Painting my car. Need input and Tips

[StockDX]

Hey everybody Im getting ready to paint my car. Im gonna do the Sanding and Priming. Then take it to shop to have it sprayed and have the clear coat put on. Right now Im doing my research and ordering products. Ive ordered some books and videos.

Here is a list of products Im thinking about. What do you think?

Air sander (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2333490155&category=42249&rd=1) What do you think of this one?

Spraye Gun (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2332333565&category=11704&rd=1)

Bondo
Sand Paper (any Suggestions?
Painters Tape
Air Compressor (I already have one)
Primer
Dent Puller (Will those suction ones work?)


Has anyone else done this there self? If you have or you just know about it. Please leave any tips or suggestions you have.

Also are there any chemicals or sprays Im gonna need?

Any help would be great. Are there any other products you would recommend

[nonovurbizniz]

It all depends on the job you want to do and how much you want to spend...

I have a question though... Why are you buying a gun if you're getting it painted by a shop?... if it's to prime then I guess it's worth it as long as you spend the time to get a good job done/finished...

It's all about spending the time to have it come out right... That sander isn't really all that great.. you want a dual-action ideally. And unless you're doing this a couple times it's not really worth it... Even if you get an air sander there's still TONS of sanding to be done by hand and with a block...

My best suggestion would be to use a chemical paint stripper... they work great and make it MUCH easier...

Then it's all metal prep.. you want to get everything as straight and smooth as possible w/o using filler or bondo... that's really supposed to be more of a skim coat to get better adhesion between the paint and metal...

Finally you want to find out from the paint shop what grit they recomend you sanding the primer to... if you go to high it may not stick as well as it would've with a rougher primer coat...

take your time be patient and remember... there are NO disasters in body work... it's ALL repairable... so take your time and don't stress out if you F something up...

OH... and to tell the truth even if you do a MINT job primering it and prepping it... the shop could still slap a 1/2 a$$ job on top of it so be carefull and explain to them what you're expecting and exactly what you will NOT settle for... (I had a car that I brought back 3 times before I gave up... it was better than the first pick up but still not what I wanted or was satisfied with (it was associated with an accident not an all-over job though)).

So be carefull depending on how good your primer coat comes out you may find that you'll get better results doing it yourself and spending some extra time cleaning up the paint after it's layed...

[Shot 2 Hel]

if you want your car to look like it was painted that color stock you have to strip the car completly from the trunk... interior, and engine bay... it sucks i would imagine

[slowEJ6]

i disapprove of that spray gun, entirely.

[StockDX]

Alright Thanks Guys. Please keep the ideas coming

[mylittlecivic]

that air sander should come in handy. what color are you painting your car? we got this little thing of pearl and put it in the paint makes it sparkle prettty;)

oh i know one more thing! friends to help you sand lol

[ebpda9]

that paint guns blows nuts. the best guns out there are the HVLP Gravity fed guns. i found out that the rotary sanders are the best for strippingh out the paint, but nothing beats a sandblaster at that.

[sc0rch]

get a gravity feed gun and some guns require a primer tip......cause usualy primer is mixed thiner than paint.....i sand primer with 400g paper........

also if you are doing the bodywork yourself..........DONT OVER DO IT WITH BONDO...........it's hard to make bondo look nice...best way to do it is beat out the dent to almost surface level and then just a sort of skim coat of bondo....then sand and feather the edges so it blends in......oh and you dont wanna sand the whole car completely down anyway....chemical stripper can be a ***** specially if you get it on something plastic.....just makesure you take the clear off the original paint........or scuff it really good..........i always wetsand b4 priming anyway........also since you are painting it anyayy you can use a heatgun to heat up dents then throw cold water on the dent you heated and it will usualy pop out unless it has a crease in it........