Help with DIY Spray Painting & Prep Work? Any Bodyshop people here?

[Vx-Man-G]

Hey folks,

Any body shoppers on here?

Non Merc related, but im getting some skirts and spoilers ready to fit to my other car, all standard stuff, all of it is fibre glass. Im not going Mad Max, just genuine OEM.

So my questions are:
- What grade wet/dry sanding do I need to do to something that has had some filler work (before primer goes on)?
- What grade wet/dry sanding do I need to do to something that has had primer and is ready for top coat?
- I have some pieces which are in the correct colour of the car, but still need repainting with fresh same colour due to marks and chips, what grade wet/dry sanding do these need before top coat goes on?

Many thanks.

 

[mioba]

If you havent done spraying before, it could stand out a mile if not perfect and it will.
Any good body shop will do it for you at not great cost based on what you describe.

by top coat you mean laquer?

 

[Vx-Man-G]

If you havent done spraying before, it could stand out a mile if not perfect and it will.
Any good body shop will do it for you at not great cost based on what you describe.

by top coat you mean laquer?

Im just trying to get all the prep work costs down so they can just do the finishing.

By top coat I mean the main colour and then laquer.

 

[Severnless]

The paint application is the easy bit, the work is in the prep!

Unless you really want to diy, just leave it all to the paint shop, they won’t thank you for doing the prep, probably charge you more if you did it.
As they say if you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait till you hire a amateur!
Just like plastering, paint work is an art form, when it’s painted correctly you won’t notice it’s been painted!
When it stands out, it ain’t done right.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I think this might help, don’t know whether you are using a spray gun or rattle cans but contains some very useful tips

 

[umblecumbuz]

My son runs a body shop, and his mantra is 'If you can find the repair, then I've failed.'
As said, the finish is in the preparation, and not just one grade of wet n dry is used, but many, plus various compounds and tools to bring the prepared surface to a point where it can be sprayed. That's the first step of the process.

 

[Frontstep]

Its not hard at all but I would get some quotes before starting yourself.

If you have to do it, then start off with clean panels you can buy panel wipe but washing them with detergent and a green large pan scourer works ok before you start.

As to paper grades I would use 80 then 120 for filler but watch a few videos first as you need to key the panels before filling and you need a filler that flexes all done dry.
Finish with 240 all over and let them prime it.
If it ain't a good finish then the bodyshop will have to spend your money correcting.

Still I would say again get some quotes and think of what else you could do to earn the money for the time you would actually spend on them.

 

[Mr Hatt]

Hi VX man, I absolutely hate it when I want to do a job myself and everyone says leave it to the professionals, after all I have skills, I am more passionate and enthusiastic than someone doing it for a living and I have done "stuff" successfully before when others have recommended not to ! BUT the biggest problem you will encounter is what it would cost to do a good job, quality products come in trade sizes at ridiculous prices, this only makes sense when spread over a dozen jobs so you end up with rattle cans from retail shops and they are simply naff, masking tape, panel wipe, gun wash, reducer thinners, tack rags, primer/filler with hardener, basecoat, lacquer with hardener, plastic filler, glaze, abrasive materials are just some of the consumables needed and I learned many moons ago that even with all that, no painter however skilled could compensate for a low quality delivery system ie Gun or rattle can, a quality gun man will have at least 4 guns and will have spent at least £2k on them and will utilize an oven, without them and a surgically clean environment and supply system you stand little chance of a happy ending that lasts or will withstand the rigours of our environment for any period of time.
When it comes to painting it really is all about the size of your kit and that is before knowledge and experience come to the fore.

 

[Vx-Man-G]

Hi VX man, I absolutely hate it when I want to do a job myself and everyone says leave it to the professionals, after all I have skills, I am more passionate and enthusiastic than someone doing it for a living and I have done "stuff" successfully before when others have recommended not to ! BUT the biggest problem you will encounter is what it would cost to do a good job, quality products come in trade sizes at ridiculous prices, this only makes sense when spread over a dozen jobs so you end up with rattle cans from retail shops and they are simply naff, masking tape, panel wipe, gun wash, reducer thinners, tack rags, primer/filler with hardener, basecoat, lacquer with hardener, plastic filler, glaze, abrasive materials are just some of the consumables needed and I learned many moons ago that even with all that, no painter however skilled could compensate for a low quality delivery system ie Gun or rattle can, a quality gun man will have at least 4 guns and will have spent at least £2k on them and will utilize an oven, without them and a surgically clean environment and supply system you stand little chance of a happy ending that lasts or will withstand the rigours of our environment for any period of time.
When it comes to painting it really is all about the size of your kit and that is before knowledge and experience come to the fore.

Appreciate your feedback and understanding of my predicament. I dont claim, at all, to be an expert, but have no issues with doing DIY.

To give a flavour, I have done all the prep work myself, my skirts were cracked and broken and over the past 6-8 weeks I have slowly repaired them, they are now solid and in my opnion any garage would have either binned them or charged me a fortune to repair, hence the DIY.

Here is a before and current state...

I have strengthened the underside as well as the outer side. Used P38 and P40 fillers, etc.

 

[Jim2]

My son runs a body shop, and his mantra is 'If you can find the repair, then I've failed.'
As said, the finish is in the preparation, and not just one grade of wet n dry is used, but many, plus various compounds and tools to bring the prepared surface to a point where it can be sprayed. That's the first step of the process.

With body / paint work, preparation is 90% of the job...actual spraying only take a few mins ( for trims etc. full respray takes longer ) But it the prep is not 100% right, it will show in the finish.

 

[Mr Hatt]

Appreciate your feedback and understanding of my predicament. I dont claim, at all, to be an expert, but have no issues with doing DIY.

To give a flavour, I have done all the prep work myself, my skirts were cracked and broken and over the past 6-8 weeks I have slowly repaired them, they are now solid and in my opnion any garage would have either binned them or charged me a fortune to repair, hence the DIY.

Here is a before and current state...

I have strengthened the underside as well as the outer side. Used P38 and P40 fillers, etc.

I am glad we did not manage to wear you down, the P38 P40 for anyone who does not know is starting with Fibre glass for strength and finishing with polyurethane filler, good move, the only thing I would say is your skirts look like ABS plastic not Glass so a two pack plastic adhesive like wurth replast makes a good fix with less mess, next move will be primer filler whole surface once sanded with 800 or 600 grit, sounds course but you must get bite, I use Abranet, it is a mesh abrasive that will never clog and although more expensive I can do half a car with one disc, do not buy retail brands of primer filler like hycote, they suck, I gun everything with a two pack I buy in 5l`s but nearest thing for you would be U-Pol High 5, leave it an hour between coats and go as thick as you want, the plan is you will take much of that off with a 120 grit, the only way to see the imperfections you are looking to eliminate is to follow dry primer filler with a dark guide coat, I use a powder with a sponge but a thin coat of black aerosol will work for you and once you start sanding any imperfections will show up black, once they have gone, you are ready to give it to a pro for base coat and Lacquer, they bumper I showed in previous message was from a GTI I did last summer, was a major work but using a Devilbiss GTI Pro for Primer and base colour then a second with different set up for lacquer you can see the finish straight from the gun, should not need wet sanding or buffing.

 

[Mr Hatt]

With body / paint work, preparation is 90% of the job...actual spraying only take a few mins ( for trims etc. full respray takes longer ) But it the prep is not 100% right, it will show in the finish.

There have been times when I do the 90% perfectly and mess up the last 10% and thats annoying, did one a month ago by spraying paint that was half the temp of the car body instead of warming it first and it ran like a waterfall, spent 4 hours sanding base coat before going again

 

[Mr Hatt]

I am glad we did not manage to wear you down, the P38 P40 for anyone who does not know is starting with Fibre glass for strength and finishing with polyurethane filler, good move, the only thing I would say is your skirts look like ABS plastic not Glass so a two pack plastic adhesive like wurth replast makes a good fix with less mess, next move will be primer filler whole surface once sanded with 800 or 600 grit, sounds course but you must get bite, I use Abranet, it is a mesh abrasive that will never clog and although more expensive I can do half a car with one disc, do not buy retail brands of primer filler like hycote, they suck, I gun everything with a two pack I buy in 5l`s but nearest thing for you would be U-Pol High 5, leave it an hour between coats and go as thick as you want, the plan is you will take much of that off with a 120 grit, the only way to see the imperfections you are looking to eliminate is to follow dry primer filler with a dark guide coat, I use a powder with a sponge but a thin coat of black aerosol will work for you and once you start sanding any imperfections will show up black, once they have gone, you are ready to give it to a pro for base coat and Lacquer, they bumper I showed in previous message was from a GTI I did last summer, was a major work but using a Devilbiss GTI Pro for Primer and base colour then a second with different set up for lacquer you can see the finish straight from the gun, should not need wet sanding or buffing.

Using pics of VW`s perhaps looks like we are getting off topic for a MB forum so I have added the following pic to bring things back in line, look at that lovely CLS

 

[Vx-Man-G]

Cheers for your help with Mr Hatt.

I am a novice so im learning as im going along, but dont think im doing too bad a job if im honest. Only downside im doing it all in my garden.

Ill have a go at the primer prep as you have instructued over the next coupld of weeks and will report back.

Thank you again, and as said - I love getting stuck in so appreciate the guidance.

 

[Mr Hatt]

Good man lot of satisfaction if you get it right and its well off of eye level if you get it wrong, not many people notice the paint on sills

 

[Vx-Man-G]

Good man lot of satisfaction if you get it right and its well off of eye level if you get it wrong, not many people notice the paint on sills

Your comments were spot on though, I had wondered why I posted on here as I did get a little frustrated at the lack of support, but I understand what people are syaing.

My car is a 2015 so im not overly fussed about minor imperfections as I want it to look natural and consistent with age of the car too.

 

[Mr Hatt]

Your comments were spot on though, I had wondered why I posted on here as I did get a little frustrated at the lack of support, but I understand what people are syaing.

My car is a 2015 so im not overly fussed about minor imperfections as I want it to look natural and consistent with age of the car too.

Lots of cracking people on here, lots of do ers with bruised ego`s from lessons learned (including me) not talkers who know F all, you cant ask for better to guide you through a minefield or strongly recommend you take another route, choose wisely you must master Luke

 

[Vx-Man-G]

I agree, I have come across a lot of knowledge on here, a lot of it useful. So that wasnt a pop at anyone, just a bruised ego

 

[Frontstep]

Cheers for your help with Mr Hatt.

I am a novice so im learning as im going along, but dont think im doing too bad a job if im honest. Only downside im doing it all in my garden.

Ill have a go at the primer prep as you have instructued over the next coupld of weeks and will report back.

Thank you again, and as said - I love getting stuck in so appreciate the guidance.

Its a bit cold and damp in my garden.

 

[Vx-Man-G]

Its a bit cold and damp in my garden.

Its about the same in mines too