ice pac

Today I went to the two local paint supply stores. I went to get prices on paint and supplies and also get some general information about the project that I have already started to partake. I got the same response from both. Since I have never painted a car before, and my first will be a corvette(BLACK), that I am going to end up doing it several times over and the results will still be severely sub-par. At first I blew the both of them off, went home and continued working. But as I thought about, they did seem to make sense. I guess there is a reason why paint shops charge so much, and why a good one is hard to find. I do have a fair amount of body work to do as well and they said body work must be perfect on a black car. My own taste will stop me from settling for anything short of professional.

So basically I need input from those of you who paint cars. Should I fork over the cash and get it done right, or is it possible for someone with no experience to achieve professional results?

SharkAttack

If you want it to look nice without spending all your spare time on it, bite the bullet and pay a reputable shop that has painted numerous Corvettes.

Crash Dummy

I gotta agree with SharkAttack. I had a friend who painted my '69 Vette black with a gold racing stripe and by the time I got it home I saw all the flaws and spent 2 weeks water sanding it down & buffing it out to a mirror finish. Luckily I spent the money for lots of clear coat or I would have been down to the glass by the time I got it right. A black Vette is amazing to see when right and shows every flaw when done wrong. Try water sanding a LT-1 hood... it's an art to NOT screw the paint job up.

Lots of clear coat if you are going to take a shot at black.... at least that's my thoughts.

Smokehouse69

Black is truly the hardest color to paint. It requires absolutely meticulous detailing to get a good paint job. It can be done, but do you have the patience and knowledge to do it?
It is going to require that every wave, bump, ridge be removed. A good restoration paint shop will primer and shoot a guide coat of black lacquer just to see how much extra filling, sanding and reprimering has to be done. Then another light guide coat is shot again, then refilled, primed and sanded again and again until there are no high or low spots.
I have painted a few cars in my life, eight to be exact and I would never attempt to paint a very dark color color on a car. White, silver, beige, etc. are the easiest to paint.
So in my humble opinion, unless you have a really big set of cajones and a taste for self abuse, you'll pass this off to an expert.
Good Luck!

LAvetteman

Hey Ice, I thought you were going to go with another color besides black. True, it is the hardest to perfect. Here is my advice as a fellow former first time painter. The first thing I did was study a auto painting book from the library, just to get a feel for auto body and paint. The I got the painting insrtuctions Lars has written, very informative. Now here is what I should have done. Pick a part of the car (like a T-top or the hood) and practice on that from start to finish, don't do the whole car your first time. That way you will know if you can handle all the sanding, shooting, sanding, reshooting and sanding you will have to have done before you attempt the entire car. Do this one part until you get the results you want on the entire car. Lars recommends the top of the line paint PPG has to offer. IMO, this is very expensive material that has a good chance of ending up in your trash can stuck to some sand paper. I have seen cars with the cheap paint kit and cars with the top of the line, and IMO, you will probably be glad you didn't spring for the better stuff for your first job. This gives you an idea of what it feels like to sand, sand and more sand, and to get familiar with the gun you will be using. (very important)

As allways, let me know if I can help.

fauxrs

Black is the absolute worst to paint yourself. Even factory black paint is usually average at best. And even if your car was perfectly factory straight - once you shoot black you will be amazed at how freindly the panels are.

The constant application of primer - guide coat - sand - guide coat - sand - primer - guide coat - sand ad nauseum until perfect is absolutely required for black paintjobs.

My hat is off to you if you go for it - it can be done - but be aware that it is the most difficult color to get right - application is the same for all colors - its the quality of the surface prep that stands out for black paintjobs. I did my own paint - Burgundy and in the right light there are flaws very visible - I am actually paying a pro right now to fix those little errors and re-colorsand the whole car. I still came out ahead as total including these current repairs will put me at about 3k for the paint job which is a far cry from the 3.5k to 6k I was quoted.

Good luck.

Metal Wulf

If you get someone else to do it make sure they've done corvettes or fiberglass before!!! My car was painted a year before I got it, and when I bought it the paint was perfect and looked like glass. One year later it started cracking at the door handles and the seams on the rear bubbled up and parts are flaking/chipping off and leaving bare fiberglass :rant: I took it to my body/paint shop to see about a touch up and he told me it would be wasted money, cause whoever painted the car before didn't do it right for fiberglass so the paint isn't adhering properly... Needless to say I'm pissed about it and when I repaint it, it will be done right!!

OkeeGuy

just my 2 cents worth here but ive owned 4 black cars and EVERY time i say "i will NEVER own a black car again!"
after 4 mistakes i made because i DO agree that there is nothing prettier than a black car...i finally have learned my lesson...
i currently own a beautiful black 3000GT...
NEVER, EVER again will i own a black car of any kind...
if you love cleaning your car...i mean REALLY love cleaning your car...then paint it black...
my experience has taught me that i can wash my black car...chamios it off...wait ten minutes and look at the dust and dirt just apearing before my very eyes!
drive it 5 miles and forget about it...it looks like you didnt even wash it!
yes they ARE beautifull but in my humble opinion they are just not worth all of the work...
when i bought my vette a few months ago one of the criteria was that it HAD to be a light color...
i am currently shopping for an SUV and my criteria remains the same...
i can drive my beige vette without washing it for 2 weeks and it still looks clean...i am loving that!
anyone else have an opinion on this?

LAvetteman

:iagree:
Very good point signguy, I have had one black vehicle and I can say "NEVER, WILL I OWN A BLACK VEHICLE. Keep it clean was pointless.


Ice, if you go through all the trouble of getting that black paintjob decent, you will have your work cut out for you just keeping it clean.

Just my opinion.

NHvette

DAMN !! You guys are bumming me out.
I want black. Not beige - not maroon - not the obvious red - but BLACK.
Mean, evil, fearful, and colorless BLACK.

Luckily, I have a friend that paints for a living ... maybe I'll pay him to do it.
But the prep will still be killing me .... so you're right - but we don't want to hear it. :lol:
:seeya

ice pac

The car actually needs bodywork as well, so I am pretty sure this is gonna be too much for me, especially after hearing what everyone here had to say. I have a cousin who does bodywork and he said he'd come look at it next week after work. He's currently building a house(I do carpenter work), so I'll see if we can work something out.

I'm expecting black to be troublesome but I think I won't mind a whole lot. This isn't going to be a daily driver so keepin it clean shouldn't be a problem.

I was going to go with Electron Blue but there is just something about a black vette(when it's clean).

mrvette

Rusty Dave, hate to disappoint you, but in fact black is not only a drug dealer's color....it's boring....looks like a wannabee government bigwig....

as in forgetaboutit.....course I come from Wash d.c. area...so my opinion is a BIT clouded....

Living in florida lends a whole new meaning to the darker colors on cars too....
with the temps being what they are...white is very popular....


I think an actual color is better looking....something a bit sub-dooed...like a burgundy, green, blue....or maybe even a screaming yellow for attention, if you need it.....

MY next paint job...should I ever live long enough to acaually AFFORD it....

frankly just the paint cost....I want to paint my shark like the Mako show cars...white on bottom fading to dark blue/black on top.....through greens, browns, blue, yellow, orange...the works....someday maybe, but don't hold your breath on my desires....

GENE

killain

Do the prep work yourself, Leave the fiberglas and the paint work to an expert. My buddy has been painting cars since the seventies! believe me it takes a lot of painting to know how to do a flawless paint job. And if your car is going to be black, let an expert do it. You;ll thank me when it's done! :yesnod:

NHvette

Yeah, just black on an all plastic car may be a bit boring. However, splash a
little chrome around all the edges and a bit in the middle - and the contrast
is awesome. Now, add - as I ultimately intend to do - some two-tone pearl
(Chromalusion) flames to the mix .... now your cookin.
As far as the heat - what's that ? My pool only gets up to 80 all summer,
and that's only for a few select weeks.

ps - blue can get boring too - but airbrush a shark on the scoop and it's a real eye-catcher.

:seeya :thumbs: