Now here's a bit of a weird one for you all... for a college project (protest is the theme) I'm planning on getting hold of an old car (probably from a friend of mine who happens to be a mechanic... or a scrapyard) and re-spraying it in flower power colours... which is where I come to a halt... I know nearly nothing about cars... so anyone in the audience that's had a play at modding cars... Please help? First of all, before I start painting, does it need a) Sanding down? b) Primering? And secondly, how much a) Sandpaper (if applicable) b) Primer (if applicable) c) Base coat would I need to cover (just as an example, so I've got enough for sure) a 1959 VW camper? I can work out the paint for the details and designs that I might need... it's just that I have no idea how much a full spray can will cover in sq.ft... say a 500ml can of auto spray paint? I will start posting a project log if it becomes a feasible idea, but we're only in planning at the moment (we don't even know what car we will use, if any) As per usual, any help will be massively appreciated Sharn
I would think you wouldn't be using sandpaper... too much area. maybe if you were just doing the door But if you wanted it to look good, you'd probably want to sandblast it. my only experience with car painting is watching bits of Pimp my Ride, but it seems like you'd need a lot of sandblasting, then primer, then a lot more than 1 can. Shoot, I'm painting my small case, and I've already gone through 2 cans of primer, and 2 cans of paint. I'd guess that you'd need at least 5-6 cans at a bare minimum. How good do you want it to look? Does your mechanic friend know any bodyshop people who can help out? Maybe you could have the bodyshop folks lay down the primer, and you could use cans after that. (but a lot more than 1)
I have a full autobody at my work, and though I don't help out, I do watch, and they start by sanding, then applying filler, smoothing, and repeating to get it perfectly smooth. Then they prime it, fill and sand rough spots, clean it with degreaser and whatnot, spray it with colour, lots of thin coats is the key... Leave it for a few hours in the booth to bake, wet sand and rough spots, then hit it with the clear, again thin coats is the key. They wet sand the clear to make it perfectly smooth and shiny. Leave it to bake again in the booth for a few hours, then it's good to go, though you don't wanna be pressing on the paint as it hasn't cured 100%, it will be able to withstand the elements. Best to leave it for a few days after a fresh paint job, just to give everything proper amount of time to dry and cure.
Yeah, I meant Sandblasting (I forgot what it was called, cheers) Well I still need to know how much primer and paint I'd need for sure (so I can pay him materials charges), but at least now I have a better idea than I did Edit: Thanks as well Mansueto, technique's one of the main things I was after, do they actually sandblast, or just use an orbital sander? Just out of interest... And it's a good job you said thin coats, otherwise it could have gotten messy (sorry, you posted as I was writing before) Many Thanks Sharn
