Paint it myself?, Decisions, decisions... Options

[Bogaat]

I am getting my car back from the body shop today. They filled a few holes and basically got the car to the point where I just need to mask, sand lightly and then put on my base/clear coats. I have a guy who can do it in his shop for some amount of money, but I am thinking I could just do it myself. I have a garage I can setup, compressor and I can buy one of those Eastwood guns. I have done a little spray painting a few years back, but nothing to the quality of an exterior paint job. Should I do it myself or shell out the money? The body shop I was at wanted an extra 1200 to do the paint...didn't make sense. All thoughts are appreciated. I will post pics of the car when I get it back later this evening.

[jasons]

I would do the math on the paint materials. Go to an autobody supply shop near you. Figure on at least half a gallon of base and clear to shoot what you are doing and go from there. I would probably buy more than that, it doesn't hurt to have extra. Also, you might want to find out what its been primered with and make sure the paint you choose is compatible.

I painted one 914 and the actual painting is the easiest part. But, plan on wet sanding to get a glass look.

I think you will be in it for at least $600 by the time you buy paint and a gun. You will also want to get at least a cheap water separator for your air, if you don't have one. And... Make sure you have air hoses that don't have oil in them (thats if you have an oiler for your air tools). You will also probably want a "last chance" filter dryer (its cheap) for your gun. Its a little disposable dryer/filter that goes on the air line right before the gun.

One last thing, when I did my car, I made a cooling loop. It was an extended run of hose to help cool the air before it hit the gun. Remember the air coming out of the compressor tank is usually warm or hot.