my adventures in painting the car thread, DONE! Some final thoughts... Options

[Andyrew]

Looks like some low spots you didn't build up right in primer. Happens.

I'm not seeing a lot of orange peal nor imperfections in that area. I would just grab the 1500 grit on a 6" and knock those low spots down a hair or just grab the paper by hand and use your fingers. At this point those spots will show some orange peel. As always keep the paper wet.

Once those spots are decently hazy or the orange peal has been knocked down some then wet sand the rest of the trunk with 1500 than 2k.

Remember the 2k is just to make the rubbing compound step that much easier.

You can polish out the 1500 scratches which is why I said to use those low spots by hand with 1500 as you'll never find them again if you knock them down all the way.

[dakotaewing]

What are you using to pull air out of the booth when you are spraying???
Pictures please...

[914 RZ-1]

Here's the latest.

SANDING
I sanded 1000-1500-2000. Divided up the hood into 9 parts. Sanded with 1000 grit for about 3 minutes per area, then sanded with 1500 for about 2 minutes then sanded with 2000 for about 1-2 minutes.

POLISHING
Polished with Chemical Guys Hexlogic yellow pad (the roughest one) and V32 compound. Again, divided the hood into 9 areas. Went over each area 3X, taking about 2-3 minutes per area. In the demo videos, they went over the area once, maybe twice.

I had to re-polish a few low spots, since they are hard to see until all the compound is wiped off.

BTW, what is the best way to remove all the compound? I just wiped it with a clean microfiber towel. There seems to be a bit left.

A picture for your viewing pleasure:

[914 RZ-1]

What are you using to pull air out of the booth when you are spraying???
Pictures please...

I made a "booth" out of 2x3's and plastic. I use 4 household fans to pull air out. I have furnace filters at the opposite end. It's mostly to keep the big chunks o' dust off and the paint overspray off of all the stuff in the garage. I forgot to cover the floor, so my floor is now a lovely gray (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) . I will be scraping it off at some point.

I'll post pictures at some point. Do you just want to see it, or are you looking for ideas of how to make one?

[914 RZ-1]

UPDATE:

I noticed while wet-sanding that the sounds of the paper over the surface changes when the orange peel is mostly gone. It goes from sounding like I'm going over rough bumps (a deeper, louder "buzz") to just the sound of the sandpaper and grit ( a higher, quieter "scratching/gritty" noise). Hard to describe, but I'm wondering if I'm hearing this correctly or not.

I've also noticed the sanding block/paper glides over the rough spots easier. When I get it smooth, it resists more.

I've sanded and polished the hoods. I went 1000-1500-2000-V32-V34-V36. Got them pretty shiny from 5-10 feet. I can still see some scratches when I get up close, though.

I'm currently working on the rear driver's quarter panel. It's taking me about 1 hour per grit, plus about 1 hour for all 3 polishes to do an area this big. I think I got about 25 more hours. I can do this for about an hour or so a day (maybe 2 if I do some in the morning and some in the evening), then I'm done. I'm hoping to get this done by the end of the year.

[Andyrew]

UPDATE:

I noticed while wet-sanding that the sounds of the paper over the surface changes when the orange peel is mostly gone. It goes from sounding like I'm going over rough bumps (a deeper, louder "buzz") to just the sound of the sandpaper and grit ( a higher, quieter "scratching/gritty" noise). Hard to describe, but I'm wondering if I'm hearing this correctly or not.

I've also noticed the sanding block/paper glides over the rough spots easier. When I get it smooth, it resists more.

I've sanded and polished the hoods. I went 1000-1500-2000-V32-V34-V36. Got them pretty shiny from 5-10 feet. I can still see some scratches when I get up close, though.

I'm currently working on the rear driver's quarter panel. It's taking me about 1 hour per grit, plus about 1 hour for all 3 polishes to do an area this big. I think I got about 25 more hours. I can do this for about an hour or so a day (maybe 2 if I do some in the morning and some in the evening), then I'm done. I'm hoping to get this done by the end of the year.

That sound and feel your feeling is correct, Be sure to dunk your block often so your not aggravating scratches.

Timing sounds about right. I've found that I had to use some water (Spray bottle) in the compound step to get the shine out. Not sure why, but it also makes the compound considerably more aggressive. I wouldnt recommend it as its SUPER easy to get deep scratches as your buffing pad gums up quick. .

[914 RZ-1]

I sanded off the paint in a small area about 1/4" diameter in size. I'm planning on doing the touch up as follows:
1. Sand the area with 400 grit.
2. Mask off the area around, leaving about a square inch exposed.
3. Turn the amount of paint coming out of the gun way down and spray a few coats on the area.
4. Let it cure for about a week.
5. Remove the masking and wet sand with 1500-2000. I'm hoping it will blend in.

So far I've only done this in this small area. I'll probably do it again and want to make sure I'm repairing it correctly.

Does this sound correct?

[914 RZ-1]

I'm done! I hired a guy to polish the car since I needed it done and just didn't have the time or patience to do it all myself. It took him about 20 hours to polish it.

They are some flaws and areas where the paint was too thin, but it looks good overall.

[914 RZ-1]

Oscar: here is a picture of the A pillar VIN tag. I made it a bit long to account for any future trim.



Thank you again for making this I really appreciate it.

[Andyrew]

Wooy woot!!! Looks fantastic!!!!!


I can't tell you how happy it was for me to tell people I painted my car myself. Even 7 years later with all it's flaws it's still something I'm proud of.


You should be as well! The best part is you now have the confidence and experience to fix something should something happen.

[76-914]

It looks great. You should be proud of your accomplishment. The more I paint the more I realize how much I do not know about painting. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Olympic 914]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

Good job.

I still haven't done a cut and buff on mine, too busy driving and working on other things. Also worried about sanding through.

One of these days though I will start...…

Congrats.

[914 RZ-1]

Now that I've finished, here are some final thoughts:

THANKS
First of all, thanks to all who commented, helped and encouraged me, I really appreciate it.

PAINT BOOTH
Here are some pictures of my paint booth. This is a smaller version I'm using to paint a roof and some other non-914 items, but it is built the same way.
I pulled air in thru furnace filters with box fans I got at Home Depot. The wood is 1-3/8" square stock. The corners are 1/4" plywood. I attached them with wood screws and heavy staples. I used 1/4-20 screws and wingnuts to attach all the panels to each other. I made 8' x 8' panels and covered each one with heavy plastic. I used staples to attach the plastic.





I should have put paper of the floor. It didn't keep out all the dust, but it was good enough.

COMPRESSOR
I have a Craftsman 33 gal, 150 PSI, 2HP 8.6SCFM@40psi/6.4SCFM@90psi compressor. It worked fine for the painting. It was on most of the time while I was using the air tools. The SCFM rating is the most important spec, so keep that in mind.

SPRAYGUN
I used a HF spraygun (the $69 one). It worked, but I would buy a better one if I was doing this again. The HF gun felt like it was wearing faster. I have no real proof, but it just seemed that the parts were wearing out. Keep in mind, I took the gun apart every time I used it, and I did this a lot! The constant screwing and unscrewing, wiping, pulling the trigger, etc seemed to take a toll.

However, everything I researched indicated that technique is more important that the equipment. In other words, a beginner with an $800 SATA gun could screw up the paint, whereas a pro with a cheap HF gun could do a really good job.

SPRAYGUN SET UP
I had a coiled 25' hose from the tank to 2 moisture filters to a 25' hose reel to a "pumpkin" moisture filter mounted on the inlet on the spraygun.
I think I might get a better moisture filter, but I had no issues when spraying once I got everything dialed in. Read the previous posts to see what I did, it was quite the adventure!
Spray at about 70-74 degrees F, 20-25 PSI, with proper technique. I used slow reducer (the kind most people use on hot days), because it gave the paint time to settle out. It just took longer to dry.

SPRAY TECHNIQUE
Practice and figure out what works for you. I watched lots of YouTube videos. I liked the Kevin Tetz ones. Pressure, distance from the surface, speed all matter. What worked for me was a little different than what some of the videos stated: I got closer and went a bit faster. I practiced on a hood with the actual paint I was going to use. It was more expensive, but gave me better insights into what worked.

SURFACE PREP
This is the most important part. When I was done, I had a few low and high spots that, had I fixed these beforehand, would not have shown up in the final cut and polish. I would spray a final primer coat on the car to enable me to see all the flaws and fix them before I went to final paint.
I used a air DA sander, electric sander and sanding blocks (Dura-Block) for the initial sanding and body work.
I used the Dura-Blocks and Soft Sanders (by Style-Line) and bought rolls of adhesive-backed sandpaper for color sanding.
I used a TorqX polisher with Chemical Guys polishes. They have a YouTube channel that was helpful.

I bought most everything at a local autobody supply place. They didn't have much on the shelf, but I discovered I had to ask and they had it in the back.

COST
Booth: $200
Paint gun and related (included compressor accessories, fittings, etc): $400
Paint and sanding (paper, paint, sanding blocks, etc): $1,500
Total cost: $2,100
Being able to say "Yeah, I painted my car myself.": Priceless

[Cairo94507]

Congratulations on a job well done. Now enjoy it and drive the heck out of it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Coondog]

Nice paint booth, just don’t let the Fire Dept, Building Dept, Code Enforcement, Air pollution District, State Water Board, OSHA, EPA, Fish and Game, DTSC and the other 50 regulatory agencies we have here in Calif find out......... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

[Andyrew]

Congrats!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[mbseto]

This thread should go in the library - as I said earlier, it's a clinic on how to paint. Great job, man!