How to do Car Body Work

How to Paint your Own Car and Make a Custom Job out of it.

Instructions

1

The first step you may want to take is evaluate where you will do this,
since a paint job on a car requires a clear environment you will have to do it in a enclosed area free of dust wind or other natural elements.
The best would be a Garage if you are going to do it at home. Since you're going to do it at home make sure you have PLENTY of fresh air coming in and NONE of the vapors coming in to the house.
You can buy a big enough fine cloth to cover the windows in your garage that can act as dust filters (if you have any) or Crack the Garage Door open and position several big fans toward the outside to extract the fumes.

2

Prep the surfaces. (use a chemical mask, protect yourself from fumes and dust)
Make sure if you are painting on a existing paint job that you prep the surfaces correctly, that means sand the old shine and lacquer off so your new paint job adheres with no problems, to do this the best would be to remove any removable parts such as spoilers, fenders, side panels and doors along with the upholstery of your car along with dashboard components and sand EVERYTHING down. Use fine sandpaper like 220 or finer with water(Auto body Sandpaper).

3

O.k....
You have taken the car apart, taken the upholstery out, and sanded everything, time for the next prep stage. Every Piece of rubber, Glass and Plastic such as Handles, Window seals, etc, need to be taped up and covered. You don't want any paint on that, if you can remove them without damaging them, even better.

Once it is all ready and taped up, set your work area up and make sure you spray bottoms and not visible areas first since you don't want to turn them to continue priming or painting.

4

Ready for Painting?
Hehehe not so fast. We have to prime everything first, also, a good suggestion is to wipe everything down with Xylol/Xylene to kill any oil spots that you may have left behind from your fried chicken lunch or the oily screw under the fender.

5

Before you paint the car and all the parts you need to make sure you have enough primer and paint, if you have more than one container with paint or primer MAKE SURE you mix the containers, that is, if you have two or more primer containers, mix them between each other so you have the same tone; the same goes for the paint too, mix the gallons between each other so when you start painting you have a uniform and spotless coat. You don't want the door looking darker that the hood.

6

The primer for body work is different than the primer we know is used for interiors in homes, the product you will have to use is body and car primer, for a more vibrant result you want the primer to have a similar base color to the paint you will use for the final color the car will have, you can get this by going to your nearest paint supplier (not Walmart)like Sherwin-Williams or Du-Pont and have them prep the primer and paint for you.
Ask at the store where you are buying your primer and paint what the mixing ratio should be for your gun and what thinner works best with their product.

7

Alright, now you're ready.

The Spay Gun You have should have a Pint size Aluminum container attached to the bottom you will remove it and fill it with the primer you have mixed according to the ratio needed.

Set the compressors Air Pressure output to about 40 lbs.
Before Applying the first coat have a Piece of cardboard handy to see if the air/primer mixture is correct.

8

The output from your gun should be powder like and be able to cover a "Arm-lenght" area with one stroke with a uniform coat without runs.

Set?.... Nice. Now prime the whole inside and bottom parts of the car body and then the outside and top parts, don't rush but don't wait to much either it has to be uniform remember?

Now that you have the first coat down, let the primer set and cure, read the instruction label on the primer container on how long it takes before you can work with it again. Once you can work with it again sand it smooth, you will notice that the surfaces have a "grainy" texture, you will have to sand it out and apply a second coat of primer.

9

O.k....
Two coats of primer down, sand it smooth again and we are ready for the paint, the paint you will have to apply twice too, the difference is that there should be no sanding, if it comes out grainy you may have to sand it lightly and apply another coat of paint. Great, The car is painted, one last step, Depending on what king of paint you got you may have to apply a Lacquer witch hardens the paint top coat much like polyurethane on wood and that my friend you have to find out with your paint supplier. If it is not included in your paint you have to mix the lacquer with the last coat of paint you're going to apply. Find the mixing ratio out with your paint supplier and witch one works best.
I Hope this helps for those who want to paint their own vehicles.