I was suprised to see that there was not a thread on painting a car so I am making this for those out there that are sick of being charged a ton to have it done. It is a lot of work but well worth it in the end. Trust me on this, if you do all the work and paint it yourself you will appriciate it a lot more. And you'll be pissed off a lot worse when you get that 1st rock chip or door ding. I am including all the tools I used and how to use them. I am not a professonal painter but I had a lot of insight from one during the process. There are 2 ways to paint a car, just the exterior or the full body strip. I do not have a garage so I just did the exterior method. The full body strip is alot more work as you have to do just what it says, take everything off the car and out of the car down to the bare bones of the car, motor out etc. The way I did it is what you will get at a body shop unless you pay $10,000 for them to strip, paint and reassemble your car. Here is the link to my other thread with pics of the process.
http://www.supraforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=388917
But anyway on to the how to:
So here is the 1st tool.
![Image]()
Before using this or any sander wash the car and write down where all the dents and dings are so you do not forget one, the imperfections are much easier to see in the paint before it is sanded.
The orbital sander. This will be your best friend during the prep work, if you don't have one, get one, rent it, borrow it, just get one. It is air powered and needs a good size compressor as it uses alot of air. The compressor I have is 5.5hp with a 25 gallon tank and I would often have to stop and let it catch up, so if you have access to a big one it will save you time. Now if you are going back to the same color or changing the color you DO NOT need to sand down to the bare metal, all you need to do is sand the shine off the paint. I used 320 grit paper with the orbital. The paper comes in rolls and is self stick. So with the orbital remove all the shine off the paint. You will not be able to get all the nooks of the car so there is alot of hand sanding. There are sanding blocks you can pick up for $2-??? for hand sanding. I used a $5 one and it worked just fine. There are many places on the car that no tool can get into so use your fingers and a small piece of sandpaper. If you have a bunch of small dents from rocks, doors what ever sand down to the bare metal so you can use the next tool I will show to remove the dent. If you are just removing the shine from the paint when you go down to the bare metal feather the area out so it is smooth, you don't want a hole, you should be able to run your hand over the area of the dent and it will feel smooth except for the dent, you don't want to feel a ridge in the paint, if you do sand it out till smooth or the ridge will show once paint is applied. Once you think you have sanded enough, wash the car off then run your hand over it and feel for ridges, cracks, any imperfections, sand them out till smooth, wash again feel and visually inspect, look it over a few times. I went over my car several times and after I put the paint on I was pissed to see I still missed a few very small dents. So REALLY take your time inspecting/feeling your car. There is some stuff the pros use to see small dings and dents, not sure what it is or how to use it, someone else? If you are just removing the shine from the paint make sure you get it ALL off, new paint will NOT stick to old paint. Look at the 2nd picture in the link to my other thread, notice the fender still shines, you want your car to look like the hood on mine in that pic. If you look at the other pics as well you can see what I mean by feathering the area, all the dents on my front end were very small, about the size of a bic pen, notice the area sanded is much bigger than that. I could go on about this for pages but you all are getting the point I hope, sand, sand, sand, inspect, inspect, inspect until you think you have it good enough.
On to the next tools, these are all used together:
The stud gun, studs and stud puller.
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Ok, the yellow thing is the stud gun, the slide hammer is the stud puller and the little copper thing is the stud. Now back to what I was talking about before, inorder for this to work, it must make contact with bare metal, it will not ground through the paint. The pic with my fingers in it shows how the stud holder retracts so the outer(grounding) ring can touch the metal. The last pic is the puller with a stud in it, sorry it is a little out of focus, but it is simple how it works, the stud slides inside it and the thing you see on top is the gripper that digs into the stud when force is applied. Now when you are pulling small dings put the stud right in the middle of the ding( remember absolutly no paint can be in the deepest part of the ding or around it) and weld the stud to the car by pulling the trigger on the gun. I'm sure they are all a little different but with the one I used it is very easy to put the stud right through the metal, you DON'T want this. For small dings you just want to have the stud stick to the car. With the gun I used that meant hold the trigger for about 1 second. For bigger dents you will need to penetrait the metal a little so you can get a couple of hits out of the hammer. For small ones, a light hit on the hammer once, maybe twice is all that is needed. For small ones with a little practice you should be able to put the stud to the car and the stud should pull the ding and pop off the car with one small hit from the hammer. DO NOT pull the ding out to far, even or slightly below the line of the body is where you want to be, NOT above it or you have to hammer it back in. Remember you can fill a hole and make the bad spot vanish, you cannot cover a mound and have it look good. Now if you pull the bad spot out to where you want it but the stud is still attached to the car try to pull it off by hand, just rock it back and forth, now after rocking it back and forth a few times, if it does not come off, use a grinder and grind it off, if it does not come off easily by hand, DON'T force it or when it comes off it will take what it is attached to and you will have a hole. Say you have a big dent, to pull it don't be afraid to make the area look like pinhead from hellraiser, the more studs the better, to pull a big one start from the outside and work in towards the middle, DO NOT start from the middle and try to work out to the edges, it will NOT pull right. Put a bunch of studs on and go from stud to stud lightly pulling(light hits on the slide hammer), do not try and pull a big one with just a few studs, it will come out like crap. The more the better as close together as you can get them will get you the best results. Take your time and don't pull the spot out to far and when welding the stud to the car start out by holding the trigger for 1 or 2 seconds ( 1 second or less for small dings)( get a feel for the gun, start on a bigger dent if possible)Remember, you'd rather have the stud pop off the car that create a hole, you can always re-weld the stud.
OK so I was told that to change color it is best to go to bare metal, this I know now is wrong and have removed that part from the beginning of this thread. So all you have to do is remove the shine from the paint, going to the metal for rust, dents, cracks etc. I will put what I did and will not mind if corrected by a pro. I know I used the tools right because of the results I got. Anybody who has ever painted a car can chime in anytime they see something they don't agree with, it will help me as I am repainting my mkII next summer and it will help others who want to try painting their own car, my intention here is to make a thread that people can come to and get ideas and information on the subject. It is a lot of work as I stated before but in the end to see all your hard work got you it is really worth it.
http://www.supraforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=388917
But anyway on to the how to:
So here is the 1st tool.
Before using this or any sander wash the car and write down where all the dents and dings are so you do not forget one, the imperfections are much easier to see in the paint before it is sanded.
The orbital sander. This will be your best friend during the prep work, if you don't have one, get one, rent it, borrow it, just get one. It is air powered and needs a good size compressor as it uses alot of air. The compressor I have is 5.5hp with a 25 gallon tank and I would often have to stop and let it catch up, so if you have access to a big one it will save you time. Now if you are going back to the same color or changing the color you DO NOT need to sand down to the bare metal, all you need to do is sand the shine off the paint. I used 320 grit paper with the orbital. The paper comes in rolls and is self stick. So with the orbital remove all the shine off the paint. You will not be able to get all the nooks of the car so there is alot of hand sanding. There are sanding blocks you can pick up for $2-??? for hand sanding. I used a $5 one and it worked just fine. There are many places on the car that no tool can get into so use your fingers and a small piece of sandpaper. If you have a bunch of small dents from rocks, doors what ever sand down to the bare metal so you can use the next tool I will show to remove the dent. If you are just removing the shine from the paint when you go down to the bare metal feather the area out so it is smooth, you don't want a hole, you should be able to run your hand over the area of the dent and it will feel smooth except for the dent, you don't want to feel a ridge in the paint, if you do sand it out till smooth or the ridge will show once paint is applied. Once you think you have sanded enough, wash the car off then run your hand over it and feel for ridges, cracks, any imperfections, sand them out till smooth, wash again feel and visually inspect, look it over a few times. I went over my car several times and after I put the paint on I was pissed to see I still missed a few very small dents. So REALLY take your time inspecting/feeling your car. There is some stuff the pros use to see small dings and dents, not sure what it is or how to use it, someone else? If you are just removing the shine from the paint make sure you get it ALL off, new paint will NOT stick to old paint. Look at the 2nd picture in the link to my other thread, notice the fender still shines, you want your car to look like the hood on mine in that pic. If you look at the other pics as well you can see what I mean by feathering the area, all the dents on my front end were very small, about the size of a bic pen, notice the area sanded is much bigger than that. I could go on about this for pages but you all are getting the point I hope, sand, sand, sand, inspect, inspect, inspect until you think you have it good enough.
On to the next tools, these are all used together:
The stud gun, studs and stud puller.
Ok, the yellow thing is the stud gun, the slide hammer is the stud puller and the little copper thing is the stud. Now back to what I was talking about before, inorder for this to work, it must make contact with bare metal, it will not ground through the paint. The pic with my fingers in it shows how the stud holder retracts so the outer(grounding) ring can touch the metal. The last pic is the puller with a stud in it, sorry it is a little out of focus, but it is simple how it works, the stud slides inside it and the thing you see on top is the gripper that digs into the stud when force is applied. Now when you are pulling small dings put the stud right in the middle of the ding( remember absolutly no paint can be in the deepest part of the ding or around it) and weld the stud to the car by pulling the trigger on the gun. I'm sure they are all a little different but with the one I used it is very easy to put the stud right through the metal, you DON'T want this. For small dings you just want to have the stud stick to the car. With the gun I used that meant hold the trigger for about 1 second. For bigger dents you will need to penetrait the metal a little so you can get a couple of hits out of the hammer. For small ones, a light hit on the hammer once, maybe twice is all that is needed. For small ones with a little practice you should be able to put the stud to the car and the stud should pull the ding and pop off the car with one small hit from the hammer. DO NOT pull the ding out to far, even or slightly below the line of the body is where you want to be, NOT above it or you have to hammer it back in. Remember you can fill a hole and make the bad spot vanish, you cannot cover a mound and have it look good. Now if you pull the bad spot out to where you want it but the stud is still attached to the car try to pull it off by hand, just rock it back and forth, now after rocking it back and forth a few times, if it does not come off, use a grinder and grind it off, if it does not come off easily by hand, DON'T force it or when it comes off it will take what it is attached to and you will have a hole. Say you have a big dent, to pull it don't be afraid to make the area look like pinhead from hellraiser, the more studs the better, to pull a big one start from the outside and work in towards the middle, DO NOT start from the middle and try to work out to the edges, it will NOT pull right. Put a bunch of studs on and go from stud to stud lightly pulling(light hits on the slide hammer), do not try and pull a big one with just a few studs, it will come out like crap. The more the better as close together as you can get them will get you the best results. Take your time and don't pull the spot out to far and when welding the stud to the car start out by holding the trigger for 1 or 2 seconds ( 1 second or less for small dings)( get a feel for the gun, start on a bigger dent if possible)Remember, you'd rather have the stud pop off the car that create a hole, you can always re-weld the stud.
OK so I was told that to change color it is best to go to bare metal, this I know now is wrong and have removed that part from the beginning of this thread. So all you have to do is remove the shine from the paint, going to the metal for rust, dents, cracks etc. I will put what I did and will not mind if corrected by a pro. I know I used the tools right because of the results I got. Anybody who has ever painted a car can chime in anytime they see something they don't agree with, it will help me as I am repainting my mkII next summer and it will help others who want to try painting their own car, my intention here is to make a thread that people can come to and get ideas and information on the subject. It is a lot of work as I stated before but in the end to see all your hard work got you it is really worth it.
