Anybody else out there do their own body work and paint their vehicles themselves?

[old_man]

I just tried my hand at body work and paint for the first time on this CJ. My bondo work was pretty bad. I did rattle can this project which I was quite happy with quality wise..........until I tried to fix a few minor spots and completely messed up one side. Doh!

Doing/trying is how we all learned.

#1 rule with bondo is to sand before it gets too hard.

#2 rule with bondo, realize you are not going to get it with one application

#3 rule with bondo, air tools rule.

 

[Downs]

You can certainly tell where I bondoed on this job. But it's a work/play Jeep not a show Jeep so I called it good so I can get the job moving forward.

 

[BCMoto]

What is entailed in using it? Can I buy quarts or am I stuck with gallons?

Here at my store the smallest amount I mix for people are half a pint. Spraying it isnt bad at all and covers good. It has to be clear coated! Yes people buy it sprayed it on and come back to complain it came off their car because they washed it. Reducing it is done with a water reducer no solvents or anything anymore.

 

[old_man]

Here at my store the smallest amount I mix for people are half a pint. Spraying it isnt bad at all and covers good. It has to be clear coated! Yes people buy it sprayed it on and come back to complain it came off their car because they washed it. Reducing it is done with a water reducer no solvents or anything anymore.

What do you clear coat with?

 

[old_man]

Here at my store the smallest amount I mix for people are half a pint. Spraying it isnt bad at all and covers good. It has to be clear coated! Yes people buy it sprayed it on and come back to complain it came off their car because they washed it. Reducing it is done with a water reducer no solvents or anything anymore.

Stupid question...so if you get a ding or scratch through the Clear coat and it gets wet. Does the paint give up?
How well does it handle metalics? Sag? Flop?

 

[PCO6]

Here at my store the smallest amount I mix for people are half a pint. Spraying it isnt bad at all and covers good. It has to be clear coated! Yes people buy it sprayed it on and come back to complain it came off their car because they washed it. Reducing it is done with a water reducer no solvents or anything anymore.

Uh Oh. I'm painting my Jeep (post #4) outside so I guess I can rule out water based paint. It's been rained on several times during the process.

Seriously though, I'd like to try it.

 

[old_man]

Here at my store the smallest amount I mix for people are half a pint. Spraying it isnt bad at all and covers good. It has to be clear coated! Yes people buy it sprayed it on and come back to complain it came off their car because they washed it. Reducing it is done with a water reducer no solvents or anything anymore.

HVLP Or old school? Nozzle size and pressure?

 

[BCMoto]

I used HVLP and gun pressure was like 25psi while spraying, I use a good clear after. The clear should hold up to scratches just fine just depends what you use

 

[old_man]

WTF is with paint prices. I went to my local professional auto body/paint supply and wanted a half pint of something similar to Viper Red for a stripe. They quoted me $135. They wanted $40 for a quart of reducer and $40 for hardener.

I can go to PaintforCars.com and get a gallon kit of a decent acrylic urethane for less than what they want for a half pint. Local shops complain about online prices, but they jack their prices to extremes. I have gotten where I do almost everything online anymore.

 

[PCO6]

I've never sprayed a car red but I've always understood that it is the most expensive colour due to the various pigments. I've been shocked too by what friends have told me they spent on paint products for their vehicle. I admit that it's been a long time since I've done a compete job though.

As for online prices, I agree. I was in part in the "bricks and mortar" business and early on we tried to asses what the impact would be on the land development and building industry. Long term, it and now COVID will reduce the need for building space for sure. I like the in store advice you can usually get as compared to the online reviews which you often have to take with a grain of salt but when you know what you're after online is often a good choice; sad for local business but true.

 

[Clrussell]

I did in my home shop. Single stage enamel, nothing special. But neither is the truck haha.

 

[BCMoto]

Correct red is a more costly color, whats the paint code you have and let me see what CA prices are

 

[old_man]

Correct red is a more costly color, whats the paint code you have and let me see what CA prices are

It was a generic red, close to Viper Red.

 

[BCMoto]

Sorry we cant look it up by name, it goes by codes but what I found for a 92-2010 viper red. So for 8oz of paint that we can reduce would be about 65.00 this is for waterbase paint and we can reduce it for you and then you just need clear for it. Thats for here in CA tho

 

[old_man]

The shop here does not even do the water borne paints. I could have handled $65 but not twice that. I ended up buying a gallon online for less than $100. Now I guess I will paint all my tools bright red.

 

[M Rose]

The shop here does not even do the water borne paints. I could have handled $65 but not twice that. I ended up buying a gallon online for less than $100. Now I guess I will paint all my tools bright red.

Back in 1995 my dad and I painted a MG Midget a maroonish color. After painting the car we had about 1.5 quarts left over. The paint sat on the shelf for two decades. One day a guy hit my dad and me messing up the front end of my dad’s 2000 Ranger. After pricing out a quart of paint we decided to see how “close” the maroon paint was... wouldn’t ya know if it wasn’t a perfect match.

Point is, seal up the unused paint and keep it in a climate controlled area and it will last for years... (I think I had to mix the reducer a little heavy and the hardener a little week to get the paint to flow correctly and harden slow enough, but it still worked and looks as good today as it did 5 years ago when I did the repair work.)

 

[PCO6]

Back in 1995 my dad and I painted a MG Midget a maroonish color. After painting the car we had about 1.5 quarts left over. The paint sat on the shelf for two decades. One day a guy hit my dad and me messing up the front end of my dad’s 2000 Ranger. After pricing out a quart of paint we decided to see how “close” the maroon paint was... wouldn’t ya know if it wasn’t a perfect match.

Point is, seal up the unused paint and keep it in a climate controlled area and it will last for years... (I think I had to mix the reducer a little heavy and the hardener a little week to get the paint to flow correctly and harden slow enough, but it still worked and looks as good today as it did 5 years ago when I did the repair work.)

If you painted your Midget the original MG dark red it was called "Damask Red". I had an MGB/GT that was that colour and really liked it. It's funny that you mentioned it was a match to your dad's Ford Ranger. I used to paint MG engines dark red and it was a Ford colour although I can't remember the name. It was a perfect match for the MG engine colour used from the mid '50 up to the late '60s.

 

[M Rose]

If you painted your Midget the original MG dark red it was called "Damask Red". I had an MGB/GT that was that colour and really liked it. It's funny that you mentioned it was a match to your dad's Ford Ranger. I used to paint MG engines dark red and it was a Ford colour although I can't remember the name. It was a perfect match for the MG engine colour used from the mid '50 up to the late '60s.

I think you are correct with “Damask Red”. I remember calling it Damaskas Red as a kid

 

[old_man]

Question on spray plastic dye. I use the off the shelf spray vinyl dye (Duplicolor) to freshen up and change interior plastic and it looks great. The problem is that it only seems to last 2-3 years before it starts to fail and I have to go in with some toluene and pretty much take it all off and respray.

Does anyone have any experience using some type of clear UV protectant (satin?) topcoat on this stuff? Or have a better brand?

I use a light/medium grey

 

[Anak]

I think the root of the problem is that nothing really wants to stick to plastic. Probably has something to do with plastic being a petroleum based product, and nothing really sticks to oil.

What you might want to look into is the use of a shellac base primer. There may be something even better today, but it used to be that shellac was your best bet for getting a bond between challenging materials. BIN primer is probably the most readily available option. I think. It has been a while.