4 replies to this topic

[Pavel]

I might be able to get a very good deal for a spray for my mini.

The mini is currently yellow, but it's slightly faded, and got dings in places and scratches etc. so I want a bit of a revival along with a black roof. Therefore it will be resprayed yellow, and the roof sprayed black.

I want only the outside sprayed, no interior or floors, since this will be much cheaper and easier, and I'll be doing all the prep.

There's not much prep to be done, but there are a few minor dings and imperfections that will have to be filled in ( nothing major just a mm or 2 ). A few on the door skins, a very small double dent in the roof, and one or two very small ones again in the rear quarter panel just behind the passenger door. Also in some places on the front panel the paint has chipped to the paint layer below so that might have to be filled in too (depending on amount of sanding).

The rest of the car will just be sanded will the bottom of the yellow paint if possible (was repainted over original diamond white paintjob, which is very durable and still on there with gray primer underneath). Not removing the white paint to bare metal as that will be hell.

Basically I just want a very cheap revival of the minis colour and shine! Finish needs to last good for a year or two at least, nothing to do with shows or concourse and not too fussed bout it being perfect to be honest, but do want the panels looking straight.

All i'm looking for from the painters is to spray primer, spray base coats, and laquer on top.

So could anyone give me advice? Don't want to get into hundreds of hours of sanding for this but won't skimp where needed either... Something like a guide of sand paper grit ratings , order in which to do and apply filler etc. would be very helpful!

P.S. Windows will be masked off, not taken out unless someone can convince me that this is very bad :\ (keep in mind the paint applied will be the same as the yellow that's on the car now anyway!)

Engine bay won't be sprayed but will be black-hammerited (or local equivalent ;p as will the boot and interior...). All disasembly (rear light clusters, front lights, grille, bonnet (hopefully going to be a carbon jobbie) etc. will be done by me..

[dklawson]

I'm surprised no one replied to your questions prior to now.

The quality of the top coat you end up with depends entirely on the amount of work you perform on the preparation. You said you don't want to spend a lot of time on this so you shouldn't expect great results.

Doing this on the cheap by yourself, start with a wax/oil stripper. Wash the car several times with this product (check your paint supplier for a source). This will remove all the waxes, oils, and grime on the car and is necessary before ANY sanding. (Skip this step and any waxes, oils, or silicones get worked into the sanding scratches makingthem almost impossible to remove and resulting in fish-eye on your top coat). Once the car is cleaned, seek out all the dents and other damage you're going to spend time on and begin working on them. I won't go into details on platic filler and such... there are plenty of sources for that. Dry sand any filler you apply using flat boards to keep the repairs level with the surrounding bodywork. (Do not wet-sand bare plastic filler). Wipe with lacquer thinner or prep-sol, then apply a high-build primer (several thin coats) over the repair. Once this is done you are ready to scuff sand the car. Coarse papers work quickly but the scratches they leave behind will be visible under the top coat. Use nothing coarser than 320 grit and wet-sand the entire car. Don't dwell in one place too long as you don't want to break through. Site down panels while they are wet. Any defects you see on the panel while it's wet will show up in the top coat. If you decide to address these problems, do a google search on the use of guide coats and long boards for finish sanding. Those small chips on the front panel can be filled using plastic filler or spot putty. You may want to consider one of the texturized chip protector sprays for the lower part of the front valence for future protection.

As you said, remove all the trim you can prior to sanding. I have sliding windows so I can't comment about masking roll-ups and/or their trim.

As for paint, if you're having the car professionally sprayed over your prep work, go for catalized acrylic enamel in preference to lacquer. Lacquer is great if you're doing your own spraying and buffing in your garage... but the stuff is brittle and chips easily. It will also crack along seams. The enamel can also be wet sanded and buffed like the lacquer once it hardens a week or two but it is much tougher than lacquer and cheaper than what you call two-pack.

[Pavel]

Thanks that helps a lot.

So I use rough ish sand paper before I prime the car and before the filler? And nothing below 320 after that? What about after I wet sand when the car is primered, how do I get rid of all the sanding dust on the surface?

Also do I have to score the paint a lot before applying filler (reaally coarse sandpaper), do I have to take it to bare metal or will just the same sandpaper as the rest of the car do for the filler surface?

[Woody]

Best to only apply filler over bare metal , remove paint for repairs with a soft 36 grit pad on an angle grinder (remember to allways wear goggles ), as said above , never use water to flat down your filler (as its pourous ) you use "wet or dry" paper of 800 grit to flat down for final top coat (wet), 600 will do for primer coats
I cant tell you what paint to use as i dont know your local laws , in britain 2K paint is for profesional use only , as with all paint work , you must wear the apropriat personal protection equipment , remember toxic chemicals like most paints can be absorbed through your skin as well as your lungs !

[dklawson]

The only thing I can add to what Woody said is that if you can't find a soft 36 grit pad (think boulders on paper), you can use a coarse flap wheel on a disk grinder or a very coarse sanding disk on a low-speed electric drill. You're trying to remove the paint and leave a "tooth" to lock the filler into.

I can still buy almost any paint other than lacquer over here. The average automotive paint store here won't have lacquer but will have an assortment of enamel and urethane systems. I've used all three. For a purely home paint job the lacquer is certainly the easiest. The urethane can give you the best results (if you're going for that deep, wet shine), but the enamel isn't far behind. by the way, if spraying this yourself at home, avoid metalic filled paints. Stick with solid colors as they will be more uniform and easier to match in the future.

Woody, you're a better man than I! I used 600 grit on my last coat of primer under the top coat.

Pavel, if you're wet sanding, just "wash" the car when you're done complete with drying using cotton towels. Before you spray the top coat you'll need to use tack cloths to remove any remaining lint or dust. When dry sanding filler, wipe the panels down with lacquer thinner to remove the dust and such, then use compressed air. As with top coats, use a tack cloth over the filler before spraying the primer.