Cheap paint Options

[bkrantz]

I painted my car. I used a lot of Eastwood primers, Bondo, highbuild etc. I stripped my car back to bare metal and worked forward from there.

You need a good air filtration system to keep the water out no matter what you do. Plan to buy good sanding blocks and lots of sand paper. It’s a lot of work to do it right… and yes prep is 95% of the work.

I shot the trunks and engine bay and misc with single stage… and the body with base/clear. I used PPG shop line for my paint.

I found the single stage was harder to spray… easy to lay it on too thick and get runs. The clear also ran on me after 3 coats. You need a variety of guns to paint a car… primer. Highbuild and paint are the basics. I sprayed metallic which comes another set of special problems… getting it to lay down evenly.

I had issues with spraying a sealer coat of primer before painting. The thinned primer was lifting previous coats. Frustrating but I figure it out… after is sanded it all back to metal.

Painting a car takes patience and a lot of labor. It took me several months to do… another reason it costs so much. I visited a lot of local vendors that sell paint. I settled on the one who seemed the most interested in helping me with issues.

I’ve done some spray work before… so I had some skills beforehand. I don’t believe that all paint is the same. Good paint covers well and is predictable. Am pretty sure it’s the first and last car I’ll ever paint… but I did it and learned a lot. I followed a lot of painters on YouTube etc. There is good information out there.

Good luck!

Very nicely done. How much do you think you spent on paint and supplies?

[Ishley]

I haven’t run all the numbers (a little afraid to) and I’m not sure where the paint starts. Meaning… I did a lot of metal work and tons of priming etc… also I filled my welds with fiberglass Bondo and body filler. The doors and trunk lids I had dipped to get them to bare metal… so how much of that you include I’m not sure. The bottom of the car got multiple epoxy primer and then truck bed liner.

For the actual paint I spent probably about $1500… but I bought more than I needed and have some left over. Then there’s rolls of sandpaper… down to 1000 for wet sanding and of course polishing with 3M etc. So at least $3000… but it includes a lot of other stuff.

Quotes I got were in the 10k range… but any extra body work was more. I’m certain when I get the nerve to add up all the receipts will be more. There are tons of supplies to get.

[Front yard mechanic]

This (if it posts) is my mail box painted with rust oleum and a little DuPont clear added. It sprayed ok, but then I painted for 20 years and sold paint for 20 years. The comment about the twelve is correct. Let you know how long it shines

That is one fine looking mail receptacle

[bkrantz]

I haven’t run all the numbers (a little afraid to) and I’m not sure where the paint starts. Meaning… I did a lot of metal work and tons of priming etc… also I filled my welds with fiberglass Bondo and body filler. The doors and trunk lids I had dipped to get them to bare metal… so how much of that you include I’m not sure. The bottom of the car got multiple epoxy primer and then truck bed liner.

For the actual paint I spent probably about $1500… but I bought more than I needed and have some left over. Then there’s rolls of sandpaper… down to 1000 for wet sanding and of course polishing with 3M etc. So at least $3000… but it includes a lot of other stuff.

Quotes I got were in the 10k range… but any extra body work was more. I’m certain when I get the nerve to add up all the receipts will be more. There are tons of supplies to get.

Thanks. I don't blame you for not adding up receipts. I did that after 3 years of my restoration and surprised even myself.

[Cairo94507]

Boy, have paint materials gone crazy. I just bought 1 pint of PPG hardener (their smallest size available) and 1 quart of reducer (smallest available) and the bill was $134. I needed about a tablespoon of hardener and a bit more of the reducer so we can paint the rear trunk hinges where we welded the trunk shock balls onto them. We are going to do that this Saturday with an airbrush. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Oh, and I will not add up receipts for my car...my heart would surely not take it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

[jd74914]

I visited a lot of local vendors that sell paint. I settled on the one who seemed the most interested in helping me with issues.

I think this is the key. If you're not a pro who knows how to solve issues, or has access to people to solve those issues by virtue of your purchasing power, a vendor who is willing to share knowledge and advise is key.

I painted my car years ago with a PPG single stage at advice of a local paint supplier and it came out pretty decently. It would have been really hard to do without those guys offering suggestions on products.