DIY flat black body panel painting/car painting

BigMac88

Fat guy in a little 'teg
Well, I started painting my front end body panels today, so I thought I'd share the experience. This for all the DIY guys, broke track/touge guys, and cheap SOB's out there :lol:

This is not supposed to be a $1000+ paint job, just some tips/experience for the DIYers out there.

I only documented the painting of the front bumper, but the process is more-or-less the same for any part of the car.

Materials:
- Painting masks
- 1000 grit sand paper
- 1500 grit sand paper
- 4 cans of DupliColor primer (8-10 if you're doing the whole car)
- 4-6 cans of semi-flat paint; Krylon/DupliColor (10-12 cans if you're doing the whole car)
- Paper towls w/ water (or Acetone) to clean the panels
- A tarp or news paper to paint on
**Painters tape if you do the whole car**

BTW - I got everything at Pep Boys for $45 bucks. If you plan on doing the whole car, it's gonna run you ~$150







1). Start out by placing your tarp down in ventilated area AWAY from a lot of contaminants (don't paint in dusty/windy conditions). Make sure you have a level-ish surface. I painted half-way in/out of my garage on a nice calm, sunny day.



2). Get some paper towels and a bowl of water. Get a paper towel nice and damp, then clean the entire surface you will be painting on. THOROUGHLY. If you don't, old dirt will be stuck to the surface and will yield bad results.



3). Once it's nice and clean, bust out some of the 1000 grit and start sanding. Press firmly but not too hard, and sand in even circular patters so lines won't show through the paint. YOU DON'T WANT TO SAND THE PAINT OFF, ONLY SCUFF THE CLEAR COAT!!!




4). Once that's done, gently wipe away some of the clear coat power that's siting on the panel with a barely damp paper towel.

5). Repeat the same process (step 3) with the 1500 grit

 
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BigMac88

Fat guy in a little 'teg
6). Repeat step 4.

'It's time to start spraying!' How to spray properly:
- Hold the can vertically 6-7 inches from the surface of the panel
- Spray in multiple, light coats
- DON'T lather it all on at once
- Start and the top and spray horizontally, left to right.
- Once you get to the other side, switch direction (right to left)
- You can go back and forth a little bit as needed
- You can change the angle of the nozzle to hit nooks and crannies, but DON'T change the distance or spray intensity.

7). Now it's time for primer. Coat #1: Make sure you shake the can for about a minute to mix it all before spraying. Spray it into the air once or twice so you don't get any splatter. Set a goal to spray many, light coats. DON'T lather it all on at once. Follow my spray guidlines. This is how it should look after the first coat:


8 ). Let the primer dry to the touch, then give it a second coat. This coat can be a little thicker than the last. Again make sure you spray evenly This is how it should look (except spray the light socket better than I did :lol::


9). Once the primer has dried to the touch, take out the 1000 grit and sand it down just like in the beginning.

10). Now you can crack open the first can of paint. Shake it for a minute or so, then give it a few sprays into the air to make sure you don't get any unwanted splatter. Again, follow the spray guidelines and start with a very light coat. It should look like this after coat #1:


11). Let it barely dry to the touch, then put on a little bit heavier 2nd coat and an equal or lighter 3rd coat. It should look like this:


Congratulations, you're done!!!! You can continue on to the whole car or any other panels from here. If you want more glossy finish, use full gloss paint. You can also add a light clear coat at this point if you want; I did. It will help preserve the paint A LOT in the long run.


 
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BigMac88

Fat guy in a little 'teg
If any of you body shop gurus have comments or want me to add stuff for a more complete write-up lmk!!!
 
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mirrorimg

Well-Known Member
Making it look better before a proper paint job most likely. And so it doesnt look super out of place on his green integra.
 


hotdoghogie

Droppin panties since1990
Just a heads up, being best friends with a painter, spray can primer is a waste of money because it doesnt use a catalyst. Its much too thin to do its job properly.

Also you are supposed to sand primer down before you paint over it or it completely defeats the purpose.
 

BigMac88

Fat guy in a little 'teg
heykosal said:
what are you doing flat blacking the car?
Click to expand...
Sorta. I'm painting the front end for my shell until I get a real paint job. Many people like to do the flat black look and always ask how, so I thought I'd share my experience.

hotdoghogie said:
Just a heads up, being best friends with a painter, spray can primer is a waste of money because it doesnt use a catalyst. Its much too thin to do its job properly.

Also you are supposed to sand primer down before you paint over it or it completely defeats the purpose.
Click to expand...
I did sand the primer, I just forgot to add that step! woops!
I understand that canned primer isn't the best choice, but a little coat of it is better than nothing.

Good looking out man I'll update asap.
 

BigMac88

Fat guy in a little 'teg
Can a Mod please change the title to DIY flat black body panel painting/car painting?

Thanks!
 

hotdoghogie

Droppin panties since1990
yeah and just a tip, you can actually spray a thin layer of black on that primer, i mean realy thin like just spekles, and use it as a guide to make sure you sanded out all the ripples in the primer when you cant see the black paint anymore its time paint.
 

BigMac88

Fat guy in a little 'teg
hotdoghogie said:
yeah and just a tip, you can actually spray a thin layer of black on that primer, i mean realy thin like just spekles, and use it as a guide to make sure you sanded out all the ripples in the primer when you cant see the black paint anymore its time paint.
Click to expand...
That's a great idea thanks! I appreciate the tips a lot, as will anyone else who needs this guide I'm sure.

jdmjim said:
nice work man! looks good:)
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Thanks man!
 
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