How to Paint Your Car on a Budget (Cartech)

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If your car needs new paint, or even just a touch-up, the cost involved in hiring a professional can be more than you bargained for. Fortunately, there are less expensive alternatives–you can even paint your car at home! In How to Paint Your Car On A Budget, author and veteran DIY hot rodder Pat Ganahl unveils dozens of secrets that will help anyone paint their own car. From simple scuff-and-squirt jobs to fullon, door-jambs-and-everything paint jobs, Ganahl covers everything you need to know to get a great looking coat of paint on your car and save lots of money in the process. This book covers painting equipment, the ins and outs of prep, masking, painting and sanding products and techniques, and real-world advice on how to budget wisely when painting your own car. It’s the most practical automotive painting book ever written!

From the Publisher

In How to Paint Your Car On A Budget, author and veteran DIY hot rodder Pat Ganahl unveils dozens of secrets that will help anyone paint their own car. From simple scuff-and-squirt jobs to full on, door-jambs-and-everything paint jobs, Ganahl covers everything you need to know to get a great looking coat of paint on your car and save lots of money in the process. This book covers painting equipment, the ins and outs of prep, masking, painting and sanding products and techniques, and real-world advice on how to budget wisely when painting your own car.

To Strip or Not to Strip

The only practical way to strip layers of paint off your car at home is by using a brush-on/scrape off liquid stripper. Don’t get the kind at the hardware store; go to your automotive paint dealer and get the very strong type made for cars, which is usually called “aircraft stripper.”

Bodywork 101

Some metalmen cringe at the thought of using a grinder on sheetmetal, but in a relatively small area like this, it’s the most efficient way to clean the metal. Use a 36-grit disc, do not use much pressure, and don’t make big sparks or turn the metal blue.

Equipment for Home Painting

This is a more modern HVLP gun, nearly all of which are the gravity-feed (cup on top) type. Although they may be in different locations, most also have adjusting knobs for fluid (paint) flow, airflow, and fan-pattern width. This one also has an adjustable air pressure regulator, with a dial gauge, between the inlet and the hose.

Prep, Sand and Mask

The first “prep” step of any good paint job is to remove as many parts from the car as feasible that aren’t supposed to be painted. This not only makes the ensuing bodywork, sanding, masking, and painting steps much easier, it also allows you to paint all surfaces that were painted originally. Here I am just beginning the process on my ’52 Chevy. The taillights and license come off, as does the door (and other) upholstery panels. Also detach parts such as the front and rear gravel pans and interior window frames, which are easily prepped and painted separately. In this case, I repainted the dashboard in the car, and left the rear window (and trim) in place.

Scuff and Squirt

After a little sanding with 80-grit on a medium sanding block the filler is leveled, the edges of the paint are feathered a bit, and it’s ready for a coat of high-fill primer. However, do not mask off a repaired area as shown for either primer or spot paint. We don’t want a hard, taped edge in the middle of a paint panel.

The Full Paint Job

A basic rule of spray painting, especially with metallic colors (and definitely with an HVLP gun, as John is using), is that two even, thin coats are better than one thick one. The base coat dries quickly, and you can usually start your second go-around as soon as you have completed all the steps for the first one.

Color Sand and Rub Out

Most color sanding should be done with some sort of block. Bill cuts a semi-hard rubber squeegee slightly smaller than the folded paper, so he can hold the paper by the edges as he sands in back-and-forth strokes, starting with 1000 grit on this fairly rough paint.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1932494227
Publisher ‏ : ‎ CarTech; First Edition (April 19, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781932494228
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1932494228
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.32 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.38 x 11 inches

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