ok guys. painted my car last year. was the first time i had painted a car and had no help except from my dad. and he didnt really know to much about what we were doing either.

we used 2 pack paint. the result we got was ok but i want to do it again an make it a little better.
the major thing i didnt like about the result was that the car finished with a rough feel making it hard to keep clean and i had to do alot of sanding afterward to smooth it off. also 9 months on iv noticed in a couple of spots that some of the paint has started to flake off. not alot but enough for me to notice.
we later did the bonnet on my dads car using auto enamel and the result was much nicer.

what paint do you guys think i should use this time to get the best result?

also i figured if im going to paint the car again i may as well change the colour. im thinking either a black or maybe something bright like an orange. if not just keep it white. i dont want to paint the car a magna colour. i want it to be different.

im also looking at a colour that would look good even if the job wasnt perfect. im thinking that maybe on a black paint job the imperfections would be much more noticeable?

cheers luke.

Had a black verada bout 12 months ago and got rid of it just because it was to hard to keep clean...even after washing the slightest bit of dust made it look dirty...so would steer away from black.

I think a deep red like the BMW imola red would look good...and it'll go faster...ha ha ha

OK. As you have discovered applying paint is an art form that is well worth learning. My first paint was as rough as anything. The secret is in getting the paint mix right, using the appropriate thinners (whatever that is for 2 pac or enamel) and the right temperature and humidity if you are not using a spray booth. You want to put the paint on thick enough for it to flow out but not run. I stick to acrylic lacquer solid colours because they are easy to work with under the carport. With acrylic air temperature, humidity, paint dilution, gun pressure and application technique all affect the final job. Get it right and you have a good shine and flat surface right off the gun, needing only a hand buff 2 days later and waxing 3 months later. Experiment, experiment. Hope this helps.
NB lighter colours do not show mistakes as obviously as darker colours. I would never do a black job as a DIY exercise.

If your paint is lifting in spots this points to inadequate surface preparation. Find out from your paint supplier and the internet what steps are needed to get good adhesion and about paint compatability.
My first Magna paint job was on a blue metallic TP, I rubbed it back to get the shine off the clearcoat and resprayed in acrylic. It was flaking off after 3 months. The next two cars I did I rubbed back with a sander down to the white primer before repainting with acrylic primer and colour coat. No flaking 2 years later.

If you are going to do a full colour change you will need to get the surface dead smooth and sound. You might even need to take it down to the factory primer. Once you have 2 pac on the car I think you are pretty well restricted to using 2 pac for future painting, but I'm sure someone can confirm or refute that.

Colour selection: Remember that the first gen cars are very sharp in their profile, flat surfaces and sharp edges. Body design like this does not look good with dark colours, a black TP would look horrible! Maybe select a colour and get someone to photoshop a picture of your car in that colour?

PM MadMagna if you want help with 2pak questions.

See if you can find any pics of BCX7s old car. That was black, and looked pretty mad :)

Hmmmmm, orange would look AWESOME (I think...) and would really make your car stand out... What about a 2 tone sorta job. I'm thinking Orange below the windows, and black above would look pretty interesting...

...or maybe I'm just crazy :nuts:

It would certainly stand out!

yes orange would certainly stand out. lol. i think thats what i might do. definately staying away from black.

thanks madmax that was a great help. my dad is in the process of getting a shed built but i will most likely do it under the car port like last time.
do you recommend putting plastic up? or would i be better off in the open and making sure i pic a still day?

Put up plastic if you are on a tight time schedule. If you can afford to wait, a 25 degree wind free day is best for acrylic. Even a fast drying day like acrylic can have problems with bugs and dust, 2 pak or enamel would be more sensitive to contamination. It's up to you. Protective gear is important too, esp an effective respirator. Research what protective gear is required for the paint you use. Lots of info on the internetz!

Acrylic will not last... You will want to do a 2pak job (thats what the factory and all the pros use), however make sure your prep is done properly. Do not use pre-existing primer, strip it down as far as possible and apply a new primer (preferably the same brand as your paint), make sure the surface is dead smooth before you apply your paint, then make sure its dead smooth again before applying your clear coat. once your clear coat is done, let it dry and give it a buff till its dead smooth again, then apply another coat and do it again. This will ensure you have a thick clear surface and most things that hit it will not make it past the clear. If you need help with paint don't bother Mal (madmagna) - he is a mechanic, not a spray painter! PM jesse_james - He is a spray painter!

Acrylic will not last...

how long will it last for then? 2 years? 5 years? 6 months? it is a first gen im painting after all lol. if i can get a job done that last 2 years ill be happy with that. by then ill probly have rust to work on anyways all the hidden stuff that i dont no about will probably show through.

when i painted the car the first time. the place where i got the paint... they told me to sand it back to get the shine off it and that would be sufficient. the also told me not put on any primer unless going back to bare metal....

Sand back,repair and re-prime the car using a 2pak primer filler.
I would highly recommend doing it in 2pak as it will be a better finish off the gun aslong as you know your limits of application so try not to get banding(lines) in your basecoat if doing a metallic and runs or dry spray when doing the clear coat.
2-3 coats of basecoat would be enough coverage if using a good brand,maybe even 3-4 with a pattern coat(cross hatching) if using a descent brand like PPG or econonmy line of Dupont.
3 coats of clear would be good as you can cut and buff if some places need a flattening.
I recommend a colour from TVR called topaz,i will get you a code tomorrow :facejump:

ok thanks jesse_james. topaz sounds interesting. how far back should i be sanding it? also any tips on rust? in the past i have used i grinder to get rid of the rust. then coated with a rust converter then filled, primed and painted.

ok thanks jesse_james. topaz sounds interesting. how far back should i be sanding it? also any tips on rust? in the past i have used i grinder to get rid of the rust. then coated with a rust converter then filled, primed and painted.

Depending on how bad the rust is but usually grinding then filling with a body filler then priming would be your best shot unless you have to weld up holes with plates or spot weld to fill tiny holes.
I would take it back to the primer coat below old paint aslong as its holding up fine aswell and do your spot repair where ever needed.
Topaz is a silverish blue that has a gold flip to it,very nice! Will get the code for ya

Crystal topaz met. Colour code is 170. Manufacturer is TVR

when i painted the car the first time. the place where i got the paint... they told me to sand it back to get the shine off it and that would be sufficient. the also told me not put on any primer unless going back to bare metal....


lol Thats what I was told too. Didn't work on clearcoat, as I found out on the first Magna I painted - see my post above. I would still apply high build primer of the type same as your top and clear coats.

Process: Cut -> Repair - > Primer -> Colour -> clearcoat. (Not forgetting the all important rubbing back and cleaning at the appropriate times.) Should last for ages!!

As suggested cut down to the original whiteish coloured primer. This includes all nooks and crannies, even ones hidden behind door cards and bumper bars. Doing a full colour change does mean pulling your car to bits! Bumpers off, grille and light off, winscreen trim off, doors off and stripped. etc. I pull the boot lid/tailgate, guards and bonnet off too. You will be surprised how labour intensive the job is, and how cheap DIY is compared to a pro job.

PS. Can you give us a rundown of your costs if you go ahead? I'm eyeing off a cheap gen 3 sedan with dead paint and that topaz sounds good! I saw a red gen 3 yesterday and drooled over that. Colour coded mirrors and mudflaps. Female owner came out of the shop and gave me the evil eye, probably thought I was going to steal it! lol

yeah i will give you a run down off the costs if i go ahead. the costs will determine whether i do it or not as iv decided im going to the uk next year and have to cut back the spending on this baby lol

Acrylic will not last... You will want to do a 2pak job (thats what the factory and all the pros use), however make sure your prep is done properly. Do not use pre-existing primer, strip it down as far as possible and apply a new primer (preferably the same brand as your paint), make sure the surface is dead smooth before you apply your paint, then make sure its dead smooth again before applying your clear coat. once your clear coat is done, let it dry and give it a buff till its dead smooth again, then apply another coat and do it again. This will ensure you have a thick clear surface and most things that hit it will not make it past the clear. If you need help with paint don't bother Mal (madmagna) - he is a mechanic, not a spray painter! PM jesse_james - He is a spray painter!


Life, again you are full of crap bud

For starters I have painted more cars than you have had shags, (yes I have painted more than 0)

Acrylic will last fine if applied properly and cared properly

Secondly, you should only really paint 2pac in a booth. The reasons are dust and bugs for starters, even plastic will not really do the job there but also the fumes are very toxic and the booth has a filter to catch the vapoir and dust

If you have a lot of peel in the finish, I would say you painted too dry on the first go

I do say good on you for having a go at this, it is not a small thing to paint a car.

Life, again you are full of crap bud

For starters I have painted more cars than you have had shags, (yes I have painted more than 0)

Acrylic will last fine if applied properly and cared properly

Secondly, you should only really paint 2pac in a booth. The reasons are dust and bugs for starters, even plastic will not really do the job there but also the fumes are very toxic and the booth has a filter to catch the vapoir and dust

If you have a lot of peel in the finish, I would say you painted too dry on the first go

I do say good on you for having a go at this, it is not a small thing to paint a car.

:bowrofl: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

That was amazing :D :bowrofl:

Thanks madmagna will most likely use acrylic then. And yes I think your right about it being too dry I don't think I used enough thinners

and mad max I will probably take a shorcut and leave the doors on the car. They are a bitch to put back on. Will also leave the front guards on but will remove most of the other parts. Including the bonnet cos I will be raplacin that with a different one

Very difficult to paint the leading edge of the front doors or the trailing edge of the front guards with them both on the car. At least take the guards off!

Don't be a beginner and think that the painting is the important part, its not. Proper preparation is the main task. With the door and guard on, how will you paint the trailing edge of the guard and leading edge of the front door? How will you clean the hinges of the doors? They are usually covered with oil and crap. How will you keep paint off the wiring tube that leads from the body to the door?
This is my time frame: (I work slowly, 3 or 4 hours a day, its a hobby, not a job.)

Stripping guards, doors, bumper bars, bootlid, bonnet. Cleaning parts off car. Filling dents. 1 week.
Prep of body - clean, rub back, filling. 1 week.
Solvent wash, undercoat bits off car. 2 days.
Masking of body, undercoat. 2 days.
wait 1 day.
Rubbing back undercoat. 2 days.
Colour coat - 2 days for all bits.
Wait 1 week for paint to harden a bit.
Reassemble - 1 week.

So, probably a total time of 12 hours with the spray gun out of a total time of 5 weeks or so. Get the idea? Only 10% of the time is painting time, and its the reason who professionals ask so much for a complete colour change respray.

Life, again you are full of crap bud

For starters I have painted more cars than you have had shags, (yes I have painted more than 0)

Acrylic will last fine if applied properly and cared properly

Secondly, you should only really paint 2pac in a booth. The reasons are dust and bugs for starters, even plastic will not really do the job there but also the fumes are very toxic and the booth has a filter to catch the vapoir and dust

If you have a lot of peel in the finish, I would say you painted too dry on the first go

I do say good on you for having a go at this, it is not a small thing to paint a car.

My bad, I never knew you painted... I'm speaking on behalf of friends who tried acrylic backyard resprays... Longest one lasted 2 years.

*Removed, spoke to you about this*

Acrylic needs to go on thick. Thick enough for rubbing back any orange peel, and to cope with buffing and polishing over the years. 4L on a sedan, 5L on a wagon. Any less and it wont last. 5 coats plus on flat surfaces, more on edges.

red over sliver

Very difficult to paint the leading edge of the front doors or the trailing edge of the front guards with them both on the car. At least take the guards off!

Don't be a beginner and think that the painting is the important part, its not. Proper preparation is the main task. With the door and guard on, how will you paint the trailing edge of the guard and leading edge of the front door? How will you clean the hinges of the doors? They are usually covered with oil and crap. How will you keep paint off the wiring tube that leads from the body to the door?
This is my time frame: (I work slowly, 3 or 4 hours a day, its a hobby, not a job.)

Stripping guards, doors, bumper bars, bootlid, bonnet. Cleaning parts off car. Filling dents. 1 week.
Prep of body - clean, rub back, filling. 1 week.
Solvent wash, undercoat bits off car. 2 days.
Masking of body, undercoat. 2 days.
wait 1 day.
Rubbing back undercoat. 2 days.
Colour coat - 2 days for all bits.
Wait 1 week for paint to harden a bit.
Reassemble - 1 week.

So, probably a total time of 12 hours with the spray gun out of a total time of 5 weeks or so. Get the idea? Only 10% of the time is painting time, and its the reason who professionals ask so much for a complete colour change respray.

yes your right madmax but i cant afford to have my car off the road for that long. we dont have public transport here. would you go to all that trouble to take the doors off and guards if you were to paint the car the same colour?


red over sliver

lol then it will look like a vl

Fair enough - car needs to stay on the road! Same colour? Easy! No need to pull too much off, just a good rub down, rust fix, clean and thorough masking. Should be do-able in a couple of weekends.

I've always had to do it the hard way, due to me buying Magnas (cheaply) with dead metallic paint/clearcoat (1 blue, 1 green and 1 burgandy) and going for white acrylic.

like this
http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz78/Man_elite/6348560009_large.jpg

looks like a vl commodore to me . . . Two tone paint jobs are so last century!

standared elites

I agree while it maybe copying an elite it does make the car look more like a vl. Which I don't want to do.

but you just cant escape the vl look tho

is that your car man elite

is that your car man elite

one only can wist wish, no but that is a magna with a 2L turbo from NZ