonod:

besides in the immortal words of clarkson "how hard can it be?"

CJJ;5290 wrote: Soooo. Not only are you thinking of trying to get a good finish yourself, you are going to use paints which normally only professionals would use. You really like a challenge. Personally, I would think this is close to impossible mate. I would love it if you proved me wrong though.

i'll figure it out like i say i have a few mates who have sprayed before (and used flip paints)

and if all else fails my dads a lecturer at East Midlands Tecnical college... so i'll just get his apprentaces to do it :whistle:

CJJ;5290 wrote: Soooo. Not only are you thinking of trying to get a good finish yourself, you are going to use paints which normally only professionals would use. You really like a challenge. Personally, I would think this is close to impossible mate. I would love it if you proved me wrong though.

oh and may i add how many people said a Supercharged Kseries engine in a TF was impossible :prrr:

you know if it blows up now your so gonna hate me lol