King Kong Bundy

After a decade of waiting, will try to paint a 1982 Trans Am. In a couple of days, will attempt it.

Have a small garage, an air compressor, a 1982 Trans Am, three Trans Am service/owner/instruction manuals, some old tools, a couple of automotive supply stores in the area.

Might have an orbital sander.

Saw an episode of Garage Squad recently.

Not very active as a poster here, but have read many, many things. Will be reading many more.

Vehicle will be in garage. Has not seen sunlight for many years.

Some simple ideas, lists, links would be appreciated.

The goal, the initial objective, to have a nice black Trans Am sitting on the driveway. Changing the color to black. After that, start the engine for the first time in many years, fix everything, then maybe have it drive on the roads. Unfortunately the streets are so crowded, may struggle to get it from the driveway to the road. That is not important right now.

Bargain tips are swell. One person in a one-car garage. No need to just say "give the paint shop $4,000 and collect your automobile when it is done". So somewhere between that and a lad with a spray can painting his automobile on his farm. Yes, looking for cheap, at the moment, but not ugly cheap.

First get it looking okay. Then get it sounding okay. Much later, going for a drive at night when the roads are clear.

Join Date 01-26-2010
Total Posts 0


Thank you for your help.

IROCK1987

Well, not saying this is the correct or the best way but it is at least a way of getting a decent result. First, firmly decrease the current paint before you start sanding. You need to get rid of any silicone based stuff that might be on your current paint. Be meticulous, or else you will sand the stuff in your current paint and the new paint will not bond and eventually will peel off. Use specific silicone remover for this step.

Next step is sanding. If you want kind of show quality you need to step up the grid of sandpaper and sand a lot. If you just want a nice looking car, sand it with an orbital sander and 320 grid paper.
Make sure there is no bare metal. If there is (or any rust that needs repairing) prime that and sand again with 320 grid.

After that, you can paint. Use 2K paint, hardener and max 5% reducer. Use a paint gun with 1.4 or 1.3 mm nozzle. Make some test passes on cardboard to adjust the fan width of the gun and amount of paint that it drops. Pressure around 23-25 psi should be good enough. Also, make sure you have a moisture detractor installed on your compressor (water does not mix good with paint).
Test on the panels what works best overlapping your passes and getting an even spray out. This is trial and error.
Most important variable is temperature. Make sure you use the correct paint hardener for the temperature you are painting in. With normal hardener you will need around 20 degrees celsius air temperature and metal temperature.

After a couple of 2K coats, let it dry and you can sand down any orange peel or imperfections with a automative wet sanding paper. Use 1500 to 2000 grid, a sanding block and make 'X' shape passes on your panel. After this, use a polishing wheel to further cut and buff the paint. Stop until you get the finish that you're OK with.

Look on youtube on how to setup a paint gun; On prepping for paint, the spraywaycustoms channel was very informative for me.

Below a picture of my end result after paint, but before cutting and buffing. I used a simple 50L air compressor for this.

spurgeon76

https://garage.eastwood.com/eastwood...aint_your_car/

2slow5.0

iTrader: (2)

Everything Iroc said and prep,prep,prep. Cleanliness is key as well. Get. Some kind of filtered ventilation. Hope you don’t have any close neighbors. The more you strip off the car, the nicer the job will be. Color change is tough with door jams and such. Black looks great when done right, but shows every imperfection. Be prepared for a lot of work. Try and get in good with a supply shop. Maybe they have traveling sales/rep guy like my place does that can give you pointers in the right direction. You don’t want to lay over your existing material(assuming your not stripping it bare) with something incompatible and have it lift on you. Good body guys earn every penny they charge.

King Kong Bundy

Thank you.

That is great information.

WTR388

What do you have for a compressor? I'm using a 60 gallon 5hp 240 volt unit and I wouldn't go smaller! It can barely keep up, and the harder you work a compressor, the more heat it generates... The more heat in the system, the more moisture you need to remove. Atmospheric conditions greatly affect this as well. I have everything ready to go and then watch the weather, then on the right morning I get out there, wipe down and get spraying. I generally try to paint in the late spring or early fall but can get away with it on the right day in the summer if the humidity and temp aren't crazy.

What type of paint do you plan to spray? Single stage? Base clear? Heck, last summer I sprayed my Subaru with Rustoleum in my cheap "harbor freight" gun and it looked spectacular. I have picked up a few tricks along the years. I'm not a car pro, but I've painted a few now, however I do spray regularly on military helicopters, but flat paint isn't very exciting or challenging.

What I would do, which sounds like more work (because it is), is I would get all the mechanicals done first. Then strip it down and paint. That way you aren't worried about the paint as you work on the car.

When I set up a booth in my garage, I make a "positive pressure" type design. I put a heavy tarp on the floor and it gets wet down before I spray. This keeps dust down, helps keep your feet from sticking to the tacky overspray on the tarp (foot sticks to tarp, lift foot up, tarp goes with it, you trip and land in the fresh paint on the car...)
I line all 4 walls with plastic. The far wall has box fans up high blowing through furnace filters on low setting. The opposite side is the garage door, cracked open a couple feet with loose batting filter material in the gap.
You can see my set up in my thread here: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...dy-thread.html
That was my second time painting, and the first time I set it up this way, the previous time was a different set up that didn't work well. I haven't changed my set up much from the original design. It takes a few hours to set up so don't plan on setting it up and painting in the same day or you will miss your window on conditions... If you have mosquitoes etc that come out when the sun starts to fade you don't want to be putting down wet paint! Bugs are attracted to some paints it seems.

You'll need an orbital, sanding blocks, a couple guns, chemicals, masking materials etc etc... If you have the tools, plan on at least $500 on primer and paint at least... Oh, and HOURS of time.

jczoka

Just watched this video. It's definitely a budget paint job but it gets the job done He says $119 but doesn't mention over 40 hour man-hours. Good vid for a pure amatuer.

ZsTransAm

Paint jobs are extremely labor intensive and you'll what you put into it (if you're lucky). If you're willing to put in 100 - 200 hours, then you'll probably be reasonably happy with the results, but even then it might wind up not looking good..... Also check out costs before you even start sanding. My black paintjob cost over a grand just in materials, and that was with a shop discount. Also check if your compressor can handle a da and a spray gun. Small to medium size ones probably wont.

If this is a car you want to keep for many years, consider stripping it da sanding it down to the metal, then using etch primer followed by primer surfacer. The etch primer is a must for preventing rust. It goes on very thin in just one coat. Expensive primer surfacers and probably epoxy primers don't require etch primer first, but budget primers do. Look at the tech sheet of the primer you choose. Do not use rattle can primer. 3 or 4 medium wet coats of the primer surfacer. Do not da sand the primer surfacer if your goal is to have a flat high quality surface, block sand it. Look up videos on proper block sanding, theres a right way and a wrong way.

You can save time and material by skipping all that and thoroughly scuffing up the old paint and putting the new paint over that. When I say thoroughly, I mean NO shiny spots. Red scotchbrite pad and da sand with whatever grit your paint manufacture recommends. There is a small chance the old paint will react badly with the new paint. I've never seen it happen but I don't generally paint old cars.

After you've got it scuffed, or primer all blocked out with whatever grit your paint manufacture recommends, clean the heck out of it. Every speck of dust you miss will be a piece of dirt in your paint job. Blow it off, wipe it down, wipe it down again (wipe on, then wipe off to reduce residue). Tape it up just as thoroughly. Clean again, then a final light blow down and tack off.

I could type for days straight and not tell you everything you might need to know, so if you have any further questions just ask and I'll try to answer.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

All good info here. I am in the middle of a full rotisserie resto mod build and getting almost every surface down to metal or just about. Including the underside... Lots of work.

Only thing I disagree with that has been said is the compressor requirements. My $300 110V harbor freight compressor is holding up just fine. Got almost the entire shell DA sanded and primed in epoxy primer. My HVLP gun is a husky unit from HD. I can't spray as fast as the compressor makes air. I can sand too fast, but so what. Take a few min break, sand stuff the DA can't get to, once caught up, back to the DA.

The name of the game (for me) is I got time and don't want to install spend a bunch on capital investment to paint 1 car. No 240V plug hassle, no massive compressor that will really get one good use, etc.... I a.m coating each part in epoxy primer, 2 coats, then months later will scuff and paint. Using all Eastwood product.

like others have said I could type for hours with tips. I bought "how to paint your car" by Kevin Tets (sp?) Eastwood. Lots of tips.

GreenieG

love that guys channel.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

This one?

https://www.eastwood.com/paintucation-6-dvd-set.html

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

I personally only have the Paint Your Own Car DVD.

The others look useful too. I guess I have assumed I know enough about metal prep from watching other stuff on YouTube over the years.
Body shop basics might be Bondo and stuff. Probably good tips in there, but again, I have watched a lot on YouTube.
I hadn't even thought about body panel placement..... Guess I will worry about that when the time comes. Same goes with color sanding and buffing.

I am sure buying the set won't ever be a bad thing.

WTR388

I wouldn't spend the money on the DVDs. Kevin has lots of stuff on youtube, excellent to learn from. You can learn so much on youtube... But what you can't learn is the actual skill of actually doing it. Setting up a gun, learning how to hold it in relation to the panel, your overlaps, speed, and the pattern you'll use to get the car sprayed while keeping your wet edge and avoiding too much dry overspray over what you've already painted. Even different viscosities of different materials. The epoxy primer I spray at work is very thin, and sprays completely different from our paint... And then when I spray something at home that is different as well. The only reason I can go between them is just experience. And the only way to get that, is to mess up a few paint jobs.

There is a flow to the work. Setting everything up, mixing, final prep etc and you'll make mistakes, that's ok.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Couldn't agree more!
I learned to spray first on my engine bay with epoxy primer.
Learned a lot. Great place to make mistakes. Even with just primer.

I plan to paint the entire car. Underside and all while on my rotisserie. The underside will be my practice area.
Engine bay will be a tinny bit more "real". Followed by the actual body as the grand finale.

I also picked a color that is good at hiding mistakes. Pure white. No metal flakes or pearls, just white.

Gonna be a fun show car when its done.

Oh and I practice on cardboard a good amount to make sure it is all setup right. For primer on the underside the details are less critical since you just want to get the stuff on there. Actually really looking forward to the real deal someday, maybe next year.

bottledpower

Build a paint booth. I've built 2x4 frames, and I've used a pop up canopy like this as frames.


Wrap it up with plastic sheet, add a furnace filter for air inlet, and hook up a fan with filters for exhaust.

Get lots of light in there. I use 8 to 10 48" LED light fixtures.



This paint gun works better than I expected

WTR388

2 issues with the fans pulling air instead of pushing the air through.
If they are sucking the air out, you're creating negative pressure in the booth. Unless you 100% have all seams sealed off, you're going to be pulling dust in. If you're pushing filtered air in with the fans, you're also blowing air out of all those little holes you miss, less likely to have dust enter the booth. My first set up was a negative pressure booth, it pulled the plastic walls in a bit, and I had a lot of trash in the paint. Second time, I did it positive pressure and there was much much less dust.

The second issue, is unless you have explosion proof fans, the vapours could ignite as they get to the fan... Likely? No, but it HAS happened. Fans being upstream, on the outside of the booth eliminates this.

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

What's the consensus on painting the car apart or togeather?

King Kong Bundy

Providing an update, but will first say that the fellow in the video is great to watch, and learn from. Very entertaining, also polite and funny. Watched the painting episode, then a few ones with vehicles that have not run for a long time. Watched a Fiero video just before typing this.


Have not started painting yet, just a few small obstacles preventing that.

Did know it had been vandalized, some things stolen, but a few more problems than were expected.

Who would steal the cargo area carpet?

The hatch lock looks like it had a chisel hammered into it.

So one question, how can you open the hatch now?

No, the hatch open button on the dashboard has not worked, am told, since last century.



Have followed all the suggestions here. Started to purchase some products, make a shopping list of needed items. Hoped to be already painting, but have been delayed.

OrangeBird

iTrader: (1)

With all due respect to your ambitions (and to Mr. Christopher Alan Pallies) I believe your going about this backwards.

Why paint the car first, and then have the risk of screwing up the paint when your doing all the mechanical work required to get a car that has "not seen sunlight for many years" running?

Were this project mine, I'd have the car mechanically perfect before it gets painted, the only SURE way to ensure the paint don't get screwed up during the mechanical restoration.......

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

I plan on getting my entire car in primer. Then do all the mechanicals and interior fabrication.
Fuel lines, brackets, brake line clamps, etc... All will need holes drilled, brackets welded... When all that is done. Touch up primer.
Continue onto engine and powertrain, same thing. Will scratch and adjust as this is all getting fitted. More touch up primer.
Finally, full assemble car, all in primer with just about entire car built. Check fitment of EVERYTHING for full range of motion, scuffing, all that.
When finally happy, rip car apart and final base coat layers and clear. Reassemble knowing there are ZERO issues.

Lots more work, but doing things right is never fast.

King Kong Bundy

An update.

A tad more difficult than just wheeling it out, cleaning and painting.

Changing hatch struts can be an ordeal. After some attempts with the key, managed to get the lock to open. Then, as access was needed inside the compartments in the back, tried to replace the struts. The hatch is much heavier than you think, even after reading instructions about how heavy the hatch is.

Used a very solid plastic pipe for assistance with holding the hatch when taking off the old struts. Probably the ones that were put on it at the factory. Have figured out most of the history of the vehicle, except the first 7 or so years.

Then had to figure out how to get it higher. Went with the broom handle.

It all worked. Then couldn't close the hatch. Tried, waited and tried. Strong struts are better than weak ones. Eventually pushed it down and, with some effort, pushed it to lock.

As the tires need changing, was happy to have access to the cargo area.

The jack had been stolen.

Not a body question, and will look around the site for answers, but if a jack from a garage can be borrowed, where underneath do you jack the vehicle from? The lift points?

The cargo area carpet, cargo cover, some lower ground effects, a few small pieces, all seemingly stolen but would be fine with that as it just made the vehicle lighter. But the jack gone is more than annoying.

Again, not body news, but the interior was a bit, moldy? The steering wheel seemed to have something on it. The air inside was not nice. Used white vinegar, with a small amount of water, cleaned the steering wheel and console and dash. Might have worked really well. Does it make sense to sprinkle baking soda on the seats and carpet? Leave it for a while, vacuum it up?

While searching for tools, came across a 1991 Firebird brochure. That was a nice surprise.

Also saw a 1968 Firebird a week ago. Had walked to the local food place, as there is nowhere to park around there, and on the way back home heard something different. It drove past and could tell by the rear lights what it was.

Now to some body stuff.

Yes, painting isn't happening soon, but the mirrors and spoiler are already black. Most people would take them off and paint them, not just leave them in the factory black they have?

Uncovered a rust hole, A-pillar right side. The rust is in the middle of the pillar, maybe an inch long, half an inch wide. Maybe three or four inches from the bottom of the pillar. Everyone says that has to be fixed with new metal? It is a key structural area?

That may be the only big rust problem. Haven't looked at everything closely in bright light, but where the spacesaver spare was, it seemed to be free of rust. That is good news? Small amount of rust on the bottom of the left rear wheel arch. A noticeable bubble on the left side, above the door and back towards the B-pillar.

As some ground effects and the side body molding is nonexistent, just fill in the small holes for them?

dennisbernal91z

iTrader: (2)

Wow, quite and update.
LOTS of questions.

I can help you with all of them, but you really need to organize your thoughts a bit. A long update with imbedded questions is hard to answer.

Dirty
For anything that is dirty and smells bad. Get it out of the car to clean it well. Well ventilated area that you can attack the problem.
Don't try to clean in the car. If it is mold, you will never get all the spores out cleaning it where it is. 100% certain there are spores on the inside of the panels that will need to be killed if you want the smell and issue to be resolved.

Rust
Any rust you see is just the tip of the iceberg. All rust issues are much bigger than a small hole.
A-pillar is a critical structure area. You will need to sand the area that is rusted down to bare metal and keep going so you can asses how bad the problem is. Cut out the issue, and weld in new metal. Then frame sealer inside the pillar, primer the outside, filler, then primer and paint.
This is what will need to be done at the rear quarter as well, or anywhere you find rust. If you don't do the repair right, it will come back to bite you down the road for sure.

Good job on fixing the struts.

If you think that was rough, wait till you try to fix rust. You can do it, just remember every job is going to take much much longer than you may have anticipated. Good luck!

(I fixed an A-pillar rust hole on my build. Link in my profile)

1989karr

if it is your first time painting, I say practice practice and more practice. Get a fender off some car and try prep / paint it.


Videos / info is great but the only way you will learn is actually doing and seeing how your gun, compressor and other stuff works together.


You don't want to practice on the car, realized you messed up and have to reprep everything...it take a lot of time and extra material to redo stuff unti you learn......ask me how I know lol