Hi everyone, firstly I know how to use search but thought I'd touch on this subject once again..

I've been quoted $2000 to spray my wheel arch flares, side skirts, door trims, passenger mirror and fix some rust spots and crows feet... I spent the night in hospital after I told my wife, the doctor said the imprint from the frying pan should go away in a few weeks, but I won't be able to have anymore children and my voice will always be high pitched..

Anyway, I'm looking at doing this myself.
There's a paint shop in Wodonga that deals in HOK paint so I'm hoping they can mix some paint for me in HH (Kashmir) but matched to my car.

Here is my list of what I rekon I will need so far.

Wax and grease remover
200 + 400 Grit Wet and Dry (for removing paint on door trims and flares then making smoothish)
Plastic Primer
Metal Primer
Base Acrylic (really not sure how many cans I will need)
2 or so cans clear
Buffing pad (can you still get the one's that you attach to a drill or do I need a buffer?)
news paper and masking tape
something to stick the door trims back on with

I'm hoping to get all this stuff for under $300, am I dreaming ?
I've considered getting paint mixed at Autofarm but from what I've read on here they will give you paint matched to your colour code not the actual colour of the paint on your car..

For the buffer you can get a cheap ones from supercheap. As for the painting, give it a shot on an old car/door of a car to get the hang of it first.

i did this recently as i had to do the front and rear window seals aswell. Mine was a lot easier as i was just doing a black bonnet and roof. I suggest you get 400grit at the roughest. Between coats use something like 1200wet and dry and when applying clearcoat, go and use 1800 or 2000grit wet and dry. The finish is a lot better this way but you end up applying around 7 coats from start to finish. Also use wax and grease remover between each coat after sanding.

The best advice i can offer though is to find somewehre not windy, and relatively dust free. For instance if you do it under your house, staple a sheet to the underside of the f2nd storey floor. keep as many windows and doors shust as possible but also watch out for fume inhalation.

I did satin black and the car has sat in the sun pretty much since (6 months) and the coats nice and even, no streaks or high and low areas (the purpose of many light coats as opposed to fewer heavy coats) and even in the heat there is no bubbling or lifting. For the main areas of the car though (everything else) im paying someone to paint it as its the most looked at areas and hard to prep properly.

It's worth getting some Tac rags (removes fine dust particles) to wipe the items with immediately prior to painting.

Cheers

Just rang Autobarn, cans of mixed paint are around $30, I'm going to get five just to be on the safe side and if there's any left I might do some of the dash pieces in the same colour.

I figure I should need
2 plastic primer
1 metal primer (if that)
5 colour
2 - 4 clear..

Out of curiosity I tried Power Plus Touch up paint from supercheap PJ6250 (Kashmire Pearl) which is listed as Mitsubishi HH.

Close, but no cigar.. Will give autobarn a try..
I now have 'silver' to do my dash..

Out of curiosity I tried Power Plus Touch up paint from supercheap PJ6250 (Kashmire Pearl) which is listed as Mitsubishi HH.

Close, but no cigar.. Will give autobarn a try..
I now have 'silver' to do my dash..

if you can mate, id steer clear of "supercheap" and those stores try and find a car paint shop speshalist (cant spell for shit). just today i went and bought some paint to redo my front spoiler (paint, primer and clear coat) and cost around 60 bucks

if you can mate, id steer clear of "supercheap" and those stores try and find a car paint shop speshalist (cant spell for shit). just today i went and bought some paint to redo my front spoiler (paint, primer and clear coat) and cost around 60 bucks

How much did the base coat cost and how big was the can?

How much did the base coat cost and how big was the can?

my primer is a 400g can and was around 15$ the paint which is pearl was 28$ and 400g and the clear coat was the rest ahah and also 400g

Any paint shop will give you paint mixed to the formula in the book. With the small quantities involved in spray cans they are unlikely to get the mix right, especially if it is a complex pearl colour, and it is guaranteed not to match the rest of your car. A professional on the other hand, will mix the paint, spray some, and adjust the mix according to what he sees. He won't just spray small areas, but whole panels to get the final product right. Any paint with solids in it, like metallics or pearl, will give you a different colour cast depending on how thick you spray it, how quick it dries, humidity, temperature, pressure in the can, etc. To get a good looking (read "not annoyingly obvious") spray job from a can is impossible. You won't be happy with it.

My advice - pay the pro the $2K, or leave the car as is. Maybe do a TAFE course on spray painting to get to grips with the subject?

Paint in a spray can is only good for small jobs, like changing the colour of your grille, as long as it isn't the same colour as the rest of the car.

There are other alternatives to full Spray shops try some of the mobile paint services and get a quote from them. If you don't know one ring your local dealer and they should have on on their books.

This article deals with using them http://autospeed.com.au/cms/A_3001/article.html

I'm getting one to do some work on my new import don't have a price yet as the car has other priorities at the moment.

Finished painting trolly strips and door trims, I got paint mixed at Albury Auto Paints.
I didn't bother doing the factory side skirts as these are going anyway.

It's about a 97% match and cost $112 all up to do them, which included prepsol and sand paper, I still have half a can left of primer and clear.. primer was difficult to apply as it's translucent...

In most lighting it's not noticable, I do need to now buff the rest of the car to get rid of the "shiny here, dull there look"

I think it matches the car better than the respray on the back doors.. It's on the resprayed doors that the difference stands out the most.

I'm happy with how it turned out which is all that really matters.. and it doesn't stand out like dogs testicles..http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af37/p-nichols/102_0467.jpg
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I might revisit and sand them back slightly plus do some more clear coats to get them smoother.

Flares + Skirts painted, paint is hard and smooth..

Paint on door trims is peeling off like silicoln ???
Exact same process followed (prime, base, clear), same paint used, same amount of coats.. door trims were done a week ago, flares 2 days.

I can scratch the flares and skirts with my finger nail and nothing happens. but if I so much as breath on the door trims the paint is peeling off something shocking...

Any ideas where I went wrong?

These parts may have been coated with a silicone product like Armour All. You need a silicone/wax remover on the bare surface before primer will grip. Strip it right back. A wipedown with thinners is a good idea. It is normal for acrylic lacquer to harden slowly and start peeling off flexible or poorly prepared surfaces after a few weeks or more. I'm looking at redoing parts of my car for that very reason. Had an excellent looking bonnet I painted once, then put the hose on it and it came off in sheets! I said #$#%$^%$, lets do it again! Took a sanding disc to it and cut it right down to the primer - paint supplier told me all I needed to do was to take the shine off the clearcoat - yeah, right!

as said above did not prep properly when dealing with any panel on a car weather it be plastic or metal it is always good to give a good wash down with wax grease remover prior to sanding. myself i even washdown again after i have sanded it before i paint just to make sure.another good tip is to make sure you have a few clean rags lying around and after you use it once throw it out and get another incase the initial rag has been contaminated.

If you are trying to paint vinyl on the interior door trim, acrylic is no good. You need a special vinyl paint.

It's the outer door trims, the plastic on the bottom of the door.
I sanded (not back to primer just scuffed it) prepsoled, primed, base, clear.

Will try striping right back to plastic, I now have about 10 layers of paint to remove (primer, 5 base, 6 clear) lol..

Might be best if you remove these bits and hit them with paint stripper - try to find one that won't harm the plastic. Any mechanical method to remove the paint is likely to mark the plastic - the clear is very hard but the colour coats and plastic are very soft, easy to sand back too far.

It's the outer door trims, the plastic on the bottom of the door.
I sanded (not back to primer just scuffed it) prepsoled, primed, base, clear.

Will try striping right back to plastic, I now have about 10 layers of paint to remove (primer, 5 base, 6 clear) lol..

thats were you went wrong if what im asuming is corect the plastic peices were already painted if so you only needed to clean with the prepsole and sand prepsole again and throw the base coat on, you did not need to plastic prime as you were not applying the paint to the plastic surface you were applying it over an existing coat of paint!! the plastic primer would not have adhesed properly there for it is peeling of and taking the paint with it. when you sand it back to redo take it to the point of where there is no more paint peeling and no further prepsole it and go again i promise you it will stay on, there is no need to take it back to plastic!!!!! but if it was raw plastic you were painting to start off with how long bettween coats were you allowing for both base and clear ??
with the primer you should only need 2 coats leaving it for 5-10 mins in between coats
with the base coat you should be allowing it 2 fully dry between coats this should take no longer than 10 mins and repeat till well covered (dont allow the primer to fully dry before applying first coat of base apply it when it is still tacky)
when the base is compleatly dry then apply clear again should only need 2-3 coats with a 10min wait inbetween coats
if you were applying the paint 2 quickly with that many coats you were not leting the solvents disperse from the paint which will have a reaction in the way you have explained that or will be covered in heaps of little pit holes which is called solvent boil.

thats were you went wrong if what im asuming is corect the plastic peices were already painted if so you only needed to clean with the prepsole and sand prepsole again and throw the base coat on, you did not need to plastic prime as you were not applying the paint to the plastic surface you were applying it over an existing coat of paint!! the plastic primer would not have adhesed properly there for it is peeling of and taking the paint with it. when you sand it back to redo take it to the point of where there is no more paint peeling and no further prepsole it and go again i promise you it will stay on, there is no need to take it back to plastic!!!!! but if it was raw plastic you were painting to start off with how long bettween coats were you allowing for both base and clear ??
with the primer you should only need 2 coats leaving it for 5-10 mins in between coats
with the base coat you should be allowing it 2 fully dry between coats this should take no longer than 10 mins and repeat till well covered (dont allow the primer to fully dry before applying first coat of base apply it when it is still tacky)
when the base is compleatly dry then apply clear again should only need 2-3 coats with a 10min wait inbetween coats
if you were applying the paint 2 quickly with that many coats you were not leting the solvents disperse from the paint which will have a reaction in the way you have explained that or will be covered in heaps of little pit holes which is called solvent boil.

Hmm, thanks! I wondered that myself.. oops!

I'm a bit worried about the flares now as I did prime a few sections that I took back to plastic, but I only sprayed the area that was back to plastic (and obviously a small area around it) like I said though the flares are fine..
I was leaving about 5 minutes between each coat (base or clear), it was about 29 degree's where I did them so the paint seemed to dry super fast and the cans said 5 minutes between coats.

I did one coat of primer (horrid clear stuff) waiting about 5 minutes before the base.

I followed directions given to me by the guy I bought the paint off, I told him the strips were painted, he told me to sand, prime, paint..
Then when I went back to get more paint another guy told me to sand, prime the bare plastic parts and paint..
Can you guess which one has painted?

I've already sanded one back to plastic (the small front bit) so will prime that but for the rest will go to paint again.
If I do end up with a small section of bare plastic should I lightly brush on some primer?

Probably neither of them lol 1 just knows more than the other, dont worrie i deal with them every day of the week and they have no idear!!!!!
Yeah if you end up with a small section of plastic brush some primer on but only lightly so you dont get an uneven build up which you will notice once painted

Yeah if you end up with a small section of plastic brush some primer on but only lightly so you dont get an uneven build up which you will notice once painted

Like when it seeps into the small cracks of the existing paint and you end up with scales on the third base coat requiring leaving it overnight, sanding smooth and repainting ?

Like when it seeps into the small cracks of the existing paint and you end up with scales on the third base coat requiring leaving it overnight, sanding smooth and repainting ?

not sure what happened there i would have to see a pic.posibly the paint had a reaction and fryed up

not sure what happened there i would have to see a pic.posibly the paint had a reaction and fryed up

It looked like an inverted grand canyon..

It looked like an inverted grand canyon..

lol it sanded up allright though didnt it?

Any paint shop will give you paint mixed to the formula in the book. With the small quantities involved in spray cans they are unlikely to get the mix right, especially if it is a complex pearl colour, and it is guaranteed not to match the rest of your car. A professional on the other hand, will mix the paint, spray some, and adjust the mix according to what he sees. He won't just spray small areas, but whole panels to get the final product right. Any paint with solids in it, like metallics or pearl, will give you a different colour cast depending on how thick you spray it, how quick it dries, humidity, temperature, pressure in the can, etc. To get a good looking (read "not annoyingly obvious") spray job from a can is impossible. You won't be happy with it.

My advice - pay the pro the $2K, or leave the car as is. Maybe do a TAFE course on spray painting to get to grips with the subject?

Paint in a spray can is only good for small jobs, like changing the colour of your grille, as long as it isn't the same colour as the rest of the car.

I agree totally, one thing you must consider is your car is painted from factory in two pack, no matter how hard you try you wont get acrylic to match from a can, even two pack can have issues especially when pearls are concerned.

Save up and get it done right, or leave her be, nothing looks worse then a bad job, even if you tried your best to do a decent one. kik

lol it sanded up allright though didnt it?

Yeah, looks fine now..

I agree totally, one thing you must consider is your car is painted from factory in two pack, no matter how hard you try you wont get acrylic to match from a can, even two pack can have issues especially when pearls are concerned.

Save up and get it done right, or leave her be, nothing looks worse then a bad job, even if you tried your best to do a decent one. kik

I'm too impatient to save up lol.

The paint doesn't match 100% on the flares and skirts but it's smooth and shinny and you can't notice from 10 feet away..
When walking up to my car yesterday I forgot I had fitted the flares.

I'm noticing that any Kashmir Magna's with bodykits don't match too well even from the factory.
I also haven't seen one Kashmir Verada yet that has door strips that don't look a different colour, and all matched the same as mine did.
Do a search for VRX's on carsales, have a look at the Kashmir or silver one's, all the body kits are slightly off in colour.

My car is only worth about $3000, I'd rather spend $2000 on a new engine and other mods than a paint job.
Besides, I've had two cars 'professionally' sprayed over the years.. on one you could see primer in area's, the other matched about as well as my job but lasted a month before peeling and cracking and had sanding marks all through it.., in comparison I've sprayed things that while were slightly off in colour to the trained eye were still fine after 4 - 5 years..

well said!!! that is absolutly correct you will never get a 100% match on a metalic or pearl colour because of the base fade especialy on an older car!!! ,And that is my proffesional opinion , if another painter says any differant they are kinding them selfs!!!
I think you have gone about this the right way (doing it yourself to save some $$$)

Groan! Talk about paint colour not matching! Did some patch work on the door of my TS - its white, mind you - and I now have a dark ring around the new paint! Did all the right things too, sanded and prepsoled around the area. Something has migrated to the edge of the new paint and left a dark border. I will have to mask off and repaint the whole door, all for the sake of a filled in scratch! Next time I will know better! (leave the scratch alone or do the whole panel)

Groan! Talk about paint colour not matching! Did some patch work on the door of my TS - its white, mind you - and I now have a dark ring around the new paint! Did all the right things too, sanded and prepsoled around the area. Something has migrated to the edge of the new paint and left a dark border. I will have to mask off and repaint the whole door, all for the sake of a filled in scratch! Next time I will know better! (leave the scratch alone or do the whole panel)

how much of an over lap did you allow???? does the edge of the black ring have a bit of a buldge to it? or is it more of a shadow look????

It's a shadow look. Probably dirt in the original paint that didn't sand off or got picked up by the prepsol, migrating with the solvent action of the new paint. Its the same acrylic lacquer and primer I used to paint the car originally 2 years ago, from the same tins even, so its not a paint reaction. I will rub the panel back further and repaint the whole door at some stage. Already gone through this process for the same reason with the roof, bonnet and right front guard. At least the car is getting good paint protection - no rust anywhere after 15 years! lol

It's a shadow look. Probably dirt in the original paint that didn't sand off or got picked up by the prepsol, migrating with the solvent action of the new paint. Its the same acrylic lacquer and primer I used to paint the car originally 2 years ago, from the same tins even, so its not a paint reaction. I will rub the panel back further and repaint the whole door at some stage. Already gone through this process for the same reason with the roof, bonnet and right front guard. At least the car is getting good paint protection - no rust anywhere after 15 years! lol

hahaha:happy:

Maybe I should just paint the whole car the colour of the local dirt that blows around freely here? (Some farmer's topsoil I think)

EDIT: Worked out what the problem is. Miniature droplets of tree sap, all over the car. They don't sand off with 1200 grade, and don't get removed by prepsol. BUT they do dissolve in acrylic thinners and cause discolouration! Lucky me, extra work.

Done! Door looks like new.
I wonder if a claybar would remove treesap, or am I doomed to repaint whole panels just to repair a minor scratch/dent?

Done! Door looks like new.
I wonder if a claybar would remove treesap, or am I doomed to repaint whole panels just to repair a minor scratch/dent?

might work never tried to remove treesap lol no harm in trying, if not give it a quick cut polish with a damp rag

May not be good for the paint but I removed heaps of tree sap once using a soft cloth and mineral turps, wipe (DON'T RUB) over sap and it comes straight off then quickly wash the turps off with soap and water.
My wife did her car and ended up with swirls everywhere, I think she used the wax on wax off approach and rubbed the crapper out of it, I just just lightly wiped and didn't get any marks or scratches..

thats were you went wrong if what im asuming is corect the plastic peices were already painted if so you only needed to clean with the prepsole and sand prepsole again and throw the base coat on, you did not need to plastic prime as you were not applying the paint to the plastic surface you were applying it over an existing coat of paint!! the plastic primer would not have adhesed properly there for it is peeling of and taking the paint with it. when you sand it back to redo take it to the point of where there is no more paint peeling and no further prepsole it and go again i promise you it will stay on, there is no need to take it back to plastic!!!!! but if it was raw plastic you were painting to start off with how long bettween coats were you allowing for both base and clear ??
with the primer you should only need 2 coats leaving it for 5-10 mins in between coats
with the base coat you should be allowing it 2 fully dry between coats this should take no longer than 10 mins and repeat till well covered (dont allow the primer to fully dry before applying first coat of base apply it when it is still tacky)
when the base is compleatly dry then apply clear again should only need 2-3 coats with a 10min wait inbetween coats
if you were applying the paint 2 quickly with that many coats you were not leting the solvents disperse from the paint which will have a reaction in the way you have explained that or will be covered in heaps of little pit holes which is called solvent boil.

Figured out where I went wrong, with the paint I had left I decided to redo the door trims.
So, I sanded off the clear.. then cleaned them with prepsol.. oops...
Lesson learnt..

Figured out where I went wrong, with the paint I had left I decided to redo the door trims.
So, I sanded off the clear.. then cleaned them with prepsol.. oops...
Lesson learnt..

lol its always a must to wipe down with prepsol after every sand and if you think there is any chance of it being contaminated even the sweat of your hands can contaminate what you are painting.
Good to hear it all worked out for you though!!!:happy:

Finished Product..

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af37/p-nichols/103_0457.jpg

Why did a fly land on the door just as I took the photo? lol

Can barely see the colour difference unless you're up close.
I still need to strip the clear off the back doors as it bubbled up and peeled off last week all in one day after 100mm of rain, plus the passenger mirror has a big patch of chipped paint.

Then I'll do a cut and Polish..

looks the goods and you saved yourself alot of $$$$:thumbsup:

Yep, looks good!

Turps on tree sap - must remember to try that! In fact I will try it tomorrow - its all over the car! lol Tiny dots, no more than 1 mm in diameter grrrrrrrr

Yep, looks good!

Turps on tree sap - must remember to try that! In fact I will try it tomorrow - its all over the car! lol Tiny dots, no more than 1 mm in diameter grrrrrrrr

That's exactly what I had, all over it, tried everything, even some really soappy stuff (called bug and tar remover) that took days to remove haha.
I was amazed how the turps worked... it just melts the sap straight off ! brilliant !