MarkLT1

Here is the situation-

I got a Vet a few years ago, and the paint wasnt in the best condition. In the last 3 years, it has deteriorated beyond hope. Then, last year, I hit a deer, cracking the paint on the hood. The insurance would only cover enough to have the hood repainted, and I did not have enough to get the rest of the car done. So, now I am sitting with a nice, powerful Vet, with a GREAT interior, with TERRIBLE paint (and cracked paint on the hood!!).

A buddy of mine runs a Maaco shop, and said he would be willing to spray my car for me (after hours), as long as I supply the paint, clear coat, and prep the car.

So, can anyone give any prep tips for my car? I will probably do the paint job in the spring, so I can get any supplies I would need to prep over the winter. I know that I will need to smooth the cracks in the hood paint, and make sure the entire surface of the car is perfectly clean. I havent waxed in a few months (like I said- the paint is beyond hope..), and wont until after my new paint job is cured, so I shouldnt have to worry too much about getting all of the wax off. Should I wet sand the whole thing?? Just claybar it?? Any tips would be GREAT!

-Mark

JF_AH_64

I would recommend sanding the entire car with at least 320 and make sure all the scratches and dings are smooth. How good are you trying to make it look, because obviously that will factor alot into how much prep is required.

loiq

Mark, You can't paint over the old paint, you'll just cover up your problem temprarily. You need to remove the old paint either manually or through media blasting. A good paint job doesn't lie in the paint but in the preparation. I'd suggest going to the book store or the library and finding a book on bodywork (I think htere's even one on painting C3 vettes which should be even more helpful). This will give you someidea of what you are in for. There have been a couple guys who have documented their paint work on the forum. Do a search and contact the poster - that might help, too. Oh, and you can't DA your bumper covers, either. And before you paint them you have to strip them (hand sand). If you paint over the paint on your bumper covers the new paint will flake off like a pie crust the first time you bump something. I'm not an expert by any means, but I've been around body shops enough to know what it takes. There are some body men on the forum. Find 'em. :seeya

ZylaRace

W/ the clear coat - base coat process,... you don't need to remove ALL the old paint. That's not to say you don't need to do a lot of prep work. As said,.. it is all in the prep work. Sand, primer, sand, primer,.... Look up LARS in Denver. He's got a few writeup's on it, and will be good to bounce Q's off of.

Painting is pretty easy. Prep work is the real work.
BTW Good paint and clear coat will run you a whole lot more than you think.

MarkLT1

Thanks for the tips. I know how much good paint can run, and figure that I can put the $$$ into the paint. I figure I have about $1000 to put into paint, so I can probably get some pretty good stuff.

-Mark

edsalinas

$1000 on paint is about right. Since you have some time, and are willing to do the prep, take things apart, clean them up & put them in a plastic bag, labeled of course. I've even taken pic's of areas that I wanted to make sure I understood how it went together. This could take a year-or-so, don't expect your memory to be flawless.....

Good luck................

blk90rdstr

$1000 for paint and supplies sound awful high to me. Even good stuff like PPG, Sikkens, or house of kolors. You dont need to full strip the whole car but if the hood is bad you need to full strip that. You can use that polyester spray to build up a a layer you can blocksand out to make her arrow strait without the ridiculous amount of work.

edsalinas

I spent over $300 just in sandpaper dude? A quart of "corvette color" paint can run almost $100 bucks?????

loiq

Good time for new weatherstrip too as we all know Corvette weatherstrip SUCKS! :yesnod:

ravinwolf

Here is some pictures of my vette that I'm painting in my garage. When I started the previous owner had the car painted aleast four times without removing the old paint. There was nothing wrong with my old paint job I just wanted new. Be sure to put flex additive in the primer for the front and rear bumpers. Here are some pics of what I'm doing.

edsalinas

Those are great pic's. How much time do you have invested so far? Are you "guide coating" the primer?

:thumbs:

SBNova

Im no expert either, but it is VERY easy to spend $1K on paint and supplies. My buddy just bought ONE gallon of Dupont orange paint- its a new chrysler color, and it was $380! not including reducer or clearcoat! I buy my sandpaper in bulk at my local swap meet. There are vendors selling 3M sandpaper in all grits for $5 /lb. Its a steal.

The more old paint you get off the better, and the more disassembled you car is when painting the better. These are facts. You decide how far you want to go. Its all in the prep. The easiest part of painting is spraying the car.

khelms

Good luck with your paint job. I just finished getting my 86 back together after 2 1/2 years of work. I thought I could take it all apart, sand and paint it in 3-4 months. I will never ever complain about the cost of a professional paint job again.
I think your $1000 for paint and supplies is in the ballpark. I used Dupont Viper Blue at $80/qt. Reducer, clear, sandpaper, tape, etc add up quick. I thought the Al Sowash videos from Ecklers were informative for a beginner such as myself. I would recommend that you wash your car really well with some dishwashing detergent such as Dawn. Then go over your car with some wax remover/degreaser a couple of times before you start sanding.
If I could get the car raised up on jack stands for the painting I would consider leaving the bumpers on the car. We really had to pull and tug to get the front bumper back on and the top bolts on the rear bumper are not much fun coming off or going on.
It's nice when your done, but it will be awhile before I am ready to pick up a DA.
Good Luck.