cool thanks mate, when u say 800 or 1000grit, what do u mean by grit? sorry mate, have no idea with the paint language. lol

best way to check it out is head down to an auto store and check it out. 800 grit is courser than 1000 grit. the lower the number the courser the paper. has to do with the anount of sand grit in a given area. as i said go check it out at a shop, you will soon see the difference.

thanks guys, will check it out tomorrow and will post progress pics as i go along. thanks heaps guys, great forum and some great ppl. lol

ok guys just to confirm, this is what im going to be doing.

1. rub down existing paint with wet 600 or 800 sandpaper till flat and smooth.

2. Clean with prepsol wax and grease remover

3. apply undercoat/primer and then rub that down with wet800 and then 1200 wet prior painting.

4. again, use prepsol wax and grease remover

5. apply my color of paint 3-4 coats of colour

6. Finally, add clear coat and hopefully all is well...

if i missed any points pls let me know but so far, thats the plan.

cheers.

sounds good to me. apply several clear coats as this will be what you are sanding back later when you cut and polish

thanks champ, if it sounds god to u then that gives me great confidence to go ahead and start working on my beloved pride and joy. lol

hopefully car comes out good but i know theres alot of hard work thats gotta go into it, but i guess its better than paying thousands of $$$ to the panel beaters. afterall, ive always wanted to paint my car and i guess ive got the opportunit to do it now and hopefully or in a few weeks times i should have some pics up with the finished proudct..

once again thanks to everyone who helped and I hope it gives great confidence and knowledge to ppl wanting to paint their cars who knew nothing about it all before..

ahhh got to love forums...

1. rub down existing paint with wet 600 or 800 sandpaper till flat and smooth.

use a bucket with water & a little bit of mornng fresh (dish washing liquid) helps to glide the paper .

3. apply undercoat/primer and then rub that down with wet800 and then 1200 wet prior painting

if you have some scratches that show ,you can use some spray putty or spot putty .
the putty will fill in the scratches ,just sand back with 400 ? grade wetndry.then primer on top .

i think i got this right ,,been 22 years since working in a panel shop ..lol..

have to add,if you have dents and scratches,under coat and light sand,buy a cheap can of black spray paint in a can,spray it so the paint hits the under coat in small dots,when its sanded and all the dots are gone its flat,if not it has to be filled to make it flat,easy check on dents.

^^^ i forgot about a guied coat ...lol..

if you want a nice finish ..preperation is the key ..as the others have said .
i can get a awesome finish ,even with presure can paints ..

Spray cans do a great job. 600 grit, primer, 800 grit, primer (thicker coat), 1200 grit till scratches are gone, colour of choice, sand with 1200, second coat, sand 1800, third coat, sand with 2000, then finish with a clear coats...two coats does the job. Sand is done wet, cleaned after every sand, final coat of primer left to dry for 24 hours and paint coats are left to dry (pending on weather) between 2 and 3 hours. That's how I sprayed my bike and paint stayed intact...I till I binned it into a corner.

I am sure it can be done on metal panels the same way.

Good luck with the respray .

Guys, when you are sanding, approx how long is it taking you to, say, `sand 1200 grit until all scratches are gone' - I think its my lack of patience thats my downfall with bodywork...I want to get it over and done with cos I basically don't like doing it much, and when I rush I'm always underwhelmed with the result....I'd rather tear a motor to bits or lay under the car doing a gearbox than bodywork / paint...

if you want a good finish ,,the more time spent on prep ,the better it will be ..
ive spent 1 whole day just wet sanding primer on cars .ready for top coat .
that was quick jobs .

i had a car painted in a top panel shop many years ago .it was sent back many times due to the sanding marks bleeding threw.the prep was uter rubbish ..
i know how you feel about wanting it over n done with .
....... patience is the key ..with most car related things .lol.......

Yep in that order. wet sand the final colour with 2000grid before going over with two or three coats of clear.

There a few things that'll cause orange peels....
1- air supply. not enough air can cause large droplets. to much air will cause the paint to dry out before it flows in level and flat or causes excessive overruns.

2- s**t equipment, compressor maximum CFM to low. to little a CFM will cause air delivery pressure to drop- crappy and cheap spraygun with inferior needle and nozzle that came with the gun, usually the wrong size.

3- paint viscosity, thin it to the right atomisation. you'll know when it flows in nice and flat on the surface. again, it all depends on the fluid flow and air adjustment. to much fluid flow will cause larger droplets, to little fluid flow against the air supplied will cause the paint to dry out before it flows in level.

4- weather, it's summer time so use a retarding thinner to stop the paint drying out to quick. above all that, spray in thin wet coats for dummies like us. could end up with 7 passes but at least don't have to worry about orange peels.

also ,,my old boss used to leave some color in the pot to mix with the 1st coat of clear .
then clean the pot with thinners & ad the thinner/clear mix .
he put about 5-6 coats of clear ,,as you wet sand a few coats back when cured .

Last edited by 95frd on Mon Jan 03, 2011 10:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

yeh, thanks for that - patience is the key...