Has anyone else painted there own bumpers/hoods etc with good success???? I know how todo sanding/primer/bando work and such but i'v never attempted painting and paying someone todo it is kinda crazy...

please chime in if you'v painted stuff before and post pics leave tips w/e.... I can always wait save up and a pay a professional but i'd rather do it myself and get the satisfaction (and save money)

 

This winter I painted the front bumper cover and drivers side quarter panel on a 1994 V6 Camaro. It turned out perfect, at least as good as any "body shop" would of done. You cant tell by looking at the car that I painted either panel, it looks factory.

The secret was patience and prep work. I sprayed with a HVLP gravity feed gun from Harbor Freight Tools. I spent around $200 on materials including 3 different primers, base, clear, sandpapers, sanding blocks and a respirator.

After that experience, I'm sure I could paint a whole car and have it come out nicely. Before this project, I had some experience wet sanding and buffing. To achieve a finish free of defects I layed on lots of layers of paint and wet sanded between each step. The wetsanding evened it out nicely and got any dust particles out of the finish. I used the Dupont Nason line of paints.

0) prep surface
1) etching primer
2) wetsand
3) high build primer
4) wetsand
5) primer sealer
6) wetsand
7) 2 coats base and 3 coats clear
8) final wetsand
9) buff / polish

 

Buy a book, get good quality tools, follow the instructions.
These guys have good stuff. http://www.eastwoodcompany.com/cgi-b...E=default2.htm

 

Don't try to paint one panel only! 99% of the time it never matches (at least for the do-it-yourselfer). if you don't know how to blend, don't paint one panel and have someone else do it. it shouldn't cost a whole lot to do a bumper or a hood anyways.

 

Blending is easy. I did a blend in the quarter panel I painted. All you do is paint part of the panel over the original paint, and then clear coat the whole panel.

The key to having the paint match is all in who mixes it for you, and how they do it. I know the body shop I go to charges an extra $10 to tint your mix perfectly to a body panel you bring in. The guy that mixed my paint was sure it would match perfectly, and it did. They even have a computer scanner that can scan your sample panel and then mix up a batch of paint to perfectly match. Also, many GM paint codes have several variations on themselves. Like the factory mixed the paint slightly different from one batch to the next. Your body shop supply house will be able to determine which variation your car is.

Here are some pics of the quarter I painted. I also painted the front bumper cover.

 

hey tracy, what hp/cfm was the compressor u have??? mines got like 2-3 CFM output (craftsman) and I can pick up one of those guns for about $50-60 on ebay with 1.3 - 1.5 and 2.0 nozzles

 

My compressor is a 2hp 4gal. nothing special. I'm not sure what CFM it is but I didnt have any problems.